Equipment

Microphones

1 x Sennheiser MKH50 interior cardoid mic
2 x Rode NTG3 exterior shotgun mics (2x Mono boom or stereo array)
1 x Sennheiser e935 handheld Dynamic mic
1 x Sanken CUB-01 Boundry mic
12 x Sennheiser MKE2 Gold lavalier mics (Lemo and 3.5mm)
2 x Sennheiser MKE Essential lavalier mics (3.5mm)
1 x Sennheiser ME2-II lavalier mics
1 x Sony ECM 77b lavalier mic
2 x Sony ECM-V1BMP lavalier mics
1 x Zoom XYH-6 Stereo mic
1 x Zoom MSH-6 Stereo mic

Hardware (Up to 20 channels of wireless total)

1 x Zoom F8N Pro 10/8 channel, 32 bit sound recorder and mixer
2 x Zoom F6 8/6 channel, 32 bit sound recorder and mixer
1 x Zoom H6 6 channel, handheld stereo sound recorder
2 x Wisycom MCR54 true diversity quad channel wideband receiver
1 x Wisycom MCR42 true diversity dual channel wideband receivers
6 x Wisycom MTP40S Linear transmitters
4 x Wisycom MTP30 transmitters
1 x Wisycom PHA48 (wireless boom)
2 x Sennheiser G Band G3 SMA modified transmitters and receivers
2 x Sennheiser B Band G3 SMA modified transmitters and receivers
1 x Sennheiser A Band G3 SMA modified transmitter and receiver
1 x Sony URX-P03 SMA modified receiver Ch42-50 638 - 694Mhz
1 x Sony UTX-B03 SMA modified transmitter Ch42-50 638 - 694Mhz
1 x Sony UTX-P03 plug-on transmitter for wireless boom Ch42-50 638 - 694Mhz
Video transmitter for up to four smart devices (iPhone, Android, iPad)
Location Sound Cart
Travel Pelican cases compatible for airplane cargo holds.

IFBs (Wireless headphones for director and crew)

1 x Sennheiser G3 EK 300 IFB receiver, B Band SMA modified
6 x VocoPro SilentPA IFB UHF receivers and one transmitter
4 x Sony MDR ZX110 headphones
1 x Sony MDR 7506 headphones
3 x Low profile lightweight headphones
2 x Single ear mono earpieces
Additional Sennheiser G3 IFB sets also available upon request

Timecode (Easy post-production syncing)

2 x Arri Alexa/Mini 5 Pin Lemo right angle Timecode Cable
1 x Arri Alexa/Mini 5 Pin Lemo straight Timecode Cable
3 x Deity TC-1 wireless timecode generators (Tentacle compatible 3.5mm)
2 x RED 4 Pin Lemo Timecode Cable
4 x RED Komodo 9 Pin Lemo Timecode Cable
4x Canon/Sony/Blackmagic BNC Timecode Cable
1 x Sony FX3/A7Siii Multi Interface Timecode Cable
1 x Canon R5C DIN 1.0/2.3 Timecode Cable
Various 3.5mm Timecode cables

Boompoles

Ambient QP carbon fibre 5m Drama pole
Rode Boompole Pro carbon fibre 3m boom pole
C Stand rig
Microphone stand
Various clamps and adaptors for car rigs etc

Why do I use this equipment?

I've approached my equipment choices with a sound quality first approach.

I use a Sennheiser MKH50 microphone indoors as this is a staple used on the vast majority of multi-million dollar feature films and provides a rich and balanced sound.

In exterior locations I use the Australian made and common Australian standard Rode NTG3 instead of the more widespread US Sennheiser MKH416, in side by side tests I have found the sound quality to be superior and a better match to the Sennheiser MKH50, I also find the edges to have a softer and less obvious roll off effect and the pickup pattern to be slightly wider.

For wireless I use a mix of Wisycom wireless with Sennheiser lavalier microphones.

Wisycom is an Italian company that makes arguably the best receivers and transmitters in the world, they very much set the standard and are the standard all across Europe. They provide top tier sound quality and wideband tuning frequency across the entire legal spectrum in Australia. With two slot in MCR54 quad channel, true diversity receivers I am able to receive eight channels of wireless with sixteen receivers for true redundancy into a incredibly light sound bag that weighs under 5kg, including a video monitor! That would usually weigh over 40kg on a dedicated cart setup.

I have paired all of my wireless systems with Sennheiser MKE2 lavalier microphones, these are the industry standard microphone for theatre use and are very common to find on film sets, the sound quality perfectly matches that of the Sennheiser MKH50.

I have decided to use a Zoom F8N Pro sound recorder over various Sound Devices options.

While many consider the Sound Devices MixPre recorders to be desirable they are very much a budget oriented offering compared to their more extensive Sound Devices 688/888/Scorpio lineup.

However, the Zoom F8N Pro is the highest level sound recorder made by the Japanese company Zoom. (Not to be confused with the videoconferencing app Zoom)

It features 8 analogue inputs, 4 outputs and several other features such as 32 bit float recording and signal processing and dual analogue to digital converters for a very low noise floor,

Zoom F8's have also been used in multi-million dollar feature productions such as Mission impossible: Fallout, Game of Thrones and Need For Speed.

I can also say that through my extensive use of my previous Zoom F8 since 2016 and with my Zoom F8n Pro over the past year I have never personally experienced any reliability, overheating or software issues at all which is unheard of compared to any of the offerings by Sound Devices.

The most important feature that the Zoom F8N Pro features is redundant recording, unlike the Sound Devices MixPre lineup the Zoom F8N Pro simultaneously records two copies of every audio file to two separate SD cards meaning there is always a backup recording. Recently I worked on a film that had a hard drive fail and become inoperable, this redundancy feature saved two days of audio recordings from being lost!

If you have any questions regarding equipment please feel free to ask.