EQUIPMENT FROM QSC Audio, Audio-Technica, Clear- Com and D.A.S. Audio played key roles in enabling re-elected US president Barack Obama to deliver his message to American voters over the past few months.
In the key swing state of Ohio,
rental and sales company Forty Two Inc put its new QSC WideLine, KLA and K Series systems to work for the first time at president Obama’s inaugural campaign event at Ohio State University in Columbus. “‘Obama for America’ is one of our big clients,” says Tony Ferrello
of Forty Two Inc. “We bought the QSC system at the beginning of this election cycle, and in May at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center, a 20,000-seat arena, we used 56 WideLine-10s, 12 WideLine-8s and seven or eight racks of PowerLight 380 amps.” In another swing state, Florida, Sanford-based MTI
Sound was called upon to supply kit for fleeting campaign visits from the president. At such events, MTI Sound’s Scott Shryock deployed 16 D.A.S. Audio Aero 12As, four LX-218CA subwoofers, and a dozen Road 12A stage monitors for reinforcement. “We’ve used this basic set-up for all the campaign stops,” Shryock added. “Depending upon whether these are outdoor or indoor events (where crowd control limitations are far more restrictive), we’ve been seeing crowds ranging in size anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 people. To ensure optimised positioning and angling of the loudspeakers, I model the set-up
Forty Two Inc put its new QSC WideLine, KLA and K Series systems to work at Ohio State University in Columbus
receivers to allow the candidates to roam while answering the evening’s questions; AT898cW cardioid condenser lavaliers with AEW-T1000a body packs for moderator Candy Crowley; and AE6100 wired hypercardioid dynamic mics, connected to AT- MX351a SmartMixer 5-channel mixers for audience questions. Clear-Com, again under the
advice of Estrin (who is also a Clear-Com strategic technology specialist), provided a total communications solution for the debates. The Eclipse Median digital matrix, HelixNet Partyline intercom systems and Tempest 2400 digital wireless intercom with the new Seamless
using EASE Focus acoustic modelling software. “We flew five D.A.S. Audio
Aero 12As on each side of the stage for the left-right mains,” Shryock says of one such occasion in Melbourne, Florida. “These were augmented by left- right delay stacks – each consisting of three Aero 12As and two LX-218CAs. The delay stacks were positioned roughly 30m out in front of the house mains.” The TV broadcast ‘town hall’
presidential debates in October, which saw Obama clash on campaign issues with governor Mitt Romney to an audience of millions on three occasions, employed many familiar pro-audio brands.
Supporting the audience’s questions, relaying the answers and feeding the broadcast for all the debates were Audio-Technica mics, selected by Larry Estrin (audio and production communications director for the Commission on Presidential Debates). These include A-T 5000 Series wireless with AEW- T5400a condenser handheld transmitters and AEW-R5200
Roaming feature followed the campaign trail, providing production team members at each of the debate locations with an integrated communications solution for co-ordinating all the production elements within the venues as well as the pool broadcast truck. Yamaha reports that Michael
Abbott, owner of All Ears, Inc (Los Angeles), used a pair of Yamaha DM2000 digital consoles for audio control at the second debate at Hofstra University on New York’s Long Island. “The dual DM2000s were chosen for the presidential debate to provide two separate audio streams,” states Abbott. “Size and audio I/O capabilities also played a key role in the set-up. We routed six Yamaha AD8HR 8-channel preamps to eight groups – four for the house mix and four for the broadcast pool truck.”n www.audio-technica.comwww.clearcom.comwww.dasaudio.comwww.fortytwoinc.comwww.mtisound.comwww.qsc.comwww.yamahaca.com