Professional Sound - February 2017 | Page 9

Raising the Curtain on 2017 A Q & A with Theatre Sound Designer & Consultant Peter McBoyle

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Raising the Curtain on 2017 A Q & A with Theatre Sound Designer & Consultant Peter McBoyle

PS : What are some of the widespread technological innovations to have hit the market in the past few years that you think have had the most significant impact on audio for theatre ?
PM : Line arrays continue to have a huge impact in the theatre audio world . I know we are not alone in the industry in that regard ; however , we don ’ t just use them for typical left-right systems , but often as smaller arrays as point source elements in distributed systems .
Often , the physical reality of the venue won ’ t let us hang 12- or 15-element arrays and so we have to get a bit more creative and split them apart and use maybe four to six boxes almost as a fill speaker . Theatre sound designers don ’ t seem to be afraid to “ break the line ,” or even turn it on its side ! I know some designers are hanging line arrays horizontally as a centre cluster ! It ’ s an interesting idea . It would give point source-type coverage in the vertical and very balanced and controlled coverage in the horizontal . I haven ’ t tried this yet myself , but I want to !
I think in general , theatre sound designers are a curious bunch who look at their equipment as problem solving tools and aren ’ t afraid to use gear in unconventional ways .
Along with the continuous improvement in the speakers themselves , I also think that loudspeaker prediction tools have had a huge impact . Now we can simulate various system designs , evaluate the coverage , and minimize the interaction between speakers in a virtual environment . Once the designs are explored , we can install them with the confidence that we are giving ourselves the best chance for success .
PS : Were there any new or at least “ new to you ” techniques or applications you put to use in any of your productions from 2016 with effective results ?
PM : Sub arrays are really starting to work their way into the musical theatre world . Space is often a challenge but having directional control of the low end is fantastic and so useful in the crazy world we work in . I ’ ve used end-fire sub arrays recently and will again in the future . The results are fantastic ! I know I ’ m late to the party on this one , but another thing that I ’ ve been doing more of lately is working at 96 kHz ; the difference is really quite astounding . I find it ’ s especially noticeable when dealing with an orchestra . Acoustic instruments with great mics just sound so much better at 96 kHz and it ’ s a huge difference for voices on radio mics too . I look forward to working at 192 kHz sometime soon !
PS : How do you go about testing new products or technologies to ensure you ’ re confident enough in their performance to integrate them into one of your shows ?
PM : This is actually a challenge . To have confidence , you need to try them out in a realworld setting , but when you are going into production on a show , there generally isn ’ t very much extra time to try out new equipment and new ideas . There also isn ’ t usually extra budget to bring in equipment you are curious about and so the tendency is to go with what you know . I find that most of my exposure to new equipment comes almost by accident . Usually it ’ s because I get offered a show at a theatre that ’ s new to me and they happen to have something I haven ’ t used before and I get to use it and try it out .
Sometimes exposure to new equipment comes from rental suppliers when you ’ re asked to accept a substitution . Occasionally , I find myself in the position to have some capital money for a larger project , so we can properly demo equipment and try new ideas , but I would love to have the opportunity to experiment more .
PS : Outside of technology specifically , are there any trends affecting the North American theatrical audio industry that you saw emerge or develop in 2016 ?
PM : Not just in 2016 but there ’ s an interesting trend happening with workflow in the theatre audio world . The tools available to us for editing and playback are getting so good and so portable that it ’ s affecting workflow and creativity – and perhaps not in a good way .
We all have powerful digital editors on our production tables with hard drives full of raw material to be able to build new elements on the spot or to reconstruct or rebuild cues in “ the heat of battle .” Not only that , but we can fly them in to a playback system and have them ready for use in almost no time at all . It ’ s amazing really and what we have dreamed of .
As convenient as this is , we ’ ve created an expectation that these kinds of changes are simple and can be done fast . Although this is in some ways true , I worry that with the speed at which we now work , we ’ re forced to settle for the quick , safe solution that will satisfy the director and let tech move on . Are we giving the cues the time and consideration they deserve from an artistic viewpoint ?
PS : What ’ s on the horizon for 2017 as far as innovations or ideas that you think will have a significant impact on sound for theatre ?
PM : For some time I have had an interest in source-oriented sound reinforcement . This is where you delay the sound from the system to arrive at the listener at the same time as the acoustic energy from the performer . For example , rather than delaying an underbalcony speaker to a centre cluster , you delay both the cluster and the underbalcony to a position on the stage where the actor will be . In addition , you change those times as the actor moves around the stage so that the time of arrival of the system and acoustic energy always stays the same . As long as the reinforcement is not too loud this can work amazingly well and increases overall quality , improves intelligibility , and tricks the brain into believing that all of the sound is coming from the performer .
For almost 10 years now at The Stratford Festival , I have used a complex delay matrix and automation in our Meyer LCS system to create “ delay zones ” on stage to do this . Designing musicals on the large thrust stage is a huge challenge , but this is one technique that has really helped to make them sound natural . I hope to try the TiMax Tracker from Out Board , which is a dedicated system for this approach and uses radar to track the actors ’ location onstage to make these delay adjustments automatically . I feel like this technique will continue to be explored and improved in 2017 and beyond .
Peter McBoyle is one of Canada ’ s most in-demand theatre sound designers and audio consultants specializing in musical theatre , system design , and themed entertainment . He lives in Stratford , ON , where he has had an affiliation with the prestigious Stratford Festival for over 20 years . Recently , he has returned to teaching with a position at Humber College .
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