54 l April 2014
www.psneurope.com
installationfeature Merrily they roll along ...
FORM AND FUNCTION The combining of functions and features is something that has already happened in other parts of theatrical audio. The FOH console is now a networking and matrixing hub, with integrated effects and processing, as much as a means of mixing the show. The advent of digital mixing in theatres has additionally made scene management achievable. This is now available on the Allen & Heath GLD series through version 1.4 software. Product manager Nicola Beretta says users had been asking for features such as cross fading between one scene and another, with the ability to send messages to other systems, such as on-stage lights. The MIDI capability of the
GLD, and other digital desks, is of particular use in connecting to external devices such as digital audio workstations for playing in cues. Beretta says networked MIDI over Cat-5 cables is far more convenient than 5-pin DIN and allows for
and a revival by the National Theatre of A Small Family Business, written by playwright and director Alan Ayckbourn. Let the Right One In will
larger networks to be built, especially through the use of Dante, which is now available on the GLD as a plug-in card. Sound designer Gareth Fry
favours Yamaha consoles because of their MIDI handling. He says QLab has become “the standard” in the UK for computerised playback, while in general loudspeaker systems have become more complex. Fry specifies mainly Meyer or d&b, unless there is a rig already in the theatre. He is currently working on two forthcoming productions: the West End transfer of the stage version of Let the Right One In, which Fry describes as a play with music;
feature a combined d&b and EM Acoustics rig. While this version has gone back to the source ‘young vampire love’ novel rather than the just the film, Fry says in general it is difficult not to be influenced by cinema and TV in all aspects of modern theatre production, including sound design. “At one time you’d have something like a Noel Coward play where all the action would take place in a drawing room and the characters would enter or leave as the drama went on,” he comments.
“In the last 10-20 years plays
have been written with very short scenes that take place in different locations. It’s difficult to change sets quickly enough in those circumstances so sound and lighting have to set the scene more than they used to.”
TTA STAGETRACKER FX
The Teatre Lliure is a state-funded theatre in Barcelona, noted for presenting works in Catalan. Opened in 1976 by a group of professionals from the city's independent theatre scene, it underwent a technical upgrade to install a TTA (Total Theatre Audio) Stagetracker FX performer tracking and audio localisation system, with final testing taking place in January this year. The hardware behind Stagetracker – consisting of an audio matrix and a ‘RadioEye’ that receives signals from wireless
‘TurboTags’ worn by the performers - was developed approximately six years ago but the first version of the
V4 Tracking Engine software only appeared in 2012. In recent years Stagetracker was installed at Malmö Opera and been used at last year’s Zurich Tattoo, with new installations in China and at the state-owned theatre in Latvia. Version 2 software is
underdevelopment but no date has been given for release.
www.tta-sound.com
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