NEW YORK – The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, televised on CBS after a previous taping at the Sixty-Ninth Regiment Armory, got audio support from Firehouse Productions, and the crew used more than 100 Sennheiser headsets for the production. Canada's Solotech also supported the performance of the show's musical guests, the Black Eyed Peas, with Sennheiser wireless mics and PM systems.
According to Vinny Siniscal of Firehouse Productions, the production staff used over 100 Sennheiser headsets, including the HMD 281 Pro, a single-sided headset with dynamic super-cardioid boom microphone, and the HMD 280 Pro dual-earpiece version. The Sennheiser headsets were used in conjunction with the Riedel Artist Digital Matrix intercom system provided by Firehouse for the event. "It's a nice fit," says Siniscal, "the two of them together."
He noted that "those headsets have become very popular. The mic element sounds great and the headset is really comfortable. In fact, we almost want to take credit for a lot of the TV trucks abandoning the traditional favorite brand for the Sennheiser HMDs. They're basically turning into an industry standard."
That popularity has led Firehouse Productions to increase its rental inventory, Siniscal said. "We've got close to 200 in total and we can't keep them on the shelf. So we just bought another fifty of the HMD 281s."
Montréal-based sound and video production provider Solotech supplied Sennheiser gear for the Black Eyed Peas, who performed two songs, including their hit, "Boom Boom Pow." According to Patrice Lavoie, Solotech system tech for the event, "we had SR 3256 twin stereo transmitters and EK 3253 belt packs, along with an A 5000-CP antenna and an AC 3000 wideband antenna combiner for this event."
Black Eyed Peas members Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap each used a Sennheiser SKM 835 G2 wireless vocal microphone, while will.i.am made use of the new SKM 2000 wireless vocal mic. Sound design for the event was provided by Erich Bechtel of New York's ADI (Audible Difference Inc.).
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which began in 1995 and moved from the internet to broadcast television in 2001, featured supermodels Heidi Klum, as host, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller, Adriana Lima, and Behati Prinsloo.
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