WiTalk9, Saramonic's latest full-duplex intercom headset system, was chosen for the intercom efforts of the shoot for Bisikan Dosa — a movie that blends psychological thriller, mystery, and horror elements. Entirely shot in Kuang, Sg Buloh, Malaysia, the horror movie will be premiered on January 9th, 2025 in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Hafiz Rashid, an award-winning cinematographer from CineWorks, served as the director of photography for this movie. No interference or delay, impressive line-of-sight range, great battery life, and awesome noise cancellation are his impressions of WiTalk9.
(Hafiz Rashid, on the right, and his crew wearing WiTalk9 for their intercom efforts during the shoot.)
（The movie poster of Bisikan Dosa, with Saramonic being a contributing partner)
"We shot in a huge bungalow in Kuang, so during the setup, my camera team and lighting team were scattered around the huge place in and out of the building," says Hafiz about the challenge this time.
"So it helps when there is no interference or delay, especially on such a big set."
With the frequent use of the crane setup, the cues between crews need to be synchronized as well. "With WiTalk9, I can give precise cues to my crane operator. And the director can also listen to the live dialogue while giving cues to DP and other crews."
WiTalk9 operates on a less crowded frequency band compared to the 2.4 GHz that we find in Wi-Fi and other everyday digital devices. With the built-in internal and external antennas, the signal strength is only consolidated and strengthened.
When comparing WiTalk9 to walkie-talkies that he used to use, Hafiz thinks the shooting set "is more peaceful. No more people shouting at the walkie-talkie. And no more line crossing between signals. And the best part, I guess, is no interference with wireless video transmission."
(Hafiz Rashid monitoring with WiTalk9 on.)
It's also thanks to the consolidated signal strength that crews can take the 500 m line-of-sight range even farther when a master unit is positioned between two remotes that are moving away from each other.
In one of the many scenes, Hafiz and the team registered a 900-meter range.
"We were shooting a car scene with a drone. I was wearing the master unit and the driver remote. With the system, I could instruct and give him cues regarding speed and movement. When I looked at the distance on the drone monitor, it said almost 1 km and the signal was still strong. It started breaking only when going beyond 1 km."
（Bisikan Dosa crew during the shoot.）
Also a user of WiTalk5 and intercom headsets of other brands, Hafiz was impressed by the long battery life of this new system.
"I own the WiTalk5 as well. The last time I was using it, we changed the battery 3 times a day for the master headset. This issue is the same with other brands. But with WiTalk9, we only change the battery when the shoot almost comes to an end. So for me, it's really impressive, because when we are filming there are a ton of batteries we need to take care of, ie: cameras, drones, lights, monitors, etc. So it helps to lessen our burden with charging."
WiTalk9 offers 9 hours of battery life for the master headset and 15 for each remote, allowing filmmaking teams to proceed with their work with less downtime and focus on what truly matters — the making of the film.
WiTalk9 features weak and strong levels of noise cancellation, which can be switched by engaging the dedicated button on the microphone boom arm.
Satisfied with this feature, Hafiz said, "Intercoms of other brands that have no noise cancellation capture the ambient sounds as well, which makes communication hectic when we enter a big location with a big crowd. Sometimes we miss cues because of the loudness. I would be very annoyed with that. With WiTalk9's noise cancellation, it is not an issue anymore."
WiTalk9 comes in packages ranging from 2 to 9 headsets and WiTalk9 SE 2 to 5. For large teams (9 or more) that need to communicate over large crowds, cluttered signals, or long distances, WiTalk9 is the ideal solution.
For smaller teams (5 to 9 people) operating in open outdoor spaces or indoor environments with few individuals, WiTalk9 SE is recommended.
Order WiTalk9 here and WiTalk9 SE here.
