Hey everyone,
This year for our end of season show, we're doing The Producers. We had all of our costumes shipped in on a batch rental agreement, and included with all of it was the absolute bane of my existence: 12 Stormtrooper hats used in Springtime for Hitler. For those who haven't had the fortune of working with said hats, they're a rounded hat with a downward sloping and very hard bill. Also, because these are all rentals we're not allowed to alter them in any way, such as attaching absorbent fabric to the underside of the bill to minimize reflections. I worked with a former sound designer who had to work with just one of these hats for a scene on a train, and it was so bad that he eventually went to the mat to get it struck from the show. And now I have twelve to deal with in one number.
Because of the size of our theatre, we don't have the ability to double-mic actors and the change into the number is too fast to relocate their body mic from forehead to over the ear. We're using Sennheiser MKE2 golds on everyone, which certainly sound best when worn in the center of the forehead and much less so over the ear, which is why I'm reluctant to place them over the ear for the entire show. I'd like to present the options that I've thought of and put it to the group to if there's something that I'm missing...
Coating the underside of the bill or altering them in any fashion isn't an option for these hats since they're rented. So wearing them in their standard center-of-forehead position with an uncoated bill is like opening the gates of hell on my stage. I've had some luck in the past with using tape or Velcro to secure the end of the mic such that it sticks out of the end of the bill, thereby getting it out from under the reflection cavity. The only concern with this is the time needed to do that since it's a relatively quick change into the number.
The costume department is reluctant to wear the hats back (fitting more towards the back of their heads instead of on top) because of the look. However, that's a concession that is on the table that can be made by the director once he hears the number.
Then there's the option of just having those twelve actors wear their mics over the ear and we live with less-than-optimal sound quality for the entire show. But even over the ear and with substantial EQ, these hats are just pure evil anyway and will still not be ideal.
Given our equipment and budget, those are the options I have. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'm very interested in hearing them. I'm also curious how they solve problems like this in a show with virtually unlimited wireless and unlimited budget. One idea I had for example, was the notion of using a click track and backing vocals. If the designer just can't get ideal sound in a number because of costume or whatever, I'm wondering if it's ever been done such that a click track was sent to the pit, and then tracked vocals just replace the reinforced ones. The actors on the stage could still sing acoustically, their mics just wouldn't be on.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Again, any suggestions/ideas/comments are welcome.
-Brent
This year for our end of season show, we're doing The Producers. We had all of our costumes shipped in on a batch rental agreement, and included with all of it was the absolute bane of my existence: 12 Stormtrooper hats used in Springtime for Hitler. For those who haven't had the fortune of working with said hats, they're a rounded hat with a downward sloping and very hard bill. Also, because these are all rentals we're not allowed to alter them in any way, such as attaching absorbent fabric to the underside of the bill to minimize reflections. I worked with a former sound designer who had to work with just one of these hats for a scene on a train, and it was so bad that he eventually went to the mat to get it struck from the show. And now I have twelve to deal with in one number.
Because of the size of our theatre, we don't have the ability to double-mic actors and the change into the number is too fast to relocate their body mic from forehead to over the ear. We're using Sennheiser MKE2 golds on everyone, which certainly sound best when worn in the center of the forehead and much less so over the ear, which is why I'm reluctant to place them over the ear for the entire show. I'd like to present the options that I've thought of and put it to the group to if there's something that I'm missing...
Coating the underside of the bill or altering them in any fashion isn't an option for these hats since they're rented. So wearing them in their standard center-of-forehead position with an uncoated bill is like opening the gates of hell on my stage. I've had some luck in the past with using tape or Velcro to secure the end of the mic such that it sticks out of the end of the bill, thereby getting it out from under the reflection cavity. The only concern with this is the time needed to do that since it's a relatively quick change into the number.
The costume department is reluctant to wear the hats back (fitting more towards the back of their heads instead of on top) because of the look. However, that's a concession that is on the table that can be made by the director once he hears the number.
Then there's the option of just having those twelve actors wear their mics over the ear and we live with less-than-optimal sound quality for the entire show. But even over the ear and with substantial EQ, these hats are just pure evil anyway and will still not be ideal.
Given our equipment and budget, those are the options I have. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'm very interested in hearing them. I'm also curious how they solve problems like this in a show with virtually unlimited wireless and unlimited budget. One idea I had for example, was the notion of using a click track and backing vocals. If the designer just can't get ideal sound in a number because of costume or whatever, I'm wondering if it's ever been done such that a click track was sent to the pit, and then tracked vocals just replace the reinforced ones. The actors on the stage could still sing acoustically, their mics just wouldn't be on.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Again, any suggestions/ideas/comments are welcome.
-Brent