| Audio-Technica Mics The
Pope |
New
York City (April 22, 2008)--It's no exaggeration
to say that when the Pope speaks, millions upon
millions of people listen. So when the pontiff
visited New York City this past weekend, ensuring
that people could hear every word he said in public
was a primary importance. To that end, Larry Estrin,
of Best Audio (Studio City, CA), serving as "Director
of Communications for the Papal Visit for the
Archdiocese of New York and Coordinating Technical
Director for Media and Broadcast," selected several
different Audio-Technica microphones for use at
eight separate events over three days.
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to New York City coincided
with the pontiff's 81st birthday and the third
anniversary of his election as pope. It was Pope
Benedict's first stateside visit as pontiff and
the first U.S. papal visit since Pope John Paul
II's 1999 trip. Audio-Technica provided a wide
range of microphones for Benedict's appearances
and related events in New York City, even going
so far as to create special white-colored microphones
and accessories, in order to be consistent with
the color scheme and solemn tone of these events.
On Friday morning, April 18, the pontiff arrived
at New York's JFK Airport, hosting a short ceremony
after landing. Later in the day, he traveled to
the Church of St. Joseph in Manhattan's Yorktown
district, where he held a prayer service with
representatives of other Christian denominations.
The following morning, Saturday, April 19, he
held a special mass for priests, deacons and other
clergy at St. Patrick's Cathedral (this was the
first papal mass ever celebrated at the legendary
church and also a commemoration of Benedict's
third anniversary of his election to the papacy).
That afternoon, he traveled north of the city
to Yonkers, where two events were held at St.
Joseph's Seminary Chapel: a meeting with disabled
children followed by a meeting with young seminarians.
On Sunday, April 20, the pontiff visited and spoke
at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center at a
morning prayer service. From there, the pope traveled
to Yankee Stadium, where he led thousands in Sunday
mass, and entertainers performed the Concert for
Hope. Finally, he held a short prayer service
back at JFK before his departure, capping his
historic visit to the U.S.
A key microphone at all of these events was the
Audio-Technica AE6100 Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld
Microphone. Estrin selected it to capture audio
as the pope spoke from the Pontifical Throne,
as well as whenever a Vatican assistant or priest
held the microphone for him. The AE6100 was used
on a microphone stand aiming toward the pope,
as well as on a specially designed boom to facilitate
easy handheld usage. Said Estrin, "We chose the
AE6100 specifically because I like the way it
looks and sounds, and it's got all the right attributes.
It's an excellent microphone for these purposes,
because when used as a handheld, it has very,
very little handling noise properties. Also, the
pope can at times have a very soft speaking voice,
and we relied on the AE6100 to provide clear and
articulate sound to that end."
Two other key mics were the ES961 Cardioid Condenser
Boundary Microphone and the ES933H Hypercardioid
Condenser Hanging Microphone. The ES961s were
employed at the Yorkville, St. Patrick's and St.
Joseph's Seminary events as ambo/pulpit mics and
altar backup mics. The ES933H mics were used at
the prayer service at Ground Zero. Said Estrin,
"We concealed one of them at the base of the candle
the pope lit while saying a prayer and another
at the edge of the carpet to pick up the ambient
sound as he quietly talked to some of the survivors
and families of victims of the attacks. The goal
was to have the mics as low-profile as possible,
but we needed to pick up the audio for broadcast,
so we put them at the base of the candle and edge
of the carpet, which made them disappear. They
worked like a charm."
Other mics included ES915ML (18") MicroLine Condenser
Gooseneck Microphones for use on lecterns at the
St. Joseph Yorkville, St. Joseph's Seminary and
Yankee Stadium services; four AT4040 Large-Diaphragm
Side-Address Microphones to mic the choir at the
St. Joseph's Seminary service; two black ES905
Hypercardioid Condenser Rigid-Pipe Microphones
at the St. Patrick's mass, chosen to blend in
with the color scheme of the speakers' vestments;
and an A-T 5000 Series Frequency-agile True Diversity
UHF Wireless System. Additional on-site support
for the Yankee Stadium mass was provided by Audio-Technica
representative Steve Savanyu.
Estrin and Audio-Technica went to great lengths
to make all these microphones and accessories
available in white to blend in with the papal
colors of yellow and white. Estrin stated, "These
services were solemn and spiritual occasions for
many Americans. Our job was to mic everything
to the best of our abilities without drawing attention
away from the prayerful nature, and white mics
made it all the more possible."
Audio-Technica Marketing Manager Dan Montecalvo
stated, "Audio-Technica has been extremely successful
as the microphone manufacturer of choice for many
important, high-profile events, and we are honored
that Best Audio selected our products for such
a historic occasion as Pope Benedict's first visit
to the U.S. We believe this underscores our reputation
for quality and dependability of product."
Audio-Technica
www.audio-technica.com |
 |
| Audio-Technica
provided microphone products for Pope Benedict
XVI's recent visit to New York City, which
took place April 18-20, 2008. Shown is Pope
Benedict XVI, speaking into an Audio-Technica
AE6100 Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone,
at the ecumenical prayer service held at
the Church of St. Joseph on April 18, 2008.
Photo by Mel Evans/AFP/Getty Images |
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