By akademiotoelektronik, 12/08/2022

Meeting with Philippe Chenevez, creator of the Cinela Cosi anti-wind beauties

Monday 2002020Par Benoit Stefani

Période de confinement oblige, cette rencontre s'est déroulée de façon virtuelle et alors que la pollution sonore baissait, la vente de bonnettes Cosi croissait. Philippe Chenevez sur le stand Tapages, lors du Satis 2019, nous présentant les bonnettes Cosi. © Benoît Stefani

Mediakwest: You were initially sound engineer, how did you come to create Cinela?

Philippe Chenevez: After a BTS Louis-Lumière in 1984 and five/six years of cinema/documentary, I joined the company VDB (Perches manufacturer) in 1990 in order to… create a suspension, following the difficultiesencountered, as a perchman, due to the hypersensitivity of materials at the time.But the rise of micro-emotional people made that I was finally fully occupied by the maintenance of HF Audio LTD and the development of accessories.In parallel, I followed the CNAM courses in acoustics and vibrations, then obtained the engineering diploma in 1996.

Life has followed its course and I did not really get into the realization of prototypes until 2005.The first were folklorical and very timidly welcomed by sound engineers, but the latter met with real success.The first MS bean with "hanging cap" was a heap of scrap, plastic and poorly sewn fabric, but it served a lot!At the beginning of 2006, I was penniless, but with a real project to try.So I filed my first patent and we set up the company with two friends and a few thousand euros, but especially thanks to the help of the company DC Audiovisual which immediately financed the first mold.

MK: A word on your first significant products?

On the suspensions side, there were the OSIX 1,2 and 3, for Neumann KM150, Schoeps CMC and Sennheiser MKH50.We voluntarily limited this choice to the three "headlights" microphones of the time in taking its cinema.For the hapties, there was the Zephyx in 2007, a suspended cap system for the Schoeps MS-CCM couple.At the time, this fairly widespread configuration was horribly sensitive!I knew I could score points with this new concept.

MK: In your activity, it seems that there is the accumulation of two know-how: on the one hand the decoupling, the suspension part;And on the other, noise reduction, wind protection?

It is certain, we must call on the large family of vibro-acoustic phenomena, very linked.I take this opportunity to say that on the purely vibratory aspect of a suspension, the current models make it possible to quantify and qualify the material with precision.Basically, we are able to say if we are far, or not, of theoretical limits.Regarding anti-wind protections with somewhat sophisticated "cavity", the complexity of theoretical models makes it very difficult to know whether you are "at best" or not.The challenge remains open!Fortunately, there are great rules to follow ... as much as possible because they are strongly contradictory!

MK: How to survive this niche market?

Precisely because there is an interest on the planet's scale, we sell a little to everyone!Each country has its habits.It’s very interesting to compare profiles.You have to establish close links with resellers, and of course with a maximum of users!For the past ten years I have accumulated a list of more than 50,000 emails ...

MK: An idea of who is, roughly, your customers?

Essentially professional users of "image sound", mainly in cinema and documentary, but the more recent production of complex systems such as "ORTF-Surround" or "ORTF-3D" (name Schoeps) makes itNow has large sports entities that use our high -end products.There is a majority of users in North America, but obviously a lot in Europe and more and more in Asia.And curiously, during this slow activity period, we have an increase in orders for ha caps for stereo or multichannel.Indeed, some foreign sound engineers take the opportunity to capture atmospheres of exceptional quality, because the noise pollution is lower than usual!

MK: With what human and technical means is the production carried out?

We are four !Our brand new workshop based in the 78 is really… perfect!We produce in series, not to the channel, but in an artisanal way.Despite the pressure, our suppliers are all located in France!This is what justifies our prices ... that some consider "high".I am in the process of finalizing the large measurement part with wind machine and acoustic devices.The equivalent of a very large deaf, targeted for our needs.

MK: How was Cosi born, the concept?

The gradual appearance of microphones having an increasingly short rear part has only increased the difficulty of combining a frontal anti-wind suspension and protection.The latest generations of interference tubes associated with ultra-short electronics are simply unusable with "traditional" accessories.It was absolutely necessary to break the usual concept.The idea of a real cavity, completely surrounding the microphone, with a single suspension fixed directly on the anti-wind cage, has made its way since 2017 ... until the filing of a European patent, obtained in 2020!

MK: What users are COSI for?

In fact, all those who are faced with outdoor "mobile" sound are concerned are concerned.In cinema, ultra mobility and the discretion of COSI are major assets.In documentary, if you have only one accessory to take away, it's a cosi.

MK: In your presentation video, we see many enthusiastic sound engineers, but the product is also aimed at videographers.We imagine that for this clientele, the price can be a brake ...

In the 2018 video, the first beta-users on camera are two brothers leaving for a world tour by bike (Heybro).For two years, their COSI has been fixed on a GH5 permanently lugged on a bicycle.Zero problem.Some sequences are stunning in very difficult wind conditions.The sound editor is delighted!In fact, on camera, Cosi is mainly aimed at those who want to have an anti-wind accessory much above average.A simple comparative test is enough to convince ... From what everyone tells me !!!You just have to have the right microphone and what to connect it.All the microphones on the market cannot adapt, but there are a lot of versions for lengths between 8 and 18 cm, and diameters between 19 and 22 mm.

MK: On COSI, the anti-wind protection aspect seems a good compromise between transparency and protection, but less effective than others of your systems.So, how to qualify the anti-wind aspect, how does it compare yourself to a plum standard and more generally how to express the effectiveness of an anti-wind system?

The primary rule applies: the more volume there is around the microphone (acoustic part), the more efficiency there is.So, of course, the "small" volume of the COSI cannot be as effective as a larger ha cap such as Zephyx, Piano or Pianissimo.On the other hand, with similar congestion, compared to all other market protections (very numerous), there is no photo ... It is up to everyone to check.

Then, the anti-wind efficiency performance is not expressed in "km/h".It is possible to speak in db of mitigation, but we must not forget that this attenuation is very different depending on the places of the spectrum!Again, Cosi is very well balanced.It should not be forgotten that an anti-wind protection always generates noise in the presence of wind, even weak.This is just a fight between "masking" atmospheres and useful sounds!It is easier to protect yourself from a large wind by the ocean than from a small wind in the desert.

MK: Finally, if I go on a shoot with a COSI and I am in a situation where the wind is too strong for this system, what to do?Can we hope to see COSI developments on this point or should you always have with you a more "protective or attenuating" solution?

Unfortunately, the Cosi is counter-intuitive.It is impossible to add "socks" if the wind increases, or if the ambient noise decreases.It is a drawback which stems directly from the basic principle: the insulators are fixed directly on the cage, from the outside.In documentary, if there is a little too much wind, it will be necessary to accept a certain background noise ... which is rather well balanced unlike other protections.In cinema, it is necessary to have a very clean useful signal, even in high wind, so you also have to plan a "big" haweings in a box ...

Extract from the article published for the first time in Mediakwest #37, p.48-53.Subscribe to Mediakwest (5 numbers/year + 1 outside series "Filming Guide) to access, as soon as they are released, our articles in their entirety.