“My professional life is divided between Europe and South America,” notes audio educator and location sound recordist Xanti Salvador.”
Salvador has done significant film and television work on location, and also teaches sound editing at Facultad Experimental de Artes FEDA-LUZ in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Salvador’s production credits include work on the short format La Casa del Lago, the made-for-TV film La Cospiración, a documentary titled Cuidadores, and the film El Cazador De Dragones.
With residences in both South America and Europe (Bilbao), travel is a way of life for Xanti Salvador., requiring that his equipment choices be equally flexible. For his wireless needs, Salvador has a sizeable Lectrosonics arsenal, which includes SMDa, SMQV, LMa, one HM plug-on, and UH400a transmitters. His receivers include two UCR411a’s, an SRa, a UCR110, plus a Venue system stocked with four VRT receiver modules. His setup also includes a Lectrosonics T4 compact IFB transmitter, two R1a IFB receivers, as well as two SNA600 adjustable dipole antennas.
Currently, Salvador is working location sound for a project titled Konuko, which is currently shooting in Venezuela, Spain, Colombia and Cuba. The program, to be aired on Venezuelan television in 2013, is a documentary about Permaculture, a theory of ecological design which seeks to develop sustainable human settlements and agricultural systems by attempting to model them on natural ecosystems. For this project, Salvador reports using a 2-channel setup consisting of his HM plug-on transmitter, two SMDa super miniature transmitters, and his SRa two-channel slot-mount Digital Hybrid Wireless diversity receiver — a system comprised of the smallest and lightest pieces of his Lectrosonics equipment.
“Lectrosonics sound quality is, by far, the best I’ve encountered,” Salvador says. “The company’s Digital Hybrid Wireless technology eliminates the need for companders, so the sound quality is very natural. I also love the compact size of this equipment. The sound quality and the compact size make this equipment very agile, so it’s well suited for a variety of jobs.
“I also find the range of my Lectrosonics equipment to be exceptional, which has been very helpful with a number of projects I worked on.”
Salvador also made it a point to note his fondness for the frequency tracking filters of Lectrosonics UCR411a receiver.
“I find the frequency tracking filters do a remarkable job in crowded RF environments that enable me to use more channels, obtain excellent range and minimize RF interference,” he explained. “Again, it all boils down to great sound and excellent coverage.
