Boundaries instead of radio mics outside?

[ramdram]

Slightly OT but with ref to cell phone by rx rack it is hardly surprising there is a problem. The cell phone is transmitting an rf signal which will be very much stronger than that from a radio mic given the length of the relative signal paths (and if the venue is in a rural area, with fairly large cells, then the cell phone will be ramping up its rf o/p anyway (google for why if arsed).

 

Ref the rm tx and cellphone in the pocket then the cellphone and rm are both broadcasting away on different freqs. If anything you might expect the cell phone rx section to be affected by having a tx almost touching.

 

Earlier threads have made mention of the rf "desense" issue and you can again google for more detailed info.

 

When you mentioned the Director and Producer believe boundaries will be "better" I suspect it is the budget thing, and, possibly because these two "professionals" have some misplaced faith that all "actors" can project, and not only that project into an open space...in possibly inclement weather.

 

Your best bet is to ask them to compare the actors "projecting" and seeing what happens with a borrowed boundary mic...then trying with a borrowed rm.

 

That way they can hear for themselves, and,if you are really skilled you will be able to convince them it was their idea to do the test in the first place and confirm rms are that much better all along...which they in fact knew anyway...but were being fair to the tech dept to lighten "your" load.

 

Such considerate folk these arty types...

[ddproduction]

Yes 25m, it's in a large garden so the audience will be sitting on picnic blankets etc... taking up 10x more space than they need to -_-

The director is encouraging the cast to project more, but from previous shows I'm not sure how well that's going to work!

 

I'd rather spend more money on radio mics that will definitely make everyone a lot louder, rather than boundaries that might make them a bit louder if the weather's good (IMHO).

 

Thanks for all the replies so far.

[paulears]

If you want to do it with radios, then you also have a much bigger problem than perhaps you imagine. The picnic concept is quite normal - and is quite pleasant really. So what kind of system are you proposing to use? a 20m wide stage means you have to cope with some of the same problems festival sound system designers have. Width! You're going to need multiple loudspeakers to cover a large area, and while they won't need to be majorly loud, it's going to be tricky making sure you have even coverage. If you have to hire in a suitable PA then it too needs to be matched to the system. I suppose that if they have the budget, then an amplified shakespeare will be fine, but if the weather is a problem for boundaries - it will be a problem for your speakers too, won't it? For the audience, getting several sources of sound arriving from the actors direct plus the loudspeakers, intelligibility can be tough. Music is much easier, but dialogue is all you have and having a louder system that you can't understand is very easy to achieve. The problem usually happens when the actors are to one side, and the return from the other side speakers arrived after the real voice. It makes it very difficult to listen to - especially as the amplified audio sounds different to the real audio.

 

Of course - don't forget that the boundaries could be affected by wind and rain, but so will the actors microphones too, and there will be more of those to keep noise free and dry!

[chelgrian]

I'm sure I read somewhere (here?) a while ago that someone had used boundaries outside, and had managed to put fur (the Rycote sort, I believe) over the mic. Apart from the expected loss of HF, it worked to a point.

 

It wasn't me but I do know that the Minack use 3 Crown PCC-160s wrapped in foam and they don't seem to have died yet.

[paulears]

I suppose the other issue is reality, or not. Two speakers on sticks further away from the stage and fed from boundaries sounds more realistic than a proper PA system and clear and overt use of technology. This is a design choice that needs making.

 

Of course, the simple thing would simply be to set the kit up and try it for yourself and decide if it works for you. Easy to do, and let the director listen at £X and then let him listen to radios at £Z.