ProSoundWeb: This article is the first in a series that follows an example step-by-step through a representative design and tuning process for a mid-sized arena. On the macro level, I follow pretty much the same steps and workflow as I would always follow on a similar job. However, along the way, we will see how the specifics of the day demand adjustments and changes where necessary.
4 comments:
System design and tuning is so so cool to me because I feel like it is something that i can do but not well and I really want to understand more about how to design a system really well and once I know the rules of how to design a proper system, I also want to know how to be able to break those rules and really design my own system and push the boundaries of system design. I think that would be so cool especially as a tool to help composition and what not. I feel like system design is something that is often overlooked because people think it is super boring or that it is something that is so foreign and hard to navigate but I think the deeper and more a designer understands how a system works, the better they can utilize their materials around them to support their design and have total control of the sound in the room.
This was a very interesting article to read discussing the steps of a system design for an arena sized venue. I have wanted to learn more about sound systems since coming to CMU and getting more exposure to all different kinds of tech. Working on sound for the shows here has shown me how much I like rigging and sound work. I love the process of figuring out how to evenly distribute sound throughout a space. While this article is discussing things that are well beyond my level of understanding, it’s cool to see where system design and sound engineering could go. I could work out some of what they were talking about from what I have done for sound here, and it was really cool to think about the process of hanging a huge rig for an arena event. I would love to learn more about this process and what goes into system designing for live event and concerts.
It is so cool to see a systems design workflow and process in a way I haven’t seen before. I remember in highschool having to measure and calculate many sound aspects for physics class and it is cool to see that it will be useful in the future to have that knowledge. It is cool to see the software have useful features to make the process smoother. I like how the author says to always double check and never assume things about the venue or measurements, especially with centerlines and 90 degree angles. I had always assumed that the center of my high school was the same in all areas of the auditorium, but when I actually measured there was a different center for the stage, apron, house, booth, and lighting battens, all off by a few inches or more. The way they check for sound spots and even sound distribution is really fun and intuitive to watch, it was laid out very nicely to get the whole picture.
I have always wondered how traveling concerts are able to load in so fast, and I guess it makes sense that there is a process like this to come up with a plan beforehand. There are so many things to consider during a load in like this, its incredible that it happens so fast on tours. I wonder if there is a similar process for traveling musicals, or if its less intense because the time crunch is a bit less. This guy seems to have an incredible attention to detail, and his ability to be able to adapt this system to make sure the design will work out how it should is pretty cool. One of my big remaining questions is how focusing lights work on these giant tours. They've got to have so many lights, do they need to manually focus any of them, or are they all just moving fixtures at this point so it doesn't matter?
Post a Comment