In Broadcast - August 2018 - 61

61

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 8 - Issue 7 | August 2018

InSound

Microphones in Action
After
testing
out
various
microphones and interfaces, Dyva
Toubro and her team opted for the
MMA-A/d:screet combination because
it delivered the best sound
quality, even in situations
where there was a lot of
ambient noise.
"Over a period of four
months
we
followed
seven participants as
they searched to find love
via the Internet. Most
managed to operate the
technology without any
problems - we had one
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was staged in or two people who forgot
Lisbon's Altice Arena (Photo: Ralph-Larmann) to turn on their audio
also used in the press centre, where equipment but those were the only
conferences and Q&A sessions times when the system failed," Dyva
make use of EM 6000 receivers Toubro adds. "Generally the system
and SKM 6000 handhelds with worked very well, and participants
Neumann cardioid KK 204 condenser found it very easy to use. The audio
microphone heads.
quality was amazing, which made
editing much quicker. Also, given the
Danish Reality
nature of the programme, the DPA
On a somewhat different scale to solution was very unobtrusive. The
Eurovision, men and women taking microphones are so small that they can
part in Faith, Hope & Tinder - a Danish either be used as lavalieres or placed
reality show about Internet dating - on a table so that they pickup audio
have been getting to grips with the from both the contestant and his or
latest audio technology from DPA her date."
Microphones so that they can record
Automating the entire workflow was
their dates without having a sound also a consideration for Bermuda,
engineer present.
which set up a cloud server where
Each participant in the show was material recorded by participants
given a kit consisting of an iPhone, a could be easily uploaded. This
DPA MMA-A Digital Audio Interface automated file gathering system was
and a d:screet SC4060-BM lavaliere designed to be very straightforward
microphone. After a very short so that it wouldn't baffle non-technical
space of time most were confidently people and would also save Bermuda
recording sound to their iPhones from having to visit participants at
via the MMA-A, a pocket-sized two- home to collect content. Faith, Hope
channel microphone preamp and A/D and Tinder is currently being broadcast
converter that offers mono, dual and on TV2.
stereo capabilities, and can capture or
stream audio in quality previously only
available in the studio.
"From the outset we wanted a
technical solution that would be
non-invasive yet would deliver the
broadcast quality sound we needed,"
says Lotte Dyva Toubro, Production
Manager and Partner in Bermuda,
the Copenhagen-based production
company that created the programme
for Denmark's TV2 channel. "It also
had to be very easy to use because
our participants are ordinary people
covering a wide age range and some
of them don't have extensive technical
DPA: A contestant on Danish reality
skills."
show, Faith, Hope and Tinder

Contributing Editor Jim Evans has the latest news from microphone
manufacturers and out in the field...

N

ew technologies and new takes on
old technologies, particularly in
the wireless sector, continue to surface
across the broadcast and production
industries. At the sharp end, no matter
how sophisticated the remainder of the
audio chain, the microphone, as ever,
plays the lead role.
British Standards
Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall
and once again held at London's The
O2 Arena, this year's BRIT Awards saw
Stormzy and Dua Lipa, take home the
top prizes, and Sennheiser's Digital
6000 series get taken to extremes.
Britannia Row Productions provided
all requirements for the show's audio
system, which was designed by BRITs'
Head of Sound Colin Pink, with a
combination of Sennheiser Digital
6000 and 9000 series microphones
proving the majority choice for both
artists and presenters.
As well as winning both British
Album of The Year and British Male
Solo Artist, Stormzy gave an epic
performance beneath an indoor
waterfall effect which soaked both him
and his SKM 6000 as he sang his hit
singles Blinded by Your Grace, Pt.2 and
Big for Your Boots.
"When I was told about Stormzy's
production idea for the BRIT Awards, I
thought, wow! How are we going to do
this and which Sennheiser mic would
be the best choice?" says Raphael A.
Williams, Stormzy's Sound Engineer.
"We decided to use D 6000 along with
a 9235 dynamic capsule."
To ensure the microphone was
fully waterproof, Raphael completely
covered the mic head with cling film

At the BRIT Awards, Stormzy performed
with a Sennheiser SKM 6000 wireless
microphone underneath an indoor
waterfall (Photo: Andrew Timms)

during rehearsals. "But that
took the clarity away," he
recalls. "So we tried putting
cling film under the foam
closer to the capsule and that
worked really well. Our original
plan was to swap the mic out
straight after the waterfall
section of the show, but we
didn't need to as it worked so
perfectly. After the rehearsal,
we opened up the capsule
and, even though the cling film
wrap and the capsule were soaking
wet, the microphone still worked. We
dried it off in rice overnight and it
worked great the next day, too."
Providing support in the run-up
to the show was Sennheiser Artist
Relations Manager Jack Drury, with
Customer Development & Application
Engineer Andrew Lillywhite on hand
throughout the show, both working
hard behind the scenes to make sure
every request was met. One major
task was providing Rita Ora with a fully
customised white SKM 6000.
Euro Contest
Sennheiser was also heavily involved
in the Eurovision Song Contest,
staged this year at the Altice Arena
in Lisbon. Sennheiser and its local
partner Magnelusa supplied Digital
6000 wireless microphones and 2000
series wireless monitors to the world's
largest live music event, hosted by
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).
With 43 participating nations, the
63rd Eurovision Song Contest featured
live broadcasts of the two semi-finals
and the grand finale. All artists relied
on Digital 6000 microphones, and
used either SKM 6000 handhelds
with MD 9235 dynamic capsules, or
SK 6000 bodypacks with Sennheiser
custom headmics. For wireless
monitoring, 2000 series systems were
on duty: Rack-mount SR 2050 IEM
two-channel transmitters transmitted
their signals via A 5000-CP circularly
polarised antennas to the artists' EK
2000 IEM bodypack receivers. A large
number of bodypacks ensures that all
artist groups and the technical crew
can be provided with high-quality
audio signals.
Digital 6000 microphones were
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://en-uk.sennheiser.com/2-channel-receiver-live-audio-productions-digital-6000 https://www.dpamicrophones.com/dscreet/4060-series-miniature-omnidirectional-microphone https://en-uk.sennheiser.com/wireless-live-vocal-microphone-live-stages-skm-6000
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