Communication Systems

Here is how the work lines up. Production comms in New York have to survive one of the most congested RF settings on the planet. Midtown high-rises blocking line-of-sight, MTA subway tunnels swallowing signal between exterior holding and underground setups, and FCC range already crowded with broadcast, public-safety and DAS traffic from Comcast, Verizon and Spectrum infrastructure.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Our rental team builds packages around Boland Communications and Stray Angel inventory. Motorola digital handhelds, Clear-Com FreeSpeak and HelixNet beltpacks, Riedel Artist mainframes for multi-unit features, plus surveillance earpieces, IFB receivers and director headsets delivered by department on a programmed channel plan. Each radio ships pre-programmed for the production's frequency assignment, charged and serial-tracked, with backup units and spare batteries built into the package so a missing PA radio at 5am call doesn't pull the second AD off the set.

Here is how the picture comes together. Coverage planning is the part that separates seasoned NYC rental houses from generalists. Manhattan canyons demand repeaters strategically placed on rooftops or interior building risers. Hudson Yards, World Trade and Brooklyn Navy Yard work lines up with building DAS managers so radios don't fight existing public-safety bands. Remote unit work in the Catskills or out on Long Island leans on long-range UHF and crossband repeaters to reach base camp.

Here is what we have to work with. We handle FCC planning through the production's frequency coordinator, layer in IFB feeds for talent on commercial work, and tie radio comms into Clear-Com video village so the director, script supervisor and DIT bay at Light Iron NY or PostWorks stay on one talkback bus. Battery management, mid-day gear swaps and channel reprogramming for unexpected location additions stay with our coordinator through wrap.