JBL VERTEC® Line Array System Stars In India’s 54th IDEA Filmfare Awards With SOUND.COM

NORTHRIDGE, California – On February 28, 2009, SOUND.COM Pvt. Ltd. deployed a JBL VERTEC® line array system for the 54th IDEA Filmfare Awards at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai. This marks the second straight year in which SOUND.COM has provided the audio services for the Filmfare Awards, informally known as the “Oscars of Bollywood.”

One of the oldest and most prominent events in the Indian film industry, the Filmfare Awards brings out the biggest and brightest stars of Bollywood. Two such stars, actors Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, hosted this year’s awards ceremony.

For the main PA system at this year’s event, SOUND.COM provided a total of 16 VERTEC VT4887 compact line array elements, arranged in left-right hangs of eight each, along with three VT4880 arrayable subwoofers on each side of the richly-decorated stage set. Additionally, JBL VRX932LA compact constant-curvature loudspeakers were in use as flown onstage side-fill arrays. JBL VRX915M stage monitors were used for the opening act, Farhan Akthar, while JBL SRX712M monitors provided all the backstage sound. SOUND.COM also utilized a Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console at the front of house position, its first use at a major awards function in India. BSS Audio AR133 and AR204 signal processors and AKG C451 and 414 microphones rounded out the system.

“For prestigious events of this type, our entire crew feels an immense amount of responsibility and pressure to exceed everyone’s expectations and raise the bar for audio system performance,“ said Warren D’Souza, owner of SOUND.COM. “As far as speaker systems go for televised awards shows, it’s no secret that VERTEC is the de facto standard system in use, from the Oscars to the GRAMMYs, so there was no need to reinvent the wheel in our choice of speakers. We were actually so delighted with the sound of our VT4887 system on this show that after the first night of rehearsals, we immediately placed an order for more cabinets.”

SOUND.COM system engineer Sunil Karanjikar was assisted by Yasin Shaikh, Ranjit Singh, Gilroy Valladares, Yash Panchal, and Siraj Khan on the event, which spanned six days including rehearsals with the talent and TV crew.

“The use of VERTEC line arrays by SOUND.COM for India’s Filmfare Awards exemplifies the popularity and suitability of VERTEC for this type of application in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for live sound,” said David Scheirman, Vice President, Tour Sound, JBL Professional. “With SOUND.COM leading the way in providing premium audio services for regional televised live-entertainment productions, we appreciate the company’s continued support of JBL loudspeaker products.”

For more information on SOUND.COM, please visit www.online-sound.com