Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1277927
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 31 IFB Next came the IFB systems. I needed six discrete mixes for individual channels (which the Allen and Heath accommodated with room to spare). I needed one for my boom people, Mike Scott, Jerry Yuen, and Terence McCormack- Maitland; one for the general Comtek crowd, about 30 on this film; one for Steven so I could talk to him immediately after a take if needed; two channels for the music team; and the last channel for earwigs and our 12 battery-powered Samson XP 106 speakers. We'd Velcro one our IFB's on each and deploy them like hand grenades throughout the sets. Here again, Peter and I explored everything available in today's IFB world. Second in importance to the wireless signal coming in is the wireless signal going out. We've all experienced when the Comteks/IFB's don't work. Directors love that! So, lots of testing went into this area as well. After a full run-through, the Shure PSM 1000 system was definitely our winner. The factors that affected our decision were primarily range and quality. Another big factor concerned that horrible spitting sound when an IFB gets out of range—especially when using speakers. When the 1000's went out of range, there was nothing but dead air. Overall, these units outperformed the older units I had by far. They're the same Shure system used for their high- end musicians' IEM's. When putting it all together, it didn't hurt that the PSM 1000's totally integrated into the Wireless Workbench program, allowing it to choose the best IFB frequencies while choosing the wireless mic frequencies. The PA 821B Antenna Combiner, coupled with the Professional Wireless's Domed Helical Antenna, worked great for all of our IFB transmission needs. Additional Gear For additional equipment, there are a few undisputed leaders. Everyone regales the Wisycom powered antenna system, and the Power Star system seems to be pretty standard for the DC plugin battery world. With all the artillery this cart needed, two Power Star systems were used to get the 32 amps it would need when everything was fired up. Unfortunately, two components of my cart were not DC adaptable (Allen and Heath, please adapt), so we added a Samlex Sine Wave Inverter. Other additions to the cart were two Comtek BST-25 base stations, one for Comteks and one for the 40 earwigs, and, lastly, a rack mount of two video monitors. Cart Finally, we had to decide which cart to mount everything on. Doing some quick math to calculate size and weight limited the possibilities right off the bat. My buddy Devin Donegan, a video playback engineer, recommended a Nebtek Nomad cart, which could handle the ridiculous 415-pound payload. Done. " WE'RE DOING SCREEN TESTS FOR WEST SIDE STORY WITH STEVEN SPIELBERG AND WE WANT TO CHECK YOUR AVAILABILITY." The sound setup for The Producers. Not a small footprint.