Their FreeSpeak II wireless, HelixNet partyline and Eclipse digital matrix systems have formed the backbone of major events like Hillsong Conference and the Queensland and Victorian Schools Spectaculars, ensuring these massive gigs and their live broadcasts run without a hitch.
Taking over Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena and most of its neighbouring venues in Olympic Park, Hillsong Conference was a four-day gathering of more than 30,000 faithful, with all of the production requirements of a massive arena show. Gearhouse Broadcast supplied and operated the comms system, which used 50 FreeSpeak II 1.9GHz beltpacks, one HMS-4X HelixNet main station running 12 HBP-2X HelixNet beltpacks, and an Eclipse Digital Matrix integrated with a second comms system via MADI.
"We had rented Freespeak II to Hillsong in Sydney and Melbourne prior to Conference," says Jason Owen, manager of Gearhouse's event communications. "It was a good fit for them. The Conference is such a large-scale job, and their premiere event of the year. It was a big test for a big system, and it just works.
"With FreeSpeak II, you're clear of most other wireless. The audio quality and coverage is better than the competitors, and the setup is easier - we get it set-up in half the time. Another great advantage is the flexibility. If we're on-site and we need to add another antenna to extend coverage, we don't need to reset the system, we just add an antenna and the system deals with it automatically. With the competitor's product, you can't do that in show mode; you have to take the system down."
After Hillsong Conference, Gearhouse sent the same crew to Brisbane for the Creative Generations Schools Spectacular at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 20 July, a huge show that saw 1,500 students take the stage. The comms system was almost identical in scale and design to Conference, including its digital integration to a second system.
Two months later, Gearhouse sent a comprehensive system down to Victoria's Schools Spectacular at Hisense Arena on 10 September, where it was ably deployed by Peter Cochrane of Articulate. Fourteen beltpacks of FreeSpeak II and a HelixNet master running 14 wired packs ran the show, while 3,500 students performed for both a live and broadcast audience.
"I had all the stage managers on FreeSpeak II, and the hardwired comms for the followspots and mechanised movement crew," Peter Cochrane relates. "The most extreme cable run was almost 1,000m and I didn't have a single problem. I had to build the entire system by myself, and the very quick setup made my life much easier."
(Jim Evans)
