LIVE SOUND
Paul Klimson brings 20 highly-credited years of technical experience to the details of audio, staging, video, and lighting arrangement in
the areas of television broadcasts, arena performances, international music festivals, and top-tier special events production. In 2008,
Paul auditioned for what was to become Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Over the course of six years and 965+ episodes, he worked in
every music production element of the NBC nightly broadcast. In 2013, Paul designed and built the monitor package for the famous
Studio 6B set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in NYC and saw the show through its transition into The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
www.theoryoneproductions.com.
By Paul Klimson
Prime Time-Ready IEMs:
If your band is performing on live TV, here’s a step-by-step guide
on how to seize your moment. Don’t forget the IEMs.
Y
our band is getting that big break.
You will be making your television
debut on a late-night TV show.
Let’s dive in and help you get the
most from your opportunity. Being
prepared beforehand will eliminate a multitude
of issues that will make your big day on camera
successful. This checklist will help you get ready
for your big TV debut. Your band should spend
time in a rehearsal space working on the song and
getting your IEM mixes locked. From broadcasts to
arenas to theatres, in-ear monitors are a tool that
provide a controlled environment by blocking out
the rest of the sound around you. They will also
deliver click track and program cues.
Lock in the Song
Agree on arrangement, parts, and any tracks
that will be playing along. If you’re considering
extra musicians, such as strings or background
vocalists, ensure they know what to do and have
the sheet music they’ll need. Your label or man-
agement may want a say in some of this. Take
their suggestions, but also make sure your artistic
vision is upheld. You get the opportunity to make
a statement to the world about your identity and
vision as a band.
Lock in Your Rigs
Tidy up your pedal boards and looms. Fix those
loose jacks that give you issues every so of-
ten. Decide on wardrobe and rehearse with it.
This will reveal if those chainmail vests will get
snagged or even block radio frequencies from
getting to your ear pack. Have backups of cru-
cial pieces of gear. At the very minimum, have a
dual redundant playback rig with eight or more
dedicated outputs.
If your performance includes moves that are
timed to the track, make a click track and slate
track – voice commands pre-recorded and
dropped on a separate track for cuing song
sections, dance moves, etc. – output from the
playback rig available to everyone who will need
it: dancers, the light board operator, etc.
If a band member typically runs the tracks
60 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Part 1
rig, hire a professional playback operator for the
rehearsals and performance. This will also help
with any last-minute arrangement changes. They
will know the best ways to create good intros,
endings, and transitions.
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse,
One to two days of rehearsal in the days leading
up to the taping is vital. Set up in the layout that
you’ll be playing in. Tape the floor out with the
footprint of the performance area of the show.
Logistical concerns will make themselves known
and can be dealt with well ahead of time.
Have someone film your final few run-throughs
from a few different angles and analyze them like
NFL game tapes.
Once everything is dialed, resist all urges to
introduce anything new – no matter how seem-
ingly insignificant. That means no new pedals,
cymbals, outfits, wireless, performers. Nothing.
On show day, you’ll collaborate with the direc-
tor and creative team, but don’t veer too far from
the product you perfected in rehearsal.
Day of: Gain the House Crew’s Trust
On most late-night shows, the house crew will
work with five bands a week. You’re just one act
in a five-act show and your show is just one of
the many shows they will see that season.
The reason to have a good rapport with the
house crew is the TV production world has a set
structure as to how the daily schedule operates.
The same dance happens on the studio floor ev-
ery day, whether it’s your band or U2. The day at
the studio revolves around a production sched-
ule that will include a slot for your band to set up
and sound check. Then the director has a look
and conveys any blocking, staging, or lighting
changes to the music stage manager. All of these
mechanisms exist around the musical perfor-
mance so they can fit your 3-4 minutes into the
structure of an already well-oiled TV production.
Remember that you are a guest on their show.
The Camera Block Run-Through
After you’re set up and the blocking is locked, the
lighting director will adjust the lights for your per-
formance. Perhaps a touring set piece is integrated
or video content is shown on the studio’s video
wall. All of your road techs get to interface with
the TV crew to make these hand-offs successful.
As production elements, band risers, and any floor
lights get locked in, the stage hands will start
marking the floor so they can restore your gear
to the exact spots during the changeover from
talk show to music performance.
The culmination of this time is a camera block
run-through where hopefully you play the song
and do any moves exactly the way you will for
the taping or live performance that night.
The part of the show that your band will play
in is rehearsed in its entirety with the music stage
manager as your guide. They will sit or stand in
the appointed spot where the host will be to give
the intro for your performance. They will then
wait for the cue from the director via headset to
give the standby to all crew and band.
At this point, you should be at your starting
marks and ready to spring into action. The direc-
tor cues the intro, and the stage manager will
read the intro copy and “toss” to the performance
area. Then the magic starts.
The track starts, the drummer counts off, and
the TV show moves into your performance. The
cameras will be moving in and out, up and down
to get every angle of your performance. Any mov-
ing set pieces will come and go as they are cued.
Everything will happen as it will happen that night.
Following your song, the stage manager will
give an outro just as the host will during the tap-
ing. If all departments are satisfied and no tweaks
are needed, the musical act will be cleared from
the set and the crew will go about dismantling
the music performance area so the next element
of the show can be rehearsed.
In part two next issue, it’s show time!
This article was authorized by the In-Ear
Monitor International Trade Organization.
For more information and resources about
the best ways. Of using in-ear monitors, visit
www.inearmonitor.org.