A Sound and Video Production Company
TL;DR:More and more acting companies are moving online to bring their performances to audiences, via Zoom and other streaming platforms. Here’s how to work with playback cues in this environment. The Story:At the time of writing this (April, 2020) a deadly pandemic has been sweeping the globe. In response to people all over the world …
Continue reading “Audio Playback for Streaming Online Performances (like Zoom)”
TL;DR:A very fast primer on creating and editing audio cues in Qlab. No fades, just hard edits. The Story:I’m working with a group on a quick, one-night event, and in the past they have edited all of their songs for playback with hard stops or fades, burned a CD, and then used that for the …
TL;DR:A quick lesson on how to use one of the oldest lighting consoles out there. The Story:In 1993, Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) released a lighting console called the Express. It came in a few models/sizes – the 24/48, 48/96, 72/144, and so on. Aside from some limitations on the lower numbered-boards, operationally they are identical. …
TL;DR: Remix your audio files on the fly in Qlab, building loops and vamps. The Story: This is a topic that I was discussing with my friend Matt the other day. Everyone who has used Qlab has used it to play back sound files. Its quick and easy to get comfortable, and trim files to …
TL;DR: Use that ancient lighting console in new and exciting ways, by integrating your lighting cues with the rest of your show in Qlab! You can trigger Cues and Macros! The Story: The first big Qlab design I ever did was a show requiring me to design and run lights, sound, and video, in a …
Continue reading “Get more out of ancient ETC Express lighting boards, using Qlab and MIDI”
I’ve had to teach about live sound in so many ways to various audiences over the years. I have always felt that an understanding, however cursory, of the past and development of the tools we currently have is key in understanding how and why we use them. Like graphic design and desktop publishing (a field …
TL;DR: Change the audio levels of multiple cues in Qlab with a single command. The Story: As you get deeper into the design process, you may find that once you get into the space, you designed a set of cues too loud or too quiet. Perhaps you would like to change a number of audio …
Continue reading “Changing audio levels of multiple cues in Qlab”
TL;DR: Modern technology offers more and more musicians more and more options…with some new unforeseen issues, and a chance to re-use those monitor wedges. The Story: Years ago, my band Talking to Walls made a huge leap to what felt like the next level. We spent a lot of money to work with people bigger …
Continue reading “Silence on stage: In-ear monitors and modeling guitar rigs”
TL;DR: Embrace spontaneity – and actor performances – by using triggers and randomly generated cues in Qlab. The Story: Here’s a funny story I like to share. Back in the early 1990s, one of the biggest bands on the planet was U2. Their tour behind the album “Achtung Baby” – called Zoo TV – was …
Continue reading “Random triggers in Qlab, and embracing spontaneity”
TL;DR: QLab can have more than one GO button. Here is why that’s a good thing. The Story: I realized that, in the course of this blog, I have talked a lot about using hotkeys and triggers in QLab. While I have sometimes explained how to do that, I wanted to put out the definitive …
