Basic Sound

1. Basic Sound Oliver Trojak StageSoc Training 2011-2012

2. What I izcoverin’ innit! • Techy things (Signal path, general equipment etc) • Equipment in The Annex • Design • ‘Doing the design’ (sfx, micing, communications w/ director etc) • Choosing equipment • Crew • Etc

3. Basic of Basics • The Signal Flow

4. Equipment in The Annex • AKG C1000s • SM57s • Allen & Heath MixWizard 16:2 • FOH amplifier • Peavey auxiliary amplifier • Speaker ‘wedges’ • Ramsa Speakers • Install and relay • Behringer DI boxes C1000 MixWizard

5. What Is Theatre Sound? • Two areas: • Balancing the sounds on stage with the sound of the orchestra (sound reinforcement) • Adding sound effects to add atmosphere to the performance, or simply to tell part of the story (eg. phone ringing)

6. Sound Reinforcement • Before reinforcement the stage might sound like this!

7. Sound Reinforcement • Our aim is to BALANCE the sound, not to necessarily make it louder!

8. Sound Reinforcement • Our aim is to BALANCE the sound, not to necessarily make it louder! • Stage Sound • PA Sound • The listener hears a combination of the two

9. Sound Effects • Sound effects alone are a huge part of the sound design allowing plenty of space for your creative flair to get to some exercise! • They can either be a distinct event… • Or can be used to add atmosphere • Sound effects or a sound-scape aimed to set the scene

10. Sound Effects • Where can you get them? • Variety of internet sources, some you have to pay for some you don’t. • Sfx libraries • Make your own! • Much more fun • Useful for a very specific sound • Use a DAW or waveform editor to ‘sculpt’ your sound to literally anything you want! • Then use CD/MD/computer for playback

11. Loud Speakers • Most of the time we’ll use many more speakers than simply a FOH PA • May add ‘fill’ to boost/mimic FOH PA where there is no coverage • Often speakers will be placed around the auditorium or on stage • Foldback • Source speakers (hidden behind a telephone or TV, or perhaps for a more general use)

12. Equipment Microphones • Dynamic • Close micing, versatile, crude sound • Condenser • Close & ambient micing, precise sound

13. Equipment Microphones • PZM • Ambient micing, Boundary mics • Electret • Head worn mics, used with radio mics

14. Microphones Polar Patterns • Omnidirectional • Response is identical in all directions • Mostly used in lav-radio microphones • Cardioid • Heart shaped pickup • Don’t pickup anything from behing • Most widely used polar pattern

15. Microphones Polar Patterns • Hypercardioid • Narrower pickup at the top • Small pickup at the back • Good at rejecting sounds from other sources • Shotgun • Long narrow pickup pattern • Good for picking up the stage from a distance • Construction aids polar pattern

16. A&H Mix Wizard Master Section Pre-amplification Equalization Auxiliaries Fader/Routing

17. Effects & Processing Compressors • Smoothens out a waveform • Used to tighten up a sound…. • Or can be used to make a sound more punchy • Essentially limits the maximum sound level • Limiter, gate

18. Effects & Processing Reverb • Time based effect • The sound of a room • Used to stop the singer sounding ‘dead’ • Could also be used for a very deliberate effect • Echo, Chorus

19. Your Role as Sound Designer Now that we know what equipment we have at our disposal, and how to get the most from it, we can think about doing the sound design

20. Your Role as Sound Designer • Designer and technician/engineer overlap surprisingly often • Sound Cues • System Design and Equipment selection • Sound Department (your crew!) • Logistical Co-ordination

21. Sound Cues and Building The Design • Get to know the show! • Read the script • Read the book • Watch the film • Listen to the soundtrack • See rehearsals (note the plural additive ‘s’!) • Figure out what your doing for each cue/idea • Including speakers/microphones • Be prepared to make changes! • Director/logistics/finance

22. Sound Cues and Building The Design • Communicate with the director and other members of the production team • It is important that your design matches the lighting, set, and director’s ‘vision’ • The director may have a very specific idea of what he/she wants from the sound (and lights) • Elements of the set and lighting can have a large impact on your design, especially with respect to speaker placement • Start sourcing/making sfx

23. System design and Equipment specs • Make sure you’re in budget!!!  • Try and plan in detail • FOH console, Loudspeakers (and cabling), Amplifiers (and cabling),playback devices (and cabling),microphones (and cabling),fx units (and cabling), radio microphones (and cabling? :S)….oh and what happens if something goes wrong?? • How well do you know the equipment? • How many people will it take to run/get-in the rig?

24. Your Team! • The size of the sound crew will depend on how many people you need to implement your design (and how many budding noise boys there are!) • You don’t need experts… • But anyone keen and a quick learner • Who you think will make a good noise boy • Make sure your team can all contact you and each other!

25. Your Team!

26. Action Plan • Pre get-in • Make sure everyone in your team knows what is going on….BEFORE the get-in! • Confirm equipment delivery, check you’ve got everything you will need. Organise a sound plan on paper) • Get-in & fit-up • Make sure all equipment is there • Introduce you and your team to house techies • And you have completed and implemented your successful design! 

27. A Few Last Words • There is no right or wrong way • Experiment • Have fun!!!