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brate and the music played at a level which can satisfactorily give the best impression of cue. This is sometimes necessary to “sell” the cue, even though the playback may be out of scale and unrealistically loud. (See Figs. 4 and 5)
Musician support
More than in any other recording environment, the Scoring Stages must provide extensive audio and visual monitoring sup- port for the musicians and performers. Utilizing extensive head- phone/cue systems and picture monitors, most players receive multiple levels of performance support. These include:
• Multiple and extensive headphone mixes, often more than twelve mono mixes (divided among Orchestra sec- tions) and six stereo mixes (for conductors, editors, rhythm section and soloists). The mono headphones are single or dual sided and carry a mix of cue/click tracks and other musical elements performing live or prere- corded. The stereo mixes also carry click tracks plus a more extensive mix of associated musical elements.
• Video monitors carrying the film picture (with or without streamers/cue marks).
• Video monitors of the conductor for players in isola- tion or without a clear view of the conductor.
• Video monitors with the bar/beat count. This assists players in locating/counting during complex cues that
have had little or no rehearsal.
• Video monitors with pictures of other soloists for visual
cueing. Rhythm sections often use multiple personal
video monitors to see each other for performance cueing. • Electronicmusicstands.Whilethisisanewtechnique, used more often in live performances, the future of a unique video driven electronic music stand for each player or group of players is certainly in our future. The ability to turn pages remotely (foot switch) and for each player to mark his/her music uniquely would be included. This would facilitate fast composition changes and re-assignment of parts to other musicians. The Music Library would typically integrate the elec-
tronic stands into their copy-composition software.
• Studio Loudspeakers. Often used for general playback, these loudspeakers are also often used to send tuning notes from pre-recorded tracks to the entire orchestra. • Local Loudspeakers are often used for soloists in isola- tion who do not wear headphones. Sometimes, the speakers are wired out-of-phase and placed on either
side of the performer/microphone to reduce leakage.
Technical facility
One may ask, following all of this description, what is the difference between a Scoring Stage and a Recording Studio?
Fig. 6 Fox Scoring Stage. Neve 88RS. Input Section.
30 Acoustics Today, April 2013