FRONT OF HOUSE
THE DETAIL OF DETAILS | Kent Morris
See if this scenario sounds familiar . It ’ s early morning and the crew loads in for an outdoor music event . The weather is calm , everything rolls off the truck and perfectly into place on stage . The case wheels all work as intended , the locks hold , and the cabling lays out as if by magic . Lights hang and blink DMX with no issue and the video wall surprisingly pops up in the proper sequence . In fact , it ’ s such a great load-in , no one even stubs a toe .
Then the audio won ’ t pass mic signal . No problem : there is plenty of time to resolve the situation . The first check is for line level signals , and they are fine . It ’ s only the mics and they are all dynamic and wired , making RF and phantom-power gremlins a non-issue . Second check is to bypass the digital stage box and test one of the mics locally at the console . It works ; the issue is in either the stage box or the CAT cable . Swap the CAT cable and the issue is still present , meaning the stage box is at fault . Run the second stage box in place of the first and the problem remains . Time is now tight , so it ’ s old-school to the rescue with an analog snake pulled off the truck and tied in just as soundcheck begins .
After the event , the audio team is determined to find the root cause of the problem and begin searching for an answer . After no success , someone finally realizes the wired handheld mics are condensers , not dynamics . This particular brand uses the same form factor for both versions of the element . Phantom power was already applied at the console but did not pass to the stage box on this model ; it must be applied locally . The mystery is solved , but the sting remains : how did a group of professionals miss this one ? The answer is we are all human and assumptions are made out of necessity in a time-constrained situation that later proves to be our undoing . If all assumptions are verified in a live environment , the show will never happen . The key is to have a back-up plan for everything with no single point for failure . If the analog snake were not on the truck , the show would have been compromised . The beauty of analog is , despite its clunky nature , it always works . It is a lifesaver when our digital wonder-boxes fail or styme us .
Clearly , the detail of the details is to walk through the event beforehand . Is there a current input list ? Is the provided stage-plot the actual version of the band that will arrive ? Who is providing the power distro ( PD ) and how many circuits are needed by audio , video and lighting systems ? Is the PD feed long enough to reach the company switch ? Are the right versions of Cam-Loks in the trunk ? What idiosyncrasies are lurking in the newly purchased console that are different than the old reliable one ? Who has the authority to shut down an outdoor event in case of lightning ? Where will monitor beach be located and will soundchecks be performed in reverse order of performance ? What are meal times and does the crew eat with the band or separately ? The questions are seemingly
endless but must be addressed when time is available before the trucks roll out .
Checklists are helpful but tend to be cast aside in the heat of battle . An effective approach is to have every team member stay in their lane . If monitor world is struggling , lighting should not dive into the situation as order will be lost and time wasted explaining the problem . It is better to let each department deal with its own issue and only offer to help with non-essential tasks such as striking cases and gaffing cables . The stage boss should keep artists and management off the deck until everything is functional , even if it means compressing soundcheck time allotments . It does a band no good to soundcheck if things aren ’ t working . Better to drop a song from check than to become frustrated at the monitor engineer .
Live events will always be stressful and hectic . It ’ s simply the nature of the beast . However , with some forethought and calm execution of a well-rehearsed plan , even when issues arise , answers will be close at hand and the show will go on .
Kent Morris Kent Morris is a 44-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge all technology is in a temporal state .
112 October 2023 Subscribe for Free ...