Ruth on location working with the Mongolian film crew, recording sound for a documentary dedicated to preserving the ancient ceremonies of Mongolia.

FROM RUTH:

You never know what life will bring. I began recording location sound purely by accident while in Mongolia a few years ago. The original plan was to travel there with a small American film crew who were wrapping up production on Mongolian Chronicles, a documentary series. I was slated to score the series, and had the good fortune of recording the extraordinary Mongolian ensemble Guren! as a part of that.

I was scheduled to record the band while the production crew shot footage. However, the entire American side of the film crew, including the sound recordist, had to cancel at the last minute. So I ended up traveling to Mongolia alone, working with Guren! and recording a good deal of the location sound with the Mongolian film crew while there. What an honor. Here we are on the high plains of Mongolia, about 60 miles south of Siberia, documenting ancient ceremonies as a means of preserving the integrity of the culture in a respectful way. 

Wind is always a real problem when recording ​audio outside. Since all of this was unexpected, ​I didn't bring any professional wind-block gear.  If you look closely, you can see that I put my wool hat over the microphone as a wind block. The towel that other crew members are holding also worked; a very old school approach, we used what we had!

The people I met in Mongolia are beautiful. So much heart, talent, awareness and generosity.