Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Live Sound: On Three, You Lift: Methods Behind The “Check One, Two” Madness
Pro Sound Web: “Check one, two… one, two…” As a soundperson, I’ve had to repeat this phrase ad nauseam - at times I even hear it in my dreams. Everyone wants to know: “Why can’t you count to three?”
4 comments:
SMysel
said...
Wow! This is quite an in-depth article about something that so many people do not give much thought to. I am glad to know, though, that the "check one two" is so useful to the sound check and not just something that people say because that's the way it has always been. I will make sure to remember this and pass on the information to the next person who asks why we have to repeat that... in a more simplified version.
Potentially the most interesting article i have ever read on here. The insight into why I am saying what I am saying is stupid cool. Now I can listen for why I am saying what I am saying and in general have a quicker more effective sound check. This is so cool! Little did i know the value of three words... check one two. I am also impressed with how this guy knew his stuff. It is reassuring to know that there are people out there who are curious and intellectual enough about their field to research particular inklings they may have about what they are doing.
I'm kinda surprised Luke Foco didn't comment on this one...
Despite my professional work, Sound - in general - is still akin to black magic to me. I've tried, even here at CMU, to understand how it all works and when the question's put to me the answer to "Why does it work?" still might as well be, "The Force?"
Still, every tidbit of information helps and it's valuable to have someone as experienced as this Paul LaPlaca explain how something as simple as the "Check one, two..." can ACTUALLY be useful in setting up a system.
I really like how in depth this article is in explaining the purpose of each part of the phrase, “Check one two”. I have deduced over the years that the phrase is used because its respective parts provide a good sampling of human speech, but I have never heard any explanation of what each specific word or part of a word is good for. Thank you for posting this article, I will definitely think about this next time I am checking a microphone.
4 comments:
Wow! This is quite an in-depth article about something that so many people do not give much thought to. I am glad to know, though, that the "check one two" is so useful to the sound check and not just something that people say because that's the way it has always been. I will make sure to remember this and pass on the information to the next person who asks why we have to repeat that... in a more simplified version.
Potentially the most interesting article i have ever read on here. The insight into why I am saying what I am saying is stupid cool. Now I can listen for why I am saying what I am saying and in general have a quicker more effective sound check. This is so cool! Little did i know the value of three words... check one two. I am also impressed with how this guy knew his stuff. It is reassuring to know that there are people out there who are curious and intellectual enough about their field to research particular inklings they may have about what they are doing.
I'm kinda surprised Luke Foco didn't comment on this one...
Despite my professional work, Sound - in general - is still akin to black magic to me. I've tried, even here at CMU, to understand how it all works and when the question's put to me the answer to "Why does it work?" still might as well be, "The Force?"
Still, every tidbit of information helps and it's valuable to have someone as experienced as this Paul LaPlaca explain how something as simple as the "Check one, two..." can ACTUALLY be useful in setting up a system.
I really like how in depth this article is in explaining the purpose of each part of the phrase, “Check one two”. I have deduced over the years that the phrase is used because its respective parts provide a good sampling of human speech, but I have never heard any explanation of what each specific word or part of a word is good for. Thank you for posting this article, I will definitely think about this next time I am checking a microphone.
Post a Comment