CMU School of Drama


Monday, October 29, 2012

Live Sound: Getting It Right: New Technology For Classic Rod Stewart In Concert

Pro Sound Web: Lars Brogaard has been working with Rod Stewart for 27 years, and over the course of that time, the sound reinforcement rig used for what he has occasionally described as a “never-ending” tour has evolved substantially to incorporate new technology, meet changing performance demands, and exceeding the expectations of the audience.

2 comments:

Emma Present said...

It's amazing how technology is constantly being innovated; it grows and changes with new challenges to fit audience demands. The article makes a good point, that sound must be adjusted for audience comfort. The older crowd doesn't want to be attacked by the sound coming from the speakers, unlike a young crowd would at a rock concert. These preferences and discomforts must be accounted for when sound designing as well as making sure the sound itself sounds good. I had never really thought of it in that depth and from that perspective before, but now I will be sure to always keep that in mind in my future sound endeavors.

Meg DC said...

I appreciate that the sound developed even after the initial design. The openness of the team to be flexible is something admirable in Brogaard and a credit to Meyer's LEO. As Emma noted, technology is constantly updating and the ability of a show to update and technology to be so advanced that it is compatible with it's successors is critical. Revamping a system completely every time there is a new update can be quite costly, a cost which, thanks to systems like LEO, can be kept down while still keeping up with the times.