This has gotten a
bit beyond the original question and into a more general discussion.
I had the very same thoughts in terms of when what delineates an acceptable use of technology in performance from an unacceptable use. Then I realized that in cases like this there is another aspect involved and that having to deal with something at the last minute or during a performance seems different than knowing in
advance that you have a problem and other potential options. If the drums or piano are out of tune one night you deal with it the best you can but if you knew in
advance that the drums or piano were out of tune, wouldn't you either get them tuned or find a replacement? Knowing that you have a problem and planning on a band-aid that may or may not work rather than addressing the root cause, just seems quite a
bit different than dealing with problems that come during a performance.
Probably a bad analogy but it seems a
bit like knowing in
advance that you're going to have 60Hz hum in the
system. You could plan to use the technology you have available and simply notch 60Hz out of everything and you might do that if the show starts in a few minutes. However, if it was possible to explore other options then wouldn't it make more sense to at least try to actually
address the problem and avoid the potential negatives associated with notching everything?
I understand what you are saying, and I think my
point of contention is a matter of degree. There is a
bit of a difference between someone who
flat out can't sing, and someone who slips a
bit hitting certain notes. I understood that we are trying to help a performer who is struggling with a couple notes.
Certainly, I would agree that auto-tune isn't the right solution for someone who just can't carry
pitch, ever, any more than using an eq to notch 60hz in your example. At that
point you need to fix the problem at its source or get a new singer.
HOWEVER, if you have a singer who is struggling with a bad note or two, it's much more like the drummer who's kit just has a weird overtone, or a piano that just has an unusual timbre. You can't always just make a drummer get new kit or bring in a different piano because the sound guy doesn't like the tone.
In a perfect world we would alway be able to fix a problem at it's source. Occasionally just can't and when that happens, I'm of the opinion that the creative staff should be open to any technical solution, assuming that said solution can be implemented without ruining the over-all performance.
Another aspect that I haven't seen come up is this: In this case, it seems like the director came to the OP looking for a tech solution, presumably after trying to work with the performer in question. In doing that, the director made the
call that he is willing to sacrifices some of the "live-ness" of the show for the sake of accurate
pitch on the part of all of his cast. In a very real sense, that takes any ethical issues out of the hands of the tech staff.
Is this the same as lip syncing? Not unless you are auto-tuning a performer to death, in which case there's an issue bigger than a few missed notes. At least with an auto-tuned voice, there's a vocalist singing and creating the sounds. Lip syncing a performance is cheating and the prevalence of this in the techno-spectacle that we accept as live performance is why I don't buy tickets to any today's crop of boy- and girl- bands and hiphop stars. I guess for me it's a question of weather I'm supporting talent, or using tracks to
cover up a complete and total lack of talent.