# Proper Mixing Procedure



## djred2000 (Feb 17, 2015)

I was wondering what the generally accepted practice is for mixing microphones on an analog board specifically for muting. I occasionally run sound for musicals at a local community theater and when the actors enter and exit the stage I just pot their mics all the way down or back up. When setting levels I do my best to set the level as close to the 0 mark on the fader as possible. Other people just press the mute button on the channel when actors enter and exit and don't mess with the faders much. I personally find it hard to keep track of what's going on if all the faders are up and just muted. The way I do it, only the faders that are up are live.


----------



## ThatsoundguyChris (Feb 17, 2015)

Personally I do a mix of pulling the fader down or muting it, depending if the mic changes people or if they exit and enter many times in the scene


----------



## Footer (Feb 17, 2015)

Really depends on if you are using pre fade sends. Mixing music you always mute. When mixing large scale musicals on VCA's you also always mute and ride levels on the vca.


----------



## jkowtko (Feb 17, 2015)

From what I've seen, all professional musical theater mixing is done with line-by-line fading. It's a pain in the butt to do, but the pros use VCAs and snapshots extensively to group ensemble mics per scene, which brings the fader count down significantly. The professional actors also know to follow the script religiously and not ad-lib or skip lines.

What I do for short-run community theater plays, with no VCA/snapshotting, is try to co-locate channels for actors that will be together a lot, and I use up to eight fingers (all but thumbs) for mixing. And if there is any doubt as to whether or not a particular actor will say something at the wrong time, I may leave a fader or two at half volume instead of pulling it down completely in between lines. There is a rule that attenuation below -6dB of a competing audio source will tend to not be heard by the audience ... so if I pull the fader down 20dB I still feel okay.

I have never muted an input channel as a mixing method. I have only muted channels when they are not being used at all for the performance.

-- John


----------



## JD (Feb 17, 2015)

A quick fade-up also gives you that split second to abort if something has gone bad on the channel. Better a missed line than a blast of noise. 
Mute buttons spook me because I am at an age where I can remember some old analog boards where toggling the mute itself made noise. 

As for the second part, I assume you mean that you adjust the pad so that you can set your channel fader so that the "normal" level will be with the fader at 0db ? Pretty normal as long as your mic preamp is within it's limits.


----------



## Max Warasila (Feb 18, 2015)

I'm a religious muter. That said, I often times will fade out a channel, hit the mute, and then return the fader to it's previous position to avoid cutting anything off. Same goes for unmuting, but in reverse. I'm doing a lot of channels at once, I use mute groups or VCAs to do the same concept, and I use a lot of snapshots and automation when I can.

That said, it's all about what works for you. The only thing you _might_ have to worry about is cross talk. I recently discovered a few channels on my A&H GL2400 could be considered notorious for this when hot signals are played through them and the fader is down.

Again, however, there is no proper or best way, just ways that are better in certain circumstances. It just so happens to be that those circumstances are largely dependent on who is behind the console.


----------



## NickVon (Feb 18, 2015)

On my venue's LS9, (digital console) i'm a "Muter" on a little touring Mackie VLX analogue console i'm a "Fader" digital consoles have very clean mutes from my experiences especially if you are comfortably with in your Preamp range. On the Mackie, which is old and not in great condition i don't trust the mute buttons to be clean and/or not stick. With the LS9 if time permits i do use a lot of snapshots an scenes and just cue through a show light a lighting person would.

But to answer your question.
New consoles tend to work much better with the channel mute philosophy then older consoles, ("analogue" consoles") 
And generally on analogue consoles or consoles that are not in tjhe "Pro" quality level you are probably safer and better off gaining to a given fader level, and using faders as your on/off.

Something to think about to that an "on/off/Mute" button will kill all signal from proceeding any further, so sometimes you might want to to keep number channels on, but not only mix them to monitors and not mails. In this instance Muting them will give you some grief.


----------



## djred2000 (Feb 18, 2015)

Thanks for the replies. We are not using any AUX sends on the channels so we don't have to worry about the mute button taking out the pre-fade output. The actors are also not switching mics during the show. As far as setting the level, I bring the fader to the 0db position with the trim all the way down. While the actor is speaking, I raise the trim until the level is found and I can fine tune with the fader as close to the 0db mark as possible. This makes it easy for me to remember the levels when I bring them up each time the actor enters the stage.


----------



## Senorfish (Feb 18, 2015)

That's sounds a bit backwards. How do you remember where each gain trim was previously? Normally gain trim is set at soundcheck, and rarely touched after that unless for minor adjustments. Bringing levels in and out of the mix should be done by faders and or mute buttons. Then when bringing the fader up to 0 you'll know you're at the exact same level as before _because_ you did not touch the gain trim.


----------



## Footer (Feb 18, 2015)

Senorfish said:


> That's sounds a bit backwards. How do you remember where each gain trim was previously? Normally gain trim is set at soundcheck, and rarely touched after that unless for minor adjustments. Bringing levels in and out of the mix should be done by faders and or mute buttons. Then when bringing the fader up to 0 you'll know you're at the exact same level as before _because_ you did not touch the gain trim.



He said exactly that...

Also, many engineers will set gain with the fader down and dial it up until it meters at or near zero, then bring the channel into the house until it sounds good... then throw the mute. They care more about how hot the pre-amp burns then where the fader ends up. Midas is especially known for how their pre-amps sound when over driven like this. Recording engineers do the same thing. I can't tell you how many engineers, especially the jazz guys, who walk in, spin every gain to 2 o'clock, then start pushing faders up. If they find everything is sitting low on the console they will halve their output faders. This is all for music, not theatre, but you will see both ways in the real world. When mixing on VCA's many engineers will do the same thing. It is more about gain structure vs fader position. Of course if the gain structure is set correctly past the console you don't have to deal with this as much. Then again, the gain structure out PA is set for is to output as much sound as possible so when doing quieter events we tend to drop our output faders to compensate.


----------



## Senorfish (Feb 18, 2015)

Footer said:


> He said exactly that...



I got confused when he said he pot's things up and down.... thought he was refering to the gain pots, but I see now he's refering to the fader pots.


djred2000 said:


> when the actors enter and exit the stage I just pot their mics all the way down or back up.



He's doing it the right way, I do that too to avoid the hashness of muting buttons.

I don't know why you'd want to overdrive your gain trims and keep your faders down below unity though, that sounds more like a 1960's Beatles recording effect rather than proper gain structure. Today there are better ways to add distortion.


----------



## chausman (Feb 18, 2015)

It depends on the show for me. If I know it well I'll use mute buttons. If I'm not as comfortable with entrances/exits or have too many things to do at once then I'll use faders. And I've never tried to mix line by line.


----------



## themuzicman (Feb 18, 2015)

Footer said:


> He said exactly that...
> 
> Also, many engineers will set gain with the fader down and dial it up until it meters at or near zero, then bring the channel into the house until it sounds good... then throw the mute. They care more about how hot the pre-amp burns then where the fader ends up. Midas is especially known for how their pre-amps sound when over driven like this. Recording engineers do the same thing. I can't tell you how many engineers, especially the jazz guys, who walk in, spin every gain to 2 o'clock, then start pushing faders up. If they find everything is sitting low on the console they will halve their output faders. This is all for music, not theatre, but you will see both ways in the real world. When mixing on VCA's many engineers will do the same thing. It is more about gain structure vs fader position. Of course if the gain structure is set correctly past the console you don't have to deal with this as much. Then again, the gain structure out PA is set for is to output as much sound as possible so when doing quieter events we tend to drop our output faders to compensate.



For musical theater I set my system gain as so: Input Faders at Unity, vox VCA's at -10dB, Output Faders at 0dB. 

On initial system setup, I set outputs with music and pink and I'll gain the Amplifiers up to where they need to be, or if they are passive I'll drop the gain in the system processor keeping the console as clean as possible and doing the EQ and Gain work on the back end. On the input side I set mic pack gains all the same to start and I change gains as they meter on the receiver. I set the input fader to 0dB, throw the vocal inputs DCA to -10dB and I have the actor talk on stage, from there I gain up the channel until it is at an appropriate level. I don't use meters for anything other than to see clipping. I like to throw -10dB on the DCA for vocals, throw to -5dB for singing and unity when I really need to push. If I need to throw hotter than +3 I start looking at adding a compressor into the channel but I like to start with no to very little compression to maintain the natural dynamic range of the musical.


----------



## djred2000 (Feb 19, 2015)

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I pot the channel fader down when the actor exits the stage and back up when they re-enter.


----------



## JD (Feb 19, 2015)

*(This statement does not apply to the people on this thread, who have a good understanding of sound.)*
I am always amazed at the confusion between mic preamp gain and channel volume. Several times, I have been on "service calls" where problems were resolved by changing gain at various places. The preamp gain (or "pad") is there to optimize the gain of the mic preamp. Too much gain and you will have clipping/distortion. Too little gain and your system may appear noisy as you are having to crank the gain somewhere else. In a gain optimized system, the largest amount of gain should occur in the mic preamp. If you achieving that gain elsewhere, you are also adding gain to any noise produce by any of the electronics or cables that come before the gain jump. Working backwards, power amps should have just enough gain to achieve clipping before the signal clips from the prior device. The same applies to each piece as you work your way back. Although digital equipment is dead quiet compared to the old analog junk I used to deal with, this practice still has great advantages, especially if there are long cable runs. In those cases, any noise picked up on a cable run between processing, crossovers, etc, will be minimized. Needles to say, the best way to achieve this occurs if each idem in the chain has a meter. In other words, if the board meter is up at 0db, then the signal meters on any equipment up to and including the power amps should also read 0, each piece then having about the same headroom above that point. This also tends to minimize noise from accidental hot-patches.
To this day I find myself frustrated by people who believe that if a power amp is only turned up "half way" that it will only produce half it's rated output! (last argument, 48 hours ago.) All gain controls throughout the system should be considered "calibration points" with the exception of the board faders and masters, which provide the user input.
/rant


----------



## djred2000 (Feb 19, 2015)

JD said:


> *(This statement does not apply to the people on this thread, who have a good understanding of sound.)*
> I am always amazed at the confusion between mic preamp gain and channel volume. Several times, I have been on "service calls" where problems were resolved by changing gain at various places. The preamp gain (or "pad") is there to optimize the gain of the mic preamp. Too much gain and you will have clipping/distortion. Too little gain and your system may appear noisy as you are having to crank the gain somewhere else. In a gain optimized system, the largest amount of gain should occur in the mic preamp. If you achieving that gain elsewhere, you are also adding gain to any noise produce by any of the electronics or cables that come before the gain jump. Working backwards, power amps should have just enough gain to achieve clipping before the signal clips from the prior device. The same applies to each piece as you work your way back. Although digital equipment is dead quiet compared to the old analog junk I used to deal with, this practice still has great advantages, especially if there are long cable runs. In those cases, any noise picked up on a cable run between processing, crossovers, etc, will be minimized. Needles to say, the best way to achieve this occurs if each idem in the chain has a meter. In other words, if the board meter is up at 0db, then the signal meters on any equipment up to and including the power amps should also read 0, each piece then having about the same headroom above that point. This also tends to minimize noise from accidental hot-patches.
> To this day I find myself frustrated by people who believe that if a power amp is only turned up "half way" that it will only produce half it's rated output! (last argument, 48 hours ago.) All gain controls throughout the system should be considered "calibration points" with the exception of the board faders and masters, which provide the user input.
> /rant



Let me see if I understand correctly. Lets say I am setting the level for an iPod connected to a stereo input on an analog board. I would have the channel fader all the way down then solo the channel and raise the trim until the meter was showing signal at the 0db mark. I would then set the main output faders to the 0db mark and the output knobs on the power amp would be set to 0db as well. I would then raise the channel fader to the proper volume.


----------



## JD (Feb 19, 2015)

djred2000 said:


> Let me see if I understand correctly. Lets say I am setting the level for an iPod connected to a stereo input on an analog board. I would have the channel fader all the way down then solo the channel and raise the trim until the meter was showing signal at the 0db mark. I would then set the main output faders to the 0db mark and the output knobs on the power amp would be set to 0db as well. I would then raise the channel fader to the proper volume.


Well, the stereo line input actually bypasses the mic preamp, so the trim/pad/input gain will have no affect on the signal. 
It's not about hitting 0 on the meter, that is only when you first set up or recalibrate the system so that all your hardware is happy. (Usually done with a noise generator as compared to program material.)
If you had the chance, you would want to pre-test the iPod and set it's output level so that you have a comfortable level coming out of the system when you fader is near the 0 mark in it's travel, as well as check for any overload distortion. What you don't want is to find out you need your channel fader almost all the way up or all the way down to achieve that level you want at the time of the show.

As far as system calibration goes, systems vary a lot as far as their structure, but to keep the concept real simple, lets say we just have a board and a power amp. (no crossovers etc.) You want the output level meters on the board to accurately represent what the system is doing. You want to know that when your amp is about to clip that your board is telling you this is about to happen. _ There are exceptions to this._ For instance, in theater, the working level of your power amp system may be so low that using this setup would render the board meters useless as they would never show any level. In that case, you would decrease the gain on your power amps so that the board meters are at least providing you useful data. 

The key element to my original post was that it is critical that we don't accidentally have a weak link in the chain that goes into clipping during normal use and at the same time provide enough front end gain that we don't amplify the background noise of everything else in the system.


----------



## djred2000 (Feb 20, 2015)

JD said:


> Well, the stereo line input actually bypasses the mic preamp, so the trim/pad/input gain will have no affect on the signal.
> It's not about hitting 0 on the meter, that is only when you first set up or recalibrate the system so that all your hardware is happy. (Usually done with a noise generator as compared to program material.)
> If you had the chance, you would want to pre-test the iPod and set it's output level so that you have a comfortable level coming out of the system when you fader is near the 0 mark in it's travel, as well as check for any overload distortion. What you don't want is to find out you need your channel fader almost all the way up or all the way down to achieve that level you want at the time of the show.
> 
> ...



I get it now. We do have our power amp only turned up slightly to about the 9 o'clock position so that we can see the signal on the mixer.


----------



## Footer (Feb 20, 2015)

While we are talking gain structure, here is an interesting way to do it easily: http://digital.livesoundint.com/publication/?i=223280&p=20

Basically, you have a calibrated device that puts out a known level. You put that in front of your favorite mic. Gain it up until you are at or near 0 on your channel stripe. Bring the channel fader and main faders to 0. You can then go through your entire system and get a 0 reading or correct volume everywhere. At that point your entire system is lined up correctly. In my work I usually find systems have way more power then they need and the consoles can not work properly.


----------



## Max Warasila (Feb 20, 2015)

JD said:


> Well, the stereo line input actually bypasses the mic preamp, so the trim/pad/input gain will have no affect on the signal.
> It's not about hitting 0 on the meter, that is only when you first set up or recalibrate the system so that all your hardware is happy. (Usually done with a noise generator as compared to program material.)
> If you had the chance, you would want to pre-test the iPod and set it's output level so that you have a comfortable level coming out of the system when you fader is near the 0 mark in it's travel, as well as check for any overload distortion. What you don't want is to find out you need your channel fader almost all the way up or all the way down to achieve that level you want at the time of the show.
> 
> ...



JD, I'm nitpicking, but there are two things that have irked me while reading your otherwise educational rant.

First, a "pad" is a very particularly functioning tool that should not be confused with a preamp or trim. Pads are level reduction devices that have no level adjustment functionality and are simply in or out. These are highly useful on very hot (loud) sources which would otherwise overdrive the pre-amp or or to keep an input below the pre-amp's optimal point of sonic performance.

Second, the comment about the line input bypassing the preamp is not necessarily true on many boards, and more importantly, is still affected by the same pot. For example, on the A&H GL2400-32 I use (like frickin everywhere), when you want to use a line source on a given channel, the "pad" button opens the switch to the line input and reduced the signal level into the board by 20dB. This effectively puts it at the proper voltage to be gained to unity at the preamp (minus 4dB from pro gear and plus 10dB from most consumer gear), which is actually marked around the pot.

Back to the thread as a whole, gain staging is very important, and should be maintained until the absolute last level control in the system you have access to. If it's the amps, it's easy. In my case, I usually don't have access to the amp/system processors, so I either just pull my mains fader(s) down or route them to matrices so I can see the level as it should be seen on my meters relative to my target SPL.


----------



## redmagik (Feb 10, 2016)

Hi all, 
Is there an industry standard as to how to run a sound board during a live theatrical performance?

Do you set your levels at sound check and mute the channel, then unmute when needed? Never adjusting the fader unless absolutely necessary.
OR
Do you set the levels at sound check then bring the fader down to 0 and "slide in" the fader when needed?

Curiosity question as I was taught to mute and unmute way back when, yet my sound kids only want to slide in and are constantly getting the levels wrong and missing cues.

Opinions?


----------



## jkowtko (Feb 10, 2016)

IMHO the "proper" way to mix a musical would be line-by-line fading, i.e. your second suggestion. I would never use mutes in a musical unless you have scene-based snapshots. However VCAs also take care of that issue by assigning faders and fader groups to individual VCA channels per snapshot, and unused channels are not represented in the VCA fader bank.

When I say line-by-line, I mean the fader goes up for the line, then back down at the end of the line. It's easier to do this if you number each line in the script with the corresponding channel number from the board. You will mix your musical pretty much staring at the script the entire time until you start to memorize the dialogue and know when lines are spoken by each actor in a scene.

You will also find that when using this method, as time goes on you tend to use up to four fingers on each hand to try to operate up to 8 faders simultaneously. It can become quite an art.

Bottom line though -- line by line fading eliminates most of the cross-pickup issues between actors. If the actors are in a scene together you don't necessarily have to have each actor mic all the way down in between lines ... just keep it at least 10db lower than the person who is speaking and most of the cross pickup effect will be eliminated.

I've mixed shows with 24 mics and no VCAs this way, with several actors in a scene at times ... it's not easy, but once you get the hang of it you will be pretty effective at it, and the show sounds much better.


----------



## chausman (Feb 10, 2016)

I generally mute/unmute when I'm comfortable with a show. I'm more inclined to fade in/out when I'm just learning it. I almost never actually mix line by line. I use mute buttons so I can be relatively consistent. 

But I wouldn't say "never adjusting the faded unless absolutely necessary" is ever how I'd mix. Things change constantly throughout shows, so I'd never try to be strict about changing anyone's levels. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jkowtko (Feb 10, 2016)

When doing line by line fading I am constantly adjusting faders, especially in a song where words, phrases or notes may carry at different volumes ... and even more so if I don't have a digital board with compression on each input channel to help curb the peaks ... for me there is no "set" position for any actor's mic (only for playback channels)


----------



## themuzicman (Feb 10, 2016)

redmagik said:


> Hi all,
> Is there an industry standard as to how to run a sound board during a live theatrical performance?
> 
> Do you set your levels at sound check and mute the channel, then unmute when needed? Never adjusting the fader unless absolutely necessary.
> ...



Large musicals are typically mixed in the same fashion -- Input faders sit at Unity (0 dB), you route the input to your DCA, and throw to -10dB and adjust input channel gain to taste and that is your speaking level. You throw to -5dB to 0dB and that's your singing level. Mutes are automatically programmed into the desk to mute/unmute input channels - anything not routed to a DCA is muted, and anything routed to a DCA is unmuted. You do not program in input fader moves for 2 reasons -- 1. Fader motors could burn out, which could be an issue when paging through layers and 2. Most desks track the faders position using an analog sensor, if that sensor gets confused, it could easily read an improper level and throw off the intended output even if you see the input fader at unity. I have had this happen during a show to QLab input faders, not fun hearing quiet FX blare through the system at full scale. For these reasons, you attempt to move the input faders as little as possible. Really important on older desks where parts are hard to come by (check the price of PM1D faders these days, the cost is a few hundred dollars per fader, I mix on one semi-frequently, we have the budget to change out DCA faders every year, but not a whole console of faders).

The show is mixed line-by-line on the DCA faders, typically your final two or three DCA faders are reserved for Reverb Sends and Band Control.

Large musicals tend to not sound check every day -- you do a sound check maybe once a week on the rehearsal day, otherwise you check out the mics yourself every day to make sure they work, and you hear them on the actor at top of show. You get notes from stage management if someone is feeling under the weather or have an understudy, and you can pull the actor on stage at 5 minutes to house open to set a quick level on them. Typically you have heard an understudy in a put-in rehearsal and can just recall the understudies preset and go about business as usual. During the show if you need to adjust input gain so you can throw the DCA consistently (once you are a proficient mixer, you seldom look at the faders, and instead look at the stage or your script for the entire show) you adjust input fader level or the trim level if your console has trim control -- this will make sure that you can visually see gain changes and re-set at the end of the night very easily.

In a properly deployed PA, most designers I work with tend to not use any compression on vocals, instead relying on the quick reflexes of a mixer who is quick on the faders to act as a human compressor. I tend to only use vocal compression on the most dynamic of female singers to help reign in their belting show-stopping notes, but that is entirely case dependent because sometimes you get lucky and can take the fader out entirely and let them carry the room. The biggest thing to remember when mixing a musical is that the fader works both ways -- when you need more of something, oftentimes its because you need less of something else, don't let the audiences ears get tired because of a mix that is too loud, sometimes you want them on the edge of their seat trying to hear the show, a bad mixer can tank a show as quick as a bad script or bad actor, simply by wearing out the audience to the point that they want to tune out the show.


----------



## redmagik (Feb 11, 2016)

Wow, great responses and information! Should have joined this site sooner. Our biggest issue, in the high school, is the student sound designer and board op, tend to not learn the show until tech week. As I understand it, as I'm new to the program, it has been an on going issue. Massive missed cues. So, in short, i'm trying to fix an issue which has been happenig for awhile. How does everyone, that works with high school students, combat missed cues. I have the PSM calling cues, an assistant on script, we've tried to require them to come to work thru's to learn the show but they are so resistant. All they keep saying is, "we'll get it". Any suggestions?


----------



## josh88 (Feb 11, 2016)

Practice. Clear labeling. If the student knows the kid better than the character, label it in a way they'll immediately say "OH! Jimmy is on stage" If they're getting a grade for anything it seems theres an easy way to fix "resistance" to coming to rehearsals. Standby cues in front of cues they've missed in the past so they've got an extra warning before the person comes on. Or split the board in half and have two ops. That way they focus on the big picture less and have fewer people to be responsible for. 

long story short, practice. Be it, they get older and have done it longer or more rehearsals to learn entrances etc, some kids pick it up inherently others need more patience.


----------



## jkowtko (Feb 11, 2016)

Are you talking about the actors and stage hands missing cues, or the sound op? The sound op has the script to follow, and so long as everyone follows the script everything will be okay. I shadowed a couple of professional touring performances in past years, and in both cases the sound ops relied on the actors to follow the scripts correctly. 

If actors skip lines or speak out of sequence there isn't much you can do. If there are scenes with ad-libbing in them, you just tend to leave that actor's mic up, keeping a finger on it to adjust as needed.

If the performance is plagued with mistakes so that you will miss a lot of lines by following the script to the letter, then using the -10db strategy instead of fully dropping the faders tends to work well for me ... if someone misspeaks you will still hear them (albeit at a lower volume), and you will cut out most of the cross-pickup.


----------



## redmagik (Feb 11, 2016)

It's the sound op missing the cues. The op has had a script in front of them in the past but they are so inexperienced that they can't handle following the script and mixing accurately. Hence I've added an assistant to help with warmning cues for when an actor is coming on stage. They are just so resistant to follow what we say I am considering replacing with those that will come to work thru's prior to tech week to learn the show.


----------



## jkowtko (Feb 11, 2016)

Have you numbered the script? A big number on the left or righthand margin of the script, the number representing the fader number. you will have a number for each line of the script. Circle the number to make it prominently visible. Use console tape on the board so you can label the faders with big visible numbers using a sharpie.

It seems infantile to do it this way but it makes it really easy to read the script and find your faders. I can walk into a show with no prior knowledge of the show and mix the show this way.


----------



## Thetechmanmac (Feb 11, 2016)

If you have board ops that will be more compliant and maybe more experienced, put them on and have your more inexperienced board ops shadow them so they can learn. Also, especially during musicals, it is helpful to have two board ops. Have one person only handle music and SFX cues, and the other person pretty much handles everything on the board. Mic levels and music levels.


----------



## jds10011 (Feb 11, 2016)

High school teacher here; I deal with this all the time with high school kids who think they can do anything with no prep or practice. Here are my biggest tips (many have been said).

Prep the mics and system:
First (and this is really dumb, but) number the physical mic packs clearly, make a list of who has which one, and make sure at sound check that everyone has the right mic. If your mics are not identical, give the best ones the lowest numbers. Regardless, assign the biggest roles in the show the lowest numbers so they'll all be in the same place on the board. Label the board with three lines for every fader: 1: Mic # (unless your board clearly numbers the channels, like really big, then just start with the first one), 2: Character Name, 3: Actor's Name (if the operator or someone else knows the people better than the show). Really seriously discourage any switching of mics between actors unless it's between acts or some other really clear time when they can be checked again. During sound check, make sure gains are being set appropriately so the operator has the same response from each fader (unity is a decent level, etc.).

Prep the script:
With the mics numbered as described above, go through the script and number in a darker color (e.g. dark blue, brown, etc.) every single line with the mic number, at the left next to the name. If a mic goes bad and different one is substituted on show night, just physically exchange the cables' connectors at the board so the operator doesn't need to change the script. Now, the hard part. Watch the show carefully, or do this together with your stage manager, director, etc. Write down every single time anyone enters or leaves the stage, by number. Don't just guess from looking at the script. Use a brighter color, like red, or highlight these. I suggest putting the entrances in the left margin, and the exits in the right margin. Write "ON" next to all the entrances, and "OFF" next to all the exits. Even mark if the character goes off for a second, like to put down a suitcase or throw something away, even if it's not in the script.

Operating the show:
At least three people is ideal. (If there are a lot of sound effects, put a fourth kid on a laptop to deal with those.) Make a color photocopy of the prepared script for all three, put them in comb bindings or compact three-ring binders. Make some room in front of the board, and make sure there's enough running light that they can see it easily. One person is just in charge of the script, and the other two half the board each, but with a script for reference. The ideal person doesn't need to know anything about sound, but has a good memory for faces and names and has a strong commitment to the show. Maybe the kid who wants to be the stage manager but is a little young still. They should tell the other two what to do. Depending on how formal your crew is, this can be considered an assistant stage manager position, and they can say "Standby sound, mics 8, 10, 12 coming on", or they can just say "Get ready, 8, 10 and 12 are coming on in a second." Then they should actively watch the stage and make sure everything is matching up. This is the person who can give really good assistance: "That's #11, Billy!" Don't try to turn on the mics just for each line. Let the actors know that everyone's mic will be on whenever they are on stage. Also, let them know that ON is the priority, and they need to be silent for at least 10 seconds before an entrance and at least 10 seconds after an exit. Turn on the mic when the actor is scheduled to enter based on the script; don't wait for them to enter. Tell the actors that if they're late entering for some reason, they need to be silent as their mic will be on. This is a point of professionalism for them, too, since they'll be embarrassed to be heard from offstage, and it's ok to ask for their help. If a bunch of people are coming on while others are exiting, turn on the entrances and then get to the exits. If there's a big scene like this, tell the actors that they need to be silent a little longer in that particular exit. Again, that's ok.

Rehearsals, of course, are key. Do as many as possible. Oh, and If they really can't follow, put miniature headshots of the cast below the faders.

All of this presupposes a decent system and a good mic check. If you're getting lots of problems with feedback, too, put each fader up to -10 for the entrances, and boost a little as needed. The third (script) person should be ready on main fader to pull it down a bit if there's feedback so you're not hunting for individual issues.


----------



## themuzicman (Feb 11, 2016)

redmagik said:


> Wow, great responses and information! Should have joined this site sooner. Our biggest issue, in the high school, is the student sound designer and board op, tend to not learn the show until tech week. As I understand it, as I'm new to the program, it has been an on going issue. Massive missed cues. So, in short, i'm trying to fix an issue which has been happenig for awhile. How does everyone, that works with high school students, combat missed cues. I have the PSM calling cues, an assistant on script, we've tried to require them to come to work thru's to learn the show but they are so resistant. All they keep saying is, "we'll get it". Any suggestions?



When I mix I typically make it to one full run before tech, which is typical for a lot of professional mixers. Sometimes two or three. I also send the A2 as well so they can figure out how to throw mics on actors. If you can swing it, get your A2 to do some mic fittings on the actors before tech so your focus is on audio quality from top of tech. On the West End mixers are in rehearsal from Day 1, fun fact. A mixer should be labelling their console and building as much of a show file as they can before tech and walking into Day 1 of tech with a fully marked script so they can power through the show in tech, using tech as a time to touch up the console file and learn the show fully. There should be no assistant on script, the mixer should be on script, and the cues the SM are giving should be as infrequent as possible -- if you have a mixer you can trust, let them take their sound fx cues on their own, or go to a cue light system (light bulb on a switch) so the mixer takes cues visually, marked into their script, as opposed to on a headset. You're in an educational environment, so missed cues will happen -- if you are their superior or educator, your job is to guide them to learn how to do this in preparation for the future. I always tell my new employees, who I am training to get bigger and better jobs, that they can make as many mistakes as they want, but they can only make each mistake once -- I hold that for missed lines in a show too. They can miss all the lines they want, but they can't miss that same line the next run-through or show, that way by the time opening night hits you have no missed lines!


----------



## rhedgehog (Feb 11, 2016)

Slightly different perspective here.
At my old high school there was a huge emphasis on learning not just how to operate systems, but also learning how they worked. Our tech director purposely never set up the systems himself. He would supervise, but by the start of tech, the board op understood what phantom power was, how signal flowed through the system, how to set gain, how to eq, etc. Starting a few days before tech, actors would get mics during rehearsals, both to let them practice with reinforcement (and monitors, for musicals), and to let the board op get comfortable in a situation where he could experiment without repercussions should he make a mistake. During this process the TD would coach him, both about mixing technique, and about organization. Instead of the TD creating an organizational system and teaching it to the student op, the TD would help the student understand why organization is important, and help him develop his own system, which would make the most sense to him personally. The board op would also be encouraged to sit in on as many rehearsals as possible, with his script and pencil in hand, until he was intimately familiar with all of the dialogue/songs. This resulted in a board op who had a system they knew in and out (because they designed it), knew the script top to bottom, and had enough practice mixing to not be timid/nervous during runs. By the time we hit tech, our op would be mixing fairly organically, and only rarely would a cue from the SM be required. 

In regards to mic management, we had usually two students (one female, one male) every show designated as "mic wranglers", who were taught how to properly mic an actor, and how to diagnose any problems that could happen during a show. They were responsible for keeping track of batteries, labeling mic packs, and during shows, they were backstage on comms just in case of any emergencies.

This system worked largely in part to a culture which promoted self-motivation and ownership: the students always knew that this was "their show", and it was up to them to make it as good as possible. The tech directors were always there to advise, and were often consulted, but decisions were largely made by students, with the understanding that these decisions would be well thought-out and any issues would have been considered beforehand and talked through with an advisor. If you can get your students to feel the same responsibility towards your production, then they might be more inclined to put in the effort and attention to detail required to learn their craft thoroughly.


----------



## KBToys82 (Feb 11, 2016)

JDS, I love your ideas! I'm just getting started with trying to get my techies on how to operate since we are just over a month out. I like the labeling of the script idea. Any chance you have a picture of an old script (if that's allowed here) just to show how you label on/off and mics? Thanks!


----------



## jds10011 (Feb 12, 2016)

KBToys82 said:


> JDS, I love your ideas! I'm just getting started with trying to get my techies on how to operate since we are just over a month out. I like the labeling of the script idea. Any chance you have a picture of an old script (if that's allowed here) just to show how you label on/off and mics? Thanks!


I'm afraid I've let the kids keep them at the end of the shows as souvenirs. Let me know if I can provide details, though.


----------



## Footer (Feb 12, 2016)

themuzicman said:


> When I mix I typically make it to one full run before tech, which is typical for a lot of professional mixers. Sometimes two or three. I also send the A2 as well so they can figure out how to throw mics on actors. If you can swing it, get your A2 to do some mic fittings on the actors before tech so your focus is on audio quality from top of tech. On the West End mixers are in rehearsal from Day 1, fun fact. A mixer should be labelling their console and building as much of a show file as they can before tech and walking into Day 1 of tech with a fully marked script so they can power through the show in tech, using tech as a time to touch up the console file and learn the show fully. There should be no assistant on script, the mixer should be on script, and the cues the SM are giving should be as infrequent as possible -- if you have a mixer you can trust, let them take their sound fx cues on their own, or go to a cue light system (light bulb on a switch) so the mixer takes cues visually, marked into their script, as opposed to on a headset. You're in an educational environment, so missed cues will happen -- if you are their superior or educator, your job is to guide them to learn how to do this in preparation for the future. I always tell my new employees, who I am training to get bigger and better jobs, that they can make as many mistakes as they want, but they can only make each mistake once -- I hold that for missed lines in a show too. They can miss all the lines they want, but they can't miss that same line the next run-through or show, that way by the time opening night hits you have no missed lines!



I know a few people who will set up their desks in the rehearsal hall and work from there as well. 

No matter how you cut it, the key to the way a pro mixes a musical is prep time. The more time you can spend with the script in hand the better. After that, console automation is key. Before digital Midas owned the touring world due to the power of their automation. If you have a more modern digital desk, X32 included here, this becomes much easier. VCA/DCA's really do change the way you mix when dealing with a musical. You can't be fumbling with layers when doing line by line mixing.


----------

