While working on the Austrian-German TV crime drama Der Pass, Verdino had to contend with remote mountainous locations, as well as the impact of cold and wind on the audio he was capturing and his sound equipment. This was where Bubblebee products such as microphone wind protectors (The Windbubble) and concealers (The Lav Concealer) came into their own.

“Bubblebee products are incredibly well made, and I have been using them for several years now,” he says. “Reliability is so important when you are on location and, because they have such a full spectrum of products, the chances of finding something to solve a problem increases a lot.”

For the second series of Der Pass (aka Pagan Peak), which is currently screening on Sky, Verdino used Bubblebee’s virtually invisible Sidekick In-Ear IFB monitors. These communications earpieces feature a unique micro driver that fits comfortably and invisibly into the ear canal, removing the need for an acoustic tube outside the ear and providing a good alternative to earwigs. Because they are so small and lightweight, they can also be worn comfortably for hours on end.

“Sidekick IFB monitors are absolutely great and have become one of the mainstays of my sound kit,” Verdino says. “They are very discreet, and the Sidekick 3 can be easily switched from left to right ear to accommodate different camera positions. During shooting for Der Pass my boom OP and script loved the Sidekick because its sound quality was so good for such a light and tiny earpiece.”