Communication Systems

Here is how this works in practice. Our team gives and configures comms kit packages for shoots across Belgrade and the wider region, drawing on a rental base that has grown with Serbia's expanding film-services industry. We supply two-way radios, production headsets and surveillance earpieces, wired and wireless intercom systems. IFB feeds and the repeaters needed to extend coverage across large or obstructed sets. We plan channels by department, programme handsets before delivery and brief crew on operation, so the AD team, camera, sound and production running can set up cleanly from the first call.

Here is the short of it. For a multi-unit production based at PFI Studios near Simanovci. We design a set up channel plan with separate channels per unit and shared frequencies for key staff. Where a location is large or signal-blocked, we survey it in advance and deploy repeaters or long-range gear to close coverage gaps. We stage charged, tested backup units and keep batteries managed through the shooting day. Where a production needs more radios or intercom infrastructure than Belgrade inventory holds, we supplement from suppliers across the wider Balkan region.

Here is the breakdown. All RF range used by production radios and wireless intercom in Serbia is covered by RATEL. The Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services. Our channel planning works within its allocations and any licensing its rules need. Coverage challenges differ widely across Serbian locations. Thick-walled historic interiors such as the Kalemegdan fortress. Novi Sad's Petrovaradin Fortress and the Studenica monastery block signal and call for repeaters, while remote exteriors in the Djerdap gorge and the mountains of Tara.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Zlatibor and Kopaonik demand long-range gear and multi-site planning. Dense central Belgrade adds congested range to the picture. Serbia's 25 to 30 per cent cash rebates, administered through the Film in Serbia programme of the Serbia Film Commission, makes hiring local comms kit and crew cost-good. Because Serbia is not an EU member, comms gear brought in from abroad travels under an ATA carnet for short-term import, so sourcing locally keeps a production within RATEL's framework without that forms.