"In the theatre world, we're very cue-based," explains Brian Hsieh, associate designer/programmer on White Noise. The production requires more than 100 scenes to be programmed into the PRO9, with every scene carrying MIDI commands to at least seven devices with links and follows. "We're able to take any number of the 24 wireless channels and put them on the VCAs needed for that scene. Every line is a fader move, and every scene changes the layout of the VCAs. So we use a lot of automation, and we're constantly on the VCAs throughout the show."
Sound designer Garth Helm, who's worked on both White Noise and Priscilla, says of the XL8 on the latter, "The automation features made it very easy to adjust to the large dynamic range of the show."
Matt Peskie, project manager at the New Victory Theatre, is similarly enthused with the automation features on his PRO3. "The scene changes, snapshot automation and group assignments are great for theatre. A big key for the New Victory is that shows often come back, so they can build a library of every show and have everything stored for the next time. That's a tremendous advantage."
(Jim Evans)
