Rip Van Winkle
Member
I’m going through the process of trying to help a theater (high school and younger) set their standards for flats. One factor of which I haven’t found any discussion: how does lauan vs. muslin affect sound on the stage?
Presumably the wood is reflective (and occasionally resonant) while the fabric is somewhat acoustically transparent. I don’t like the visible movement of fabric flats, but I also don’t understand how a set full of identical cajons isn’t a liability. Obviously every theater and every set is different, but I can’t quite figure out if or how all that needs to be taken into consideration.
Are there quick fixes to common complaints that should be implemented in the building of the flats (or the design of the sets)?
Does anyone have positive (or negative) experience with taking advantage the characteristics of one vs. another? (I’m thinking about a sort of incidental bandshell, for instance (for better or worse), or mic/speaker/FX placements.)
Does a set full of hard flats significantly influence GBF or the sound of wireless (or other) mics?
If you’ve toured shows with one or the other, have you observed differences with the same set in different rooms?
A more basic question which is possibly relevant to this topic: do hard and soft flats play nice together? That is, if I paint them at the same time, is a mix of materials obvious to the audience (leaving aside fluttering muslin)?
(ps — I had hoped to cross-post this to scenery/props/rigging; I don’t know if that’s at all possible or something an admin might help make happen?)
Presumably the wood is reflective (and occasionally resonant) while the fabric is somewhat acoustically transparent. I don’t like the visible movement of fabric flats, but I also don’t understand how a set full of identical cajons isn’t a liability. Obviously every theater and every set is different, but I can’t quite figure out if or how all that needs to be taken into consideration.
Are there quick fixes to common complaints that should be implemented in the building of the flats (or the design of the sets)?
Does anyone have positive (or negative) experience with taking advantage the characteristics of one vs. another? (I’m thinking about a sort of incidental bandshell, for instance (for better or worse), or mic/speaker/FX placements.)
Does a set full of hard flats significantly influence GBF or the sound of wireless (or other) mics?
If you’ve toured shows with one or the other, have you observed differences with the same set in different rooms?
A more basic question which is possibly relevant to this topic: do hard and soft flats play nice together? That is, if I paint them at the same time, is a mix of materials obvious to the audience (leaving aside fluttering muslin)?
(ps — I had hoped to cross-post this to scenery/props/rigging; I don’t know if that’s at all possible or something an admin might help make happen?)