Re: If I could add anything...
In one of the smaller theaters their is a booth big enough for both the light board and the sound
system but for some reason the sound board operator is forced to sit in the back of the
house, in full view and earshot of the entire audience and cast instead of being in the booth where I was raised to believe they should be. I realize that's really just a pet peeve of mine but given the chance I would change it.
Just out of curiosity, I understand the issue with the audience hearing the sound tech but doesn't it make sense that the sound tech hears what the audience hears? Shove them back in a booth and they end up mixing for themselves rather than for the audience.
Perfect example, running sound for a band at a
venue where they had 'renovated' the sound
system including moving the mix position from the middle of the
house to back under the balcony (this is a concert space, no fixed seating on the
main floor only open floor). Partway through the performance I notice someone walking up from the
stage and lookign right at me. He starts with a scowl on his
face, but as he gets closer the look changes, including stopping a couple of times with a puzzled look. He finally gets back to me and says "I was coming here to complain about the sound but it sounds really good back here." Having mixed in that same
venue before I had simply not considered how the new mix position was affected by the balcony and being so much further from the
stage, and thus less affected by the
stage levels, essentially mixing in a position that represented what very few of the audience, and probably no one who really cared, actually heard. That lesson stuck with me ever since. A great mix is only a great mix if it is what the audience hears.
