Sound mixer Matt Vogel is utilizing a variety of Lectrosonics wireless gear to record the audio for the new HGTV network program “Renovation Goldmine,” which follows hosts Joe and Meg Piercy as they breathe new life into properties in and around the city of Chicago.
Vogel, whose production credits also include “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,” mixes the show using four SMQV and two LT transmitters paired with three SRc dual-channel receivers handle talent microphones as well as an all-digital DCHT to transmit a feed that’s picked up by a DCHR receiver used as a camera hop, plus three M2R belt-pack receivers for the producers’ in-ear IFB mix.
“The biggest challenge with home renovation shows is that they’re loud, dirty, and sweaty,” says Vogel. “We shot in the summer heat and our hosts were knocking down walls, cutting lumber, sweating through their outfits, and creating a lot of dust in the air. air. Nothing was scripted, cameras needed to follow talent through construction obstacles while covering multiple rooms, and booming the scene would have completely gotten in the way. As a result, wireless was the primary audio source, and I was rarely in the same room as the talent.”
Repeating these conditions in multiple homes meant Vogel had to make the most of the region’s tight frequency spectrum. “Since the repackaging of frequency blocks in Chicago, it has been increasingly difficult to coordinate wireless devices,” he explains. “Plus, we’re switching locations several times per day, making things even harder. With up to five lavs on the talent, two camera hop feeds, and an IFB feed, I was using up to eight frequencies at the same time. This is why I switched to Lectrosonics digital systems for my camera hops and IFBs.”
Specifically, he utilizes the compatibility between the all-digital DCHT and DCHR and the M2R receivers, which employ Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless technology. “With the DCHT, DHCR, and M2R units, I essentially took three frequencies and combined them into one,” he details. “My DCHT is in my audio bag and sends two channels of digital audio to the DCHR, giving me a left-right camera mix over a single radio frequency. The M2Rs receive the same frequency from the DCHT, giving the producers the option to hear the stereo camera mix, or fold it down to a mono mix if they’d prefer to listen through just one headphone. When we have multiple cameras on set, I use extra M2Rs as camera hops. The interchangeable workflow is very handy.”
If there are problems hearing the talent, producers and directors are uninterested in why; they just want things to work. Vogel’s hybrid configuration has helped in this regard, eliminating the need for awkward explanations. “The sound quality of the M2Rs is far superior to any other IFB system I’ve used,” he says. “Producers have commented on how clear it is, and I never have clients asking, ‘Did you hear that?’ because the IFB signal took some kind of hit.”
Vogel concludes, “I first learned about wireless gear as an audio assistant for a documentary film company, and began using Lectrosonics 20 years ago. So, I’ve seen the evolution of the technology firsthand. Starting with the 185-series receivers and transmitters, then moving to the 200s, then the UCR-411s, and all the multiple versions of SR receivers, I’ve relied on Lectrosonics for all my wireless. I need gear that works in difficult RF areas of the city, and it also has to be durable and not break down when I’m facing extreme environmental elements on things like documentary shoots and renovation shows.”
