BBC children in need

[johndenim]

I refer to the kids doing 'Oliver!' on tonights children in need.

 

Anyone know how the sound team got the vocals to sound so good?

I did not see any lavs or discreet headsets, only a couple of shot guns.

 

I did not notice any boundry mics either. The vox were sharp and clear.

Any Ideas?

As I am dumb founded!

[Jonathan Mellor]

I noticed that too, and yes I spent the duration of the piece looking for the mics....

 

possibly very well hidden lavs in their hairline, that's all I can think of.

[Rob_Beech]

Well (having been working again (thankfully)) I missed it. But on getting home at 3am I expected to find a topic or 9 on it. I'm just pleased to see it's a positive one for a change. Normally we get a 9 year old telling us that the vocals sounded dull, or the cor anglais was cutting through too prominently and not leaving room for the subtle dissonant progressions that the pianist was playing, though generally "IT SOUNDED CRAP" is about as technical as we get. We then get told that it could be overcome by this that and tuther by said 9 year old. I'm looking forward to live sound reinforcement in 10 or 15 years time when these people are in charge of such shows, it's going to be utter perfection it really is.

 

 

 

Sorry, bit of a long day.

 

 

 

Rob

[rooftop]

I too agree that it sounded pretty good

 

My thoughts are that the chorus was probably pre-recorded with the orchestral arrangement on a click track, so that the the boys singing live were only giving you 50% (or possibly less) of the sound. Hence a few strategically placed boundary / shot guns all that was needed for the chorus.

 

Then of course, just the four main characters would have had good radio mics.

 

Alternatively, the whole cast could have been on radios but that seems like a lot of hassle and expense for a 5 minute spot...so I vote for option A

[i_hate_fisicks]

big rant...

 

Good work Rob. I have respect for a man who can dig out a rant from a topic that didn't even exist!

 

Paul

Serial Ranter

[Mr.Si]

My vote is that since they're all in professional theatre, they're properly trained and thus can project their voices. They also have the pitch of voice which cuts through well, especially when in multiples.

 

My vote is totally live with well trained vocals.

 

I liked the show, some of the other stuff they had was a bit weird, but they raise the money and awareness to a degree so it's fine. Maybe I'm too naive that it's done with a genuine intent, but that's what I think.

[johndenim]

I dunno Mr Si.

 

Some of the kids seemed pretty green to me, especially Oliver.

Surely the lead characters must have had individual mics?

 

As a slight side note, during the 'let's see what is happening in your area' cuts, I live in west notts, so I got the 'local' westfields shopping centre in Derby.

 

Did anybody else notice the horrendous feedback during the announcements by the local news team?

Heinz 57 has mentioned the lighting in the 'lighting' section of BR, the terrible feedback was more prominent to me.

[Bobbsy]

I'm a bit distant for good reception from BBC1--and they've got too clever about recognising IP addresses so I can't even watch the streaming video.

 

However, having worked with some West End-level children, even if they seem green you would be amazed by their abilities to project when they sing. Even the chorus would put 98% of Amdram adults to shame and the leads would be in the "something special" category. That fact alone would make a huge difference to what the audio team can do.

 

The other thing I'd say though is that sound is a different kettle of fish when your main goal is a broadcast mix in a sound proof, acoustically treated studio. Although I'm sure there would have been SR for the studio audience, this would take a distant second fiddle to the on-air mix. Combining the situation with kids who can project makes a huge difference to the typical school show.

 

Bob

[paulears]

Hasn't anyone worked out that this is television - entertainment - hectic works for a good cause. Why do we keep picking holes, or even bothering to work it out. Some music slots happened after a lengthy VT insert, and had microphones on drums, in-ears visible and monitors on the floor. Others came immediately after live studio stuff and had no monitors or drum mics at all, and had magic mics that worked even when the 'turn' forgot to sing into them. Draw your own conclusions, but best to keep them to yourselves. It's like magic - when you know, don't tell anybody.

[PoppaDom]

Ok guys, have to answer this topic to put some of you out of misery and others to dispel your cynicism relating to click tracks.

 

All the children and principals were indeed close mic'd for the performance for Children In Need on Friday night. They were wearing DPA 4060's / 4061's mounted onto Sennheiser SK510 packs.

 

How do I know this?

 

Because after reading this I am beaming with pride for my other half who fitted said mics and is working on the show. :)

 

Regards

Dom

[rooftop]

Well there you go. I did say it was either a click track or this option!

[Ynot]

Well there you go. I did say it was either a click track or this option!

So a rather safe bet from you, then... :)

 

"They were either singing or they weren't" sort of thing.......

 

Hmmm... ©

[rooftop]

Well no, the third option was boundary / ambient mics and relying on good projection of voice.

[AndyL]

They were wearing DPA 4060's / 4061's mounted onto Sennheiser SK510 packs.

 

Thanks Dom,

 

(personally I was expecting the "to track" answer, so I'm glad to find out I was wrong!)

 

Could you just clarify regarding the pocket packs, were they: SK 50 ? SK 5012 ? or SK 5212 ?

 

I don't know of an SK 510....

 

Andy.