#unit71

[beetrootpaul]

Encounter

[veritysblogbook]

Unit 71 criteria 1

(for acoustics see unit 69 criteria 1)

Natural and artificial reverberation-Natural reverberation is when when a room naturally echos back because every room

reflection-This is when sound waves bounce off of a material for example glass and wood.

absorption-This is when the sound waves with less energy are simply caught in a absorbing  material or eventually just lose energy completely.for example blacks are a great absorption material.

angle of incidence- The angle of incidence is where the sound wave hits an objects and what angle it bounces off of it.

Sound waves have a +/- which are the air particles are pushed in and out by the speaker i.e. compacting then dispersing.This is measured in SPL(sound pressure level) DB(decibels) DBfs (full scale-volume).frequency is the measurement of pitch which is the level of the note e.g. high or low.Frequency is measured in hertz which is how many times the wave reaches from 0 to + then back down to - per second.ADSR= attack,decay,sustain and release which is found withing every wave.

For everyday use we have two speakers up in the air in the center of the room two subs underneath the seating bank and two monitors in front of the seating bank.

[bensblogbook]

Alice Tech Rider

For the show Alice in Wonderland we put together the following tech rider; 

1 Soundcraft Si Compact 32 

8 SRM450s (Mackie Speakers) 

2 SRM015s (Mackie Subs) 

5 Di Boxes 

2 Compressor Microphones 

2 Sennheiser e835s

5 Jack to XLR 

20 XLRs 

5 Jack Leads 

4 Microphone Stands 

6 4 Ways 

16 EK 100 G3 (Microphones for actors) 

We used this tech rider to set up the band and the rest of PA for the rest of the show. We had to change the sound desk during the shows run because I stopped working during one of the performances. We changed to a analogue Mackie sound desk, which I felt was better than the Soundcraft because you could push the band and the microphones more than you could on the Soundcraft and not get any feedback. 

[jackb0102]

Band pit set up

Today we set up the band, the first thing you would run a multicore cable to the band pit which is where the musicians play their instruments during the show. So the thing I did in the morning was cable tidy the cables that are in the back of headphone unit which is for the musicians in ears monitors or headphones, the reason we used the in ear monitors is so we don't use normal monitors which are just speakers,the in ear monitors are quieter. Next we go the band in with all the instruments and got them some chairs and music stands ps they can be comfortable in the band pit,After that we got their in ear monitors level of the mix set up for all the musicians.

[ollyblogbook]

Tech rider

The band consisted of: drums percussion bass vocals electric guitar keyboard horn trumpet

Equipment needed:

1x soundcraft desk 4x passive speakers maccia srm450 2x amp (used by two passive speakers per amp) 2x active front of house (to the audience) 2x active moniters 2x sub maccie 1swa1501 1x kick drum mic (consenser) 1x floor tom mic (condenser) 1x cymbals mic (dynamic) 1x snare mic (condenser) 1x percussion mic (condenser) 1x bass mic (condenser) 1x guitar mic (condenser) 1x keyboard mic (dynamic) 1x vocal mic (dynamic) 1x trumpet mic (dynamic) 1x horn mic (dynamic) 6x condenser mic clips 5x dynamic mic clips 11x mic stands 4x jack to XLR (for the keyboard, guitar and bass) 4x DI boxes for keys guitar and bass 11x XLRs 3x four way extensions

[ollyblogbook]

Hazards in a performance venue

Hazard-  Cables run across the floor  Who can this affect?  Audience members entering the building swell as performers on stage. How can it affect them?  It is a dangerous trip hazard that can lead to serious injuries when there is no warning or dim illumination. How can this problem be solved? Glow tape, caution tape, LX tape or a pre-warning and being taped well against the walls can stop the capes being hazardous. Hazard- Battery acid from radio microphones. Who can this affect?   Performers mostly but also can also affect an audience if theres a fire. How can it affect them? The battery acid from the radio mics is an irritant, poisonous and highly flammable so if there is a candle on stage there is ignition for a fire, also if this comes in touch with performers skin or mouth this could become a serious or fatal illness. How can this problem be solved? Control of substances hazards to health (COSHH). Sound 3 must constantly check all batteries and use good quality barrettes, changing them regularly. Hazard- Loud noise Who can this affect? The audience members aswell as performers. How can it affect them? Loud noise creates noise polution and increases the sound pressure level and therefore is bad for peoples hearing. Also this can damage speakers and subs. How can this problem be solved? By having an even mix of low and high frequencys on the desk and be cautious of the volume throughout the show. Hazard- Rigging speaker to lighting bars Who can this affect? Audience members aswell as performers How can it affect them? Unsecure speakers rigged to lighting bars could fall from height and end in fatal injuries. How can this problem be solved? By using safety chains, throps, and doing safety checks after rigging and before the shows. Hazard- Electric shocks from wires Who can this affect? Performers backstage How can it affect them? Serious or fatal injurys from touching exposed or wet powered cables How can this problem be solved? By testing all cables before rigging and not using anything with exposed wire, aswell as banning performers to bring any water backstage. Hazard- Speakers acting as obstaces in the wings Who can this affect? Performers coming on and off the stage. How can it affect them? They are a trip hazard and can cause serious injury if crashed into. How can this problem be solved? By making performers aware or these obstacles, moving them out of the way as far from entrance and exit as possible, and illuminating them with either light, glow tape or hazard tape. Hazard- Lifting heavy speakers. Who can this affect? The sound team. How can it affect them? It can damage their backs if they aren't lifted correctly. How can this problem be solved? They should aware of lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations.(LOLER). They also should bend at the knee when lifting heavy things off of the floor, aswell as asking for assistance when needed, also not challenging themselves to lift too much. Hazard- Rigging speakers in the lighting bar. Who can this affect? The sound team. How can it affect them? If they fall when working at height this could lead to serious injuries. How can this problem be solved? Ladders should always be footed by crew members and the person rigging at height should always have two points of contact with the ladder at all times. Also, people observing and helping below should always wear hard hats incase of accidents.

[ollyblogbook]

Roles in a sound team

Head of sound- communicates with directors, in charge of bugdet and team, source things for shows Head of sound pick sound team deligate different people for different jobs. 

Sound designer- They produce a sound design and are in charge of speaker placement, in charge of get in and outs, source and create sound effects (foley work). They create the playlist and creates cues. They talk to head of sound about budget swell as communicate with the sound team, and talk to the producers about budget aswell as communicate with the set design team to negotiate speaker placement within in the shows set.

Sound 1- They operates shows, (board operation).They are in charge of things that the designer asks for. They are also in charge of things being lifted and put away in get out, communicate with sound designer aswell as sound 2+ 3. 

Sound 2- This role is similar to sound 1 as they can also take responsibility operating the desk, running cues, but they also check radio mic sound levels and battery levels. 

Sound 3- They have the role of communicating with the cast members that wear radio mics during shows, they dress the performers in the radio mics initially before shows, and constantly check the secureness of the mics on their faces, as well as deal with mic fault and breaks as well as battery  changes  .

These individual responsibilities can vary from show to show, for example in big musicals sound 3 may considered a more important role than sound 2, as they are responsible for a lot of microphones and sound 2 will only help them or operate or be on book cueing sound 1 during shows.

During Animal Farm where we had a sound team of 5 so these sound team roles varied as we took shifts each night. We all initially acted as sound designers as we rigged and tested the sound rig independently, our lecturer acted as the head of sound.

 We would either be operating and mixing the band as well as the 3 microphones that were in use (acting as sound 1); operating sound effects as well as cueing the microphone cues and telling sound 1 when the band came in and out of a scene (acting as a sound 2), or in the corridor being responsible for the 3 actors wearing mics and dressing in their mics before and have them taken off of them afterwards (sound 3).

[bensblogbook]

Setting Up Recording Equipment and Editing It For Public Showing

For The Beano comeback in October we had to record the show to be made into a radio that was to be broadcasted on Miskin Radio. For the show I had to set up the recording equipment to enable me to record the show and then edit it to make it sound good.

Tech Rider

To set up the equipment I first had to create a tech rider of all the equipment that I was going to use. In my tech rider I had the following 4 Sennheiser e835s, 4 condenser microphones 4 microphone clips, 4 microphone stands and 10 XLRs. Once I had collated this tech rider together I was ready to start setting up the microphones and connecting them to the desk.

Here is a picture of my tech rider; 

Set Up

When I set up the microphones I did something called spot micing, which is typical of most radio plays and where you place microphones on certain parts of the set in order to pick up what is going on on the stage. When placing my microphones I dropped three from the rig upstage, in order to pick up scenes being carried out in the upstage area and on the pier. The microphones I dropped from the rig were condenser microphones. In order to ensure these had power I ran three long XLRs from the microphone down the set, ensuring that the cable was as hidden as possible and into the wall boxes on centre stage left and right. Once I had placed these microphones I then put three microphones down stage all of which were on stands. The microphones on stage right and left were on smaller microphone stands whilst the one in the middle was on a larger microphone stand. I put these microphones here to pick up all of the acting that was happening on the front of the stage as well as the back. I then ran XLRs for all of these microphones into the wall boxes on stages left and right. I finally placed two microphones on the far of stages left and right to pick up the scene that took place on the side platforms. Again I plugged these into the wall boxes in centre stage left and right. Once all of the microphones had been place and plugged in I then tapped all of the lose cables down to prevent any actors from tripping over during the show. Once everything had been made safe I then moved up onto the desk to plug all of the microphones into the desk. To do this I had to match up each microphone that I had plugged into the wall boxes into the patch bay. The patch bay allows us to run microphones into the desk without having to run loads of cables. Each of the ports in the patch bay match up to the ports on the wall boxes, so to plug everything into the desk I ran XLRs out of the patch bay and into the back of the desk. Once all of the microphones were plugged into the back of the desk the condenser microphones had been given phantom power and they had been line checked I then set about connecting the microphones to Logic Pro 9. This can be done though the use of a MADI cable which comes out the desk into a Mac. The MADI cable copies the channel inputs on the desk (so in my case it copies all 8 of my microphone channels) which are direct outs into the Mac which then allows you to create outputs on Logic. The outputs are direct copies and will not be effected if the channels are EQ or compression or gating is added on the desk.

Here is the set up with the soundcraft and the computer set up with logic; 

Here is the set with the microphones set up;

Recording and Editing

With all of the microphones set up and linked into Logic I was ready to start recording the show. To record the show on Logic all you do is click the little R button on the output display on Logic. This will then record all of the show. Once the show had recorded I was able to edit the recording within Logic. I edited the recording by adding compression and gating to the recording to make it more clear and sounding more like a radio play. Once the recording had been edited it to as ready to be broadcast over Miskin Radio to the public.

[jackb0102]

Unit 2 task 1/Unit 71 task 4

HEAD OF SOUND The head of sound has to worry about the acoustics because they can affect the overall sound of the show, this is why we put up drapes at times to absorb the higher frequency waves of sound and to stop echoes. To explain the difference between high-frequency and low-frequency, imagine a line,off a low-frequency sound wave are very long waves and they pass through the drapes which absorb the low-frequency waves. This makes the show have a higher pitch sound. High-frequency sound waves are more erratic as they have more energy and closer together as they can travel great distances, But sometimes when you are in a closed environment and there is nothing to absorb the sound you can have the effect of an echo. The sound of your voice hits the wall that you are facing and then bounces back towards you. Speaker placement is where speakers are going to be placed in relationship with the theatre. This process is best to plan well ahead, so that your speakers do not get in the way of other peoples equipment. In this territory of work there is lots of health and safety hazards to be aware of. Such as cable tidying which is when you tape a cable to the floor and out the way, so it is not a trip hazard, a trip hazard could be anything as well as a cable, it could be a piece of the set equipment or actual equipment left out. It is always important to keep a clean and tidy workplace, this is so we can all work in harmony. With cable tidy this is very important when you have a band, so the musicians do not trip up on their own cables. The type of cables we use are XLR which is a free pen cable, which is commonly used in theatres throughout the industry. Communicating with bands or orchestras. It is good to have a working relationship with bands and orchestras as it is important for the correct sound for the show. Also the band and sound work closely together because one cannot work without the other. One of the major people that sound talk to, is the band manager, they are in charge and makes sure the band turn up on time, and in some cases they can have a hand in the mix of the show. The Mix is a common expression used in the theatre industry it is the overall volume of all the instruments and vocals and in the process of how they makes the sound all together within the show. If you require a EQ you would need to turn up the bass out the high frequencies to make it a more smoother sound. The director could want the vocals upfront, so Sound would turn up the volume and run the feed into the upstage to speakers directly aimed at the audience. For example Matt the head of sounds in one show, had the speakers directly in the middle upstage secured on to one of the bars, and he wanted to send a seagull sound effect through those two speakers, to have the effect that you can hear the birds in the sky. Now to go on about sound effects or foley art, this is very inventive and can take up to two hours to read the script and making notes of sound effects that have to be approved by the director, to see if it fits the true audio vision of the show. Head of sound Head of sound is in charge of the maintaining of the equipment and making sure that everything is up to Health & Safety Code. For instance if a speaker is hanging from A bar, put a safety chain on it as a secondary security measure, so that if the clamps or shackles break which is unlikely the speaker will not fall and injure someone. He is also in charge of sound 1,sound 2 and sound 3. Sound 1 is in charge of the mix on the show, The Mix range from the band, vocals and actors on stage. Sound 2 is in charge of the sound script which is made in rehearsals, this group let the sound 1 know what’s going on in the play so that the right actors are being given the right amount of volume, and this is also so that sound effects come in at the right time. Sound 3 is in charge of mic packs, they are a simple setup of a transmitter and microphone which can be taped or glued to the performer. These kind of devices are normally used in theatres and can be powered by batteries, they can also be in charge of microphones giving a sound check such as the old “one two one two”. The majority of their work takes place backstage changing the mic packs batteries halfway through a show. Production meeting and communicating. Whatever the director says goes, if they want it louder then you have to make it louder, and make them happy. With the crew keeping contact with each other to see, what they are up to, to see what they have got planned for the space, to make sure that you’re not getting in each other’s way when you’re trying to work. With actors be friendly, that way the show is a much happier working environment. The same goes for bands and singers. Communication is always key. #unit2

[bensblogbook]

Roles Within A Sound Team

The Sound team is vital within a production team and to operate successfully the different people within the sound team have to perform there roles well for the team to run smoothly and operate correctly. Within the sound team there are the following roles; 

Head of Sound- The head of sound is responsible for the entire sound team. He/she will deal with any problems the sound team have, the budget the team has to use and they also deal with any repairs that need to be made to the equipment that the team are using. They will work closely with the rest team to ensure that everything runs smoothly. 

Sound Designer- The sound designer is responsible for the design of the sound in a venue. They will have to deal with we the speakers are going to be placed within the venue (so if a part of the set needs to make a specific noise then they will place a speaker in that part of the set). They will also deal with the sound effects that the directors require for the piece. They will organise how the sounds are going to be made and then pass this information on to the foley team or even produce the effects themselves. The designers will be working very closely with the Head of Sound to make sure that they have all the equipment they need to design the show, as well as the head of sound they will also work with the design team to ensue that there speakers do not interfere with the set and the lighting team to ensure that the speakers are not in the way of the lights. 

Sound 1- Sound number 1 is responsible for operating the show. They will concentrate on the live mixing of bands that are involved in the performance. They will also be responsible for EQ of the room. They will work closely with Sound 2 and Sound 3 as well as the Sound Designer so that they are aware of the speaker placement. 

Sound 2- Sound 2 is responsible for reading the book and playing the sound effects when given the cue by the DSM or if the DSM is not cueing by reading the book. Sound 2 will also keep an eye on the microphones ensuring that they have enough battery power and if the levels are ok and they are not accidentally muted during the performance. In a smaller scale theatre were there is no Sound 3 they will put microphones on the actors or singers. They will work closely with Sound 1 to ensure they know when to send the SFX through the PA. They will also work closely with the DSM to ensure that they are cueing at the correct time. 

Sound 3- Sound 3 are solely responsible for ensuring microphones are securely fastened to the actors and are turned on. If they do not complete there job properly then Sound 1 can not perform his job properly. They will work closely with Sound 1 to ensure that all of the microphones are working. 

[bensblogbook]

COSHH and LOLER

COSHH

COSHH the Control Of Substance Hazardous To Health. This is a law that requires that substances being used need to be controlled. For sound there are not that many substances that are hazardous to your health. The ones that are hazardous to you health are Battery Acid and the glue used to secure microphones to peoples face.

Battary Acid is a substance that needs to be controlled. This is because the acid with in a battery is toxic and irritant to the skin. To stop and actor or member of the crew come into contact or ingest battery acid you need to check and remove any batteries that have leaked acid. If an actor or member of the crew gets battery acid on their skin they must wash there skin thoroughly to stop there skin from becoming irritated. If an actor or member of the crew swallows the battery acid you need to ensure that they drink and ensure that they seek medical advice. 

As well as battery acid you need to be aware of COSHH when using microphone glue. This is because an actor or musician that the microphone is being put on is allergic to anything that is used in the making of the glue or if they get the glue into their eye when it is being used. To ensure this does not happen check with the actor to see if they are allergic to the glue and offer them an alternative and to stop it from going into their eye you need to keep the glue away from their eyes when using the glue. 

LOLER

LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations. When working in sound you have to pay close attention to rules laid out in LOLER. When lifting speaker or subs you have to make sure that you lift the equipment by bending your knees to prevent yourself from causing yourself a back injury. Also when you are lifting speakers into a rig you using rigging rope you must ensure that you do not lift the speaker on your own and that you have a couple of people on the rope pulling it up as it will be heavier when it is being lifted into the air. The tallest person should be at the front because they will have the furthest reach and be able to pull it up easier. 

[bensblogbook]

Tech Rider

I have been asked to produce a tech rider for a gig in a pub venue. I have been given £2000 in which to spend on equipment for the gig. There will be a vocalist, a drummer with his own drum kit, a guitarist with his own amo and a bass guitarist with there own amp. This is what I have come up with. 

Soundcraft EPM12 Multipurpose Mixer- £243.00; I have chosen this mixing desk because I feel it is the correct size desk for a venue of this size and also it will give the owner of the pub the chance to have a bigger band in the future. 

2x Behringer Eurolive B315A Speakers- £279.00 each; I have selected these speakers because they are good speakers to use in this venue and also because it will provide the band with what they need. 

2x Studio Spares PA Speaker Stand- £53.00 each; I have chose these because they are cheap robust and are ok to be used with the speakers that I am using. 

Shure SM58 Set (Including Microphone, 5m XLR and Mic Stand)- £112.00; I have chosen this package because it has everything required for the microphone to work and also because the mirophone is a good mic that will be able to be used by the vocalist. 

Shure PG52 Kick Drum Mic- £114.60; I have chosen this microphone again becuase it is a good microphone that can be used by the drummer and produce good sound for the venue. 

2x Shure SM57 Instrument Microphones- £94.00; I have chose these microphones because I think they are reasonably priced and can be used on both the guitar and the bass guitar. 

Neutrik Stage Box 20/4- £59.52; I have chosen this stage box because it have enough outputs and inputs that can be used to run to the mixing desk. I also feel that it is a good value for money. 

10x Economy XLR (10m Black)- £7.51 each; I have chosen these because they are value for money and long enough to give the band ease of movement around the venue. 

4x 3m IEC Lead- £3.34 each; I have chosen these because they are long enough to power the speakers and the amps. 

2x Live Budget Microphone Stands- £11.99 each; I have chosen these because they are value for money and will perform there job of holding the microphones. 

Behringer Cable Tester CT100- £24.98; I have chosen this to ensure that all of the cables that are being used will work before the gig. 

Antex Soldering Kit 18W- £24.99; I have chosen this as part of my tech rider so that if any of the cables break during the show they can be repaired. 

The total cost of my tech rider is £1543.53. I feel this is good value for money and will provide the venue with a good sound system for this gig and any future gigs that they put on. 

[bensblogbook]

Acoustic Evaluation of the Auditorium and Auditorium Issues

The way in which we hear sound is effected by the way in which a space has been built. The auditorium at the Miskin Theatre is a poor place to set up sound.

The first reason why the auditorium is a poor set up for sound is because it is make of reflective materials. These reflective materials are the shutter for the dock at the back off the space, the bricks that the building is made of and the paint which is over them. These surfaces will effect the acoustics in the room as the sound waves will reflect off the wall and bounce around the space really fast. When the reflect of the wall the waves will collide with each other which in turn will cause the the frequency of the waves to get higher therefore making the sound appear horrible. A way to improve this problem would be to hang blacks around the outside of the auditorium as this will help to absorb some of the sound particles and therefore stop them from colliding with each other.

Another reason why the space is a poor place to set up sound is the fact that the windows to the control room are angled. This again will effect the way in which the sound particles will travel around teh room because firstly the windows are made of a reflective material which will cause the sound particles to bounce off the windows and speed them up and secondly because of the angle that both the windows are at will cause the sound particles to bounce of the windows and travel towards the floor of the space. In order to improve this problem I would suggest either changing the angle of the windows to stop the sound particles being sent to the floor or getting rid of the windows all together as this will stop the particles being sent to the floor of the space and also eliminate the problem of the particles being speed up when they reflect of the windows surface.

The shape of the space is another problem that makes the room a poor place to set up sound. This is because the room is rectangular in shape and therefore will cause the the sound to be constantly bounced around the space at different angles. To improve this problem I would suggest that we knock down the back wall of the the space and make it curved as a curved back wall will help to more evenly spread the sound particles around the room.  

Another problem that will effect the acoustics in the room is the set for the shows that are put in the space. For example if the set was to be made out of metal this would be a problem as it would cause reverberation and again cause the sound particles to be bounced continuously at high speeds around the room and cause them to collide. Also the way at which the set is place will also cause as problem as the sound particles will reverb of the different parts of the set and cause them to be bounced around the room randomly. A way to ensure that this problem does not happen is to have constant discussions with the set designers about how best to lay out the set with regards as to were are speakers are laid out in the space. We can also discuss with the set designer the materials in which the set is going to be made of and make suggestions of alternative materials that can be used. 

The final problem that are space has is feedback. Feedback occurs when the sound that is being sent through the speakers is picked up by the microphones and is then amplified through the F.O.H. P.A., which causes a horrible howling sound. This occurs a lot in our space because on most shows we have are speaker stacks at the front of the stage on both stage right and stage left. This means that when actors with microphones enter the space through the voms they will have to pass the stacks causing the feedback. There are a number of ways in which we can prevent this problem from occurring, the first would be to find a better place to possition are stacks however this is not possible as we have limited space in the auditorium, the second would be to find a new way for the actors to enter the stage so that they don’t walk pass the stacks and the final option would be to Equalize (EQ) the space. EQ is were you level out the frequency’s in a sound system to remove any peaks on the sound wave and help minimize the howling sound created by feedback. EQ will help in minimizing feedback but it will not full prevent it from occurring. 

As well as having acoustic issues the Miskin Theatre also has other issues. The main issue with are theatre is the placement of the voms. The voms are placed on both sides of the auditorium and that is how the audience enter the venue. This means that they have to physically walk on the stage to gain access to the seating bank. For sound Thai is a major issue because we may have speaker stacks on stage right and left which have to powered from under the seating bank. This means that we are running cables across the stage and they are a trip hazard for the audience that are entering. To stop the trip hazard from occur in we would have to tape down the cables to prevent audience members tripping and hurting themselves.

Overall the auditorium in the Miskin Theatre is a poor space in which to set up a sound system but by carrying out the suggestions of improvements written above will help to make the acoustics in the space sound better. Also by changing the way the audience come into the spa e will help to make the auditorium a more effective venue in which to put on a performance.