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Lectrosonics on Location
For filming a new television show, The Superstars, based
on Battle of the Network Stars from the ’70s, that will see
television stars compete at swimming, biking and climbing,
Audio Supervisor and Sound Designer Mike Abbott used
Lectrosonics’ Venue Series of wireless products on location
in the Bahamas. Facing heat, humidity, and plenty of water,
Abbott assembled a sizeable list of Lectrosonics equipment,
including 22 water-resistant miniature beltpack transmit-
Audio Designer Mike Abbott on location
in the Bahamas with his Lectrosonics
wireless setup, including Venue Series
receivers.
ters, 6 UH400A plug-on transmitters, 4
SMDa super-miniature beltpack transmitters, 8 UM400a beltpack transmitters
(with 8 MC40 cables), plus 4 UT400
handheld transmitters equipped with
the VMC cardioid capsules. For receivers, Abbott used five Lectrosonics Venue
Series receiver mainframes, each stocked
with the company’s VRT receiver modules, plus two extra for backup ( 32 total),
12 UCR411A compact receivers, along
with SR Series dual-channel slot mount
ENG receivers. The production crew
used 9 T2 multi-frequency IFB beltpack
transmitters and 22 R1a synthesized
UHF beltpack IFB receivers.
“The 16 contestants competed in
approximately 18 different events,” stated
Abbott. “The climate was extremely
humid and some events required the
RF mics to be totally immersed in the
ocean to capture the audio of the competitions. The overall design and build
quality of the transmitters – including
the attention to the housing size and
the waterproofing via the gaskets that
are used – played a significant role in
my decision. Similarly, the design of the
Venue receiver racks was another important factor. The ability to place 6 receiver
modules into a 1RU rackspace system
creates a very space efficient setup,
which was extremely helpful considering that everything had to be shipped
to the job site.” n
