Craig Kief, a Los Angeles-based director of photography, is using Riedel’s Bolero Standalone wireless intercom for crew communications on his TV shows and commercials. The system allows him to keep all of his camera operators, focus pullers, and department heads in close communication so everyone can focus on the same goals in the middle of a busy and noisy set. With its long list of advanced features and capabilities, Bolero now enables clear communications for every production, whether it’s shot on studio sets or at remote locations.
Craig’s previous comms solution comprised walkie-talkies and a legacy wireless system that operated in the crowded 2.4 GHz range, delivering less-than-ideal audio quality and suffering from interference, short range, and poor battery life. Bolero has changed all of that, first by eliminating walkie-talkies completely, and next by allowing a more natural way of speaking: giving multiple users full duplex communications instead of forcing them to wait for a walkie channel to be clear before speaking. In addition, audio quality is superb — resulting in far less ear fatigue – and the system’s multiple party lines give each crew member the ability to choose and change who they need to monitor throughout the day.