Communication Systems

Production comms across Australian sets rely on ACMA-licensed wireless frequencies set up under temporary apparatus licences issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Here is how this works in practice. Motorola Options Australia supplies the bulk of the digital walkie fleet — DP4000-series and MOTOTRBO repeaters that hold coverage across the Disney Studios Australia backlot in Moore Park, the 50-acre Village Roadshow Studios footprint at Oxenford on the Gold Coast, and the Docklands Studios shed in Melbourne.

Here is the short of it. Intercom on multi-camera builds runs through Clear-Com FreeSpeak II and Riedel Bolero, with beltpacks distributed to ADs, camera ops, video village, and stunt coordinators. We pre-programme handsets in zoned channel maps — production, camera, sound, locations, stunts, transport, medical — and walk every department through carrier and PTT etiquette before the first call.

Here is the breakdown. Coverage planning matters more in Australia than most countries. Sydney Harbour locations sit between two CBD trouble fields and need repeater deployment on tugboats or hilltop relays. Outback shoots through the Flinders Ranges, the Pilbara, and the Kimberley sit kilometres from any Telstra 5G tower, so we run satellite-backed Iridium handhelds alongside the radio fleet.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Coastal corrosion on Gold Coast and Bondi sets eats through standard antennas — we ship marine-grade replacements and dehumidifier cases. Multi-unit features at Village Roadshow (Aquaman, Furiosa, Elvis) routinely run six-plus separate channel groups across main unit, splinter, stunts, VFX plate, second unit, and aerial — every group cleared through ACMA range planning and tested against neighbouring productions sharing the lot.