One of Ruderman’s biggest challenges in capturing high-quality audio was the fact that the participants were under extremely harsh conditions and wearing the necklace mics 24 hours a day for two weeks straight. “From our desert location where temperatures reached sweltering triple digits, to the water and sand of the beach and ocean, they were almost always miked, even when they were sleeping,” adds Ruderman. “The DPA necklace mic’s resilience was impressive. Most of the mics were wet at one point or another during the show, but dried out and worked just fine.”
Another challenge Ruderman faced when capturing the audio was the instructors’ varying vocal ranges. “The instructors would be whispering one minute, and screaming the next. The
d:screet™ Necklace mics handled the varying levels of the instructors’ audio incredibly well,” says Ruderman. “We never had any clipping on the mics and, overall, they handled remarkably well. The DPA mics definitely have a great range.”
Ruderman used his DPA mics with a combination of Lectrosonics and Zaxcom equipment. “Another cool thing with DPA mics, and another reason why we went with them, in addition to their amazing sound, is that we could easily swap out the transmitters as needed,” says Ruderman. “The MicroDot connectors were a lifesaver as they allowed the participants to easily swap transmitters when needed. When they were on base, we would use Lectrosonics but when we left base, we would swap over to Zaxcom because of its time-stamped integrated recording. We left the adaptors attached and taped into the transmitters. The participants would have their two transmitters and would simply change over from Lectrosonics to Zaxcom, and vice versa as needed. It cut down on the mics we needed in half, which was amazing. The fact that DPA mics are compatible with all major companies is a plus when working on a project of this magnitude.”