VANCOUVER, CANADA, JULY 9, 2015 - The FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, presented by Fox Sports, drew to a close last weekend, with a total of 26.7 million viewers tuning into the month-long tournament, including Telemundo viewers. Kicking off studio coverage in Vancouver, the network selected DPA Microphones' d:fine Headset Microphones to provide the ultimate in sound for broadcasts from the field and remote studios. The tournament began on June 6, with the final match taking place on July 5 at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium where the United States defeated Japan to win the coveted trophy.
A quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament, 2015 marks the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the first time the event was held in Canada and the third time overall in North America. Matches were played in six cities across the country, spanning five time zones. Expanding the tournament this year to include a total of 24 teams, up from the original 16, added an extra set of challenges-with many of the early series requiring 12 hours of coverage, seven days per week.
Using outdoor remote studios in each of the cities made equipment selection essential. "The environments that we were in were very loud, especially at home base, which had an active sea plane terminal directly behind it," explains Kevin Callahan, Fox Sports Technical Director, World Cup. "We selected the dual-ear d:fine first and foremost for its excellent wind and noise rejection. The versatility of the mic was also important as there were many instances when the presenters, many of whom are former professional soccer players, would give on-screen soccer demonstrations."
In order to adequately cover the increased number of matches, in a mainly outdoor environment, a d:fine mic was used for each of the 16 presenters to capture the audio commentary from this complex event. In addition to the live broadcast, the event was also recorded for playback on the FIFA and FOX websites.
Additionally, the overall design of the d:fine allowed Callahan and his team to more effectively hide the mics on the presenters to avoid them being an eye sore on screen. "The d:fines are very small and come in a variety of colors, so those both proved useful to concealing them on the presenters," adds Callahan. "The small form-factor of the d:fines also provided added comfort during the grinding production schedule. This lightweight and intuitive design was critical to our broadcast schedule, which, particularly in the very beginning, had us on the air for 90 hours per week, which meant the talent was wearing them that entire time. This was the first time many of them had worn a microphone like this, so they weren't used to it, but they thought they were very comfortable. Our regular presenters thought that they were better than the other solutions that they've worn in the past."
The DPA d:fine Headset Microphones are ideal for broadcast professionals who insist on superior voice reproduction, comfort, easy setup and a discreet look. Available in single- or dual-ear mounts to cover a broad range of applications, the mics also come in several colors, two different pickup patterns and with different boom designs and lengths to match the various applications. The ear mounts will fit any head and ear size, while a short boom is available for louder speakers or situations where the mic needs to be less obtrusive.
ABOUT DPA MICROPHONES:
DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional Audio manufacturer of high-quality condenser microphone solutions for professional applications. DPA's ultimate goal is to always provide its customers with the absolute finest possible microphone solutions for all its markets, which include live sound, installation, recording, theatre and broadcast. When it comes to the design process, DPA takes no shortcuts. Nor does the company compromise on its manufacturing process, which is done at the DPA factory in Denmark. As a result, DPA's products are globally praised for their exceptional clarity and transparency, unparalleled specifications, supreme reliability and, above all, pure, uncolored and undistorted sound.
