For the 30-strong cast, 24 Sennheiser MKE 2-ew-GOLD lavalier microphones were paired with SK 500 G2 bodypacks. 24 channels of EM 500 G2 rack mounted receivers with A 2003-UHF passive directional antennas and AB 2 boosters were used in conjunction with three NET-1 systems running Sennheiser's Wireless System Manager software.
"Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton decided they wanted to change a few elements of the original version of The Beautiful Game and they are taking it in its new revised state to Canada," says Andrew Fugle, third year sound technology student at LIPA and sound designer for The Boys in the Photograph. "One of our acting staff was keen to bring the show to Liverpool as part of the Capital of Culture year, so he contacted the writers asking if they were interested in previewing the new version at LIPA. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton thought it was a great idea, and decided to go ahead with it.
"When I first contacted Sennheiser I was after the 5000 or 3000 Series equipment, because that's what I'd seen on the road. When I spoke to Andy Lillywhite at Sennheiser he said, 'the G2 system can do that', so that's what we went ahead with. The RF was never once a concern or issue for me, and with the brand new MKE 2s we managed to create a pleasingly transparent, natural dialogue sound, which had enough headroom to be lifted for the sung parts and help create the dynamics for the show that we were looking for."
(Jim Evans)
