How would you design my show a.k.a any suggestions

[hyperbuddha]

I am in the process of designing our schools fourth grade musical (I am the high school TD/Sound designer).

We have an audio technica wireless system but we do not want to put microsets on the kids for fear they will break.

Our challenges are that:

the kids are quiet
the kids our short
we have monitors on the front of the stage(we will be using a delay on these)


The set consists of the groups of three rehearsal cubes(1 dsl 1 dsr and 1 us center).

As of right now I am thinking 2-4 shotguns on mic stands at the front of the stage, 4 hanging mics (omnidirectional lavs) and possibly a few omni directional lavs hidden inside the rehearsal cubes.

 

[coldfire]

Ok. So whats wrong with the setup with the shotgun mics and the "hanging lavs"? That should work alright.

 

[SHARYNF]

some may not agree but in my experience sometimes the 4th graders are much more willing to take direction and to be very careful IF you take the time to speak to them directly and explain how they need to behave so as to be able to use a system designed for adults. I have found that many times they respond very well, Better than some teens who are determined that they know it all and are not willing to listen

SO, with some care and planning I would not be totally opposed to using a wireless system.

Sharyn

 

[hyperbuddha]

I would not mind giving them the body mics however, the td and pm don't want to and since they are adults I must listen. However there is about a 700 dollar rental budget and I am viewing it as a good challenge.

 

[museav]

Why are you delaying the monitors? Delaying front fills makes sense in many cases but delay on monitors will usually throw even experienced performers off. Also, consider that if the thought is to have everything in the monitors and to use area mics then you have a recipe for feedback. You might want to try to avoid or minimize the mics in the monitor mix or zone the mics and monitors so that each monitor covers an area of the stage and has a mix that excludes the mics in that zone.

Watch out for using too many mics, you'll start to run into feedback and phasing issues. Less can often be more. For example, I don't know how wide the stage is but unless the mics are pretty close to the kids then four mics across may be too many.

Why omni lavs for the hanging and set mics? Since hanging mics are overhead, you typically do not want them to be picking up anything off the back or sides and especially not toward the house speakers, so a cardioid or even hypercardioid pattern is often better. And how do you plan to mount the mics in or to the rehearsal cubes? Were you putting a mic stand on each or might a flat mount or PZM mic work better?

You did not mention any provisions for soloists or an Emcee or anything like that. Is the performance all ensemble?

You said "I am the high school TD/Sound designer" and then "...the td and pm don't want to and since they are adults I must listen." So who is leading and teaching in this case? Along the same lines, it would help to know more about the situation such as what the stage and facility are like, what the house sound system is, who will be mixing, what mics are available, etc. as these could all be factors in what you do.

 

[jkowtko]

I have been cringing through watching grade school musicals for many years.

One thing I would suggest is that, above all else, the parents want to hear what their kids are saying.

Therefore, after seeing many failed attempts at hanging condensors and shotguns, I would suggest you set up a few condensor mics on stands and place them in key positions on stage, and have the director block the kids to always be near one of the mics and speaking towards it. A CAD M179 on a stand in omni mode should pick up really well anyone talking within a few feet of it. You can decorate the stands as props, partially hide them, etc. You will need to do line by line fading, but with 6 or fewer mics it will be a breeze and the parents will thank you for it.

 

[TimmyP1955]

The only thing that should be in the monitors are any instruments that the kids need to hear for pitch or timing. Putting the kids in the monitors will serve only to make them speak and sing even more quietly than they already do.

 

[SHARYNF]

I'd go with PCC mics on the stage. Getting decent gain before feedback will be the challenge. Putting the kids in the monitors as mentioned is not going to work. Good luck getting the design to allow for mics on stage during the performance ;-))

Sharyn

 

[airkarol]

some may not agree but in my experience sometimes the 4th graders are much more willing to take direction and to be very careful IF you take the time to speak to them directly and explain how they need to behave so as to be able to use a system designed for adults. I have found that many times they respond very well, Better than some teens who are determined that they know it all and are not willing to listen

SO, with some care and planning I would not be totally opposed to using a wireless system.

Sharyn

+1.

At French Woods, and multiple Jr High Schools, I tend to give out the wireless bodypacks/lavs. Make the students aware of the fact that they are using very expensive equipment, tell them that they're using the same microphones "professionals" use. They will most likely be very excited about it, and as a result, treat the microphones with more respect than they would otherwise. If using these with hanging microphones, reverse the polarity on the hanging lavs.

David