PTT Program 4 Day 1-4.txt

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:15:06 Speaker 1 Hi, I'm Bob Fowler, and this is my wife, Marty. We'd like to welcome you to the second edition of audio for Theater Sound Reinforcement and Design. 00:00:15:08 - 00:00:46:14 Speaker 2 We're really fortunate to have two outstanding professionals writing and co-hos...

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:15:06 Speaker 1 Hi, I'm Bob Fowler, and this is my wife, Marty. We'd like to welcome you to the second edition of audio for Theater Sound Reinforcement and Design. 00:00:15:08 - 00:00:46:14 Speaker 2 We're really fortunate to have two outstanding professionals writing and co-hosting this program with us. Professional audio engineer David Eisenhauer is returning for the nuts and Bolts sections on how an audio system works, and how to operate an audio system. David started out doing his high school plays, then regional events in the Saint Louis area, and has been an A level front of house audio engineer for the last 25 years. 00:00:46:17 - 00:00:56:23 Speaker 2 He has extensive experience mixing live concerts in stadiums, arenas and theaters worldwide for top level artists. 00:00:56:25 - 00:01:20:05 Speaker 1 In a new section dedicated to sound design. We are very fortunate to have Robin Weatherall on board. Robin is an amazing sound designer, having won numerous awards for his sound designs and compositions. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for 17 years as a musician, and when he came to the United States he worked as a symphony musician. 00:01:20:07 - 00:01:37:27 Speaker 1 Production manager and the stage manager with the Omaha, Dallas and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestras. He has worked all over the world as a director, musician, sound designer, and composer for live theater, opera, movies and television programs. 00:01:38:00 - 00:01:43:25 Speaker 2 Now let's turn the program over to David and Robin. 00:01:43:28 - 00:02:11:03 Speaker 3 One of the least understood aspects of technical theater is audio in other areas of theater. Not only can you see, but you can actually reach out and touch the results of your work. Professional theater technicians like these the Repertory Theater, Saint Louis Cotton handle wood and metal to build scenery. Make patterns and cut and stitch material to make costumes. 00:02:11:06 - 00:02:42:11 Speaker 3 Use brushes, combs, and hairspray to maintain wigs. Handle and use of roger tools to build props and operate backstage equipment. But you can't see or touch sound, and that can make it seem difficult to understand. To help understand audio, we're going to break this program down into two major sections sound Reinforcement and Sound Design. Let's look at no view of sound reinforcement. 00:02:42:12 - 00:02:43:05 Speaker 3 David. 00:02:43:08 - 00:03:14:06 Speaker 4 Thanks, Robin. Sound reinforcement is when you make something louder and you also shape sound. So what the audience hears reinforces what's happening on stage. An example of sound reinforcement is when actors are mike so the audience can hear them singing over a live orchestra. Mike productions at the 10,700 seat Saint Louis Municipal Opera. Imagine trying to sing over a 30 piece orchestra of professional musicians and have your voice reach the back rows without sound reinforcement. 00:03:14:08 - 00:03:24:04 Speaker 4 The Muni has an amazing sound system and exceptional front of house technicians, making sure every audience member can hear and understand exactly what the actors are saying and singing on stage. 00:03:24:06 - 00:03:53:08 Speaker 3 But not every theater is equipped with a sound system like the munis or technicians, as well trained as a muni sound technicians. One of the most common complaints about live productions is that the audience can't hear the actors, or if the voices are loud enough, the audience can stand what the actors are saying. The actors is disappointed because they worked their hardest to do a great performance, and the audience had a lukewarm response to the show. 00:03:53:11 - 00:04:19:21 Speaker 3 The audience feels cheated because they pay to go to a show and had trouble hearing the actors. The producers could lose money if the show gets bad reviews. An audience members tell friends not to go to the show. Every loses sound is bad. Bad sound is usually the result of one or more of the following three problems. First, the actors might not be projecting or enunciate clearly what's. 00:04:19:21 - 00:04:25:18 Speaker 2 In a name. That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. 00:04:25:20 - 00:04:38:15 Speaker 3 The best sound system of technicians in the world can't help make your audience understand mumbling. Act okay. This is out of the hands of the audio crew and must be fixed by the director and the actors. 00:04:38:18 - 00:04:45:09 Speaker 2 What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell a sweet second. 00:04:45:12 - 00:05:01:19 Speaker 3 The audio equipment could be outdated. It's the wrong equipment for the performance space, or it might not be functioning properly. Third, there could be operator error or lack of training. We'll address all of these common problems in this program. 00:05:01:22 - 00:05:26:22 Speaker 4 Being responsible for making everything sound great in a live venue like this Bon Jovi concert might seem a bit intimidating, but this program will help you master the basics of becoming a front of house sound engineer. I started out mixing events for my high school plays, assemblies and talent shows, usual events, and from there I started doing small music venues in the Saint Louis area, then bigger venues until I finally got the job I have now. 00:05:27:00 - 00:05:53:03 Speaker 4 Traveling all over the world is the front of house sound engineer for major touring acts like Bon Jovi. Who are You and Enrique Iglesias? Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor, usher, Trisha Yearwood, Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, Simon and Garfunkel, and many others. Sound reinforcement is controlled through the audio mixing console, also called a soundboard or simply the mixer. For this program, we'll be using the term mixer. 00:05:53:05 - 00:06:16:17 Speaker 4 For 20 years, I used analog mixers and loads of signal processing or outboard gear. That was state of the art for decades. Analog mixers are still used in lots of performance spaces, and some front of house audio engineers prefer them. Digital mixing consoles, also called dmcs, are slowly replacing analog mixers as performance spaces renovate and upgrade their facilities. 00:06:16:19 - 00:06:39:00 Speaker 4 Digital audio mixers do many of the same things as analog models and use the same basic terminology, but digital mixers can control many things at once, with the press of a button. We are going to demonstrate both kinds of mixers in this program, since lots of schools and other performance spaces still use analog mixers. It's important to learn how to use them also as a learning tool. 00:06:39:00 - 00:07:02:11 Speaker 4 We're going to demonstrate audio terminology by using an analog mixer, because everything you can control is visible and accessible right in front of you. Digital mixers are smaller and have many layers, so not all the information is right in front of you. We'll be using animations of an analog mixer to demonstrate how to control and shape sound, and how to send sound to different places in your theater. 00:07:02:13 - 00:07:25:15 Speaker 4 If you understand how to run an analog mixer, it will make it much easier to program and run a digital mixer. Another huge advantage of digital mixers is they have tons of features built into the mixer. See the massive analog mixer and racks of signal processing. I used for the 2005 Bon Jovi tour. This was a state of the art rig for a major concert tour in 2005. 00:07:25:17 - 00:07:44:19 Speaker 4 With a digital mixer, it's unnecessary to haul around all those racks of equipment because all the effects are now included inside the mixer. When I finish a concert now, instead of having to unplug, pack up and move all of these racks of equipment, I unplug a few cables and can leave the concert venue with the mixer tucked under my arm. 00:07:44:21 - 00:08:10:14 Speaker 3 After you learn how an audio system works and how to run the audio system, we'll look at sound design. There are several aspects of sound design. The first is what kind of sounds will get played back to the audience during productions. This can consist of sound effects or recreating sounds on stage that are needed to enhance your audience's understanding and enjoyment of play. 00:08:10:17 - 00:08:29:26 Speaker 3 Sound effects might be a radio playing, doorbell ringing, or a phone ringing. It could be a plane flying overhead, fonda or music playing in the background, or during scene changes. 00:08:29:29 - 00:08:57:08 Speaker 3 Sound effects can be done different ways. A doorbell or phone, for instance, can be hard to actually ring by having a stagehand press a button on the ring board or other device, like the study cue. The ring and device should be close to where the door or phone is located. These manually operated sound effects can be operated by members of sound props or stage management crew. 00:08:57:10 - 00:09:22:02 Speaker 3 The same doorbell or phone sound effect could be played back from a playback source, as a prerecorded effect. Using the effects speaker located close the same door or phone location. Common playback sources are CD players and specialized computer programs. If your show calls for a low flyover for an airplane, that one might be tough to call Night Live. 00:09:22:04 - 00:09:50:06 Speaker 3 But in the airport home, you would want to use a prerecorded sound effect played for the main speakers in the auditorium. Incidental music creates a mood that reinforces the action happening on stage, for example, incidental music and heightened tension building up to the end of the scene. But the scene for Richard the Third. 00:09:50:08 - 00:10:08:05 Speaker 3 It can reinforce a character's fragile mental state, like music used during one character's hallucinations. Bubble Over the Cuckoo's Note. The thing to remember about incidental music is that it must help the audience get into the world of the characters. 00:10:08:08 - 00:10:32:08 Speaker 4 In Educational Theater, the sound designer and the front of house engineer are often the same person. In professional theater, they are usually not the same person. In larger theaters, there may be two sound designers. The first one we just talked about the person who designs the sound effects and incidental music. The second sound designer speaks out what kind of audio gear will be used during the performances. 00:10:32:11 - 00:10:55:25 Speaker 4 The second sound designer is mostly used for touring productions that move from city to city, or productions with enormous budgets that will be sitting down in a city for an extended run. For our purposes, we'll just be looking at the traditional sound designer who designs sound effects and incidental music, because the second kind of sound designer probably already finished that job before your theater was even built. 00:10:55:27 - 00:11:21:11 Speaker 4 To demonstrate sound reinforcement, we'll be using the most common type of sound system found in theaters. The permanently installed sound system will be demonstrating using a state of the art theater at the University of Missouri, Saint Louis, and at a smaller theater on campus that is more of like a lot of educational theaters. The thing to remember is that all of the principles of what we examine will apply to every permanently installed system. 00:11:21:13 - 00:11:46:25 Speaker 4 Some theaters may have more expensive, larger systems, but you should be able to operate most systems using the information in this program. Some schools that don't have an actual theater space have portable sound systems. These are used wherever students perform in films, geometry rooms, school common areas, libraries, and other areas. These systems operate almost exactly like the permanently installed systems. 00:11:47:02 - 00:11:56:18 Speaker 4 They just can be moved from place to place and take some time to sit up. If you learn how to operate a permanently installed system, you'll be able to operate a portable system. 00:11:56:21 - 00:12:28:08 Speaker 3 So to summarize, David will explore with you how a sound system works. Then he will demonstrate how to get ready for performance and how to operate a sound system will learn on an analog mixer, then on the digital mixer will examine how to tune your performance space. We also look ways to troubleshoot common problems. Your teacher may decide to skip one or more sections depending on what kind of system your facility has. 00:12:28:10 - 00:12:41:11 Speaker 3 Then I will examine the basics of sound design and then how to actually execute a sound design. 00:12:41:14 - 00:13:00:24 Speaker 4 Almost everyone has been at an event that used a sound system. If you've ever been to a pep assembly at your school, you probably heard a sound system. There are usually one or more microphones that coaches and athletes speak into. There may be a CD player hooked up for music for cheerleaders and dance squads. These are called sources. 00:13:00:26 - 00:13:13:29 Speaker 4 These audio sources feed into amplifiers and then speakers, which make those sources loud enough for everyone to hear. These sound systems are usually permanently installed in your gym or athletic field. 00:13:14:01 - 00:13:47:23 Speaker 1 And if you've ever been to a wedding reception with a DJ, the DJ has a microphone to make announcements and possibly let family make short speeches. There will be several ways to play music like turntables, CD players, and other digital devices. These sources feed into amplifiers, which make those sources louder so everyone can hear announcements and music. If the DJ has karaoke, there may be extra mikes for singers and monitor speakers so the singers can hear the music clearly while they're singing. 00:13:47:25 - 00:13:54:09 Speaker 1 This type of system is portable, so the DJ can take the system to many different locations. 00:13:54:11 - 00:14:18:17 Speaker 4 If you have ever been to a large music concert, you have probably seen a high level touring audio system like this system. I ran for the 2005 Bon Jovi tour. We used mikes, amplifiers, and speakers so the audience could hear the band, and the band could hear themselves through the monitors. We also had to be able to play walking music that got the audience in the mood for the concert, as well as walk out music as the audience left the concert. 00:14:18:20 - 00:14:32:24 Speaker 4 We also had to make sure the performers and technicians backstage in the dressing rooms and other backstage areas could hear what was happening on stage. Technically, this was a portable system, but it was a portable system that took three semis full of gear from city to city. 00:14:32:27 - 00:15:03:17 Speaker 1 Now look carefully. What are the similarities between the pep assembly, the wedding reception, and the Bon Jovi concert? The similarities are people speaking into mikes, the ability to play music from prerecorded sources, and everybody being able to hear exactly what they needed to hear no matter where they were in the building. This is the job of the front of house audio engineer and the audio crew. 00:15:03:19 - 00:15:27:05 Speaker 4 Like we said earlier, for someone who has never worked on an audio crew before, the thought of sitting down behind a mixer like this and being responsible for what the audience hears can be a bit intimidating. If there is feedback, an actor starts singing and the mic is not working. All of a sudden there is a loud buzz in the system or any other number of problems that can happen during a performance. 00:15:27:08 - 00:15:42:19 Speaker 4 Half the audience turns around and looks at the front of house audio engineer, and the other half groans out loud and holds their hands over their ears. The front of house audio engineer is usually the only technician visible to the audience, so if things get ugly, the engineer gets the stink eye. 00:15:42:22 - 00:16:11:09 Speaker 1 We're going to break sound reinforcement down into several steps. First, we're going to examine what sound is and how we can control it. Next, we'll see where sound comes from in a theatrical production and where it needs to end up. Then we'll compare and contrast a typical audio system to a road trip. After that, we'll examine how to operate a common analog audio system. 00:16:11:11 - 00:16:33:11 Speaker 1 Last, we're going to apply the concepts of operating an analog audio system to operating a digital audio system. So let's examine what sound is, because once we understand sound, we can learn how to control it and how to make our shows better. 00:16:33:14 - 00:16:59:00 Speaker 1 To understand how an audio system works, the first thing we need to do is understand sound itself. Like we said earlier, you can't touch or see sound, so that can make it hard to grasp. But sound is really pretty simple. Sound is produced by objects moving, moving objects because the air around the objects to vibrate. This vibrating air is sound. 00:16:59:03 - 00:17:28:13 Speaker 1 To give you an example. We'll hold this lighter in front of a kick drum and when the pedals kicked, you'll see the flame move from the air vibrating, which creates the sound of the kick drum. Anything that moves air and creates sound is called a source. A source might be a musical instrument, such as a guitar. Something in nature, like the rustling of leaves or the vocal chords of a human being like me. 00:17:28:15 - 00:17:46:06 Speaker 1 When the sound made by the movement of air hits our eardrum, the vibrations of the eardrum are converted into nerve signals that our brains recognize as sound. Your brain can process lots of different sounds at the same time, and make sense of all the different sounds. 00:17:46:09 - 00:18:08:22 Speaker 4 Now let's take a look at a really basic sound system and see the components you might find in your theater sound system. Now remember that the same principles apply to sound systems anywhere in your theater, in a place of worship, a music club, and the system I use all over the world. First, we'll define the major pieces of a sound system and examine what each piece does. 00:18:08:25 - 00:18:15:16 Speaker 4 Then we'll be able to learn how to operate each one of these pieces to get a great sound to your audiences. 00:18:15:18 - 00:18:49:20 Speaker 1 In its simplest form, a microphone or mic turns vibrating air into an electrical signal, and the speaker turns that signal back into vibrating air. The audience can hear there are a few stops we made in that journey, though. The electric signal from a mic is first sent to the brain of a sound system a mixer, also called a console, where the sound is shaped and processed, basically smartened up to make it sound exactly like we want it to sound. 00:18:49:22 - 00:19:21:00 Speaker 1 Using the mixer, we can change the tone of actors voices like this on my voice. Listen to the difference in my voice as I talk through the mixer. We can add effects like reverb and do lots of other things to fine tune an actor's voice. Then that smartened up signal is sent to an amplifier, which strengthens the electrical signal into hundreds of watts of electrical signal and sends that muscled up signal to speakers. 00:19:21:02 - 00:19:31:05 Speaker 1 The muscled up signal makes the speakers vibrate, which creates sound waves that the audience, actors and technicians recognize as sound. 00:19:31:07 - 00:19:51:28 Speaker 4 So before we move on to the next section, let's look at this as one big picture. The first thing we need to have is something that makes sound called a source. A source could be the voice of an actor, an acoustic musical instrument like drums or a trumpet. Something run through an amplifier like an electric guitar, a musical instrument. 00:19:51:28 - 00:20:17:11 Speaker 4 Run directly into the sound system like an electronic keyboard. Or it could be a sound that has been recorded earlier, like a sound effect. There are two main types of sources live sources and playback sources. In theater, the most common types of live sources are voices and musical instruments, which use microphones to turn the vibrating air into an electrical signal which is sent to the mixer. 00:20:17:14 - 00:20:39:20 Speaker 4 A second type of live source is a signal that comes directly from a digital instrument, like an electronic keyboard. This signal goes directly into the mixer and doesn't need a mic, which is why it's called a direct input or Di. The only source that is not a live source is called a playback source. A playback source is a recorded sound effect. 00:20:39:23 - 00:21:11:06 Speaker 4 Incidental music or a recorded pre-show announcement. A playback source sends out prerecorded sounds to the mixer. This is also a direct input or Di signals from these sources go to the console, where the sound is shaped and process to sound exactly like what the director and sound designer want the audience to hear. Then this week. But very Smart Signal is sent to amplifiers where the signal gets muscled up into a very strong and still smart electrical signal. 00:21:11:08 - 00:21:24:11 Speaker 4 This signal is like a scholar athlete. That smart and strong signal goes to the speakers, which create vibrating air that the audience, actors and backstage technicians recognize as sound. And there you are. 00:21:24:13 - 00:21:52:03 Speaker 1 So that was a lot of information. Let's take a minute to review sound reinforcement. Sound reinforcement is one shaping and changing sound. So the audience here's what the sound designer and the director want them to hear. Two making voices. Musical instruments are recorded. Sound effects loud enough so the audience can hear what they need to hear to enjoy the production. 00:21:52:06 - 00:22:06:02 Speaker 1 And three making voices. Musical instruments are recorded, sound effects loud enough so the actors and technicians can hear what they need to hear to perform their best. 00:22:06:05 - 00:22:19:01 Speaker 4 Sound effects are recreating specific sounds on stage at specific times, often using sound reinforcement. Incidental music helps create a mood that reinforces the action happening on stage. 00:22:19:03 - 00:22:54:14 Speaker 1 The most common sources in theater are voices, which are turned into electrical signals by microphones. Musical instruments also turn into electrical signals by microphones. Electronic musical instruments direct inputs that go directly into the mixer, and playback sources that play prerecorded sounds like sound effects and incidental music. We'll be referring back to sound reinforcement, sound effects, and incidental music as we get further into the program. 00:22:54:17 - 00:23:00:04 Speaker 4 We. 00:23:00:07 - 00:23:23:21 Speaker 1 So what does a sound system look like in a professional theater? Let's take a look at the Blanche M2 Hill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri, Saint Louis. There are two outstanding performance spaces here the 1600 seat Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall, with its warm European opera house field and a flexible, black box like theater space. 00:23:23:23 - 00:23:53:11 Speaker 1 The 350 seat E Desmond and Mary and Lea Theater. This is not only an amazing university theater facility, but the two L Performing Arts Center also brings in major touring acts like An Evening with Herbie Hancock and his band, Amy Grant, Mardi Gras Mambo featuring The Neville Brothers with Doctor John, and the Lower 911 band, The Joffrey Ballet, Steven Wright, and complexions. 00:23:53:13 - 00:24:19:09 Speaker 1 This facility is probably better equipped than the average academic theater, but most theaters will have lots of the same basic equipment, just maybe not as much of it. As we show you, footage of different areas of the larger proscenium facility will highlight those areas on the video and on an overhead view called a ground to Plan. This is the ground plan of the 1600 seat performance space. 00:24:19:11 - 00:24:52:17 Speaker 1 Notice how there is the exterior of the building. The upper and lower lobbies, the seating areas, the stage, the orchestra pit, the backstage areas including the dressing rooms and the green room to demonstrate what a ground plant is. We'll show video footage of the two hill and match that up with the overhead view of the facility. On the right side of your screen, we'll be using ground plants throughout the program, so it's really important that everyone understands them. 00:24:52:19 - 00:25:16:29 Speaker 1 It's also important to realize that different theaters can call areas by different names. We'll list the most common names. And your teacher can let you know which terminology is used in your area. Notice how the exterior of the building is highlighted on the ground plan. On the right side of the screen. Now look at the video footage of the lobby of the theater and see how it is highlighted on the ground. 00:25:16:29 - 00:25:44:23 Speaker 1 Plan. The place the audience sits during a performance is called the auditorium or the house, looking at the auditorium from the stage. Notice that the auditorium has several different levels. The ground level seating area closest to the stage is usually called the orchestra. Right behind the orchestra area. There's a seating area that can be called the parquet. Those are the parterre. 00:25:44:25 - 00:26:11:08 Speaker 1 The first balcony is sometimes called the dress circle or the mezzanine. The second balcony can also be called the Grand Tier or upper balcony. Boxes are usually along the sides of the auditorium and can be referred to as lower seating. Like we said, your theater may use different terms, but the important thing to remember is that the sound must be great from every seat in the house. 00:26:11:10 - 00:26:20:22 Speaker 1 Whether you are in the first row center, or the last row of the upper balcony. Now let's take a look at the areas that are important to the sound crew. 00:26:20:24 - 00:26:48:13 Speaker 4 The person in charge of making sure the audience hears great sound can have several different titles, depending upon what theater you're working in. That person can be called the front of house engineer or FOB production Audio Engineer, or simply the A1, which is short for Audio number one. One of the most important things is that the front of house audio engineer sits in the middle of the auditorium, preferably about two thirds of the way back. 00:26:48:15 - 00:27:09:22 Speaker 4 This allows the audio engineer to hear exactly what the audience hears, so he or she can make adjustments. Some theaters have the audio mics positioned in a glassed in control room, which is the worst possible position. We can't stress enough the importance of having the audio engineer in the house, where he or she can hear what is happening on stage, and get the proper balance. 00:27:09:24 - 00:27:39:00 Speaker 4 This is the original analog mixer, which was state of the art when the facility was constructed in 2003. The new digital mixer was installed in 2013. Sound equipment is constantly being improved and keeping up with the latest technology is very important to professional theaters. We'll be looking at both kinds of mixers in this program. Analog and digital. The most commonplace sound originates in theater is on stage from the actors using mics. 00:27:39:03 - 00:28:03:03 Speaker 4 Do you remember the other three sources? Musical instruments using mics, musical instruments going directly into the mixer, and playback sources like sound effects and incidental music. The most obvious place the sound ends up is in the auditorium or house. Let's look at an actor wearing a wireless mic on stage. An actor speaks into a mic and creates an electrical signal. 00:28:03:06 - 00:28:25:16 Speaker 4 The wireless mics. Since the signal of the actor's voice to the belt the actor is wearing and the belt pack sends the signal to the antenna and one of the wireless receivers at the mics position. The receiver then sends the signal to the mixer. The brain of the sound system. Since the mixer is located in the middle of the house, the front of house engineer can hear exactly what the audience will hear. 00:28:25:20 - 00:28:48:06 Speaker 4 And during technical rehearsals, the front of house engineer can smarten up the signal. So it's exactly what the director and audio designer wants the audience to hear. We'll examine how to smarten up the signal using different kinds of equipment in just a little while. From there, the smartened up signal gets sent to an amplifier and then a center cluster of speakers over the apron of the stage. 00:28:48:08 - 00:29:07:03 Speaker 4 These are the primary speakers for the room behind these grilles on either side of this stage. There are some front filled speakers for the people in the first few rows. There are under balcony fill speakers to make sure that the sound is carried all the way to the back of the room, and a hearing impaired assistant listening system. 00:29:07:08 - 00:29:30:28 Speaker 4 For those who have difficulties hearing everything the audience hears, actors, musical instruments, sound effects, and incidental music is referred to as the mix. This space is so well designed that at the back of the room, these drapes open up and close along with the fabric inside of these columns to make minor changes to the acoustics of the room. 00:29:31:00 - 00:29:38:24 Speaker 4 You can see that a whole lot of thought went into planning out the sound system here. So the audience here is an impeccable mix. 00:29:38:27 - 00:30:06:26 Speaker 1 So that should cover it, right? Well, there are a few other places that could use sound reinforcement. The first is on stage. On stage? Why would we need sound reinforcement on the stage itself? Well, imagine you're singing in a musical and there are 30 musicians playing in the orchestra pit between you and the audience. It might be difficult to hear the other actors on stage and even in your own voice. 00:30:06:28 - 00:30:41:03 Speaker 1 So the engineer will use stage monitors, also called wedge, to allow you to hear yourself and the other actors over the sound of a 30 member orchestra. Here is where the orchestra pit and stage monitors are. At the two hill. These monitors send sound back towards the actors. If available, some performers might wear in-ear monitors, but wedge monitors are still used extensively, especially in educational theater for musicals with large casts. 00:30:41:06 - 00:31:08:03 Speaker 1 When we did musicals at my school, I always had the engineer send some keyboard back into the stage manager mics during songs during music rehearsals. Actors usually don't have a full orchestra playing with them. They learned their music, rehearsing with the other actors and a keyboard player. I found that if we put some keyboard back into the stage monitor mics, the actors could hear and remember their vocal parts easier. 00:31:08:06 - 00:31:20:22 Speaker 4 Another place the engineer may want to send sound is to what are called effects. Speakers. Remember what we talked about in the earlier section about sound design? 00:31:20:24 - 00:31:35:03 Speaker 4 If you have a sound effect of a thunderstorm, playing that sound effect through the main speaker cluster will work just fine. Have you ever heard thunder so loud it actually made your house shake? 00:31:35:05 - 00:31:53:03 Speaker 4 You can get that kind of effect from your main speakers, but if you have a sound effect of a radio playing in a realistic set using the main speakers were really break the illusion of reality. Because when you turn on a radio in real life, the sound doesn't come from all around you. It comes from the radio. It's best to have an effect. 00:31:53:03 - 00:32:13:03 Speaker 4 Speaker place close to the radio, out of sight of the audience, and have the sound come from just that area on stage. If a play takes place in a jungle effect, speakers can also be placed in the auditorium to make the audience feel like they are in a real jungle, with jungle noises coming from all around them, or provide another surround sound effect. 00:32:13:05 - 00:32:27:01 Speaker 4 Hearing impaired audience members can check out special headsets that will amplify the sounds on stage, so they can enjoy the performance like everyone else. Orchestra mikes may need to be added to the audience mix for a hearing impaired mix. 00:32:27:03 - 00:33:04:07 Speaker 1 Another thing the sound crew is responsible for is the intercom system. During a production, the stage manager speaks into a headset mic to call cues and communicate with all the running crews the house manager, assistant stage managers, backstage, the light board and follow spot operators. The sound crew engineer, projectionists and other technical staff. The stage manager can either be located in the soundproof control booth at the rear of the theater, or backstage at a stage manager's desk. 00:33:04:09 - 00:33:22:23 Speaker 1 Whenever a stage manager speaks, a cue into the intercom mic, that is a call. The staff members receive the stage manager's calls on headsets and then run their cues. Electrics 5.5 sound B. 00:33:22:26 - 00:33:50:21 Speaker 1 Go another place the A2 sends the stage. Manager's calls is to the backstage announce system, with speakers located in the control booth. Dressing rooms and the green room. A green room is a place close to the stage where the actors can wait when they're not on stage. In fact, we're in a green room right now with chairs, tables, a couch, coffee, the necessary items for a green room. 00:33:50:23 - 00:34:22:11 Speaker 1 Since the affiliates the engineer are A1 has a really high pressure job controlling what the audience hears. Most professional theaters have what is called an audio assistant or a two. Who is next in command under the A1, depending on the size of the production. The A2 can be in charge of the rest of the audio crew. Some of the A2 and the audio crew's responsibilities can be making sure all audio equipment is checked and repaired if necessary. 00:34:22:12 - 00:34:53:12 Speaker 1 Before each performance. Playing sound effects and incidental music that are sent to the main and affect speakers. Making sure the intercom is working correctly. Setting up and checking actors. Wireless mics. Setting up and checking all wired mics. Making sure the assisted listening system is working. If orchestra mics are used, setting up those mics and controlling the orchestra's monitors so they can hear the actors and themselves clearly. 00:34:53:14 - 00:35:12:26 Speaker 1 If the orchestra conductor is backstage or in an isolated room setting up a video feed on the apron or other area so the actors can see the conductor during the performance. So let's do a review of where sources are located and where those sources get turned back into sound. 00:35:12:28 - 00:35:37:18 Speaker 4 First possibility a wireless mic sends the signal of the actor's voice to the antenna of the wireless receiver. The wireless receiver sends the raw, uneducated signal to the mixer. The front of house audio engineer processes the raw signals and basically sends that signal to school to sound like what the director wants. The smartened up signal is sent to amplifiers. 00:35:37:21 - 00:36:01:07 Speaker 4 From there, the strong and smart signal can be sent to different places. Most commonly, it is sent to the main speakers, which the audience hears. Also, it can be sent to the stage monitors so the actors can hear themselves, sound effects and the orchestra. The signal can also be sent to dressing rooms and the green room. So when the actors aren't on stage, they know what part of the play is being performed. 00:36:01:09 - 00:36:18:18 Speaker 4 The same process applies to wired mics, with one really obvious difference. Wired mics use a cable, and wireless mics don't use a cable. There are wired mics called boundary mics that can pick up a large group of people. These mics are great for miking a course in a musical. 00:36:18:21 - 00:36:44:02 Speaker 1 Second possibility a wired mic is mounted on the stage, floor or over the stage to pick up actors voices. The signal is not sent to the main speakers, but sent to selected backstage technicians, the control booth, the dressing rooms, and the green room so the people backstage can hear what's happening on stage. Even if the audio crew isn't present. 00:36:44:05 - 00:36:58:16 Speaker 4 Third possibility. The stage manager speaks into the intercom mic and the intercom sends stage managers calls to backstage technicians, the control booth, the dressing rooms, the green room, and possibly the house manager in the lobby. 00:36:58:18 - 00:37:06:03 Speaker 1 The last possibility the main mics goes to the assisted listening system. For audience members who are hard of hearing. 00:37:06:06 - 00:37:19:17 Speaker 4 So that looks like a big plate of spaghetti, doesn't it? Let's simplify that jumbled mess by comparing the path of audio to something we will all probably be familiar with. 00:37:19:19 - 00:37:40:11 Speaker 1 Let's compare the path of audio in a theater to something many of us have done. A road trip. Imagine you're graduating and your family is going out of town for a Saturday night graduation party for you and your twin cousins, whose families live a couple hours away. Let's take a look at how you and your family might get to this event. 00:37:40:13 - 00:38:11:23 Speaker 2 First, check your out. Who's going on the trip? Just you. Your entire family. Are you bringing gifts, food and drinks? Other items? Are you staying there a couple of days? Need to pack suitcases. Do you need more than one vehicle since you have to work on Saturday morning? Your family decides to go to your cousin's house Friday evening and you'll drive there after you get off work at 1 p.m. on Saturday. 00:38:11:26 - 00:38:35:21 Speaker 1 Second, pick vehicles that suit your family's trip. Since your family will be leaving Friday night, they will drive the SUV because your mom and dad, your sister and your younger brother are going for the entire weekend, and each person has a small suitcase and gifts. Since you're going to the party after you get off work on Saturday. Can you drive your family's subcompact car? 00:38:35:23 - 00:38:58:16 Speaker 1 Well, you have to drop off framed copies of your graduation picture at your former neighbors, your drama teacher's house, your best friend's house, and your older brother's house. On the way there, you have to pick up a graduation cake for the party at a bakery and gifts for your cousins at another store, so driving the subcompact will work out great. 00:38:58:18 - 00:39:22:29 Speaker 2 After you choose which vehicle you're going to drive, you load the luggage, fill it up with gas, check the oil and tires and you're ready to roll. You get off the highway and drop off your graduation picture at your former neighbor's house. Then you get back on the main road and exit to drop off a copy of your picture at your drama teacher's house. 00:39:23:02 - 00:39:46:13 Speaker 2 You might need to get off the highway again to drop off a copy of your graduation picture at your best friends, and get back on the highway to go to your older brother's house and drop off the last graduation picture, since he has to work Saturday night and can't make the party. He may want you to take presents to your cousin's. 00:39:46:15 - 00:40:05:18 Speaker 2 You may need to pick up a graduation cake for the party at a bakery, and gifts for your cousins at another store. Either way, you can get on and off the highway, pick things up, leave things off, and get back on the highway until you reach the party. 00:40:05:20 - 00:40:26:06 Speaker 1 Eventually, you get to your relative's house with the things you picked up, the gifts and the graduation cake the next day. You may take the same highway to go to your friend's house or to another graduation party. Once you're familiar with the highway, you're able to go lots of different places and carry lots of different people and things. 00:40:26:08 - 00:40:52:02 Speaker 2 It's pretty rare to get on a highway, and you're the only car on the road. Lots of times a highway looks more like this. Every car has its own destination. Many may be going to one place. Others are going to a friend's house, some to dinner. And so on. Now let's see how an audio system is a lot like a road trip. 00:40:52:04 - 00:41:20:23 Speaker 1 Let's take a few seconds to review how an audio system works. Like we said earlier, vibrating air is turned into an electric signal by a microphone. Much like our brains recognize the signal from our eardrums. That signal is then sent to the brain of the sound system, a sound mixer where the sound is shaped and processed. Basically, smart stand up to make it sound exactly like we want it to sound. 00:41:20:25 - 00:41:41:17 Speaker 1 Then that smartened up signal is sent to an amplifier, which boost it into hundreds of watts of electrical signal and sends that muscled up signal to speakers. The muscled up signal makes the speakers vibrate, which creates vibrating air that the audience, actors, and technicians recognize as sound. 00:41:41:19 - 00:42:05:13 Speaker 2 The first thing in preparing for a road trip is to decide how many passengers you need to transport, how much luggage they'll have, and how many vehicles you'll need to take. The first thing to decide when taking an audio road trip is to decide how many audio sources you're going to need. The most common audio sources are actors. 00:42:05:15 - 00:42:16:05 Speaker 2 Acoustical musical instruments, electrical musical instruments, especially keyboards, and playback for sound effects and incidental music. 00:42:16:08 - 00:42:37:23 Speaker 1 Different audio sources need different kinds of vehicles on the audio highway. Picking the right kind of microphone, keyboard, CD player, or other digital tape playback device is as important as picking the right vehicle for a road trip. Let's take a quick look at the most common vehicles used in live theater. 00:42:37:25 - 00:43:04:07 Speaker 4 If you need to make an individual actor in a play or musical, the most common method is to use a wireless microphone. This is like choosing a subcompact car for your road trip. If only one person is traveling. You just need a vehicle that will transport one person and whatever they are taking. If you need to only make one actor, you need a mic that will pick up just one actor's voice, one mic, one actor, a wireless mic. 00:43:04:10 - 00:43:31:08 Speaker 4 Sometimes the input device is a handheld microphone, but in theater it is usually either a lavalier or a headset mic. The mic is plugged into a transmitter, which sends the electric signal to the receiver. The receiver then sends the signal to a mixer to get smartened up by the front of house engineer. The transmitter is usually carried in a belt pack under the actors costume, or it can be built into the body of a handheld mic. 00:43:31:11 - 00:43:35:13 Speaker 4 We'll look at wireless transmitters in more detail later in the program. 00:43:35:16 - 00:44:03:10 Speaker 2 Do you want to mix a chorus in a musical? The most common way to do that is by using boundary mics. This is like taking the SUV on your road trip. A boundary might covers a large area like in this diagram, and is great for mixing large groups of people. It's usually wired into an input on the stage and placed along the apron or downstage area of the stage. 00:44:03:12 - 00:44:08:05 Speaker 2 We'll get into more detail about boundary mics in a little while. 00:44:08:08 - 00:44:28:21 Speaker 4 Many theaters like to have a director's mic available during rehearsals. This mic is often a wireless mic that is fed only through the stage. Monitor speakers to give direct feedback to the actors during stage rehearsals, which can be mighty loud when an entire cast is singing. This might can double as the stage announce or a mic. 00:44:28:24 - 00:44:49:14 Speaker 1 How would you get the sound of the actors on stage to the dressing rooms, greenroom, control booth and other areas? Backstage? Usually a mic is mounted over the stage and audio from this overhead mic is used to let off stage. Actors and technicians hear what part of the play is being performed. 00:44:49:17 - 00:45:14:13 Speaker 4 How about making an acoustic instrument like violins or brass instruments? Usually a single wired mic is used in front of several instruments. The mic type varies depending upon what instruments you're making. High school musicals usually don't need to make their orchestras, except for maybe the keyboard. An exception to this would be if the orchestra is a small combo like Little Shop of Horrors. 00:45:14:16 - 00:45:47:19 Speaker 1 Do you want to control a keyboard or other electronic instrument through your audio system? The most common way is plugging the instrument directly into the console. This is referred to as a direct input or D by plugging directly into the console instead of using a mic. The sound operator can control the volume and shape the sound of the instrument, and a direct input doesn't pick up sound from drums, brass, or other acoustic instruments around them like a mic would. 00:45:47:22 - 00:45:57:26 Speaker 4 If your keyboard player or any other musician uses a Di, he or she would need either a monitor speaker or a small amplifier to hear themselves. 00:45:57:28 - 00:46:29:03 Speaker 2 Do your sound effects and incidental music use a CD player or other digital device, just like the musical instruments that use a Di. These playback sources are plugged directly into the mixer. There are usually controlled by the audio assistant or a two. Most theaters use CD players or digital computer playback programs loaded onto laptops to control sound effects and incidental music. 00:46:29:05 - 00:46:52:16 Speaker 4 Make a list of each source you need for your production. Sure, microphones has a great website to help choose the right mic for different needs. A typical musical may have many sources or passengers getting on the audio highway, just like a highway at rush hour. A typical musical may use 12 body mikes for lead and supporting actors, three boundary mikes for chorus work. 00:46:52:18 - 00:47:08:00 Speaker 4 A monitor mic over the stage. A public address mic for pre-show announcements and direct inputs for an electronic keyboard and playback sources. This is going to make a pretty crowded highway or on your mixer, and the front of house engineer drives all the vehicles. 00:47:08:02 - 00:47:22:27 Speaker 2 Now, Bob and I are going to take a closer look at microphones with you so you can choose the best vehicles for your productions. 00:47:22:29 - 00:47:48:06 Speaker 1 Before we even start to look at the mics, we need to take a quick look at what might be the scariest aspect of running an audio mixer for a show. Feedback. Now you've all heard it, but might not know what it was called. Feedback can be acoustical or mechanical. Mechanical feedback is most often created by a vibration coming up a mic stand holding an open mic. 00:47:48:09 - 00:47:59:26 Speaker 1 Just from having your system up too loud and nothing running through it, it's that hum that starts low and slowly gets louder. Like this. 00:47:59:29 - 00:48:27:05 Speaker 1 That is mechanical feedback. Acoustic feedback is more common and occurs when amplified sound from speakers get back into a microphone, and that sound gets re amplified again and again in a kind of a loop. And the result is that horrible screech that makes the audience cover their ears. It makes the audio engineer want to run out of the building to escape all the dirty looks from the audience. 00:48:27:08 - 00:48:55:20 Speaker 1 Feedback is probably more common at higher frequencies, but can happen in the low frequencies as well. Feedback can be caused by many things, but it is always sound from speakers getting back into microphones. And then the audio ugliness begins. One way or another. Feedback always comes down to a microphone picking up sound from speakers. Keep this in mind as we examine microphones. 00:48:55:23 - 00:49:27:09 Speaker 2 There are loads of different microphones for different situations, but they all have one thing in common. Every mic transforms vibrations in the air into electrical energy. In order to do that. They have small light material in them called the diaphragm. When the sound vibrations in the air reach the diaphragm, they cause the diaphragm to vibrate, which moves the voice coil over a magnet. 00:49:27:11 - 00:49:43:19 Speaker 2 This creates an electrical current in the microphone that is sent out to the brain of the audio system. The mixer microphones fall into two groups dynamic mics and condenser mics. 00:49:43:21 - 00:50:13:08 Speaker 1 Dynamic mics have a pretty simple construction, so they are economical, rugged, provide great audio quality, and can handle extremely high sound levels. They don't need power from batteries or external sources since they generate their own signal, with very few moving parts. Dynamic mics are not as sensitive as some of the higher priced mics, especially when it comes to very soft sounds, are very high pitched sounds. 00:50:13:10 - 00:50:22:14 Speaker 1 Dynamic mics have a reputation for giving kind of a fat sound, which makes their performance flattering to the human ear. 00:50:22:17 - 00:50:52:01 Speaker 2 Condenser mics are more accurate and works slightly differently than dynamic mics. But the biggest thing to remember about condenser mics is that they need to have a power source to make them work. There are three ways to get that power to the mic. Some condenser mics need a battery. Most mixers have phantom power that sends power to all of the condenser mics. 00:50:52:03 - 00:51:12:11 Speaker 2 Some mixers may have a 48 volt phantom power button, but most just send power out all the time to any mics that need power. Rarely. You may need to use a battery operated external phantom power supply box. 00:51:12:14 - 00:51:45:07 Speaker 1 If there's a downside of using condenser mics. It would be that they can be too accurate and will point out any imperfection in a voice or instrument. Condenser mics are kind of like high def TV, which show extreme detail in close ups. Sometimes seeing or hearing something too clearly. Is it flattering? Also, condenser mics can be a little more fragile than dynamic mics. 00:51:45:10 - 00:52:08:08 Speaker 4 Now, this mixer might look a little intimidating at first glance. What in the world do all those knobs, buttons, and faders do? Where do I turn them? It's actually a lot less difficult than it seems. Let's break it down into the four main parts of a mixer. Let's take a look at the first part. The input section. The first place electrical signals enter the mixer. 00:52:08:10 - 00:52:32:12 Speaker 1 On your family's road trip. You had your family's subcompact car tuned up, checked all the gas, oil, tire pressure and coolant levels. You then got on a highway, and then you got off and on the highway to pick things up and drop things off. You eventually ended up at a destination, a graduation party. The lanes of traffic are just like the channels on an audio console. 00:52:32:14 - 00:53:02:18 Speaker 1 Each one of the sources, mikes, CD players, etc. get plugged into a channel on the input section of your audio console. That channel controls the electrical signal from that source. For example, if you're producing one of my favorite shows, Little Shop of Horrors, you might plug Seymour's Mike into channel one and Audrey's Mic into channel two. Mr. machine X Mike and the channel three Oren's Mike into channel four. 00:53:02:20 - 00:53:34:05 Speaker 1 The voice of Audrey two into channel five. Crystal and the channel six Rinat into channel seven. She found in the channel eight three boundary mikes into channels nine, ten and 11. The announce Mike, Skip, snip, Mrs. Loose, etc. in the channel 12 the keyboard into channel 13. The guitar and the channel 14 the bass into channel 15. The kick drum into channel 16. 00:53:34:07 - 00:54:00:18 Speaker 1 The snare drum into channel 17. The overhead symbol mix into channel 18. The times into channel 19. The monitor Mike for the backstage areas in a channel 20 and the left and right channels of the sound effects CD player are. Other playback system in the channels 21 and 22. Remember, only one audio source can go into each channel. 00:54:00:20 - 00:54:24:25 Speaker 1 This is one way to set up your mixer for a little shop. Like we said, mixers can look pretty intimidating, but look closer. Each input channel is exactly the same as the channel next to it. So once you learn how to operate Seymour's channel, you also know how to operate Audrey's Channel, Mr. Hicks Channel, and all 32 input channels on your mixer. 00:54:24:28 - 00:54:30:24 Speaker 1 Learn how to operate one channel and you know how to control over 80% of the mixer. 00:54:30:26 - 00:54:58:14 Speaker 4 Once you are familiar with the audio highway, you are able to shape the sound of your sources by changing the tone of the sound in your EQ section. This is like getting a tune up, checking your tire pressure, oil, gas, and engine coolant before you get on the highway. Also, you can get off the highway to send the signal to different destinations like stage monitor speakers, dressing and greenroom speakers. 00:54:58:16 - 00:55:16:17 Speaker 4 Then you can get off the audio highway to pick up things like reverb, delay and other effects and then get back on it to carry things to your destinations like the Centerville speakers for the people in the first few rows of the audience, or to an assisted listening system. 00:55:16:19 - 00:55:48:21 Speaker 4 Effects. Speakers. You can make a left or right turn to go to only the left and right speakers by using the pen knob. Or hit the emergency brake by using the mute button. And then carry things to your destination. The main speakers. You can take a single vehicle or carpool together by using the group buttons. You can go softer or louder by using the fader. 00:55:48:23 - 00:56:10:03 Speaker 4 You can check different functions of your car by listening to one channel at a time, using headphones and the preset listen button. Now that you have an overall idea of where we're headed, we're going to take a closer look at a typical input channel, which is the route you take on the audio highway. After learning where we can go on the audio Highway, we'll actually get on the road and learn to operate a mixer. 00:56:10:05 - 00:56:13:22 Speaker 4 Let's start at the top and work our way down an input channel. 00:56:13:24 - 00:56:52:10 Speaker 1 At the top of each channel is a knob that will be labeled cents for sensitivity, input gain, or trim, depending on who manufactured your mixer. This knob is turned up for weaker signals like pleasant but weak voices, and down for stronger signals like big, booming voices. A good way to visually check the amount of signal coming into your console is to use the L r pre feed level button, usually found next to R above the fader towards the bottom of the channel strip. 00:56:52:12 - 00:57:18:18 Speaker 1 On this mixer, when the flow button is pushed down, you can check the input gain by looking at the left and right meters in the center section of the mixer. Here it is not engaged. Here it is engaged. This is an example of a weak input signal. See how we can make it stronger by turning up the gain. 00:57:18:21 - 00:57:42:23 Speaker 1 Your mixer may be different, so check your owner's manual for operation of the flow function. Boosting the gain is a way to make the signal from an actor with a weaker voice equal to the signal from an actor with a stronger voice. When the signals first come into the mixer. The idea here is to get all the actors mixed signals as close together in strength as possible. 00:57:42:25 - 00:58:05:19 Speaker 1 This control should always be set at zero before you turn on the mixer. Someone with a really powerful voice might end up with the gain set just a little above zero, while someone with a weaker voice might need to have the gain turned up to 30 or even higher. Setting this knob is like using the gas pedal in your car so you can keep up with traffic. 00:58:05:21 - 00:58:32:07 Speaker 1 The difference is you're not making a source go faster. You're making a source louder to keep up with the volume of the other voices. On newer mixers, there will probably be a 20 DB pad button that will help you deal with extremely strong signals. Pressing the pad button will significantly lower the level of a really strong signal, like when you're making a snare drum or trumpet. 00:58:32:10 - 00:58:36:04 Speaker 1 Voices will usually not need to use the pad button. 00:58:36:07 - 00:58:59:15 Speaker 4 The next set of controls is the EQ, short for equalization section. The EQ section is a tone control that will allow you to shape the tone of each individual source, especially actors voices. The EQ knobs are similar to the tone controls on your stereo, but most mixers let you get more specific than a simple high and low or treble and bass adjustment. 00:58:59:18 - 00:59:19:28 Speaker 4 There may be anywhere from 3 to 6 bands of EQ for each channel, depending on the mixer, which allows you to cut back or boost different frequencies. To give you an example of what we mean by cutting back or boosting different frequencies. We are now cutting back on the midrange frequencies on my voice. Can you hear the difference? 00:59:20:00 - 00:59:44:05 Speaker 4 Now we are boosting the midrange frequencies on my voice to get a totally different sound. Since the EQ section takes up a large part of the mixer, we need to spend a little extra time here. Different cars have different specifications and actors have different voices and need different EQ settings. We will look at another section on the Q shortly which addresses how to EQ your entire auditorium. 00:59:44:07 - 01:00:09:13 Speaker 4 For now though, we are going to concentrate on what the individual channel EQ sections can do for each individual source. To control frequencies, we need to know how frequencies are measured on your road trip. Gasoline is measured in gallons or liters and tire pressure is measured in p.s.i or pounds per square inch. Distances can be measured in miles or kilometers. 01:00:09:15 - 01:00:40:29 Speaker 4 Sound frequency or pitch is measured in hertz and is abbreviated H z. Kilohertz is abbreviated k means thousands of hertz. Much higher frequencies than Hertz, and megahertz is abbreviated MHC means millions of hertz. Megahertz are so high they are beyond what humans can hear, so we won't be concerned about them. The generally accepted range of human hearing is between 20Hz and 20,000Hz, or 20kHz. 01:00:41:01 - 01:01:06:06 Speaker 4 To help show sound visually, look at the graph underneath the following clips. See how the graph at the bottom moves when the bass notes and the kick drum are played. That shows that the bass and kick drum frequencies are in the low frequency range. Low frequency start on the left side of the screen and go into mid frequencies as the pitch gets higher, and finally the mid frequencies get higher into high frequencies. 01:01:06:08 - 01:01:12:14 Speaker 4 These are called wave files and show the frequency of the sound measured in hertz. 01:01:12:16 - 01:01:18:02 Unknown The vertical graph for the right side shows how loud sound is and is measured in decibels. 01:01:18:04 - 01:01:38:17 Speaker 4 Some sounds have very precise frequencies. Look at the flute. See how the wav file of the flute is very specific to each note that is played. Other sounds are more complex and have a whole range of frequencies in the sound. Like this. Bacon frying. Keep that in mind as we continue. Now look at the EQ section of our mixer. 01:01:38:22 - 01:02:08:24 Speaker 4 We have four bands of EQ on our mixer. Even though we have six knobs, we'll explain this in just a moment. Have stands for High frequency three K or three kilohertz. And this knob can boost or cut back on very high range. Sounds like this flute. H mid stands for the high mid frequency between 550Hz and 13kHz. This knob lets you target a particular frequency and then boost or cut back on that frequency using the next knob. 01:02:08:27 - 01:02:33:02 Speaker 4 Sounds in that range sound like this symbol and this flute. Let's look at how we can use this EQ. If a character on stage is playing a flute and is wearing a wireless mic, the wireless mic will pick up the actor's voice and the flute. So everything is working great for you. But when the actor plays a particular note like this LA note, that note may be unpleasant to our ears. 01:02:33:05 - 01:02:53:11 Speaker 4 Rather than cutting back on the volume of the mic because that has been perfect so far. You may just want to get rid of the unpleasant frequencies of that instrument or voice. Look at the wave chart again. See how that note is at 4000Hz or 4K? That is a common problem. Frequency. Lots of sources sound terrible at that frequency. 01:02:53:13 - 01:03:16:27 Speaker 4 If you just move the top knob to 4K, then cut back on that frequency using the knob below. You can get rid of the unwanted harsh frequencies. Low mid lets you pick a frequency between 80Hz and 1.9kHz, and boost or cut that frequency using the next knob down. This is an important EQ knob to help fine tune actors voices so they are clear and intelligible. 01:03:16:27 - 01:03:42:18 Speaker 4 The low range can be controlled by the very bottom knob in the EQ section. The low range knob can boost or cut back. Sounds like this bass guitar or a kick drum. Listen to how the low EQ knob can change the sound of a bass guitar. The lower the hertz, the lower the frequency, the higher the hertz. The higher the frequency, the higher frequencies may be labeled k, h, z. 01:03:42:21 - 01:04:09:20 Speaker 4 Low EQ knobs control sounds like the bass and kick. Low mid EQ knobs control sounds like a snare drum. High mid EQ knobs control sounds like symbols and bacon frying. High Q knobs control sounds like the high end of a flute, and the human voice is controlled by EQ knobs and all different frequency ranges. The longer you work with audio mixers, you will develop an ear for frequencies. 01:04:09:23 - 01:04:36:19 Speaker 4 Know how to get the most out of the EQ section. See how the graph at the bottom moves when the bass notes and the kick drum are played. This shows the frequency of the sound measured in hertz. The vertical graph to the right side measures the decibels, or how loud the sound is. Both these instruments are basically in the low EQ range, and could be boosted or cut back by the low frequency knob at the bottom of the EQ section of this channel. 01:04:36:22 - 01:05:02:23 Speaker 4 When you start setting levels on your mixers, always have your EQ knob set at zero at the start of setting the EQ, so the signal is as close to the actual acoustical sound as possible. Let's demonstrate how to use individual channel EQ to get the best sound possible. Say you're setting the levels of each individual channel during your first technical rehearsal of Little Shop of Horrors, the show we looked at earlier. 01:05:02:26 - 01:05:19:16 Speaker 4 You may start by fine tuning the bass and kick drum sound for the combo in Little Shop, with all the E2 knobs set at zero. Listen to the bass player play the lowest notes he plays in the show. If it sounds muddy or blurry like this. 01:05:19:18 - 01:05:43:15 Speaker 4 Back the knob down a little until it sounds clear, but still. Bass. If the bass sounds thin, like there is no bottom to the bass, you would want to turn the knob up until it sounds good. The bass will probably run up into the mid ranges, so have the bass player play music that also has higher notes, and adjust those EQ knobs, with the objective being to hear all the notes evenly. 01:05:43:18 - 01:06:07:05 Speaker 4 The high Q knob may not even be moved, since the bass may not get into those frequencies. Setting the kick drum mic will be very similar to setting the bass. Much of what we hear everyday falls into the mid EQ range. Notice how this airplane taking off has a lot of lows, but also some mid frequencies. Most sounds have a range of frequencies. 01:06:07:07 - 01:06:30:16 Speaker 4 The snare drum and the cymbals in the next two channels use a lot of mid range IQ, and quite a bit at the high frequencies. Using the same idea from above, you could adjust the low, low, mid, high, mid and high frequencies to get the rest of your drum set sounding right. Add the toms into the mix and now you have your drum kit basically miked and channels 16 through 19. 01:06:30:18 - 01:06:53:20 Speaker 4 Remember, always start the EQ at zero. That's the closest to an accurate acoustic sound of what you're miking. You can then strengthen or weaken that frequency from there. The midweek range is where much of the human voice falls, and the human voice is what we're most concerned with most of the time in theater. Take a look at the graph one more time. 01:06:53:22 - 01:07:19:08 Speaker 4 See how when the singer starts, she is in the low mid EQ range and then goes all the way into the mid EQ range. Listen to each one of your actors sing and adjust the EQ to make them sound their best. Experiment with each EQ knob to see how it changes the sound of each actor. Listen to how the singer's voice has changed when we adjust her low medical Remi for her high medic. 01:07:19:10 - 01:07:23:00 Speaker 2 So low for so high. 01:07:23:03 - 01:07:48:12 Speaker 4 Trust your ears and try to get the best sound for each actor. Keeping in mind that intelligibility. 001 last thing about EQ. Don't be surprised if you need to fine tune your actors EQ during a performance. You can set your sound system so it sounds fantastic during tech and dress rehearsals, but once you get a full audience, that will slightly change the acoustics of the room. 01:07:48:14 - 01:08:13:17 Speaker 4 1600 people in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the University of Missouri, Saint Louis will soak up a lot of sound clothing, especially sweaters and jackets, in the winter will make the space swell up the sound more than an empty house. Even a house full of people breathing changes the acoustics of the space. Be ready for thinking and adjusting on the fly during performances. 01:08:13:19 - 01:08:31:09 Speaker 4 Once you get the EQ for a channel set, take a close up digital photograph of the settings and blow that up large enough to easily read the settings. 01:08:31:12 - 01:09:04:21 Speaker 1 Digital mixing consoles, also called dmcs, have become increasingly popular in the past few years for their flexibility. Size, cost, and the wide range of features that are included in one package. In this segment, we will be explaining some of the basic features of digital consoles to get you up and going, as well as some advantages and disadvantages of mixing in the digital environment, where we'll demonstrate how to operate a popular digital console. 01:09:04:23 - 01:09:35:11 Speaker 1 A sound craft C performer. Now your DMC may be a different brand and may have differences from the sound craft we're demonstrating on, but the same principles will apply to almost all dmcs. You may need to spend some quality time with your owner's manual for the specifics of using your particular console. Your owner's manual may look really intimidating, but once you understand the basic terminology, it'll be pretty easy to navigate through. 01:09:35:13 - 01:09:44:06 Speaker 1 Let's start with some of the advantages and disadvantages of digital mixers, and then we'll explain how to operate a DMC. 01:09:44:08 - 01:10:14:19 Speaker 4 The most common input sources in live sound are microphones, which are analog. When you use a digital mixer, the analog signal from your microphones has to be converted into ones and zeros, or a digital signal. This is done by using an analog to digital converter, commonly known as A2D converters, which is built into all digital mixers. Analog systems can add noise, unintentional distortion, or other signal degradation every time a signal is processed. 01:10:14:21 - 01:10:43:11 Speaker 4 You won't have any of these problems when the signal is processed in a digital mixer. After an analog signal, like a signal from an actor's mic, is turned into a digital signal by the A2D converter. It can be digitally processed or smartened up by the front of house engineer. That smartened up digital signal ones and zeros, then needs to be changed back to an analog signal by using a digital to analog converter, or D to a converter. 01:10:43:13 - 01:10:52:20 Speaker 4 This conversion back to an analog signal is necessary, so the amps can recognize the signal, and the signal can be turned back into moving air by the speakers. 01:10:52:23 - 01:11:17:25 Speaker 1 A big advantage to digital consoles is that auxiliary sends to places like stage monitors, effects, speakers, backstage and out speakers, and hearing impaired systems can be mixed on the main faders of a digital mixing console. Instead of the row of knobs and auxiliary master faders like on an analog mixer. 01:11:17:27 - 01:11:45:09 Speaker 4 Signal routing is often much more flexible than with an analog based console. For example, you can program output routing into various scenes that can be easily recalled and repeated at different times in the show. If a radio is turned on and off several times during a show, and the sound effect of the radio is going to a specific effect speaker only used for the radio effect that Q can be stored and recalled for as many times as the cue happens. 01:11:45:12 - 01:12:12:13 Speaker 1 The setup of a digital mixing console can be saved and loaded. It will. This is particularly useful in educational performance spaces, where many different types of events regularly take place. Lots of schools start off the school year with class meetings in the theater, then present the fall play, have a dance concert, then holiday concerts before winter break in January. 01:12:12:15 - 01:12:48:29 Speaker 1 There may be another place scheduled for another dance concert. More meetings followed by the spring musical and then spring music and dance concerts. The same basic schedule is repeated year after year with a DMC. You can save different settings for plays, musicals, class meetings, band dance and choir concerts, motivational speakers, town hall meetings, and any other regularly scheduled events on a USB flash drive to be easily loaded again at later times. 01:12:49:01 - 01:12:51:22 Speaker 1 We'll get into more detail about this later. 01:12:51:29 - 01:13:24:06 Speaker 4 There are typically many on board effects and virtual signal processors like reverb, delay, chorus, EQ, compression, and noise gates built into digital mixers. This eliminates the need for additional hardware modules and the associated cost, size, weight, cabling, signal quality issues, etc. in other words, much of the signal processing you see in these racks of equipment is now contained inside this DMC. 01:13:24:09 - 01:13:47:01 Speaker 1 One of the biggest disadvantages is that the number of faders is often fewer than the number of input channels. So every channel is not immediately visible like it is on an analog mixer. On an analog mixer. You can look down at the console and visually see all the inputs ox sends and faders at all times. 01:13:47:04 - 01:14:24:22 Speaker 4 Digital consoles are built in layers controlled by fader banks. On this console, the fader banks are labeled A, B, C, and D. The first layer is fader bank A and it controls channels one through 22. The second layer, fader bank B, controls channels 23 through 32, plus eight additional stereo channels for playback. Sources. If you require more than 32 channels, Sound Craft has an option to add an expansion card to the back of the console that will expand input channels up to 48 inputs. 01:14:24:24 - 01:14:51:03 Speaker 4 Layer C on this particular console is dedicated to effect returns like reverb and delay. It's kind of like turning pages in a book. Layer D is dedicated to matrix outputs like sending signals to mains, dressing rooms, lobby and assisted listening systems. The different layers of input channels are not accessible until a bank of faders is switched to control them. 01:14:51:05 - 01:15:07:21 Speaker 4 Making adjustments can often be slower for compact digital mixers, because the user has to page through one or more layers of commands before reaching the desired control. This can sometimes be frustrating, since you don't always have a visual view of the entire console or fader banks. 01:15:07:23 - 01:15:42:06 Speaker 1 The first thing you will find when turning on some digital consoles is that you will have to configure it to your specific needs. For instance, if I was using it for House sound at the University of Missouri, Two Hills Center, I would want to configure it with the amount of stage inputs I require. I would need enough OCS send to send to the internal effects like reverb and delay, and enough outputs to feed my main PA speaker system, as well as fill speaker systems and dressing room feeds for stage monitors. 01:15:42:06 - 01:16:05:20 Speaker 1 Situation. I would require more OCS sims and probably fewer effects because the actors don't really need to hear the effects. The audience is hearing, but they do need to clearly hear what they are saying and singing the orchestra and the sound effects. Most Dmcs have effects processors already configured and built in. 01:16:05:22 - 01:16:33:07 Speaker 4 Unlike analog consoles, where you have to manually change cues for each scene or play, you can teach digital consoles to remember a setup for each type of event. To give you an example. Remember our setup for A Little Shop of Horrors? The first 12 channels were for performers mics. The next seven channels were for the band. The next for the stage monitor, overhead mic, and the last two channels were for the sound effects playback. 01:16:33:09 - 01:17:06:27 Speaker 4 You routed actors voices to the main speakers, sound effects to the monitor, and effects speakers you had backstage announced, and the overhead mic to the dressing rooms, the green room and the control booth. You routed the actors, voices, the band, and the sound effects to your hearing impaired systems on a DMC. This format can be stored as scenes or snapshots for the next musical, and when the next musical starts technical rehearsals, you're set up to just change the names on the channels and set levels for a new cast in the new musical. 01:17:06:29 - 01:17:38:21 Speaker 1 If the event after your musical is a stage band concert, you can assign channels, EQ, and set other effects for these channels. You can save these settings for the next Jazz Band concert and save lots of time. You can then set up a DMC for dance concerts, class meetings, choir, orchestra and other concerts and any other event and save those settings as a show file for future performances. 01:17:38:24 - 01:17:51:25 Speaker 1 After your DMC is labeled for different events, you will use the same operating principles and terminology of an analog system. You just have to really be aware of what layer you're working on. 01:17:51:28 - 01:18:33:07 Speaker 4 Another advantage of digital mixing consoles is the abundance of control features that it provides for each input channel. The built in effects of typical DMC are robust and include gates, compressor limiters, graphic equalizers, and other signal processing hardware. Much of the equipment from my 2005 rig are contained inside the Sound Craft Performer Mixer. Having a large number of internal effects makes a DMC system less vulnerable to failure and outside interference than an analog system using outboard hardware connected by cables that can short out or just plain fail. 01:18:33:09 - 01:19:05:21 Speaker 1 Digital consoles also allow you to assign graphic EQ on output busses, such as the left and right main speakers, as well as the OCS busses, which can be extremely helpful in configuring monitors and other destinations like dressing rooms, green rooms, assisted listening, etc.. Get to be good friends with the owner's manual of your console. Since every company uses slightly different terms and every auditorium is configured differently. 01:19:05:23 - 01:19:28:01 Speaker 4 The most useful feature of a digital console is the ability to store and recall scenes or snapshots, as well as entire show files. This can be invaluable if you are working on a production and at a later date. Want to get back to where you had to stop? An example would be if your school did a production of Little Shop of Horrors, and you had the show files saved. 01:19:28:04 - 01:19:37:02 Speaker 4 If your show was chosen to be performed at your State Thespian Festival, you could simply load in the show file for that production and have a great starting point. 01:19:37:04 - 01:20:05:20 Speaker 1 Some digital consoles allow you to choose what gets saved in a scene or snapshot. It could be something as simple as muting a mic when an actor goes off stage, or as complex as changing EQS or routing of effects. The most common term for this is called scope in the configure or preference section. You can choose what gets saved in the scope of each scene. 01:20:05:22 - 01:20:36:13 Speaker 1 An example would be if you're doing a variety show, you could set up one scene tailored for a choir. Another scene for a three piece band, and even another for just your podium or lavalier mics. In a multi scene production or talent show with multiple bands, this can be invaluable as the console will remember all the volume levels, mutes, EQ on input channels and the output routing. 01:20:36:16 - 01:20:52:17 Speaker 4 Having a custom snapshot built in labeled for each scene in your production can be a very valuable tool, as you can take the time during rehearsals to really tweak the various scenes and when showtime comes around. Just scroll through the various scenes and fine tune them. 01:20:52:19 - 01:21:16:16 Speaker 1 An example of this would be if you're doing a play, and your first scene involved four lead actors and a chorus. You could get everything dialed in for that scene and then save the settings and would later scene has the same actors on stage. You can call up that earlier snapshot and bam, you already have your basic settings for the new scene. 01:21:16:19 - 01:21:32:24 Speaker 1 It's like having sub Masters are looks recorded on your lighting console. Scenes allow you to mute unused inputs. Remember game changes for soloists, change effects, signal routing, and many other things.