The 11th Longines Beijing Masters drew to a close on October 13th at Beijing National Stadium. Tasked with videographing the competitions, CatalkStudios, an 8-person team from China, chose WiTalk9 for their intercom efforts and delivered a total of 25 videos to the event organizer over the 4-day span. Reliable transmission, long battery life, and comfortable wearing experience are their impressions of the wireless intercom headsets.
（The closing ceremony of the 11th Longines Beijing Masters in the National Stadium）
With 380 contenders from 14 countries and regions competing for a grand prize over 4 days, the Longines Beijing Masters is 11 years into the equestrian effort and has become one of the topmost events in Asia in its category.
(The competition terrain viewed from the balcony of the stadium)
(The equestrian competition in progress)
Filming a large sports event presents its challenges with the likes of coordinating with the organizer for best camera positions, getting the teams well-rehearsed to get the shots right on their first try, and having backup plans in place for occasions where equipment fails. This time, it was no exception for CatalkStudios.
"Looking back, we found ourselves in face of challenges for sure. If we had to name one that stood out in our mind, that would be responding to last-minute changes or requests from the organizer," said Jiang, the director of CatalkStudios. "They often came up with short video ideas on the spot when a special guest or celebrity showed up. Then we had to re-distribute our cameramen immediately to get that shot. We used to do this with Walkie-Talkies and intercom systems of other brands. The awkward thing about Walkie-Talkies is that they operate on public channels, so interference occurred from time to time — people from other teams heard our conversations and we theirs. The whole conversation could become very confusing. In critical moments when immediate action is required, you don't want that to happen."
To reduce interference, Catalkstudio had also been using rented intercom headsets. But they had some second thoughts because they feared their signal stability in the National Stadium would suffer — The Bird's Nest is a steel structure built with a total of 42000 tons of steel, the property of which is likely to cause signal attenuation and reduced range.
"We didn't experience clippings or drops with WiTalk9 when we were shooting. We are satisfied with the range as it got us covered within the stadium," said Jiang about the enhanced signal strength, which is made possible with the dual antennas built in the headsets.
(CatalkStudios using WiTalk9)
The battery life of a gear can sometimes make or break a shooting, or according to Jiang, "become a source of anxiety."
"There is also this second reason why we didn't rent a comm system. It's that those for-rent headsets have been in use for quite a long time and their battery health is in poor condition. Whenever we are in the middle of a shoot, the last thing you want to do is stop to swap batteries — you don't have opportunities for retaking moments in a live event. When they are gone, they are gone."
The Catalkstudios team shot around 10 hours a day. Though they were not communicating over the system the entire time, they didn't stop to swap batteries mid-shoot.
“We are very satisfied with the battery life,” commented Jiang.
Every headset of WiTalk9 is supplied with 2 batteries, each of which provides 9 hours of battery life for the master and 15 hours for the remote, giving teams ample uptime.
“If there is something we can contribute to the betterment of the system, we think it would be a great idea to add a battery indicator to the headset, so we can know how many more hours it can sustain."
Situated in the northern part of China, Beijing is among the first cities to enter the fall season in the country. Early October is the intersection of summer and fall when the temperature in the day can go up as high as 20℃ and drop as low as 8℃ in the night.
“We are happy with the fact that the headsets are equipped with replaceable ear cushions — The foam cover was great for the day because it was efficient in dissipating the heat around our heads, while the over-the-ear worked wonder at night as it acted as a shield against the cold wind," said the director.
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 in indoor environments with few individuals, WiTalk9 SE is recommended.
Order WiTalk9 here and WiTalk9 SE here.
