A Sound and Video Production Company
TL;DR: Use the PDF version of your script/prompt book while running your live show. The Story: Last week’s blog post has already covered creating digital prompt books in detail – here I am going to show how I have worked those PDFs into my live show workflow. For following your prompt book during the show, you …
Continue reading “Actually using that digital script/prompt book”
TL;DR: Ditch paper scripts/prompt books for computer copies. Never lose or forget your script again, and guess what – it’s BACKLIT! The Story: I design in a lot of different theatres, often with overlapping schedules. This is a common designer dilemma. There was one time I had six shows opening within a six week window! …
Continue reading “Digital play scripts/prompt books are here!”
TL;DR: How to write cue numbers with a system that lets you skip around, know where you are in your cue sheet, and be compatible with other departments…by working in blocks of ten. The Story: Some seasons are completely insane for me. It’s a common theme for designers – you’ve got maybe one too many …
Continue reading “Cue numbering, and playing well with others”
TL;DR: If you’re using Spotify for house music, here is how to control it using Qlab. Especially helpful for random little shows & presentations. The Story: Spotify has become a dominant player in how we discover and consume music. With almost 150 million active users and almost 20% of Americans using it every month, it’s …
Continue reading “Using Qlab to control Spotify and house music”
TL;DR: If you are using iTunes to play your house music, here is how to control it using Qlab. The Story: Ah, iTunes. That old workhorse of a music player that has bloated with responsibility for all kinds of media and syncing. Consumer music listening habits may have moved on from local libraries, but iTunes …
Continue reading “Using Qlab to control iTunes and house music”
TL;DR: Putting together house music, with the case made that you use Qlab for its level of control. The Story: When designing sound for a show. house music is much more than just an afterthought, whereby you just put on some random music and hit play. Properly done, house music – preshow, intermission, and postshow …
Continue reading “Designing house music – Qlab, CD, iTunes, or Spotify?”
As our blog here on Rocktzar.com grows, we are happy to announce that we will start organizing our content into monthly themes, as appropriate. We don’t foresee every month being thematic, but as we get more content we will try to organize it to make sharing – and learning – more convenient, and help the flow …
Continue reading “July was Live Mixing Month! New blog themes are coming”
TL;DR: Work smarter and cleaner with multiple Cue Lists – re-use your work, and get all of that house music out of your main design. The Story: Design is a messy process. There are so many elements to consider and plan, and the brain often jumps about, tackling one part and then another, possibly in …
Continue reading “Qlab organization – Multiple Cue Lists and House Music”
TL;DR: Parallel compression is a common studio mixing technique. Why I use it live. Latency and digital mixers. The Story: Parallel compression was introduced to me when I was mixing a project in Protools (thanks to Greg Giorgio, the same guy who taught me about versioning (https://www.rocktzar.com/visions-for-your-versions/). For those who need to google that, it’s …
Continue reading “Parallel Compression in Live Mixing (Compression Part 2)”
TL;DR: How to use multiple compressors in a live mix, when your digital desk only has one compression plugin per channel. The Story: A lot of starting live engineers work vertically, adding EQ and compression on each channel individually, and then use groups/bussing for mixing and routing control. This is fine, but I often rely …
Continue reading “Multiple Compressors in Live Audio (Compression Part 1)”
