Whisper
Equipment

Special
Services

Our conference services include:

Equipment Services
Technical Staff
Transmission Equipment
Sound Isolation Booths
Interpreter Stations and Control Consoles
Microphones and Sound Services
Recording Services

Interpreter Organizing & Recruitment

Management of Interpretation Services for Overseas Events

Transmission Equipment: (top)
We use the finest name-brand wireless transmission equipment available. All equipment is current and state-of-the-art and we stock several leading brands. The type of equipment used is determined by the specifics of your event. For non-classified events in the United States, FM wireless (72-76 MHz range) equipment is commonly used because of excellent sound quality, ease of set-up and the lack of cabling required in the meeting room. Infra-red equipment is the standard in Europe and is also used for classified conferences and in global regions where FM cannot be used.

Sound Isolation Booths: (top)
Our proprietary sound-proof isolation booths are considered by many interpreters and clients to be the finest in the industry. They meet or exceed all ISO standards and are designed to meet the specific needs of interpreters and clients. They are ventilated, lighted, comfortable, attractive, easy to assemble and disassemble and extremely portable. All booths have plexi-glass double-paned windows, are lined with Sonex^TM sound absorbing foam, and have dimmer lights for each interpreter. In planning your event, keep in mind that the booths should be located in the rear of the room with a good view of any speakers and visual aids. If the booths cannot be placed inside the meeting room, it is possible to have a 'back-stage" or other remote set and provide video monitors for the interpreters to view the speakers and proceedings. However, since 40% of the information and cues upon which interpreters depend is non-verbal, a good view of the speakers and the audience is critical.

Interpreter Stations and Control Consoles: (top)
We use our own SimulCom 1200 TM brand interpreter stations and control consoles, which were designed by our company founder, Bill Wood, with the input of professional interpreters. The dual stations are vertically oriented for ease of use inside the booth, and the controls are simple, clear, and illuminated. All stations incorporate the patented feature "Active Off"® which prevents the interpreter from working without turning the microphone on. Many interpreters tell us our product is far superior to anything they have ever worked with.

Microphones and Sound Services: (top)
Sound services are often contracted through the venue's in-house supplier or the production company's sound contractor for large-scale events. At events with simultaneous interpretation, however, the following 2 points are critical:
1. All participants must speak directly into a microphone (so that the interpreters can hear and therefore interpret).
2. Only one or two microphones be on at a time to prevent background noise (which through headphones can be severe enough to prevent interpreters from working).
For this reason special conference microphones designed to eliminate the above problems are recommended for events that involve group discussion or require more than a few microphones. Upon request we can provide conference microphones, control consoles and mixers, as well as recording services, PA systems, speakers and conventional microphones.

• Selection of qualified professional teams based on our expertise, subject specialization and language combinations for your event;
• Determination of work-loads and any team rotations;
• Management of interpreters on-site (additional costs may apply);
• Acting as a single point of contact for providing all information and materials;
• Handling of all sub-contracting and payments to interpreters.
  

Many clients have regular interpreters or staff interpreters, but if you have not worked with simultaneous interpreters before, call us to discuss the issues involved. Simultaneous interpretation is only worth the expense if you use qualified professionals! It requires not only the ability to speak multiple languages but years of specialized training and education, the rare talent of being able to listen to one language while speaking another, and knowledge of specialized terminology in varying fields. As a result, the professional circle of conference-level simultaneous interpreters is extremely small -- there are only 3000-4000 in the world for all languages, and many are employed by international organizations. Early recruitment is therefore critical for ensuring availability. Conference organizers should also be aware that it is rare to be able to recruit all interpreters locally in many cities and travel expenses are often involved.

We provide complete management of simultaneous interpretation services for events outside of the United States, including: (top)