DAVID BLAINE
such as this,” he commented. “I came on board to cover the stage audio
because I have an understanding of how a magic show comes together, and
the flow required.”
Blaine is known for his self-described ‘endurance art’ – pushing his
body to the limits in often death-defying situations. Saunders waxed lyrical
about the daredevil magician. “In this show there simply isn’t any tricker y
involved,” he said. “David pushes himself and his body to the limits as a
performer, and is highly trained and good at what does.” This astonishing
endurance was on display as Blaine spent a full 10 minutes holding his
breath submerged in a three-tonne water tank.
Saunders walked TPi through the various on-stage mics. “There’s a prop
table that sits on the stage – a hole has been drilled in it with an AT mic and
5000-Series wireless pack at the bottom. There’s a bit of interplay between
David and the audience members during the card trick.”
For the reactionar y mics taped to things, it was integral that the team
placed them in positions where it didn’t look like part of the act. Saunders
explained: “On top of that, getting mics on David in the right place is integral
without compromising his versatility on the stage during various gags.”
Hammond’s company, ROCK-tech, supplied the audio control package,
which comprised an Allen & Heath SQ-5, a Waves ser ver and MultiRack,
along with a pair of Lake Processing LM 44s, QLab, as well as Audio-Technica
5000-Series network monitoring and control software.
When it came to control, there was only one brand in mind for
Hammond. “I own a bunch of Allen & Heath consoles,” he explained. “I used
the Allen & Heath SQ-5 during a three-month US tour this summer at both
FOH and monitors, and it never missed a beat. It’s scar y what it can do at
such a reasonable price point.”
Hammond utilised his Waves MultiRack as a primar y source expander on
the vocals, to eradicate feedback. The software was designed specifically
for vocals to achieve a soft, tuneable, and shallow gate – with multiple open
condenser mics set to -8dB. “It’s like having 20 fingers or an automatic mic
mixer, which is less noticeable and ver y natural,” he enthused.
Hammond purposed Waves F6 dynamic EQ to achieve high- and low-
pass filtering. “This is the first time I’ve used Waves live and I had these
plug-ins in mind straight away as they replicate exactly what I wanted to
do and how to do it.”
With a plethora of mics onstage, there was plenty for Hammond
to contend with. “It’s that constant battle to get the clarity and detail
ever ybody wants without swarming the audience in a world of feedback,
which is why Waves, EQ and the SQ are really integral, surgical pieces of kit.”
Hammond also praised the 16 channels of RF, dubbing them, “rock
solid”. He said: “The massive tuning range of the 5000 helps. Workingon Audio-Technica’s EG41 frequency range, which is 580-700mHz, is just
massive.” Between the two systems, the engineer was able to fluctuate
between 400 and 700mHz.
The PA boasted a Martin Audio MLA Compact system, provided by Stage
Audio Ser vices. “The MLA has been spot-on,” Hammond said. With no in-
ears in sight, a pair of L-Acoustics ARCs were also flown and controlled from
FOH as a “general atmospheric mix” to allow David to feel like he was in the
audience. “Ever ything David hears comes from flown sidefills, and is not in
sightline, to achieve invisible audio.”
Saunders echoed: “The MLA Compact is something we stock quite a bit
of now. It’s a tiny rig and it doesn’t have a large ground footprint because it’s
all self-processed and self-powered,” he added.
A single 19-inch rack ran 12 MLA Compact per side. “There’s a lot of set
movement on the stage so we can’t have walls of amp racks and cables in
the way,” Saunders commented.
The PA was run off the VU-NET software, which Saunders described as
“quite a small, powerful and tidy little system” for this output – ideal for
navigating challenging theatre spaces. He said: “We can transport the entire
rig in a flatpack 18-tonne truck.”
Additional Martin Audio MLX subs were specified for “extra dB and
rumble” with 12dB and 6dB for sidefills. Simply put, deliver y clarity and
involvement made the show an evening with David Blaine. “From an audio
standpoint, the volume needs to be immersive and make the audience
feel ver y close, almost as if they’re watching on television,” Hammond
explained. “As technology evolves, I think a massive part of audio in general
is that personal approach and involvement of the audience. Nowadays,
there’s a certain level of expectation because tickets are so expensive.”
He added: “This show is something that you’d watch from home, but
David has brought all the risk to the live audience, where there is nowhere
to hide. Thankfully, the mics have helped capture the performance, and the
5000-Series body pack has been integral to convey that.”
In-line with the theme of ‘invisible audio’, the Audio-Technica
5000-Series wireless pack was ideal for the application. “The footprint and
size of the pack enables us to disguise the RF beltpack within his attire, so
I’d like to commend AT for making such a tiny pack!” he exclaimed. “Audio-
Technica has been excellent to me for many years. Long may it continue.”
TPi
Photos: TPi
http://www.davidblaine.com
http://www.audio-technica.com
http://www.rock-tech.events
http://www.stageaudioservices.comSystems Engineer, Stan Saunders.