Professional Sound - October 22 | Page 42

PRODUCTION TEAM
• Mixing & sound design : Serge Lachance
• Audio , video & lighting supplier : LSM Ambiocréateurs
• Immersive audio technologies & services : FLUX :: Immersive
• Loudspeaker manufacturer / distributor : CODA Audio / SC Media
• Audio team : Marc-André Gilbert , Félix Perron , Nathan Allard & Sam Plourde St-Pierre
• Production director : Marie-Eve Rivard
• Stage direction : Jimmy Doucet Production
• Technical director : Isabeau Côté & Fabien Duchossoy
• Music by composers Dominic and Mathieu Laprise
• Sound FX by Nicolas Dallaire and Jean- François B . Sauvé
• Show producer & promoter : Diffusion Saguenay
To help make this new design idea a reality , FLUX :: Immersive was contracted to provide the various services needed . Hugo Larin , the Quebec-based business director at FLUX ::, was deployed to support the production design and help implement the immersive audio design , from the use of the SPAT Revolution software engine to show control / network integration and system calibration .
“ La Fabuleuse presented a great challenge , but at the same time , the perfect example of how an immersive deployment could work , even with this 35-metre-wide stage . The goal was to provide strong localization and a sense of depth in the audio mix and our Wave Field Synthesis implementation in SPAT Revolution did exactly this ,” Larin asserts . “ With an extremely tight schedule due to supply issues , the time left to do the integration and to actually mix these 200-plus tracks on 64 audio objects was quite short . That being said , I was quite impressed with the work of Serge and how he pulled together a mix quite rapidly . Now , the production has a system that they can keep building on as they develop the immersive audio mix .”
For Lachance , there were so many new elements that took getting used to . The speakers were new , the software was new , and even the entire philosophy of how the show should sound was new . And while he knew the content of the show inside and out , even the recordings were all new .
“ There were so many new things in the equation , so you lose your point of reference . Like , if it ’ s the same track as last year , you can compare how it sounds . But there were so many new things , and that included understanding speaker positioning and spacing and the WFS ,” Lachances says .
“ Serge got deeply involved in all the elements , but the more he was explained what was going on , the more he was saying , ‘ Okay , I no longer have a reference ,’” adds Larin . “ He was working in the dark in some ways . Like , ‘ that sounds okay but will the magic happen when I ’ ve got 2,300 people and it ’ s loud ?’ So , there were just so many things , like the spatial processing and WFS , obviously the reproduction technique is not the same and it doesn ’ t sound the same , so you have to adjust . It ’ s not a question of is it good or better , you ’ re just used to being in the sweet spot and listening to two speakers arriving at the same time , but now that ’ s not the case . Now you ’ ve got five line-array elements in the venue that are all collaborating together to represent the soundscape being mixed . So , obviously all his references were gone . So , it took some time and he was questioning himself through a lot in the process .”
As such , Lachance says it took about 10 shows to fully wrap his mind and ears around the new sound , and was seeking feedback from crew and audience members after those early performances . But after those first 10 shows , a surprising thing happened : he found himself not only listening to the show differently , but hearing his entire environment in a new way .
“ Funny enough , I had times with Serge outside of the show where we were sitting and talking and he was listening to his environment , like the birds . We were talking outside and he was being bothered by birds . Mixing this way opened his ears so much to listening to new things . He became more sensitive to his surroundings . Now , he is mixing with a better sense of the surroundings of the show , such as when there ’ s birds in the show . He knows how to place those because he relates more to how they are in life ,” says Larin , speaking both from his own experience interacting with him and translating Lachance ’ s responses during our conversation . “ His conclusion is , once you ’ ve opened your brain to this , when you ’ re thinking about show production , you ’ re thinking about immersive and there is just no coming back . You don ’ t want to be coming back . And he ’ s now involved with two or three other productions and he ’ s thinking about WFS for reproduction techniques and about content in 360 degrees . That is a powerful way to transport an audience .”
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief for Professional Sound .
Hugo Larin is the Business Director for FLUX :: Immersive .
A QUICK WORD WITH DOMINIC LAPRISE , COMPOSER
Q & A conducted and translated by Hugo Larin .
After 35 years , what was the reason for the audio redesign ?
Dominic Laprise : On the occasion of the 35 th year of the creation of La Fabuleuse , the complete restoration project of the soundtrack , including the music , was decided by the producers . It was in dire need of updating , especially since several of the voices dated from the early years and the actors involved were no longer there . Being in production since its beginnings and also having the desire to update the music , as much for orchestration than the pure and simple replacement of certain elements that were aging very badly . Following several meetings , the team established a three-year schedule starting in 2022 .
What were the intentions with the new soundtrack for La Fabuleuse ?
Laprise : The first desire was the standardization of voice actors . The requirement being that these voices are part of the 2022 production and that the recording be made under the same conditions for all the voices ; that the singing voices be from the region , including the choir ’ s ; that the sound balance be of equal precision ; that the editing is professionallydone in a studio ; and a team is able to offer all services and professional quality .
How does this new music and these new techniques of indoor playout help create a larger sound experience than ever , such as its impact on the emotion of the listener ?
Laprise : In this kind of production , the need for the sound quality to be at the broadcast level is paramount … The sound placement is now one with the visual and La Fabuleuse is a big scenic show . Previously , this mainly took place on the stage and with a standard audio broadcast . Now , and with this important sound contribution , the new show encompasses everything in the space , from the room to the stage . The public is delighted .
42 PROFESSIONAL SOUND