As the UK watched the final series of its Big Brother reality TV series drawing to a close, 32 football fans in South Africa had signed up a comparable sentence in the Bud House.
Set to coincide with the recent FIFA World Cup soccer contenst, the Bud House web series assembled fans from 32 countries to ear, sleep and play soccer together. The winning fan travelled to the World Cup Final in Johannesburg to presente the Man of the Match trophy to the final team’s Most Valuable Player – Uruguay's Diego Forlan – at the conclusion of the tournament.
Reality TV at its most demanding, and the show’s sound called the skills of freelance production sound mixer/supervisor Steve Bedaux. CineLUX Sound Services and sister crewing company, Sound Department, handled the location sound, with VidCam for the RSA Films (Ridley Scott and Associates)/Rocket Films (South Africa) managing the production. Armed with an arsenal of Lectrosonics equipment, Bedaux and his crew – recordist Steven Corbiere, field mixers Marc Gouldy (Lead Mixer), Joe Beachy, Steven ‘Goat’ Hitselberger, Jeff Hodd, Sean O’Malley and Jen Raudman, along with A2’s Bryan Diaz (Lead A2), Jules Joseph, Jabu Msomi – were ready to meet the production challenges.
Bedaux’s Lectrosonics equipment included almost 70 UM400a Digital Hybrid Wireless beltpack transmitters (used on the house ‘fanatics’, bartenders and guests, as well as in six portable sound rigs for stereo camera hops), plus UH400 plug-on transmitters for wireless booms and music/PA feeds. Lectrosonics SMQV Super Miniature Dual Battery, MM400c and UT handheld transmitters were also at Bedaux’s disposal.
On the receiving side, eight UCR 411a compact receivers were used in each of the crew’s audio field bags. Another two were used on each of their six main cameras, with three assigned to the story producer cameras. In all, there were more than 75 UCR 411a units covering seven different blocks. Completing the picture, Lectrosonics Venue receiver systems stocked with VRT modules and UDR200C diversity receivers were used in the Control Room. ‘In all, we used over 56 coordinated wireless transmitter frequencies daily,’ Bedaux says. ‘Since this was a non-elimination reality show, all of the wireless needed to work 24/7 for 32 consecutive days of production. RF coordination was tight, but with Lectrosonics’ wireless and special coordination software, I knew it could be done.
‘Due to time and budget constraints, I was unable to personally perform a standard pre-production RF site survey at any of the excursion locations or at our secret Bud House resort location,’ he adds. ‘Fortunately, Lectrosonics introduced me to Jeff Hodd at Stratosphere in Cape Town. Jeff is a sound mixer and also serves as Lectrosonics’ representative for all of South Africa. He saved the day. Through many detailed emails, Jeff and I were able to communicate my audio requirements for the project. Jeff took time out of his schedule to perform our crucial RF surveys and he also conducted cable run measurements at the Bud House location.
‘One of the many attributes of Lectrosonics’ equipment – especially in the field of reality TV – is that it is bullet proof, extremely reliable, and the sound quality is unbeatable. The equipment’s range is amazing, especially with the new SMQV in Quarter Watt mode. If a transmitter can handle an extreme reality TV cast such as the Bud House fanatics, it can handle any reality show. When I am mixing on location thousands of miles away from home, equipment down time is not an option; I know I can always count on Lectrosonics.’
Within three weeks of accepting the assignment, Bedaux had designed, coordinated, built, tested and shipped four tons of audio equipment to South Africa. ‘I could not have done this project without all of the additional technical support of the VidCam Team – Clay Harris and Mark Gouldy (Bud House Lead Field Mixer) – and the amazing organizational skills from my lead A2 and mixer Bryan Diaz,’ he reflects. ‘Being a long-time owner/operator of Lectrosonics wireless products, I have come to trust and rely upon this equipment. Whether I’m mixing a reality show with over 56 RF frequencies, supervising a live Good Morning America Broadcast at the Oscars, or mixing a high profile interview with Charles Gibson and Sarah Palin, I know that Lectrosonics always has my back.’
More: www.cinelux.tv
More: www.lectrosonics.com
