Wireless First

Wireless First Provides All Wireless and Intercom for the 2003 VMA's

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: At twenty years old the MTV Video Music Awards are getting a little long in the tooth, but Madonna found a way to shake things up this year, planting open-mouthed kisses on co-performers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the show's opening number. The threesome got together for a rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" during which they also demonstrated a novel hands-free method for carrying a Sennheiser wireless microphone while wearing a bustier.

It'll go down as one of MTVs best-publicized performances, Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera, using Sennheiser 3072 Handheld wireless mics and Evolution 300 in-ear systems, heat up the stage during their opening number at the 2003 MTV VMA Awards show in New York City.

Madonna performed the song at the very first VMAs 19 years ago, reviving it this year for a new generation in a medley that also included "Hollywood" from her latest album, and a rap by Missy Elliott. All four performers used Sennheiser SKM 3072 handheld microphones with super-cardioid condenser capsules and Evolution 300 Series in-ear systems.

Kevin Sanford of Wireless First reports that the Sennheiser gear in the show opener was all Madonna's own. "She used her own stuff and came in self-contained, because they had been rehearsing off-site, so they didn't want to have equipment changes. Her engineer came in with a touring rig, basically, including a monitor board. I just had to coordinate it with my equipment."

Sanford and his Wireless First RF specialists have been supplying wireless microphones, and in-ear systems and production intercom equipment to major television and live performance events on the East Coast and across the country since 1996. As with previous years, Wireless First supplied dozens of channels of Sennheiser wireless systems for the event, including the pre-show, post-show and awards ceremony, providing 20 channels each of Sennheisers SKM 5000 RF microphones, with 3032-U dual true diversity receivers, and Evolution 300 Series in-ear systems.

"Anybody that was a host was on Sennheiser," comments Sanford. He explains his choice of equipment, "because we really needed that 50mW of transmission power - every last bit of juice we could get was critical to the performance."

The unequalled power and reliability of Sennheiser's RF systems were pivotal because, while the VMAs were once again held at Radio City Music Hall, in a change from previous years the red arrivals carpet was rerouted to the opposite end of the block. That meant that the carpet extended nearly 350 feet. "It started on Fifth Avenue, came through Rockefeller Center, around the rink, then went down 50th Street and into the building," reports Sanford.

For her outdoor performance at the rink, Mary J. Blige used a Sennheiser SKM 5000 with a Neumann KK 105-S capsule. Her guest, 50 Cent, brought his own microphones, four custom chrome-plated Sennheiser SKM 5000 handhelds, which were also used by members of his G-Unit posse and Snoop Dogg during 50 Cent's own showcase inside Radio City during the VMAs. "I had working microphones in my frequency scheme, so he brought me his handheld mics and I took the guts out and put mine in them," Sanford reveals.

Inside Radio City, in addition to the Sennheiser handhelds of the MTV presenters and host Chris Rock, Sanford additionally supplied the podium mics. "One of the podiums was RF, so they could move it around. It had Sennheiser SK 250 transmitters in the base, so it could go anywhere on the stage and it was always solid. I used the 250s because with their 250mW of transmission power, they have enough strength to get to my receivers."

This being live television, Rock and a number of performers wore backup Sennheiser lavaliers and bodypacks. "Chris Rock had a handheld and a backup lav, an MKE Platinum. There were five segments where we had two SK 50 bodypacks with the new MKE Platinum on Rock for some of the hands-free 'bits."

Distance was not the only factor that led Sanford to choose Sennheiser's power. "There was very, very heavy RF this year. The show needed a lot of coverage and a lot of antenna splitting, and antenna systems hanging out in all different directions, to make sure there was coverage. The location is a particular challenge, particularly for the pre-show segments, he notes, due to the proximity of NBC's broadcast headquarters and the nearby CNN studios. "There were in excess of 200 frequencies in use on the show this year, between microphones, intercom and in-ears," he observes. "And I'm in Rock Center, right in the middle of NBC. I had a nine-page list from NBC of what frequencies I couldn't use and I had to program around them. It was a mutha!"

As ever, location recording specialists Effanel Music were also in attendance to provide music mixing services for MTV's broadcast. Veteran broadcast and recording mixers John Harris and Jay Vicari operated out of Effanel's L7 and OSR remote vehicles.

Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is the acknowledged world leader in microphone technology, RF-wireless and infrared sound transmission, headphone transducer technology, and most recently, in the development of active noise-cancellation. Sennheiser Electronic Corporation is the U.S. wholly-owned subsidiary, with headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut.