Minutes of Meetings

Regular meetings are important because people need to know what they are doing, so they can check progress and any problems or concerns can be dealt with quickly and efficiently. As a result of these meetings every team member should be clear about what they are required to do in order to meet the targets set at the meetings and to achieve the overall aims within the given time. They only work when people compete the tasks on them. For example in our minutes of meetings I was asked to source sound effects for the show and email hyperlinks (which I did) but there was an issue with them as it was said that they were late (but they were sent before the deadline).

Minutes of Meetings - March

Minutes of Meetings - April

My Role

Overview

For this unit we have to produce a show of we will rock you. My job role was a sound engineer. I have made a mic list for the play. I have read the script and I looked at all of the musical numbers and decided what mic’s need to be assigned to what character and the person playing that character. I had to carefully read the script and work out who the most important/significant characters are in the production, and some other the other major singing roles in the musical numbers of the play. I then assigned the characters a mic, with as little swapping over of mic’s as possible as we had 8 working mic’s. The major roles will have mic’s throughout the show but a couple of less important roles will still need to have a mic. The mic list is now completed but there could be some changes as the play is in its rehearsal stages and some things may be changed musical numbers cut, etc. The problems I encountered was in working out which mic should be assigned to whom (which character), making a list of the musical numbers and working out which characters had multiple singing roles and under what space of time in order to swap mics between characters (if necessary), but I made sure that the mic list was relatively easy to understand and worked it out so that there were as little mic changeovers as possible.

My responsibilities

My responsibilities as sound designer are to set targets and dates by which the targets should be completed such as when I created a mic list and the group gave me deadlines to work on. These deadlines motivated me to complete my work effectively because i knew they had to be completed. I am responsible for designing sourcing and editing all sounds needed for the show. I searched on the free sound effects website ‘freesound’ for laser and rock crumbling sound effects then edit the sounds in software called ‘CueLab’. This is the typical process of sourcing sound effects for a show. For the show I will also need to make a sound plan and Mic list. A mic list is a document detailing what mics need to be allocated to which cast member so that they can see what mic is with what actors/actresses that is most likely to need them and then the stage manager or sound designer will write their names into the Mic list. A mic list is important so you can control where a mic will be at a specific time and who is using it at that time according to the script and the demands of the directors of the show. I am currently making a mic list for we will rock you so I will need to work out how many mics will be needed and who will be using them before the night. You can control the mics using a mixing desk for sound (and this can also be done for lighting). The mixing desk can not only operate the sound but you can operate it to check if the right channels of sound are working and the mics are on and are all working correctly. A sound plan of what sounds I will need to find and source etc and act on is also helpful in the planning of a show. A sound plan is helpful in making sure you have all the correct sound effects because if you didn’t have a sound plan there may be sound effects or music missing from the show night that could have an impact on the show and how successful it is. A sound plan is a list of the sound effects and music you will need in the show. It is a diagram of the layout of the speakers and mics in the space for sound engineers to follow.

I made sure I was working within the health and safety regulations and I will make sure I continue to work within the safety guidelines. This is important because you will always have to maintain a safe working environment and make sure the show night is as safe as possible. You need to make sure the sound levels aren’t to loud to damage hearing and wires that could be a trip hazard. My duties were to source the backing tracks for the show, to find suitable music and sound effects for each piece, and to collect the mics and allocate them to the chosen people. You can source these sound tracks from specific backing tracks CD’s for most popular shows and alternatively you can source backing tracks on the internet. First you will likely have to buy the rights for songs before they can be performed to a fee paying audience. I currently am reading the script looking for the correct characters to allocate the right mics and cross-referencing that to the correct actors/actresses that will need the mics the most. I also am looking on websites such as ‘freesound’, and ‘youtube’ for various sound effects that will be needed in the production. I have found various laser and electricity zapping and tesla coils on ‘freesound’ etc. If I didn’t read the script I would have no idea what sounds I should be sourcing and this could have a massive impact on the show. This is called ‘script analysis’.

Recommendations for future job role

I will need to talk to Julie about what other sounds will be needed and also work with Gemma during the operation of the sound on the night on the mixing desk. I need to work out where to place the mics in the space for the night. Before the show night I will need to complete a sound check too. Sound checks are important because we will need to check the sound levels/gain is at a good listenable level on show night and check that the mics are working well and none are faulty. If there is a live band performing you will need to perform a sound check with the live band to check the band’s levels are correct. This is because this also could have an effect on the running of the show as audio and sound are obvious when a mistake is made because it is easy to hear it. If there is a problem this will be what the audience hears. Sound checks should be completed before the show.

 

My Role In Action

 

This is me checking if the speakers are switched on and the volume levels are correct. I am wearing a hard hat for heath and safety resons to protect myself from potential falling objects.

 

This is a Mic set-up table that I set up for the show. I dd this so that all the performers and crew had easy access to the mics during the performance and when mics needed to be changed from one actor to another.

In this picture I have taped wires to the floor using gaffer tape. I have done this to eliminate the hazard of cast, crew or audience members tripping on the wires.

Here are all the hyperlinks of possible sound effects to be used in the show that I was responsible for sourcing for the show.

This is an example of a mic list I made for the show. A Mic list is important for the crew to understand the running of the show and see where the mic changeovers are. It makes it easier to see what mic is being used at the time and what actor needs the mic at that time.

Evaluation

Now that the show has finished I have time to reflect on how the team worked but particularly how I worked in the team.

My main role was to ensure the actors had appropriate mics for the show and to find adequate sound effects that could be used during the show. I found laser, crumbling rocks, taring and police siren effects and was happy with the way they sounded and how they would be used in the play. However, there could have been more sound effects for continuity, such as background noises (i.e. street traffic) that could have theoretically been played throughout.

I made a mic list so I could know who was using microphones and when they were using it.
In terms of acquiring the correct mics, I feel I did a good job as the first night ran smoothly with no issues. However, on the second night, there were a few faults with the microphones but it didn't affect the overall show or impede its impact on the audience. In order to resolve this issue for further shows I worked with Julie who checked the headsets etc. Future shows ran smoothly thereafter.

Other people in the team were very helpful and took instructions to place mics on people. I fell I did a good job in delegating in this situation and was able to prove myself as a reliable, efficient and hard working team member.

If we were to run the show again, or if I was to consider my role in future shows, I would carry out headset checks prior to show nights and also make regular checks on other such equipment. Moreover, I would be interested in working alongside other team members so as to enhance my skills and knowledge of stage production and build experience that I could carry forward and utilise in future. I would also delegate responsibility to first years as sometimes they don't show enough initiative and I would also attempt to work to deadlines more effectively.

Health & Safety

The health and safety procedures I followed which where specific to my role were;

I made sure the mic's were switched off when they were not in use. This was to save the batteries and also to prevent damage to the mic's.

I made sure I set the volume levels on the mixing desk and amp were to the appropriate level and wasn't exceedingly loud. The reason for this was so it doesn't damage peoples hearing. Another reason would be so that it doesn't prevent stage hands from communicating and causing errors and also to prevent the vibration of the sound waves from damaging to weak windows nearby and casing them to smash.

I made sure the microphones we used were PAT tested within the last 12 months. This is because if they had been tested you know its likely to be safe.

I made sure that some wires we were using in the amp were not a trip hazard so it was taped to the floor. This is to prevent any people tripping over the wires and this prevents damage to the wires or equipment. If someone stands on the wires they could pull the amps over, and also if a lot of people stand on the wires without them being taped down and protected it could result in frayed cables which could be a hazard.