paulears Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 We've all had the unreasonable and technically misunderstood complaints, but I spotted this one on Facebook, and it seems to come from an actor aI know who isn't technical, but is an intelligent guy, and shows the audience do recognise mistakes when they spoil the sound for the audience. Just shows that our mistakes do get spread around. Another show at XXX Theatre ruined by terrible sound. How many mic cues can one sound guy miss? The answer is an awful lot and while we're on the subject if row G can hear the clunk of the keyboard keys being depressed but not the notes being played it's usually a clue you've left it out of the mix. No idea if the heavenly harmonies promised on the flyer actually occured but there were 5 Altar Boyz working their socks off who were totally f**ked over. Oops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&L Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 what I do see a lot of in my neck of the woods is small regional theatre am dram productions where the quality varies tremendously in the same theatre - the theatres usually insist on one tech being present in the theatre deal but there are two desks to cover, light and sound, and follow spots. and lights mics and orchestras to be rigged. and a script to be marked up to be followed - by lights and by sound. obviously too much for one paid guy to do and the quality of that guy varies - I have met some brilliant theatre techs, equally at home programming DMX and digital sound consoles - but some just aren't.the incoming am-dram company vary tremendously with what they bring to the table. some have their own (very able) lighting designers (the last one I went to was a pro stage manager, helping out between one tour finishing and the next starting) experienced back stage staff, continuity with comms, sound engineers, spot operators and so on - in effect covering every professional seat with experienced people, leaving the house tech as liaison and to operate one board on the night. and he is getting his cues from continuity who has in all probability been in rehearsal with the show for months. at the other extreme, the 'one guy' is winging it, virtually unaided and without continuity or time to mark a script. Do these things get noticed and commented on by the audience - you bet. do they always know why it's going so badly - not often. More worryingly neither do some am-dram companies who should have planned it all. Like bands in bars, the expectations of am-dram productions have risen exponentially - while the budgets have got smaller in real terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryNattrass Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Did you hear the dreadful radio mic sound from Ed Miliband at the recent Labour party conference in Manchester? he had two radio mics on that sounded out of phase and were probably cardioid to suit the PA, the feed we were getting in broadcast was dreadful too as the audience reaction was a good 20 db's higher than the radio mics. If you are feeding for PA please bear in mind that for broadcast is a lot more critical for levels and overall EQ, sadly I was sat on the end of the live to air feed in Glasgow so could not even give any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 The trouble with our job...particularly on the sound side of things...is that we only get noticed if we do a bad job. The punters are rarely aware of good sound. On more than one occasion doing theatre work (and struggling to get a completely natural sound) I've had punters come up and ask me "what's wrong with the sound system--it doesn't seem to be working. Good thing the performers can project" when practically everything they heard had been via my mixer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 The trouble with our job...particularly on the sound side of things...is that we only get noticed if we do a bad job. The punters are rarely aware of good sound. On more than one occasion doing theatre work (and struggling to get a completely natural sound) I've had punters come up and ask me "what's wrong with the sound system--it doesn't seem to be working. Good thing the performers can project" when practically everything they heard had been via my mixer. I have no problem 'educating' punters like that with something along the lines of "oh, actually, no, what you're hearing IS the sound system - the talent is good but not that good, so it takes a lot of skill to set up and adjust the amplified sound to be so natural sounding". You have to have respect for your own contribution, otherwise nobody else will... And if you're providing good sound, make sure they know it - tell people how good it was! In the interval, after the show, whenever you bump into anyone ask them if they enjoyed the show, and then tell them that you've been working hard to give them the best sound they have heard in a long time. Our profession does not have a lot of respect from normal folks - change that by (a) being awesome at sound and (b) making sure people know you are awesome at it. But don't be a knob about it. http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 On more than one occasion doing theatre work (and struggling to get a completely natural sound) I've had punters come up and ask me "what's wrong with the sound system--it doesn't seem to be working. Actors are the worst for that. Some just don't get believe it unless there they can hear a roar out of the PA that would do a thrash metal band justice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBarl Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Like bands in bars, the expectations of am-dram productions have risen exponentially - while the budgets have got smaller in real terms. This says it all. You get what you pay for. If you want a decent sound, hire a decent sound engineer and decent equipment. Even with mediocre equipment , a decent engineer will work hard to get the best sound from the equipment available, but you can have the best equipment in the world and an inexperienced engineer will still get it to sound rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleah Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 On more than one occasion doing theatre work (and struggling to get a completely natural sound) I've had punters come up and ask me "what's wrong with the sound system--it doesn't seem to be working. Actors are the worst for that. Some just don't get believe it unless there they can hear a roar out of the PA that would do a thrash metal band justice... I get this occasionally in Junior School Musical land. But from directors/staff rather than the kids.Sometimes they seem to want the tiny little voices that loud it drowns out the musos! :** laughs out loud **: Not that I have a problem with drowning out the musos you understand ;) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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