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[David Nicholas]

Ok, I will try this one again.  Sorry, I didn't know I had to have my real name.

Ok, I am doing a large musical production at a venue that holds just over 2000 and the stage is rather large.  The cast is about 100 people with the main characters using IEM.  This still leaves around 60 people not on IEM.  At times the whole cast is on the stage singing and will be dependant on the cue tracks.  Would flying the monitors on the catwalks be a good idea?  I am worried about the stage volume and the hieght of the stage.  The distance would almost be the same as the FOH rig.  Does massive compression on the monitors work in this situation?  Any theater guys out there that can give me a little insight?

[Mac Kerr]

David Penner wrote on Mon, 31 October 2005 12:54

Ok, I will try this one again.  Sorry, I didn't know I had to have my real name. Ok, I am doing a large musical production at a venue that holds just over 2000 and the stage is rather large.  The cast is about 100 people with the main characters using IEM.  This still leaves around 60 people not on IEM.  At times the whole cast is on the stage singing and will be dependant on the cue tracks.  Would flying the monitors on the catwalks be a good idea?  I am worried about the stage volume and the hieght of the stage.  The distance would almost be the same as the FOH rig.  Does massive compression on the monitors work in this situation?  Any theater guys out there that can give me a little insight?

What kind of mics are the cast using? Are they HH, lav, headworn? What about the chorus? Do you need to get the leads mics into these mons as well as the IEMs? If the cast is just getting tracks through the flown monitors the position should be fine. It may work better if the track they are listening to in the mons is a track specifically mixed to be a monitor track, with only those things they need to follow. Can the cast see the conductor? If not you may need to add video monitors so they can. The last Broadway show I worked on had more than 20 audio monitor mixes, and 65 video monitors, about half of which were conductor monitors, the rest being for automation. There were conductor shots on 27" monitors on the balcony rail, and small monitors offstage, in vocal booths, in band rooms, etc. I would not use compression on the mons.

Mac

PS I don't know why you didn't know you had to use your real name. It is in the announcement at the top of each forum, and has been the subject of much discussion over the past couple of months.

[David Nicholas]

Mac Kerr wrote on Mon, 31 October 2005 18:19[/quote

What kind of mics are the cast using? Are they HH, lav, headworn? What about the chorus? Do you need to get the leads mics into these mons as well as the IEMs? If the cast is just getting tracks through the flown monitors the position should be fine. It may work better if the track they are listening to in the mons is a track specifically mixed to be a monitor track, with only those things they need to follow. Can the cast see the conductor? If not you may need to add video monitors so they can. The last Broadway show I worked on had more than 20 audio monitor mixes, and 65 video monitors, about half of which were conductor monitors, the rest being for automation. There were conductor shots on 27" monitors on the balcony rail, and small monitors offstage, in vocal booths, in band rooms, etc. I would not use compression on the mons. Mac

We will be using all Sennheiser MKE2 with Sennheiser UHF as well as a few countryman e6 with Shure U1 bobypacks.  For wired mics we are looking at the crown PCC and maybe some 383 from shure.  There will be no conductor as it will be all with cue based tracks and software driven.  My main concern is the amount of area mics that will be used and the sound levels on the stage.  I will need to keep it down but knowing the cast, they will just "need" more.   Ideas??

[Tom Young]

You need to get the monitors as close to the ears of the users as possible. Firing them from the grid is a recipe for unclear and reflected monitor energy that will do as much harm as good.

A reasonably well distributed array of monitors that are flown just out of line-of-sight would be best. This way they can be held at a reasonable volume levels and will provide an even wash to the users on stage.

Compression has no benefit in this application. The users need a sense of dynamics which also tracks their own dynamics.

[Mac Kerr]

David Penner wrote on Tue, 01 November 2005 01:46

We will be using all Sennheiser MKE2 with Sennheiser UHF as well as a few countryman e6 with Shure U1 bobypacks.  For wired mics we are looking at the crown PCC and maybe some 383 from shure.  There will be no conductor as it will be all with cue based tracks and software driven.  My main concern is the amount of area mics that will be used and the sound levels on the stage.  I will need to keep it down but knowing the cast, they will just "need" more.   Ideas??

With area mics, more mics does not mean more level. More mics often means less level. With all those MKE2's on stage, I hope you are not talking about putting the mics back in the monitors. You are going to need to keep the mons to a minimum, and preferably only what the singers need to stay in time and in tune. Get a conductor. Even if the instrumentation is all track, the singing isn't. The conductor doesn't need to be in view if you use video monitors. Or the conductor can be at the rear of the audience and us a glow stick for a baton. This is how it was done for the show "Blast". If you add any of those lavs or area mics to the monitors you are going to be left with mud and feedback.

Mac