ISSUE 7 // OCTOBER 2013 THE ECHO OBBY AITKEN | GILL ALLEN | RACHEL ARCHIBALD | PAUL ARDITTI | CHRISTOPHER ASHWORTH | TOM ASPLEY | HELEN ATKINSON | KELSH B-D | DAN BAILEY | SIMON BAK DANIEL BALFOUR | HAMISH BAMFORD | ALEX BARANOWSKI | HARRY BARKER | CHRIS BARLOW | DAVID BARTHOLOMEUSZ | MIKE BEER | SIMON BEESLEY | RICHARD BE OB BETTLE | DOMINIC BILKEY | SIMON BIRCHALL | ZOE BLACKFORD | BRYONY BLACKLER | MARK BODEN | FRANK BRADLEY | AMY BRAMMA | DANNY BRIGHT | ALICE BROO TEVEN BROWN | NELA BROWN | RACHEL BROWN | ROSS BROWN | BORNEO BROWN | ANDREW BRUCE | CLIVE BRYAN | RICHARD BUGG | PAUL BULL | DAVID BURTON | HAR UTCHER | ALEX CAPLEN | RICHARD CARTER | SAM CHARLESTON | KERI DANIELLE CHESSER | KARL CHRISTMAS | GEORGE CHRISTOU | THOMAS CLACHERS | SHAUN CLARK | E LARKE | RICK CLARKE | GREGORY CLARKE | SAMUEL CLARKSON | ANDY COLLINS | JACK CONDELL | CRISPIAN COVELL | TOM COX | ANDREA J COX | MATT DANDO | BEN DAVI ONY DAVIES | SIMON DEACON | STUART DEAN | GEORGE DENNIS | IAN DICKINSON | ROBERT DONNELLY-JACKSON | CAROLYN DOWNING | OLIVER DRIVER | CHRIS DROHA RALPH DUNLOP | JEREMY DUNN | MARK DUNNE | ALEX DURRELL | CHANTELLE DYSON | STEPHEN EDWARDS | ED ELBOURNE | JEREMY ELLIS | PETER ELTRINGHAM ADISONTips ENGLISH and | GARETH tricks EVANS of| DAN the EVANS |trade AARON EVANS | CHRISTOPHER EVANS | ED FERGUSON | GREGG FISHER | ADAM FISHER | JAMIE FLOCKTON | AND ANKSFrom | SEBASTIAN Terry Jardine,Mic FROST | GARETH Pool, FRY Andrew| CHRIS FULL Bruce, | ADAM John FUNNELL Leonard, | PAUL Gareth GAVIN | Fry,JEREMY GEORGE | TUOMO GEORGE-TOLONEN | TOM GIBBONS | DAFFYD GOUG BEN GRANT | ANDY GREEN | DAVID GREGORY | PAUL GREGORY | PAUL GROOTHUIS | CARLTON GUC | TOM HACKLEY | DERK HAGEDORN | LAURA HAMMOND | ALA ARDIMANSebastian | TOM HARESFrost, | Bobby ROGER HARPUMAitken, Adam| JOHN HARRIS McCready | DAVID and HARVEY Gareth | DAVID Owen HATELY | DAVE HAYDON | CHRIS HEADLAM | DANIEL HIGGOTT | VICKI HILL | ANDRE NTON | ADAM HOCKLEY | NIGEL HOGG | SIMON HOLLEY | THEO HOLLOWAY | NEIL HUGHES | BRIAN HUGHES | MARTYN HUNT | PHIL HURLEY | KEITH HUTCHINSON UKE HYDE | WILL JACKSON | TERRY JARDINE | SUNGHO JEONG | STEVE JONAS | STEPHEN JONES | ROB JONES | DAN JONES | DYFAN JONES | CHRIS JORDAN | NAOMI JORDA DAVID KAY | JOE KEAT | DOMINIC KENNEDY | HYDER KHALIL | KAROLIN KILLIG | SIMON KING | TSHARI KING | ED KINSELLA | ANDY KIRKPATRICK | SEAN KNOWLES LEXANDER KOSANKE | KAREN LAUKE | ANDY LAURIE | EM LAXTON | JOHN LEONARD | WINNIE LEUNG | ARI LEVY | NICK LIDSTER | ANDREW LILLYWHITE | TOM LISHMAN EDERICK LOUCKS | CHRIS MACE | MARK MALHERBE | PETE MALKIN | TOM MANN | ALAN MARCH | TOM MARSHALL | PHILIP MATEJTSCHUK | STEVEN MAYO | ADAM MCCREAD UKE MCGOWAN | MATT MCKENZIE | NEIL MCKEOWN | JON MCLEOD | DARREN MCMAHON | NEIL MCNALLY | DAVID MCSEVENEY | JAMES MELLING | MARK MELVILLE | TI IDDLETON | FRASER MILROY | BEN MILTON | RICHARD MOORES | STUART MOOTS | FERGUS MOUNT | THARUPATHI MUNASINGHE | JING NG | JON NICHOLLS | JAM CHOLSON | CRAIG NIMENS | DAVE NORTON | TOMAS O’CONNOR | DAVY OGILVY | GARETH OWEN | ED OWEN | JOHN OWENS | GLENN OXENBURY | MATT PADDEN | SA ALMER | MAX PAPPENHEIM | CHARLES PARRY | DAVID PHILLIPS | THOMAS PICKERING | COLIN PINK | JERRY PLACKEN | MIC POOL | MICK POTTER | NICK POWELL | JON PRIMRO AVGOUSTOS PSILLAS | ADRIENNE QUARTLY | CLEMENT RAWLING | HARRY REGAN | CHRIS REID | PETER RICE | MAX RINGHAM | BEN RINGHAM | DAVID RIPLEY | MICHAEL RITCH ONASALSO ROEBUCK IN THIS | RICHARD ISSUE ROGERS | MORGAN ROGERS | STAF ROWLEY | ADAM RUDD | JONATHAN RUDDICK | TOM RUNDLE | SARAH RUSHTON-READ | PETER RUSSEL CK SAGARInterview | NICOLA with SALVAGE Hollywood’s | HARRY SAXTON Craig BerkeyMCCANN | NICK SCREEN | JON SEALEY | HUW SEMMENS | KYLE SEPEDE | STEVEN SEYMOUR | DAVINA SHAH | TIM SHAXSO IM SHERRATTWho’s who | CHRISTOPHER of theatre SHUTT sound | RICHARD 2013 SILLITTO | HELEN SKIERA | JOHN TORGER SKJELSTAD | MARTIN SLAVIN | MATHEW SMETHURST-EVANS | GRAEME SNEDDO LEMMING SORENSEN | OLLY STEEL | BEN STEINITZ | THOMAS STEVENSON | IAN STICKLAND | MARY STONE | JONATHAN SUFFOLK | ANDREW TAYLOR | JOHN TAYLO LES THOMAS | MAREK TKACIK | SCOTT TOSTEVIN | JOSHUA TREPTE | ALEX TWISELTON | NIKOLAI VARLAMOV | BEN VERNON | ELLA WAHLSTRÖM | MIKE WALKER | J ALKER | MIKE WALKER | RICH WALSH | BRADLEE WARD | DAVID WEBSTER | SARAH WELTMAN | DONATO WHARTON | MIKE WHEELER | ROBIN WHITTAKER | HEN HITTAKER | CHRIS WHYBROW | MATTHEW ‘WILLS’WILLIAMS | CLAIRE WINDSOR | MIKE WINSHIP | JAMIE WOODS | DAVE WOOSTER | PHIL WRIGHT | DERRICK ZIEBA Sound design tips and tricks: part 1 GARETH OWEN Despite the proliferation of sound courses in TERRY JARDINE has this advice for those sound- Maintaining the integrity of touring shows can recent years, many of the real world skills checking a theatrical cast: be tricky. MIC POOL has this nugget to share: required to successfully design a theatrical “Getting people to take a soundcheck seriously “Make cues in your playback software consisting production are learnt on the job.While technical can sometimes be tricky – I find that, come of pink noise routed to each part of the and theatrical studies certainly have their place, soundcheck time, getting the working lights loudspeaker system. Adjust the level of the pink there is no substitution for being on the front turned off, a lighting state up on stage, and the using the software level controls to obtain a line, in the thick of it, learning from trial and house lights turned down really gets people to reading of say 80dBC in the centre of the error, getting it wrong as much as you get it focus. It makes them realise, both backstage and auditorium on a hand held sound level meter or right. FOH, that there is a rehearsal in progress and, as cheap smart phone app. Then if the show is a result, they tend to respect that, cutting down revived, transfers or tours, as a starting point, In an attempt to share experience and allow drilling noise, hoovering, hammering, and play these cues back and adjust the amplifiers veterans and beginners alike to learn from each shouting by eighty percent. If you don’t do it on the new system to give the same SPL meter others mistakes, I approached some of the already, try it – it really works!” readings as your original. This is particularly world’s top sound designers to share a hint, tip useful for small and medium scale tours of or trick they have learned over their years in the plays which utilize house PA systems. It is also industry. Here are just a few of their responses. brilliant for matrixing down a multichannel loudspeaker rig to two channels or four channels as a rehearsal or emergency version with accurately matched levels.” Got a tip or trick to share? Email us at [email protected] Clockwise from left: Terry Jardine; Mic Pool; John Leonard; Bobby Aitken; Andrew Bruce; and Sebastian Frost ANDREW BRUCE shares a tip to help you get SEBASTIAN FROST often sets up large multi- BOBBY AITKEN offers us this insight in to the speakers and microphones in the right zoned multi-timed systems. One of his top getting a great percussion sound: place: tricks is: “A current favorite technique of mine is using “Cultivate your friendship with the scenic and “Setting up delays for stage zones can be a parallel compression across the drums and costume designers. Between them, they have far lengthy process – sticking a sheet of A4 paper to percussion group. It’s a fantastic technique that more influence over whether your show sounds a mic stand as a target for a laser measure controls the dynamics by effectively increasing good than any amount of EQ.” means you can calculate all delay values the level and detail in the softer passages. It is without needing quiet time, making you all the achieved firstly by creating two identical stereo Need to get the perfect mobile phone sound? more popular with the other departments. Place groups one of which is heavily compressed. I like JOHN LEONARD suggests: the stand in the centre of your imaging point to use two outboard Urei 1176LN’s set fairly “If simulating a mobile phone ring via an IEM or and zap away to your hearts content. Inherent aggressively for this. The outputs of the two other local source, when the phone gets taken system latencies can always vary, so make sure groups are then summed back together on the from a pocket or bag, run two versions of the you do an acoustic check to finish as lasers ‘rest of the band’ group. It’s interesting to note same effect simultaneously: one with an EQ should be used to help your ears, not replace that the uncompressed group will also require setting that reduces the high-frequency content them.” an insert point with a couple of XLR jumpers and one with a full range effect. Start with the inserted. This is to compensate for the insert full range effect muted and when the phone is latency.Try it! It’s a really great technique.” retrieved from the pocket, fast fade up the full range effect to a slightly higher level than the HF-reduced version. Perfect realism every time!” Left to right: Gareth Fry; Adam McCready; and Gareth Owen For a realistic sounding thunder storm, try this Gelling sound effects together in to one Finally, when specifying a sound system for a advice from GARETH FRY: cohesive soundscape can be a tricky business. show, learn from my bitter experience: “Making rain sound realistic can be tricky.The ADAM MCCREADY suggests: “When making decisions as to what equipment best technique I’ve found is to start off with “When creating a soundscape or ambience for a to use for a show, beware of using too many multiple recordings. If I were creating the effect scene that will contain many spot effects, try new toys. If you have a PA you have never used of being inside a house listening to the rain creating a template in your DAW with inserts on before, a mixing desk you have never used outside, I’d grab interior recordings of rain the master that include, amongst your preferred before, and radio mics you have never used against a window, on a hard roof, and exterior mastering plug ins, a reverb and/or delay that before, you have no idea where to turn when recordings of rain running through guttering create an appropriate ‘acoustic’ for your scene.