— RDM’s Kevin Hartmann says that A-T’s BP896 MicroPoint™ Subminiature Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Microphone is the smallest and the best-sounding lav he’s ever used—
— A-T’s dual-channel 1800 Series wireless system provides total redundancy on
remote shoots for celeb chef Rachel Ray’s regular forays into the field —
If high-definition broadcast video has made the offerings on The Food Network® look good enough to reach in and sample, Remote Digital Media (RDM) makes certain that the sound is equally enticing. RDM is an EMMY Award®- and Telly Award®-winning audio and video remote company based in Woodstock, New York, that handles audio for several of the network’s most popular programs, including Next Great Baker and Rachel Ray. To get great sound, RDM uses microphones and wireless systems from Audio-Technica on all of its shoots. For instance, RDM has used the Audio-Technica dual-receiver Artist Elite® 5000 Series frequency-agile True Diversity UHF wireless system all nine seasons of reality show Chopped. On Rachel Ray, RDM employs the A-T 1800 Series Camera-mount Dual-channel UHF wireless system as well as the ATR5200 Monophone/Dynamic Boom Microphone Combination Headset. Many shows will also benefit from the Audio-Technica BP4071 Line + Gradient Condenser shotgun microphone for audience and ambience capture, which allows RDM to create a “seamless transition” between onstage and offstage audio.
Kevin Hartmann, one of two owners of RDM, is also its Head of Audio. (Sandor Bondorowsky is Hartmann’s partner and oversees the company’s video operations.) “These shows are about food, but they are actually reality shows, and you have to approach the audio that way,” explains Hartmann, who also uses A-T microphones and wireless systems on other projects, including audio for numerous MTV music shoots and for Inside the Actors Studio, whose host, James Lipton, he says, is a huge fan of Audio-Technica’s BP896 MicroPoint lavalier. “The MicroPoint is the tiniest lav I’ve ever seen, and on reality shows, the key is the ability to be able to completely hide the microphone yet still get great sound and a reliable signal. The MicroPoint does all of that and does it better than any other lav out there,” Hartmann adds. Bakers’ white tunics, he notes, offer the perfect opportunity to keep lavaliers well hidden.
Hartmann says that A-T’s system designs are what put it out in front of the pack. “People think that RF performance is all about power, but the fact is that it’s really about tuning – the ability to understand the environment you’re working within in terrestrial TV and build your RF system around that. The A-T systems give me a high degree of control over my RF.”
Hartmann uses the 1800 Series camera-mount wireless system because it gives him ENG-quality audio when doing remotes for celebrity chef and host Rachel Ray. “I’ve been using that and the 5000 Series Wireless on her remotes since the show began six years ago,” he says. “The sound quality and reliability are the best. In fact, one of the main reasons I’m drawn to Audio-Technica equipment is that it’s so reasonably priced – nothing in its price point can touch its performance, and it actually sounds better than microphones costing far more money. It’s just very, very good, reliable equipment.”
Please visit www.audio-technica.com for more information.
