It’s time to review something that we usually rarely deal with: an intercom system! To be more specific, it’s the Hollyland Mars T1000 Intercom – a digital full-duplex wireless system for up to 5 people, so theoretically perfect for a small set. Let’s take a closer look! Intercom Systems on Set – a Nuisance or an Asset? On many larger film sets, especially commercial productions, intercom systems are standard operating procedure – the AD and producers will communicate with their PAs on a channel, and the gaffer will talk to their electricians on another channel. Nevertheless, even on the most modern sets, we often see old systems use that suffer from acoustic noise, or bad sound quality in general. It’s not the priority of many production companies, but it can create quite some annoyance among the crew if it doesn’t work properly, so many resort to using their mobile phones instead. That’s not how it has to be if better, noise-free (digital) systems would be used. On the other hand, on smaller sets, there usually are no intercom systems in use. Either because the production company thinks it doesn’t fit the kind of production (e.g. a small documentary crew of 5 people, which I find myself working in quite often) because of either cost or the practicality of using such a system (many require AC power). Mobile phone calls are considered “good enough” even though something else would be much more practical in many cases. So when I heard of the Hollyland...
Published By: CineD - Wednesday, 23 September, 2020