"Can You Hear Me Now?"
We as directors always spiral back to this infinite wisdom: If you can’t hear it, none of the brilliant, creative, painstaking work that has gone into your show matters. Nothing. Yes really nothing. After the first eight minutes of not being able to hear the actors, audience members, (even the “favorite aunt”), tune out, think about the reality show they are missing, check texts, and attempt to look engaged. After all, is it their favorite relative on stage!
Our general advice to teachers is always the same, if you have never done sound, scrimp on $ with costumes or set and save some $ to get some professional advice the first time. They will check out your space, (cafeteria, gym, theater) and help you decide what you can borrow or rent. Just like using prop pieces, try sound out prior to the performance.
I can go into detail about the newest portable systems, what mics work well in certain situations, but equipment AND federal regulations for frequencies can be outdated in 7 minutes!
Above all, make your kids part of the process with sound. They will learn from pros, older students and be more valuable to your creative team than you are. These students are loyal, have common sense, and usually learn how to take of equipment better than their own belongings!
If you can get a sound person who enjoys the process of teaching students about sound, as the MasterCard ad says, it is priceless!
Many of you are facing the “many moods” of mics again soon. My friend and respected colleague in the business, Glenn Bernardis, or “Glenny B” as we call him, has been kind enough to share his top Ten Tips for Sound. He is a master at mentoring a student crew and instilling the love of learning the craft. Yes, just like you do with singing, acting and dancing. As you finish holiday programs and gear up for a spring show, wrap these tips up in your head and unwrap when needed. Thank you Glenny B!
Top Ten Tips for Sound
1 Get a good house EQ setting for the room. Subgroup floor and hanging mics and adjust EQ according to both room resonance and tonality.
2 Mic check every show and rehearsal. Have the actors move around the stage. Sing and deliver lines in character voice. Do not recite the alphabet or sing happy birthday (unless that is what the character does in the show). Best to do with accompaniment. Singers sing best with support.
3 Assign clear duties to the sound techs. For example:
Engineer 1: Body packs
Engineer 2: Stage mics
Engineer 3: Script / sound effects / com.
4 Mark the script in a consistent manner. Multi-colored hi-liters work very well. Do not mark every line the character speaks (that is already done), mark entrances, effects cues, choral mics, etc. Take other notes in pencil.
5 Teach proper mic technique. Not only for body packs, but how to cheat to hanging mics and floor mics. Teach how a single body pack can pick up a dialogue. Teach good mic care. (Not yanking the mics out of the costume by the cable etc.)
6 Have the proper tools: A flashlight, gaff tape, mark tape, sharpie, hi-liter. Have good lighting for the tech crew stations.
7 Schedule for audio needs. Create a mic plot based on characters and mics available and plan all mic swaps. If you are renting mics, practice swaps with numbered cards to be certain they are viable. Always plan for a spare mic backstage. Place spare batteries backstage.
8 Tape all mic power and mute switches. Also tape mic connections. Mics should be placed in the costume in a pouch, not clipped to a belt, bra etc. Condensation and cable strain cause almost all mic problems
9 Create and maintain a pre-show production checklist. There is a lot to keep track of. Pilots do this for a reason.
10 Schedule production meeting(s) with the entire production/design team to alleviate surprises. (Hanging mics hit by scenery, costumes which create mic placement difficulties, Sound effects better done in the pit, etc.)
