Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469942
Summer 2022 – LOCAL695.ORG 23 The design needed to be able to move to different sound stages, as well as be duplicated for a separate unit to shoot stunt actors performing on different sets, while our first unit continued or reverted to our more traditional task of dialog capture without helmets for interior set work. With Shure Axient transmitters, our lav mics, and Shure IEM units for the actors selected, the stunt actors were fitted with the Clear-Com FS II units since we were already using that system for the floor communications. The Clear-Com FS II provided the duplex needed for stunt actors rather than an expensive full duplication of what we required for our actors. The Clear-Com FS II could network with the stunt actors and on-set leadership by our dedicated comms technician who used a separate Yamaha QL-1 console. Auto mix and Cedar NRS were used for the comm feeds. We divided up the full task knowing it was too much for one person on one console to focus on because things were going to change. It is the nature of our work. Kyle Lamy was hired to be our Comms Tech. Kyle came to us from NCIS: New Orleans which had just wrapped. He was their Playback Operator and had the skill set from stage and music venues to operate the mixer, the wireless system, and IEM system with intercoms. From there it was a quick step to fold in the new flavor of the Clear-Com FreeSpeak II on a network via a laptop. I now cue it over to Kyle for the hands-on experience… Range and Battery Life I will admit that I was very skeptical when first learning this unit ran on a 1.9 GHz cellular band. In my experience, wireless microphones that run on a 2.4 GHz band will run out of range quickly. The FS II should never be put in this category. On our largest stage with the full cast of stunt personnel and production, I was using up to twelve belt packs on three transceivers. The belt packs quickly jumped to the closest transceiver, and I was able to keep a 90%-95% stability on all belt packs throughout the filming. The range of these belt packs are only outperformed by the incredible battery life that they can achieve. Very few rechargeable batteries can stand the test of all-day feature film working hours, but the batteries on the FS II proclaimed and delivered sixteen Communications Mixer Kyle Lamy at the Yamaha QL1 mixer cart, reacting in real-time as the actors requested level changes to their mix.