sound sound design is extremely important to the success of a show and for the audience to have a...

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SOUND Sound Design is extremely

important to the success of a show and for the audience to have a “total” experience

Sound can tell its own story.

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SOUND• Listen to the following sound clips and

write down the following for each:• Time• Mood• Style• Characters• Costumes• Lighting effects

• Which type of music connects with your show the best?

is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements.

Sound design 

Sound designer is one who practices the art of sound design.

Sound in the Theatre years ago…

•Simple•Preshow music -- approximated the mood and spirit of the play -- played over the auditorium for about 10 minutes before the curtain went up & during intermission•Specific sound effects according to the script -- doorbell, telephone, thunder, wind, etc…

• Improvement in sound equipment

• The tastes and expectations of the audience and of theatre craftspeople.

• Focuses the audience’s attention and reinforce the dominant emotional theme of the material being presented.

Reasons for increased use of sound elements

FUNCTIONS OF SOUND IN THE THEATRE

•Music

•Effects

•Reinforcement

MUSIC

Non-musical production

• Preshow, intermission, post show instrumentals

•Underplaying Action

•Scene Changes

EFFECTSThe creation of specific sound effects such as barking dogs, telephones, doorbells, and train whistles is still an important element of sound designer’s work, but it is no longer the sole element.

•Constructed sound - Any sound effects created by editing, manipulating or changing previously recorded sounds.

REINFORCEMENT(Microphones)

Reinforcement is used whenever there is a need to boost the loudness level of the actors’ voices, as when the acoustics of the auditorium are not good or during musicals when the singers can’t be heard over the orchestra.

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HOW SOUND WORKSSound is a compression wave.

When something compresses air (For example, a vibrating guitar string forces surrounding air molecules to be compressed and expanded.) the resulting wave travels until it hits a receptor, which interprets the wave as a certain sound.

THE NATURE OF SOUND

•Frequency

•Intensity

•Timbre

•Acoustics

FREQUENCY

Frequency is the rate at which an object vibrates

- the rate that the sound travels creates the pitch.

Pitch – the tone produced by the vibration,

- the higher the frequency of vibration, the higher the pitch.

INTENSITYIntensity: The volume of the sound - measured in decibels

20 Quiet Whisper60 Normal Conversation90 Lawn Mower100 Thunder110 Car Horn130 Jet Plane at 100 ft = pain

Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss

Distance affects the intensity of sound -- if you are far away, the power is greatly diminished. All of the ratings above are taken while standing near the sound.

TIMBRE

Sound "quality" or "timbre" describes those characteristics of sound which allow the ear to distinguish sounds

- that makes one voice sound different from another or a trumpet sound different from a violin.

ACOUSTICSThe properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.

Reverberation refers to the phenomenon of sound continuing to be present in a room because of sound reflecting off of surfaces.

We limit this with absorbers - curves, carpet, curtains, anything soft.

We can increase this with reflectors - hard-smooth surfaces, metal, plaster)

Characterr 1: This is where the script would go. The dialogue and stage directions may give clues to where cues should go

(Walks to table SR and turns on tablelight)

Character 2 : I agree witth you. Most of the time it is the character’s dialogue that tell the technicians where to put cues. Sometimes, however they do actions and don’t say what they are doing.

(Phone rings and Character 2 answers)

Character 2: Hello? Oh, ok. Thanks. (Hangs up phone). Forrestsays it’s important to getthe windows done earlyin the process so you can get cues in early.

Charater 1: I agree.

L1: TableLight Up

S1: PhoneRings

L2: LightsDown SR

S2: MusicUp

Warning Cues: L1-L2 S1-S2

Sound Equipment

•Microphones

•Playback Equipment

•Mixer (Sound Board)

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Handheld MicsUsed when amplification is not trying to be hid.

Used in situations where there are not a lot of individual speakers (less than 5 usually). Public Speakers and Lead Singers mostly.

Can be omnidirectional - Receiving signals from or transmitting in all directions

Can cost between $75 (corded) to $400 (wireless).

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Lavalier or Headset Wireless

Used when amplification is trying to be hid and/or there is a lot of movement on the performer’s part.

Can cost between $150-$400 per.

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Shotgun MicsUsed when amplification is for a large group of people or over a large area (evenly).

Can be omnidirectional.

Can cost between $150 to $300 per.

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PZMs or MiceUsed when we want a natural sound to the amplification and we can’t or don’t want to body mic the performers.

Can cost between $100 to $300 per.

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CD, MP3, Midiplayer

Used to play back sound (music and/or effects) at a required time.

Cost is relative to how ‘powerful’ you want them to be.

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Sound BoardA mixing console, also called a sound board, is a device that allows the combination (mixing) and distribution of many audio signals and also provides the ability to increase or decrease the amplitude of the various signals.

Cost is relative to features – can be upwards of $10k.