Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1543070
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 57 PSC antenna. The signal loss in our cables is 6 dB per 100 feet, or approximately 1 dB of loss for every 17 feet of cable. Knowing the length of each cable, we could calculate and adjust the gain differences between antennas. In our final "walk test," a team member walked—and talked—through the property wearing a few wireless microphones while another re-aimed antennas or adjusted gain settings until we were reasonably happy with what we could hear at the sound cart. A sidenote about adjusting antenna gains. It's generally better to attenuate the gain of one antenna than increase it on the other one. This is because higher gain often leads to increased noise since you're elevating the noise floor. In my experience, we have better results with a weaker signal with no noise floor than with a strong signal over a noisy floor, especially with digital transmissions. The Moment of Truth Once rehearsals started, we had two weeks to find our weak spots with most of the cast wearing their microphones. We managed to address most of them, but there were a couple of location-specific issues that we chased practically until the day we wrapped. But through it all, our fiber optic system performed without a hitch. I should mention that we wouldn't have succeeded without the knowledge, experience, and MacGyver-esque creativity that my amazing team of Dan Kelly, Nicolás Osorio, and Jennifer Zhang brought to the table. I'm lucky to work with such dedicated and experienced sound professionals. Final Thoughts Fiber optics technology was simple to use and remarkably dependable. It saved us time and streamlined our workflow, with no compromises to the sound quality we were able to provide to this production. My trusty crew of Jennifer Zhang, Nicolás Osorio, and Dan Kelly CAS. A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 out A out B A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 out A out B out A 1 out A 2 out A 3 out A 4 out B 1 out B 2 out B 3 out B 4 FIBER 2 (zone 4) A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 out A out B FIBER 1 (zone 3) CART ZONES Cart distro A B Fiber zone schematic Dan Kelly's remote rig.