When Nico Ruderman, president and owner of Spinrad Sound, was named audio
supervisor for the History Channel’s reality documentary, The Selection: Special
Operations Experiment, he knew he was about to take on a gruelling and demanding
job. Ruderman would have 42 wireless lavs on a large campus and in a variety of
extreme elements. In order to deliver unrivalled audio throughout the rigorous
production, Ruderman relied on DPA Microphones d:screet™ 4061 Necklace and
d:screet™ 4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphones.

One of Ruderman’s biggest challenges in capturing high-quality audio was the fact
that the participants were under extremely harsh conditions and wearing the
necklace mics 24 hours a day for two weeks straight. “From our desert location
where temperatures reached sweltering triple digits, to the water and sand of the
beach and ocean, they were almost always miked, even when they were sleeping,’
adds Ruderman. “The DPA necklace mic’s resilience was impressive. Most of the
mics were wet at one point or another during the show, but dried out and worked
just fine.’

Another challenge Ruderman faced when capturing the audio was the instructors’
varying vocal ranges. “The instructors would be whispering one minute, and
screaming the next. The d:screet™ Necklace mics handled the varying levels of the
instructors’ audio incredibly well,’ says Ruderman. “We never had any clipping on
the mics and, overall, they handled remarkably well. The DPA mics definitely have
a great range.’

Ruderman used his DPA mics with a combination of Lectrosonics and Zaxcom
equipment. “Another cool thing with DPA mics, and another reason why we went
with them, in addition to their amazing sound, is that we could easily swap out the
transmitters as needed,’ says Ruderman. “The Microdot connectors were a lifesaver
as they allowed the participants to easily swap transmitters when needed. When
they were on base, we would use Lectrosonics but when we left base, we would
swap over to Zaxcom because of its time-stamped integrated recording. We left the
adaptors attached and taped into the transmitters. The participants would have their
two transmitters and would simply change over from Lectrosonics to Zaxcom, and
vice versa as needed. It cut down on the mics we needed in half, which was
amazing. The fact that DPA mics are compatible with all major companies is a plus
when working on a project of this magnitude.’

In addition to his DPAs, Ruderman also used a Yamaha CL-5 as his main mixing
board, seven Sound Devices 970s for his multi-tracking across different wireless
zones on the base and Sound Devices 688s out in the field. Ruderman also used
Wisycom receivers for their wideband capabilities, in addition to the Lectrosonics
receivers. In total, we had 42 wireless mics that needed to be picked up across
three different wireless zones.

The Selection: Special Operations Experiment is a new History Channel series that
places 30 men and women with no military background through the most intense
physical and mental challenges of their lives.