The winners, from left: Sergey Martynyuk, Lijie Cheng and Jacob Deming
World - DPA Microphones and Rycote have announced the winners of the Pay-It-Forward Film Contest Giveaway. The brands joined forces to support the film industry during these unprecedented times by offering first-time and indie filmmakers the opportunity to win a customised DPA/Rycote filming kit.
The winners of the contest are Jacob Deming of the United States, Lijie Cheng of Singapore and Sergey Martynyuk of Austria. The winners will receive three DPA mics - the 4097 Micro Shotgun, 4017 Shotgun and 6060 CORE Subminiature - along with an array of Rycote accessories.
Aspiring and indie filmmakers around the world were encouraged to participate in the DPA/Rycote Pay-it-Forward giveaway campaign, which concluded late last year. The applications were reviewed and judged by representatives from both brands, as well as a group of film experts, comprised of Tim White, Bryan “Sol” Aponte, Antoin Cox and Stéphane Bucher. In addition to the prize package, the winners will also have access to free loans of any additional mics and accessories needed to complete their projects. Further, they will receive a mentoring session from one of the film sound experts.
Deming plans to utilise the equipment to film the Northwest Association for Performing Arts’ 2021 Winter Percussion Championships on behalf of his company, Corpsound Audio.
“It’s an incredible feeling to have industry professionals and established businesses believe in the vision, which we spent so much time and energy developing,” says Deming. “It reaffirms that our passion is worthwhile, and I think our projects will help motivate other independent filmmakers.”
Cheng will put the equipment to good use on the set of HBO’s horror series Folklore, for which he will serve as the location sound mixer for a season two episode that is being filmed in his native Singapore. “
Martynyuk plans to incorporate the DPA and Rycote equipment into a 3D virtual reality (VR) project that he has dubbed Surraudisuals, for which he aims to meld audio and video into one multi-dimensional experience.
“I am flattered and thank DPA and Rycote for choosing me from among all of the applicants,” says Martynyuk. “It gave me the motivation I needed to forge ahead with this initiative, and I’m sure it will have a tremendous impact on the sound quality of my project.”

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