German premier league football club 1.FC Cologne continues to develop its documentary format 24/7 FC and takes the viewer onto the pitch with PlayerMic systems from Q5X. Q5X microphones and transmitters are compact and lightweight and worn directly under the players’ jerseys they have no negative effects on mobility or athletics. With the body-worn transmitters, fans could hardly be any closer to the action. 24/7 FC is a club-own documentary format, produced and realised by Cologne-based production company Flutlicht-Film OHG.
To achieve perfect audio quality and to ensure uninterrupted audio signal transport, Flutlicht-Film opted for Q5X systems. The audio transmitters are extremely small and powerful without obstructing the players on the pitch and during the game. Project implementation was accompanied by Broadcast Solutions Produkte und Service GmbH, a subsidiary of leading European system integrator Broadcast Solutions, and is responsible for the distribution of Q5X products in the DACH region. By adding the Q5X systems to the 24/7 FC production, the fans of 1.FC Cologne not only can see their players in action but also hear how intense the action is during a match.
Currently, eight episodes are scheduled for production and will air on the club’s 247.fc.de channel and will be broadcast afterwards on German Pay-TV channel SKY. In the first stage, the microphones and audio transmitters are used during training and test matches. 1.FC Cologne is always keen to develop its club TV formats further, and with this technological add-on, fans will have a direct and candid insight into the lives of their stars on the pitch.
For the production, Flutlicht-Film uses Q5X PlayerMics. The audio transmitters are compatible with products from Shure, Sennheiser and Wisycom. To gain the highest usability and resistance the audio transmitters are housed in a flexible, rubber-coated and water-repellent enclosure, that can be placed in pockets integrated into jerseys or glued to pads to fit directly on the player’s body. The devices work up to eight hours on battery power.
