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Post by sfsusan on Sept 7, 2021 22:36:14 GMT
But the chest is a) quite far from the mouth, b) when someone turns their head the sound levels change, This is very interesting because I happened to see b) in action last night. I saw Jay Rayner and Jo Brand at the Apollo Theatre, and Rayner must have had a chest mic because when he turned his head to his right, he became inaudible. Luckily, he didn't do it too often, but it was definitely noticeable. And I don't remember ever noticing theater sound before. |
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Post by Jon on Sept 8, 2021 1:33:50 GMT
Jon, the microphones are ostensibly the same as the lapel mics you see on TV shows, with the only difference usually being the colour (as rarely will a jet black line along someones neck blend well). So why do TV presenters go for wearing it on the chest, and theatre on the head? Well, the chest is convenient, easy to attach, kept out of the way, and the transmitter can be chucked in a jacket pocket and the presenter live in seconds. But the chest is a) quite far from the mouth, b) when someone turns their head the sound levels change, and c) you get a lot of muddy bass and a lot less top end. When transmitting for broadcast this doesn't matter as they can put extreme compression and EQ to fix it but such things on a live PA would result in feedback. If you mount on a boom or on the hairline, the distance stays the same throughout the show, you get no chest resonance, and you have time to fit the transmitter under costumes or into wigs which means costumes can be changed midshow without it affecting the microphone. The Wheel, the BBC One gameshow presented by Michael McIntyre has both head mics and lapel mics but the head mics are only used by Michael and the celebrities while the contestants have lapel mics which I thought was weird but I wonder if that's due to the studio setup rather than a stylistic choice. |
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Post by The Matthew on Sept 8, 2021 11:49:31 GMT
Kings, Southsea which proclaims the theatre to have "computer lighting" and "laser sound". I did enquire what the latter actually meant, nobody seemed to know. My first thought for "laser sound" is "our orchestra is actually a CD player". |
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 20, 2021 13:21:01 GMT
This may be another one for you firefingers, so I apologise if you feel like you're the only one currently doing any work. Touring the Lawrence Batley Theatre yesterday, our quide said something along the lines of the auditorium having an acoustic rating of 96. (She may have used a percentage.) If that's out of 100, I presume it must be very good, but what does it mean in layman's terms? |
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Post by Jon on Oct 11, 2021 12:47:44 GMT
I went to see The Mirror and the Light the other day and couldn't work out how they did the head of Cromwell being cut off can anyone explain how it's done? |
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Post by danb on Oct 11, 2021 13:27:58 GMT
They just have a different Cromwell every night…people are crying out to be on the stage. I believe that they are working through the male cast of TOWIE before starting on the Love Island lot. They have to share the wig though.
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Post by The Matthew on Oct 11, 2021 15:02:20 GMT
They just have a different Cromwell every night…people are crying out to be on the stage. I believe that they are working through the male cast of TOWIE before starting on the Love Island lot. They have to share the wig though. Reminds me of Jack Vance's Showboat World, in which the roaming theatrical companies of the showboats bring added verisimilitude to performances of their tragedies by having a death scene involve a real death, should circumstances allow them to get hold of a suitable criminal to play the necessary role. {Spoiler - click to view}It doesn't work out too well for one of the boats when it turns out the criminal they'd bought from the captain of a rival showboat was the warlord of the town where they were giving the performance. Fortunately the boats are well equipped for hasty getaways. |
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Post by alece10 on Oct 11, 2021 15:14:29 GMT
What's the difference between a producer and an associate producer please?
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Post by danb on Oct 11, 2021 20:03:13 GMT
What is an associate producer?
An associate producer is a below-the-line producer that works under the supervision of another producer. They are often referred to as the ‘AP.’ They assist another producer in putting a film or television episode together. Strong writing and editing skills are necessary.
Stolen from Google
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Post by tmesis on Oct 11, 2021 22:56:22 GMT
A general question about microphones in plays rather than musicals. Obviously actors always wear them in musicals (exception being at places like The Union) but at places like the National Theatre for 'straight' plays it seems to be more or less universal; may be understandable in The Olivier and Lyttelton but I think also most of the time in The Dorfman. I'm sure 20 or so years ago this was not the case even in The Olivier - I'm sure it wasn't the case even 10 years ago so when did this start to happen? It also seems to be prevalent at larger small theatres (if you see what I mean) like Hampstead and the Almeida.
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Post by marob on Oct 11, 2021 23:39:18 GMT
I saw a play last week in the studio space of a local theatre and the actors were mic’ed there. It’s not about the size of the theatre, but to enable them to provide headsets to people who are hard of hearing to make the place more accessible. That’s probably why you notice it more in subsidised venues, along with things like captioning, audio description, or relaxed performances.
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Post by alece10 on Oct 12, 2021 11:55:20 GMT
What is an associate producer? An associate producer is a below-the-line producer that works under the supervision of another producer. They are often referred to as the ‘AP.’ They assist another producer in putting a film or television episode together. Strong writing and editing skills are necessary. Stolen from Google Thank you. So a "gofer" in other words? |
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Post by sfsusan on Oct 16, 2021 16:17:20 GMT
can anyone explain how it's done? I don't know for sure, but assumed it was some variation on {Spoiler - click to view}
having a trick box as the executioner's block, where the actor can simply drop his upper body and his head slides through into the empty box.
However, I can't confirm that because I closed my eyes at that bit. |
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Post by sph on Oct 18, 2021 4:28:43 GMT
A general question about microphones in plays rather than musicals. Obviously actors always wear them in musicals (exception being at places like The Union) but at places like the National Theatre for 'straight' plays it seems to be more or less universal; may be understandable in The Olivier and Lyttelton but I think also most of the time in The Dorfman. I'm sure 20 or so years ago this was not the case even in The Olivier - I'm sure it wasn't the case even 10 years ago so when did this start to happen? It also seems to be prevalent at larger small theatres (if you see what I mean) like Hampstead and the Almeida. Traditionally, plays have not used microphones on actors, at least not body-mics, and it has always been a matter of personal pride for stage actors to be able to project their voices out into a full house without amplification. However, as technology has improved and acting styles have changed, it seems silly at times not to take advantage of such aids. A play which relies on a more subtle, intimate style of acting may not lend well to the technique of loud voices and large gestures for example. The increased amount of plays in recent years that fit this brief may be one reason for it. Also, many modern plays nowadays are far more advanced in their sound design than they used to be. Loud music, pulsing lights, increased sound effects etc need actors to be able to match them vocally in contrast to the quieter drawing room comedies of the old days. I imagine a show like Curious Incident is mic'd for this reason, but I could be wrong. Is it? I like plays that are mic'd. It makes the performance more accessible for the audience and puts less strain on the actors' voices. |
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Post by Dave B on Oct 21, 2021 8:45:37 GMT
I'm not sure if this is a question or a little vent but if a show is widely seatfilling for multiple performances - why oh why won't the box office give the people who have booked and paid normal price for tickets an upgrade first?
Sat in the cheap seats so often recently to see empty seats or seatfilling going into good stalls seats or front row of the first level and it just seems like a lost opportunity to me. Going to a show today that we have cheap restricted view (that's what the tickets say but it's 100% not restricted at all) but the show is on seat-filling and giving centre stalls tickets out as comps.
I suspect part of the answer to my own question is that as tickets aren't paper and collected at the box office anymore, it would be more work for the theatre but it seems like it would be good PR. It doesn't happen often but the times when we have arrived somewhere and been told we have new, better tickets - well that certainly makes me immediately have a higher opinion of the theatre.
Anyone have any insight?
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