Description

Recording motorcade and convoy sounds at the summit between USA & North Korea

After I finished my motorbike road trip across Vietnam I decided to spend the last 3 weeks in Hanoi. I intended to create another expansive sound library in the capital. Similar to my Ho Chi Minh Sound Library, I wanted to capture unique soundscapes of the bustling daily life in Hanoi.

One day while driving across the city I noticed many American and North Korean flags along the streets. My curiosity piqued and thanks to Google, I discovered that Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were having their second meeting in Hanoi. Their first historical meeting between the United States and North Korea took place in Singapore in June 2018.

Of course, the city was temporarily populated by reporters and media outlets from all over the world. It goes without saying, that I took this monumental meeting as an opportunity to record sounds!

Imagine there is a crowd of reporters trying to capture moments of theses leaders and then there’s me who only want to record audio of the crowd and police motorcade! Even reporters were curious about what I was doing! Throughout the day, several approached me and asked which station I’m from.

After I recorded the overall crowds and traffic around the Melia Hotel for several hours, I stepped away from the reporters to find a good place on the side of the road. My task was to record the sound of the motorcade and Police convoy for Kim Jong Un. After 6 pm the convoy left the hotel and I captured an amazing soundscape of the sirens from the police cars and motorbikes.

After that, I walked to the Sofitel Hotel where Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for dinner. Once I arrived I found probably 10 times the amount of reporters, camera teams, and observers than at the Melia Hotel.

I was able to snag great audio of the reporters, crowds, and street traffic. This was an ideal spot where I captured the street ambiance of police blocking, whistling, and using loudspeakers to communicate with one another. After the police finally blocked the road, we were all under suspense to catch a glimpse of the politicians. I could feel the energy in the air was changing and the tension increases.

While I was waiting, I just kept the recorder powered on without recording. Just with the headphones, I listened to what happening around me at that moment. It’s an incredible experience if you see it from a sound recording perspective.

In the end, Trump went in another direction and I recorded Kim Jun Un’s motorcade twice. It was still great and I’m so happy to have been there to capture this audio for you all!