This is amazing to watch! Thank you for sharing this. Just wondering, how long does it typically take you guys to learn how to mix a show like this? I was an A3 (radio mic b plot) swing on a commercial musical once, and it seemed like it took our full-time A3 about a two weeks of intense mix training, and another full month to be fully comfortable mixing our show (I believe it's currently one of the harder musicals to mix! But also I can't name it...). I haven't worked for that audio company since that gig unfortunately (I was too busy with my regular sound/lighting gigs that pay the bills). But my main bread and butter is doing contemporary plays that my regular employer produces. Those shows only usually only run for 2-3 weeks. Longest was 4 weeks, usually only ever having a week long production week. Thus, I've never managed to nail down a proper line-by-line mix, and neither have alot of the other audio technicians I have worked with here. I've only resorted to line-by-line in scenes where comb filtering/phasing is an issue. I'm never sure if it's just me or it's the situation (we don't usually get much pre-production time and only a week long production week)! Hahah.
@CurtisChadwick2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed and sorry for the slow response! I would say an experienced musical operator can learn to take over an existing mix in about 2 weeks - this is by using a multitrack to practice during the day times when the theatre is empty then slowly implementing sections into the live show each evening. But you’re totally correct in that then it can take a lot of time to get “comfortable” beyond that point. My last musical I was mixing for 2 years and it would still challenge me every night! It sounds like you’re approaching these shorter run productions in exactly the right way - keep doing what you’re doing!! All the best, Curtis
@TheThecrazyone2 ай бұрын
@@CurtisChadwick no worries Curtis! Also sorry for the slow reply too. That’s interesting! What do you mean by slowly implementing sections? Sorry if that was a silly question. And thank you again for the reassurance and taking your time to share your experience and thoughts!
@CurtisChadwick2 ай бұрын
No worries at all! So by sections I essentially mean you may spend the whole day practising a 20 minute chunk of the show - perfecting the ‘finger choreography’ until you feel confident enough to put it into the live show that evening. You then aim to add on another section the following show and so on until you reach the end.
@TheThecrazyone2 ай бұрын
@@CurtisChadwick ah that’s interesting! Makes sense why it takes about two weeks. So basically they’ll practice a line by line mix for a section and put it in that night. But for parts they haven’t practiced they might “cheat” abit and not do a proper lin-by-line or even just have the mics live (within reason)? Thanks again!
@CurtisChadwick2 ай бұрын
No so you’ll have an experienced operator with you while you are implementing the new sections - they’re there to jump in if it goes wrong and also to note you for improvements - and as soon as you get up to where you’ve learnt to they’ll take over, allowing you to watch the next section you’re going to learn the following day
@jimorozco228310 ай бұрын
Amazing how clean. No phasing that I can hear. I hope there’s more than one mix engineer that knows this show.
@CurtisChadwick10 ай бұрын
Absolutely, a long running musical (in the UK) tends to have 3 people in the sound team who will rotate mixing, or 2 at a minimum!
@JohnWEntertain11 ай бұрын
Would love to see how you program the ensemble mics. Are you recalling snapshots/scenes to mute and unmute ensemble mics to group them together on a per scene and possibly multiple points in a single scene? I use an SQ console which allows you to put single channels and subgroups right next to each other, even allow you to duplicate faders to work the board left to right. Are you using Theatre Mix?
@CurtisChadwick10 ай бұрын
Hi John. Yes you're spot on - we use desk snapshots to change who's programmed into our ensemble Control Groups/DCAs (which themselves may be split into male/female, or bass/tenor/alto/soprano, or group 1/2, etc etc) so we're only making live those that are singing when we put those faders in. There could be 5, 10, 15 snapshots in one song so there's often lots of cues!
@parkerlabonte9463 Жыл бұрын
I friggen love line by line mixing it’s like playing guitar hero
@CurtisChadwick Жыл бұрын
😂
@benignomoreno7646 Жыл бұрын
Cool video!! thanks! I'll use it to explain to many friends how's to mix a musical hehe.
@user-hn2wc3fy7y Жыл бұрын
Amazing. I don’t think I could do this at home with recordings let alone live. Experience, practice, and familiarity are on total display here.
@ReactionShot Жыл бұрын
Beautiful. I'm dying to fire my sound guy. wish I can find someone half as good as you.
@paulfisher16652 жыл бұрын
Curtis, I'm a part time sound designer for a US high school program and, if you are still looking at comments, I'd like to ask some questions. Background: we have a CL-5 desk and a QLab set-up. Our production week is basically a two day tech (dominated by those never sufficiently cursed light people .. hold ... hold ... hold ...), a sitz probe, two dresses and then into 5 shows and done. Generally we are running with 20 to 25 mics plus orchestra (for musical) and QLab effects (and underscoring for drama).I can't imagine doing line by line in that setting. However, showing this would be an excellent way to show the students why they need to focus on learning to hear. My questions: I'm assuming you have whatever the Venue version of scenes might be mapping the DCAs as necessary. Are you, as A1, recalling those or are they fired by QLab? How long does it take to learn the moves? Do you practice with a multi-channel recording or is it all in rehearsal and preview? How are you handling the orchestra mix if that needs tweaking? Do designers set much in the way of compression/limiting or would that remove your flexibility? Are your hands the compressor? DO you also tweak monitor mixes if necessary or is that never necessary? This is an awesome vid. The kids minds will be blown as they have *no* idea (set it and forget it, right?) Thanks.
@CurtisChadwick2 жыл бұрын
Hey Paul! Thanks so much for reaching out. It's lovely to hear you'll be able to show this to your students, I really hope it helps! To try and answer your questions: Yes indeed. I, while mixing, am firing desk scenes to change the DCA assignments. It's imperative the operator cues this as they want to be driving the desk, not vice versa! Although, just to confuse things, on this particular show everything (including the desk) was controlled via QLab. I was therefore technically firing QLab cues in this video, which in turn, fired desk scenes over MIDI. With learning, both scenarios you've described are viable. If you are opening a new show, you will learn/create the mix on the fly and usually only get a couple of dress rehearsals to try it out before opening to a live audience (still it's expected not to drop any lines of course!) On the other hand, if you're going into a existing show and learning the mix, you'll use a multitrack recording of the show which comes into the the desk and gives you the opportunity to practise as if the show's happening in front of you. You'll then add sections you've learnt into the live show bit-by-bit. In this situation it really depends on a number of factors how long it will take to learn, but generally, probably a minimum of two weeks. The orchestra mix we do indeed tweak on the fly while mixing. Designers tend to set the 'base' which we then aim to recreate every show, which means we're often kept busy adjusting (especially when dep musicians are on). Some shows will require being more hands on with the band than others, say if you manually need to 'highlight' certain instruments in certain sections, but in my experience this sort of thing is often pre-programmed by designers where possible allowing the operators to focus on the vocals. Different Designers will have different opinions on compression etc. but in my experience it will often be a little of both - any major and consistent issues will be handled on the input channels and pre-set by designers and we then do a little live pre-empting and reacting while mixing. Monitor mixes - once a show is set up - usually run in the background or are handled by a separate monitor desk. As an operator you'd rarely ever make monitor changes while mixing the show. Hope this has answered your questions but if not please feel free to reach out again I'd be happy to help! Thanks, Curtis
@samkphx2 жыл бұрын
Do you also run SFX through Qlab? If not who handles that?
@CurtisChadwick2 жыл бұрын
Hi Sam, yes we do. On this show QLab also fired desk cues via midi. The majority of musicals do the opposite and have the desk firing QLab.
@katelynhaire22712 жыл бұрын
Hi! I know I'm a little late in finding this video but I'm wondering how you got into the live sound industry, specifically theatre mixing. I'm currently in my last year of high school and it's been my dream to mix live shows professionally ever since I first touched a fader. Due to Covid-19 and the lack of demand in New Zealand where I currently live I am planning to complete a bachelor of commercial music, majoring in music technology (their language for sound engineering) so that I can do other work in live sound to gain experience and connections that will hopefully lead me overseas where there is more demand for theatre mixers. Thank you for making this, videos like this are the only motivation I have to finish high school (besides coffee). I look forward to hearing from you!
@CurtisChadwick2 жыл бұрын
Hey Katelyn! Thanks for the comment. So I’ll preface this by saying there are many ways you can get into it and there really is no right or wrong way! I work with people all the time who have come into it from all different angles and backgrounds. Personally I, like you, came in via university/drama school. I studied a three year “Theatre Sound” course at the the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. The greatest ‘pro’ to this route in my eyes were the contacts and connections I made whilst there, which made things easier when transitioning into professional work. That’s not to say it was without it’s cons! I think the best thing you can do is just to put yourself out there really! Write letters, send emails, meet as many people as you can and learn everything you can from each of them. Fingers are crossed for you, stick with it and I’m sure you’ll get to where you want to be!! If I can help with anything just let me know and I’ll be sure to do my best. Hope this helps in some way! Best wishes, Curtis.
@lucilaria2 жыл бұрын
O yo, another nz teen into sound engineering, im also looking to go into production tech when i finish school at the end of the year
@katelynhaire22712 жыл бұрын
@@lucilaria Come to Massey for Commercial Music! It’s been amazing here, very glad I came. Amazing facilities and faculty!
@SoundSpeeding Жыл бұрын
Hey, another kiwi! Great to meet you. How are your studies going?
@staticnationbeats2 жыл бұрын
seamless. so impressive.
@Gauseltown2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the great video @Curtis Chadwick. There's a lot going on here, no easy task. Super job.
@buzzroadguy3 жыл бұрын
Very cool!
@yeguanting76293 жыл бұрын
Hi, What SPL will be normal for musicals? :)
@CurtisChadwick3 жыл бұрын
Hey! It can be totally different dependent on the show as it’s often a creative decision made by the Sound Designer, Director, Musical Director, etc. Some shows are very quiet compared to say a generic music concert (‘naturalistic’) whereas some may even be louder. The only uniform rule is that all audience members should be able to hear every single word spoken by the performers throughout.
@shannonpeng3 жыл бұрын
I'm in awe, I can't imagine the amount of concentration and dexterity this takes :O
@Darthcat1204 Жыл бұрын
Hello! I’m my high schools audio mixer for all theater productions! It takes lots of practice and memory, at times in shows I can sometimes grab a mint between lines. If given the chance i would always recommend doing mixing as it is so much fun watching every production seeing the actors and practically memorizing every line!
@joshkaposh073 жыл бұрын
Riding them faders!!!!!
@TJF973 жыл бұрын
hi please do more videos
@georgethompson15353 жыл бұрын
How do you usually process the voices?
@Darthcat1204 Жыл бұрын
Hi could you clarify your question?
@cyricaidoetuk12573 жыл бұрын
That's crazy. Please do more, I can't wait to see it. Thanks...
@josephsamala22103 жыл бұрын
Cheers from the US and a fellow Theater A1. I was previously on Jersey Boys and Kinky Boots. Are you throwing to -10 for dialogue, and then -5 to 0db for actual numbers? Also how is it on the S6L, living on the SD7T over here. Stay safe and healthy!
@CurtisChadwick3 жыл бұрын
Hey Joseph, lovely to hear from you! Hope things are a little further along heading back to normality out there.. I haven’t touched a fader since March!! Yes, generally. This show was -10 for dialogue and -6 for songs as a general base, but we had to be quite flexible show-by-show. There were lots of external factors on this one, mainly audience size actually! Loved the S6L. As silly as it sounds my favourite thing as an operator was the feel of the faders. It’s something else! Also a huge fan on the SD7T, although obviously a very different way of working. Pros and cons to each of course! Best wishes, Curtis
@pwoblem3 жыл бұрын
I'm mind blown, this is really hard work. Isnt there a auto gate function on these kind of mixers?
@griffin80623 жыл бұрын
The end result of line mixing sounds much better than leaving mics live. Actors talking at each other can cause interference and phase issues because of the time delay between the audio reaching each of the mics. A gate would not fix this, as the gate would still open.
@CurtisChadwick3 жыл бұрын
An auto-gate wouldn’t really give us the flexibility we’re looking for with this kind of mixing. There may be times where performers are making noise we don’t want to be amplified which would otherwise detract from the scene’s focus. It can also be super important to choose volumes “creatively”... Picking a random example, if a character is shouting from offstage as they’re supposed to be in another room, you’d probably want to mix them quieter to help with imaging.
@MrThor32323 жыл бұрын
This might be easier to use the mute buttons
@josephsamala22103 жыл бұрын
That wont account for dynamics that are built into the show, orchestra, and individual dialogue.
@stephenhamilton92864 жыл бұрын
Are you controlling the orchestra through the desk too?
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
Stephen Hamilton Yes absolutely. The Sound Designer sets a base mix for each song when setting up the show. As an operator our main job is to maintain that mix, so show-by-show we make general tweaks (say if a dep musician is on and plays a little louder, we would rebalance) as well as pulling and pushing instruments to highlight sections (like boosting the trumpet for a solo etc.) Through songs and underscore we have the orchestra on a grouped fader in our VCAs (the far right fader in this video), so we’re constantly balancing music against vocals.
@erikmartin24 жыл бұрын
I'm blown a way. I just learned today that line-by-line mixing is a thing. I do mixing for community theater, but I think honestly we don't have enough time with the rented mics for us to get enough practice in to do this. It makes total sense though for sound quality.
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
Absolutely, in that kind of scenario you'd rarely go for this approach - it can take weeks to get the mix right alone, by which point in most community settings you'd be onto the next show! You're also placing so much trust in the actors to stick to the lines too, dare I say it would often be too much reliance to put onto the performers who haven't had the luxury of months of practice.
@BAdams1385 ай бұрын
@@CurtisChadwick Does ab-libbing throw you guys "off" on the board? I used to do little acting, now it is church livestreaming with a separate board.
@CurtisChadwick5 ай бұрын
@@BAdams138 Hey Bruce, yes absolutely! Thankfully in west end musicals it doesn’t really happen (unless staged), it would be impossible to operate this way otherwise!!
@omaarpoiriez4 жыл бұрын
This is great, thank you for uploading. There are way too few videos about theatre audio on KZread.
@omaarpoiriez4 жыл бұрын
How on earth do you manage to find the right fader in time :) Would love to see a setup video if that's possible, how you make your notes etc.
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
Omaar Poiriez Great idea, I’ll add that to the list of future projects! If you have any specific questions in the mean time just let me know.
@omaarpoiriez4 жыл бұрын
@@CurtisChadwick Thanks! Would be interested in how you have the console setup and how you make your notes. How everything's connected is quite similar to a concert setup I imagine except with more wireless mics :)
@fantech44174 жыл бұрын
Amazing mixing Curtis! Just curious, have you ever try using dugan automixing ? would that help you process multiple mics at the same time or that's worse than doing it completely manually?
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
Fan Tech Hey! I must say I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone using Dugan Automixer in professional musical theatre, although I know it’s had some success in more corporate settings. It just wouldn’t be possible to achieve the clinical mix and nightly tweaks required through an automated mixer. I’ve uploaded a new video which may better demonstrate this, but let me know if it doesn’t help! kzread.info/dash/bejne/o6GtvLp7c5iyqbA.html
@panduwics4 жыл бұрын
Do you guys also run with plugins besides those faders?
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
There are various plug-ins running in the background throughout the show, but most are pre-programmed by the Sound Designer so we as an operators can generally stay focused on the lines!
@user-zu6hg3un6d4 жыл бұрын
Why are you always up-n-down faders in conversations?Why don`t you just set appropriate level of each and just wait until neccesary changes? I can understand adjustings in songs, ok. Also I understad the fact that if you do this it`s neсessary, but I don`t get it why? Hope I wasn`t rude. Great job)
@CurtisChadwick4 жыл бұрын
Hey! Apologies for my slow response. Not at all - totally fair question! When it comes to sound reinforcement, the goal is always to make sure the audience hear every single word. Line-by-line mixing is a technique used in sound to essentially achieve the 'cleanest' possible audio. If you have multiple mics live on stage, the words said by one person will go into each of those mics at slightly different times, creating a muddy, unclear mix. You'd also be more likely to pick up other actors breathing, coughing, sniffing, etc. all taking attention away from the 'focus' of the scene. By having only one mic live we are able to control attention of the audience and aid intelligibly of the production, all with the aforementioned goal of making sure the audience hear every word. There are other reasons, too, but I'd say this is the most important and obvious. I hope that helps!
@oliverguy31215 жыл бұрын
How are you changing the colors on the strip labels?
@CurtisChadwick5 жыл бұрын
So in general the LEDs on a Digico light up/change colour as soon as a channel is passing audio (so up and unmuted). But in terms of selecting what colours they are, it's an option in the menu of the 'T' (Theatre) software...
@scotttooley85596 жыл бұрын
Hey Curtis! Great mix, do you have someone calling cue lines to change your channel colors to notify you who is next? If so are you using midi for that?
@CurtisChadwick6 жыл бұрын
Scott Tooley Hey Scott. When we fire a desk cue, we trigger 'scenes' that alter which microphones are assigned to our mixing faders (VCAs). This is not called or cued, but done manually via the operator. There is a variety of reasons for this, not least because there will be many hundreds of these cues in your average musical! Many of these cue points would also seem peculiar and illogical for anyone other than the person mixing the show, and could require triggering at differing points show-to-show. Triggering a cue in the wrong place could have detrimental effects on a show, and quite simply, adding another person into that chain would make things too convoluted. The only thing a sound operator may be cued for in a musical in sound effects, although often they will also have to happen at very specific points for the operator. We usually do that with a cue light so the operator doesn't have to wear comms in a show (for obvious reasons!) Most operators will follow a script in order to get these cue points in the right place, as well as see who will be talking next. Some people use colours, but most that I have met including myself write numbers or letters next to character names in the script which correspond to the VCA they are assigned to. Some people do use external buttons or programmes such as QLab to fire desk scenes via midi but this isn't crucial; scenes are often navigated simply on the mixing desk. MIDI is often used in to sync up complex cues such as those where a desk change, sound effect, and lighting cue all need to happen with the push of a button. Hope this helps!
Пікірлер
This is amazing to watch! Thank you for sharing this. Just wondering, how long does it typically take you guys to learn how to mix a show like this? I was an A3 (radio mic b plot) swing on a commercial musical once, and it seemed like it took our full-time A3 about a two weeks of intense mix training, and another full month to be fully comfortable mixing our show (I believe it's currently one of the harder musicals to mix! But also I can't name it...). I haven't worked for that audio company since that gig unfortunately (I was too busy with my regular sound/lighting gigs that pay the bills). But my main bread and butter is doing contemporary plays that my regular employer produces. Those shows only usually only run for 2-3 weeks. Longest was 4 weeks, usually only ever having a week long production week. Thus, I've never managed to nail down a proper line-by-line mix, and neither have alot of the other audio technicians I have worked with here. I've only resorted to line-by-line in scenes where comb filtering/phasing is an issue. I'm never sure if it's just me or it's the situation (we don't usually get much pre-production time and only a week long production week)! Hahah.
Glad you enjoyed and sorry for the slow response! I would say an experienced musical operator can learn to take over an existing mix in about 2 weeks - this is by using a multitrack to practice during the day times when the theatre is empty then slowly implementing sections into the live show each evening. But you’re totally correct in that then it can take a lot of time to get “comfortable” beyond that point. My last musical I was mixing for 2 years and it would still challenge me every night! It sounds like you’re approaching these shorter run productions in exactly the right way - keep doing what you’re doing!! All the best, Curtis
@@CurtisChadwick no worries Curtis! Also sorry for the slow reply too. That’s interesting! What do you mean by slowly implementing sections? Sorry if that was a silly question. And thank you again for the reassurance and taking your time to share your experience and thoughts!
No worries at all! So by sections I essentially mean you may spend the whole day practising a 20 minute chunk of the show - perfecting the ‘finger choreography’ until you feel confident enough to put it into the live show that evening. You then aim to add on another section the following show and so on until you reach the end.
@@CurtisChadwick ah that’s interesting! Makes sense why it takes about two weeks. So basically they’ll practice a line by line mix for a section and put it in that night. But for parts they haven’t practiced they might “cheat” abit and not do a proper lin-by-line or even just have the mics live (within reason)? Thanks again!
No so you’ll have an experienced operator with you while you are implementing the new sections - they’re there to jump in if it goes wrong and also to note you for improvements - and as soon as you get up to where you’ve learnt to they’ll take over, allowing you to watch the next section you’re going to learn the following day
Amazing how clean. No phasing that I can hear. I hope there’s more than one mix engineer that knows this show.
Absolutely, a long running musical (in the UK) tends to have 3 people in the sound team who will rotate mixing, or 2 at a minimum!
Would love to see how you program the ensemble mics. Are you recalling snapshots/scenes to mute and unmute ensemble mics to group them together on a per scene and possibly multiple points in a single scene? I use an SQ console which allows you to put single channels and subgroups right next to each other, even allow you to duplicate faders to work the board left to right. Are you using Theatre Mix?
Hi John. Yes you're spot on - we use desk snapshots to change who's programmed into our ensemble Control Groups/DCAs (which themselves may be split into male/female, or bass/tenor/alto/soprano, or group 1/2, etc etc) so we're only making live those that are singing when we put those faders in. There could be 5, 10, 15 snapshots in one song so there's often lots of cues!
I friggen love line by line mixing it’s like playing guitar hero
😂
Cool video!! thanks! I'll use it to explain to many friends how's to mix a musical hehe.
Amazing. I don’t think I could do this at home with recordings let alone live. Experience, practice, and familiarity are on total display here.
Beautiful. I'm dying to fire my sound guy. wish I can find someone half as good as you.
Curtis, I'm a part time sound designer for a US high school program and, if you are still looking at comments, I'd like to ask some questions. Background: we have a CL-5 desk and a QLab set-up. Our production week is basically a two day tech (dominated by those never sufficiently cursed light people .. hold ... hold ... hold ...), a sitz probe, two dresses and then into 5 shows and done. Generally we are running with 20 to 25 mics plus orchestra (for musical) and QLab effects (and underscoring for drama).I can't imagine doing line by line in that setting. However, showing this would be an excellent way to show the students why they need to focus on learning to hear. My questions: I'm assuming you have whatever the Venue version of scenes might be mapping the DCAs as necessary. Are you, as A1, recalling those or are they fired by QLab? How long does it take to learn the moves? Do you practice with a multi-channel recording or is it all in rehearsal and preview? How are you handling the orchestra mix if that needs tweaking? Do designers set much in the way of compression/limiting or would that remove your flexibility? Are your hands the compressor? DO you also tweak monitor mixes if necessary or is that never necessary? This is an awesome vid. The kids minds will be blown as they have *no* idea (set it and forget it, right?) Thanks.
Hey Paul! Thanks so much for reaching out. It's lovely to hear you'll be able to show this to your students, I really hope it helps! To try and answer your questions: Yes indeed. I, while mixing, am firing desk scenes to change the DCA assignments. It's imperative the operator cues this as they want to be driving the desk, not vice versa! Although, just to confuse things, on this particular show everything (including the desk) was controlled via QLab. I was therefore technically firing QLab cues in this video, which in turn, fired desk scenes over MIDI. With learning, both scenarios you've described are viable. If you are opening a new show, you will learn/create the mix on the fly and usually only get a couple of dress rehearsals to try it out before opening to a live audience (still it's expected not to drop any lines of course!) On the other hand, if you're going into a existing show and learning the mix, you'll use a multitrack recording of the show which comes into the the desk and gives you the opportunity to practise as if the show's happening in front of you. You'll then add sections you've learnt into the live show bit-by-bit. In this situation it really depends on a number of factors how long it will take to learn, but generally, probably a minimum of two weeks. The orchestra mix we do indeed tweak on the fly while mixing. Designers tend to set the 'base' which we then aim to recreate every show, which means we're often kept busy adjusting (especially when dep musicians are on). Some shows will require being more hands on with the band than others, say if you manually need to 'highlight' certain instruments in certain sections, but in my experience this sort of thing is often pre-programmed by designers where possible allowing the operators to focus on the vocals. Different Designers will have different opinions on compression etc. but in my experience it will often be a little of both - any major and consistent issues will be handled on the input channels and pre-set by designers and we then do a little live pre-empting and reacting while mixing. Monitor mixes - once a show is set up - usually run in the background or are handled by a separate monitor desk. As an operator you'd rarely ever make monitor changes while mixing the show. Hope this has answered your questions but if not please feel free to reach out again I'd be happy to help! Thanks, Curtis
Do you also run SFX through Qlab? If not who handles that?
Hi Sam, yes we do. On this show QLab also fired desk cues via midi. The majority of musicals do the opposite and have the desk firing QLab.
Hi! I know I'm a little late in finding this video but I'm wondering how you got into the live sound industry, specifically theatre mixing. I'm currently in my last year of high school and it's been my dream to mix live shows professionally ever since I first touched a fader. Due to Covid-19 and the lack of demand in New Zealand where I currently live I am planning to complete a bachelor of commercial music, majoring in music technology (their language for sound engineering) so that I can do other work in live sound to gain experience and connections that will hopefully lead me overseas where there is more demand for theatre mixers. Thank you for making this, videos like this are the only motivation I have to finish high school (besides coffee). I look forward to hearing from you!
Hey Katelyn! Thanks for the comment. So I’ll preface this by saying there are many ways you can get into it and there really is no right or wrong way! I work with people all the time who have come into it from all different angles and backgrounds. Personally I, like you, came in via university/drama school. I studied a three year “Theatre Sound” course at the the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. The greatest ‘pro’ to this route in my eyes were the contacts and connections I made whilst there, which made things easier when transitioning into professional work. That’s not to say it was without it’s cons! I think the best thing you can do is just to put yourself out there really! Write letters, send emails, meet as many people as you can and learn everything you can from each of them. Fingers are crossed for you, stick with it and I’m sure you’ll get to where you want to be!! If I can help with anything just let me know and I’ll be sure to do my best. Hope this helps in some way! Best wishes, Curtis.
O yo, another nz teen into sound engineering, im also looking to go into production tech when i finish school at the end of the year
@@lucilaria Come to Massey for Commercial Music! It’s been amazing here, very glad I came. Amazing facilities and faculty!
Hey, another kiwi! Great to meet you. How are your studies going?
seamless. so impressive.
Thank you for the great video @Curtis Chadwick. There's a lot going on here, no easy task. Super job.
Very cool!
Hi, What SPL will be normal for musicals? :)
Hey! It can be totally different dependent on the show as it’s often a creative decision made by the Sound Designer, Director, Musical Director, etc. Some shows are very quiet compared to say a generic music concert (‘naturalistic’) whereas some may even be louder. The only uniform rule is that all audience members should be able to hear every single word spoken by the performers throughout.
I'm in awe, I can't imagine the amount of concentration and dexterity this takes :O
Hello! I’m my high schools audio mixer for all theater productions! It takes lots of practice and memory, at times in shows I can sometimes grab a mint between lines. If given the chance i would always recommend doing mixing as it is so much fun watching every production seeing the actors and practically memorizing every line!
Riding them faders!!!!!
hi please do more videos
How do you usually process the voices?
Hi could you clarify your question?
That's crazy. Please do more, I can't wait to see it. Thanks...
Cheers from the US and a fellow Theater A1. I was previously on Jersey Boys and Kinky Boots. Are you throwing to -10 for dialogue, and then -5 to 0db for actual numbers? Also how is it on the S6L, living on the SD7T over here. Stay safe and healthy!
Hey Joseph, lovely to hear from you! Hope things are a little further along heading back to normality out there.. I haven’t touched a fader since March!! Yes, generally. This show was -10 for dialogue and -6 for songs as a general base, but we had to be quite flexible show-by-show. There were lots of external factors on this one, mainly audience size actually! Loved the S6L. As silly as it sounds my favourite thing as an operator was the feel of the faders. It’s something else! Also a huge fan on the SD7T, although obviously a very different way of working. Pros and cons to each of course! Best wishes, Curtis
I'm mind blown, this is really hard work. Isnt there a auto gate function on these kind of mixers?
The end result of line mixing sounds much better than leaving mics live. Actors talking at each other can cause interference and phase issues because of the time delay between the audio reaching each of the mics. A gate would not fix this, as the gate would still open.
An auto-gate wouldn’t really give us the flexibility we’re looking for with this kind of mixing. There may be times where performers are making noise we don’t want to be amplified which would otherwise detract from the scene’s focus. It can also be super important to choose volumes “creatively”... Picking a random example, if a character is shouting from offstage as they’re supposed to be in another room, you’d probably want to mix them quieter to help with imaging.
This might be easier to use the mute buttons
That wont account for dynamics that are built into the show, orchestra, and individual dialogue.
Are you controlling the orchestra through the desk too?
Stephen Hamilton Yes absolutely. The Sound Designer sets a base mix for each song when setting up the show. As an operator our main job is to maintain that mix, so show-by-show we make general tweaks (say if a dep musician is on and plays a little louder, we would rebalance) as well as pulling and pushing instruments to highlight sections (like boosting the trumpet for a solo etc.) Through songs and underscore we have the orchestra on a grouped fader in our VCAs (the far right fader in this video), so we’re constantly balancing music against vocals.
I'm blown a way. I just learned today that line-by-line mixing is a thing. I do mixing for community theater, but I think honestly we don't have enough time with the rented mics for us to get enough practice in to do this. It makes total sense though for sound quality.
Absolutely, in that kind of scenario you'd rarely go for this approach - it can take weeks to get the mix right alone, by which point in most community settings you'd be onto the next show! You're also placing so much trust in the actors to stick to the lines too, dare I say it would often be too much reliance to put onto the performers who haven't had the luxury of months of practice.
@@CurtisChadwick Does ab-libbing throw you guys "off" on the board? I used to do little acting, now it is church livestreaming with a separate board.
@@BAdams138 Hey Bruce, yes absolutely! Thankfully in west end musicals it doesn’t really happen (unless staged), it would be impossible to operate this way otherwise!!
This is great, thank you for uploading. There are way too few videos about theatre audio on KZread.
How on earth do you manage to find the right fader in time :) Would love to see a setup video if that's possible, how you make your notes etc.
Omaar Poiriez Great idea, I’ll add that to the list of future projects! If you have any specific questions in the mean time just let me know.
@@CurtisChadwick Thanks! Would be interested in how you have the console setup and how you make your notes. How everything's connected is quite similar to a concert setup I imagine except with more wireless mics :)
Amazing mixing Curtis! Just curious, have you ever try using dugan automixing ? would that help you process multiple mics at the same time or that's worse than doing it completely manually?
Fan Tech Hey! I must say I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone using Dugan Automixer in professional musical theatre, although I know it’s had some success in more corporate settings. It just wouldn’t be possible to achieve the clinical mix and nightly tweaks required through an automated mixer. I’ve uploaded a new video which may better demonstrate this, but let me know if it doesn’t help! kzread.info/dash/bejne/o6GtvLp7c5iyqbA.html
Do you guys also run with plugins besides those faders?
There are various plug-ins running in the background throughout the show, but most are pre-programmed by the Sound Designer so we as an operators can generally stay focused on the lines!
Why are you always up-n-down faders in conversations?Why don`t you just set appropriate level of each and just wait until neccesary changes? I can understand adjustings in songs, ok. Also I understad the fact that if you do this it`s neсessary, but I don`t get it why? Hope I wasn`t rude. Great job)
Hey! Apologies for my slow response. Not at all - totally fair question! When it comes to sound reinforcement, the goal is always to make sure the audience hear every single word. Line-by-line mixing is a technique used in sound to essentially achieve the 'cleanest' possible audio. If you have multiple mics live on stage, the words said by one person will go into each of those mics at slightly different times, creating a muddy, unclear mix. You'd also be more likely to pick up other actors breathing, coughing, sniffing, etc. all taking attention away from the 'focus' of the scene. By having only one mic live we are able to control attention of the audience and aid intelligibly of the production, all with the aforementioned goal of making sure the audience hear every word. There are other reasons, too, but I'd say this is the most important and obvious. I hope that helps!
How are you changing the colors on the strip labels?
So in general the LEDs on a Digico light up/change colour as soon as a channel is passing audio (so up and unmuted). But in terms of selecting what colours they are, it's an option in the menu of the 'T' (Theatre) software...
Hey Curtis! Great mix, do you have someone calling cue lines to change your channel colors to notify you who is next? If so are you using midi for that?
Scott Tooley Hey Scott. When we fire a desk cue, we trigger 'scenes' that alter which microphones are assigned to our mixing faders (VCAs). This is not called or cued, but done manually via the operator. There is a variety of reasons for this, not least because there will be many hundreds of these cues in your average musical! Many of these cue points would also seem peculiar and illogical for anyone other than the person mixing the show, and could require triggering at differing points show-to-show. Triggering a cue in the wrong place could have detrimental effects on a show, and quite simply, adding another person into that chain would make things too convoluted. The only thing a sound operator may be cued for in a musical in sound effects, although often they will also have to happen at very specific points for the operator. We usually do that with a cue light so the operator doesn't have to wear comms in a show (for obvious reasons!) Most operators will follow a script in order to get these cue points in the right place, as well as see who will be talking next. Some people use colours, but most that I have met including myself write numbers or letters next to character names in the script which correspond to the VCA they are assigned to. Some people do use external buttons or programmes such as QLab to fire desk scenes via midi but this isn't crucial; scenes are often navigated simply on the mixing desk. MIDI is often used in to sync up complex cues such as those where a desk change, sound effect, and lighting cue all need to happen with the push of a button. Hope this helps!