How to track who's off stage

[hodgeydodgy]

Hi there I've just got a job doing sound for a small amateur theatre in my town. I have 11 mics and a few sound effects, but have do I track who's on and off stage. Should I mark and follow the script so I know where everyone is or do I just do it visually??

Please help this is my first job doing sound for a proper theatre.

 

Thanks Jake

[Shez]

A well marked-up script is essential for this kind of job. Once rehearsals are finished and you start the run, you should be at a point where you know the show well enough that the script is only a prompt for you and you know pretty much off by heart when people enter and exit.

Note also that it's rarely a case of "on-stage person = their mic on", "off stage person = mic off". To maintain low noise levels and headroom-before-feedback, you'd generally mix it pretty much line by line so when someone doesn't have a line for a few lines, their mic should be off. This is why you really need to know the show well. It's not an easy job - it needs constant concentration and you'll be lucky to get time to even mop your brow in a busy show!

[paulears]

My usual method is to add +1 to the script at the moment a character enters, if they are to speak straight away, and a -1 when their mic is finished with - either for an exit, or when they have no more dialogue. I tend to leave actors who are on, with their mic live but at a low level - just in case, only cutting it when they really have done with it. I also always use the faders, never the mutes = because even with LEDs on the mutes, seeing the faders is simpler for me. What I'll always do every few pages or when things get busy is mark up the top of the page with all the mics live at this point. Seeing +3 +5+ 6+ 12 +14 and sometimes adding a circle with 5 in it - makes a quick scan of the faders simple - and seeing 6 faders up and a 5 next to the individual numbers lets me know somebody has exited and I have not noticed, and it makes it simple to identify which one was missed. As they exit, the script has a -4 -5 in the margin at the correct moment. I've always marked scripts up like this and it works for me.

[Bobbsy]

Absolutely mark up a script. I give myself standby cues (about half a page before) "Up" cues by mic number (with a level notation if it's not to 0 on the fader), "favour" and "dip" cues and "Down" cues when the actor leaves the stage.

 

I'm totally with Paul about using the faders, not mutes, for when people arrive or leave. Like Paul I like the visual cue from the fader position but (being fussy) I also find this masks the slight change in the "sound" you get when you open and close channels too suddenly.

 

Finally, I'm with Shez. It's a case of mixing pretty much line by line to avoid feedback and extraneous noises...or even just to avoid comb filtering when two actors are near each other.

[S&L]

I'm well of my comfort zone here and wouldn't post at all except that my partner runs continuity for quite complex musical theatre productions. I am quoting her when she says have one ear listening to assistant or deputy stage manager in your cans - listening to their lighting and acting cues etc. even with a marked up script she reckons the biggest mistakes tend to be made by lighting and sound guys who work without listening to the stage cues - with last year's Les Mis production she says with 198 sound and light cues there wasn't time to look down at a script.

Me, I'm happily relieved to be working with 30 or so sound cues for rock bands. head going back in sand now.

[chelgrian]

marked up script she reckons the biggest mistakes tend to be made by lighting and sound guys who work without listening to the stage cues - with last year's Les Mis production she says with 198 sound and light cues there wasn't time to look down at a script.

 

Big long running or touring shows are generally pre programmed with the engineer attending to the balance. All the who,what,where is programmed into the desk and recalled on cue. Short running shows in small theatres usually don't have the desk to do this or don't have the time to do the programming.

 

For short run shows I generally mix on faders from a marked up script unless I know the show really well in which case I'll do it from memory. Unless there's a particular bit of synchronisation that needs to happen between lx, flys, set and sound I won't be on cans, I need both my ears to judge what he sound balance is like and the other calls on cans are very distracting.

 

If there's separate sound effects person they will be on cans but the shows I've done recently the sound effects have been cued from the lx desk using MIDI Show Control.

[Bobbsy]

On a digital desk I use the scene recalls to get me in the right "state" for each cue--but then mix each scene manually.

 

As for cues from the DSM, I use those for any "synchronised" cue but, doing sound, I then to have hundreds (if not thousands) of my own cues that he person in prompt corner doesn't even know about. As said earlier, I tend to be mixing mics pretty much on a line by line basis, favouring the speaker, adding a bit of punch or sparkle to a certain phrase, cutting mics on every exit, that sort of thing.

 

And, yes, although I'm obsessive on marking my script, hopefully by the first performance it's become an "aide memoire" rather than something I have to follow slavishly. It's comforting to thumb a page ahead to remind yourself that you open mics 2, 5, 5,7 and 9 immediately after the thunder effect--or whatever.

[paulears]

I suspect most of us modify how we mark scripts up to cope with when we do it wrong. Bobbsy's standby reminding you about something that's about to happen is exactly right - whatever system you choose, make sure it works for you - I've always found other people's never quite fit me?

[cedd]

make sure it works for you - I've always found other people's never quite fit me?

Amen to that!

An engineer I sometimes work with marks all of his scripts with a downwards arrow and the character name next to it as somebody enters (sort of saying, they're on from this point onwards) and then an upwards arrow when they're off. The arrows form "brackets" and between these arrows somebody's on stage.

I work completely the opposite way round! I use an upwards arrow to show somebody walking on stage and their fader being raised. So it'd be nigh on impossible to hand shows back and forth between ourselves (not that we ever do, but I'm dreading the day that one of us is ill!)

 

One tip is to raise the upcoming faders a few mm before the entrance happens (in the preceding scene change perhaps). This doesn't open the channel enough to hear what's being said offstage, but it is a handy aid when those entrances start coming to know whose mics are in play.

 

Make sure anything that happens directly over a page is marked in advance for extra warning.

 

I tend to use a few different colours for marking up scripts. Red for sound effects, black for mic cues and blue for any patching/EQ/outboard changes (change tap tempo delay or something like that).

[ramdram]

Just remember too "they have their exits and their entrances"...as in sometimes a character goes off for just a few seconds and fetches something...so fader down as you don't want the audience to hear the "thanks" to the prop lady. It should not happen but it does.

 

Faders down too if you know there is an embrace coming up and you don't want to hear the clunk as the the costumes/actors collide. Or the echoey effect as the dialogue is picked up by two mics. You can take one down if there is an intimate moment and let one mic carry both sides.

 

If you have to share mics around don't forget to mark up any differences in level from actor to actor, this means labeling up the packs so the actors get the same pack during the run...and that's the way you marked up the desk anyway, ** laughs out loud **.

 

After a few rehearsals you should be aware of who is coming on and going off and the script is in case you have a lapse of memory...or senior moment in my case...If you have the luxury of a mic runner backstage then make sure they check the tx pack is switched back on after an in show swop. This may be because you have enough headsets say but not enough channels. And sometimes it is nigh on impossible to get the wires concealed once the costume is on.

 

My rule of thumb is to fade up the instant they appear and down when they go off. This is because if one actor fluffs then there may be a cover up/prompt line from another actor speaking out of turn as it were...it looks a tad lame if only the front rows hear the line and the backseats see only the lips move.

 

I would not go down the mute route as it is not impossible for timings to go awry in amdram and you might get the fader up but have left the mute on...if an actor turns up late say and you can be distracted as the comms light up and everyone speaks at once, ** laughs out loud **...we are talking amdram of course.

 

(Last night during the paying dress the actress who opens Act 2 was a minute plus late on stage because she had nipped off to the loo and nobody backstage had thought to look for her before giving us the go signal for sound and light...and house lights were down and stage lights down for her entrance under DBO.)

 

You will need to recall who speaks offstage too, either as they are about to come on and they have lines off (as if they are supposed to be in another room but not on stage say). Try to keep the offstage level a little lower.

 

A quiet word with the cast to remind them of the absolute need to keep quiet when they come off just in case you are distracted by other stuff going on and you cannot get all the mics down at the same time. If you have set pieces, so to speak, groan, then you could consider setting up a scene on a sub so that one fader kills the lot for that particular scene.

 

I always let the cast know that the mics are on and I can hear every word said so no slagging me off, ** laughs out loud **. Plus the ladies are not too happy about when they go to the loo so I ask them to "go" first and get the mic runner or dressers to switch the mics back on afterwards...we have no demarcation and I'm happy to show the cast and whoever how the mics work, so if really necessary, you can ask anyone to check a mic if the mic goes dead on stage.

 

When doing musicals you will need to ride the faders as not everyone sings exactly the same way twice and the level will vary as they switch from speech to song. We don't have limiters so need to be extra aware. If a mic goes bad during a perf then be very aware you have not sound checked the replacement.

 

After a while all this will become second nature.

[cedd]

I always let the cast know that the mics are on and I can hear every word said so no slagging me off, ** laughs out loud **. Plus the ladies are not too happy about when they go to the loo so I ask them to "go" first and get the mic runner or dressers to switch the mics back on afterwards...we have no demarcation and I'm happy to show the cast and whoever how the mics work, so if really necessary, you can ask anyone to check a mic if the mic goes dead on stage.

This is something that I don't do. All I've found that happens is they start trying to turn them off when they need to go to the loo, or take them off completely. This only leads to forgetting to switch them back on, or not wearing the thing at all.

All my cast know not to switch their mics off at any point. Even when they take them off at the end of the night. I lock out all the switches to ensure this. Partially also because I have a battery change plan that involves me leaving the packs on overnight to flatten after their second performance - packs won't power up next day, so there's no chance of missing a battery change without it being blindingly obvious.

I try to never even let it enter their heads that I could or might want to listen in to them. If ever it's asked, I just tell them I'd be far too busy to have time to listen to them, that I'd never want to, and they'd probably be out of range anyway.

 

In terms of cast involvement with packs, I might mention headset boom positioning, and I let them fit their own (but encourage them to ask a friend to help) but nothing technical is ever done by the wearer.

[ramdram]

Good Heavens Cedd! Not tell the cast you can earwig? Invasion of privacy and all that. By telling them up front ensures you don't, at a later stage, get accused of being pervy; we mic up nippers too for the pantos so you can work that one out for yourself.

 

As for worrying about the cast turning them on and off...why that's the whole reason for listening in to all the mics before the off so you can get the mic runner, or dresser, to switch them on. Simply because the rf and audio LEDs or meters are moving does not let you know what the mics sound like.

 

First thing before the show (the next night) all the packs get fresh batteries, then checked by me. The cast collect the packs from me, get into costume and then we do a sound check, in costume, at least an hour before the up, on stage. It's no use having a mic check before the costume is on for obvious reasons.

 

Some amdram techs are so disorganised they end up doing the mic checks when the actor is in the dressing room because they forgot to call the cast onto the stage and do the checks there, and that is hopeless. I want to know if the costume is rubbing on the mic so the dresser/chaperone can sort it there and then.

 

Ref. switching them off after the show; all the cast, including nippers or their chaperones, are shown how to switch off the packs and very carefully stow them in their own separate, marked box. Said box is returned to me in the sound position. If the mic is not with the pack then they get sent back to find it, otherwise the Dir has a discreet word.

 

After the perf. what I have seen is folk, who really don't know actors, forget to tell them the mics MUST be returned to wherever you say...which results in the tech doing the "find the mic and pack" in the dressing room afterwards...I want to be in the bar, not trying to find all "their" kit.

[Seano]

Good Heavens Cedd! Not tell the cast you can earwig? Invasion of privacy and all that. By telling them up front ensures ...

.. ensures that they'll be more inclined to worry about something they really shouldn't be worrying about.

 

Cedd is completely right, imo. A sound operator should no more tell the cast they could 'earwig' than a flyman should tell them he could drop a flat on their head.

 

Having said that, during my (fairly brief) career as a sound operator I did once warn an artiste that they might be overheard. They were in the news at the time regarding some 'scandal' about a relationship with another celeb and there were photographers hanging about outside the stage door - I was concerned that some tabloid journalist might hit on the idea of ear-wigging from outside the theatre with a scanner.

 

we mic up nippers too for the pantos so you can work that one out for yourself.

I'm sure I can't work it out for myself - what are you on about?

 

I know we (society in general) are in the grip of a moral panic about paedophilia, which seems to have made taking photographs with children in problematic. But holy cow - surely you're not suggesting there's an issue of perceived 'pervy'ness with the possibility of overhearing a child's conversation? That's just mad.

[cedd]

But here lies the point, there should be no need for me to listen to any of those channels once they're off stage. Mic check happens beforehand on stage, then they vanish off and do whatever it is actors do before they go on. I must say that I don't have the time to pfl any mics off stage during a show, I'm too busy thinking about the ones that are on stage. As a sound engineer the responsibility relies with you to protect the privacy of the actors by not abusing your position. If somebody fizzes and pops on stage then the mic tech goes off and sorts it and at that point, with the mic tech still with them, some PFL'ing may take place, but that's it!

 

I don't see it as being too different to a CCTV operator with a remote control camera. Yes there are signs saying the camera is there when you're nearby, but what's to stop them from looking through people's windows with it? Answer, professional trust. Being mindful of your responsibilities and position is one thing, and something I and I'd hope any sound engineer (especially working with children) take seriously, but it's still not going to make me tell my cast "don't go saying anything rude, I might be listening".

 

Personal preference, I like the cast to lay their mics out on a table somewhere, so I can come along, have a quick look and then put them away ready for the next night, or do my battery change then if it's time. Saves unpacking them twice and gives me chance to check them over.

There's always one pack that goes missing! Normally hidden in a pile of clothes. No matter how many times you drum it into them!

A quick dash around the cast looking at mic positions as they're warming up is always useful. It's your last chance to have a look before they go on.

[ramdram]

I beg to differ, Cedd is nowhere near being completely right at all regards the privacy issue. I based my views on the fact I was once asked, in front of an entire cast, if I could hear them, the cast, talking, and stuff, when they were offstage.

 

You will realise that some amdram folk are not exactly dim and we have amongst the milieu of local amdram circles, for example, satellite system designers, doctors, judges and of course technicians on other productions. They are able to work out for themselves that the rf and audio must "work" all the time...especially when we tell them not to switch the packs off!

 

Now, bearing in mind the trust angle mentioned above, I could not say "no". Ergo, I am completely up front and now tell them, that is all casts, there is no privacy once they are miced up and switched on.

 

I now do not have to deal with the cast getting upset if they felt I was eavesdropping...ladies in particular for obvious reasons.

 

This evening I was teching an amdram and on the crew we have a magistrate, (ie. a person whose judgement and sense of right and wrong is held to be sound by fellow magistrates and other legal entities). I anticipated the comments above and asked his views. He had not thought about this hitherto but considered that owing to all the recent news regarding the hacking of cell phones, and the inevitable increased sensitivity to your private life being invaded, you would be a mug not to disclose you could eavesdrop, even though you knew the cast socially anyway, but intended no harm or mischief.

 

Ref. not being able to work out the point about micing up nippers I am sure you know exactly what was meant Seano. Who knows what nippers may say to one another? And of course the worry of paedophilia is endemic amongst parents, which is exactly why we have chaperones on all the musicals/dramas with nippers in the cast.

 

We don't enter the kids' dressing rooms and therefore dressers/chaperones have to mic the kids up or we supervise the packs being fitted, onstage, with the actual physical placement or adjustment of "Britney" mics done by said dressers/chaperones.

 

I confess I am a little surprised by the lack of awareness or even self preservation as described above. It's not your view the cast worry about, it's theirs...and I for one would not be very happy if I discovered that my "private" conversation in the dressing room was anything but.