Orbital's autumn course represents an important and popular aspect of its theatre-skills training programme, which features a growing number of courses during the year, complemented by manufacturer-specific training.
The course featured two sessions each day, with Day One covering wireless communications, using HMEs digital wireless intercoms as technology examples, followed by digital mixing desks, in partnership with Yamaha. Day Two began with a session on MIDI and desk automation, using CSC Show Control software, and concluded with a session on electroacoustics and sound system design, in conjunction with d&b audiotechnik.
Orbital Sound's Theo Holloway, who manages the company's training programme, comments, "Our courses are proving extremely popular, with the students for this year's autumn course coming from a variety of backgrounds, including freelancers, hire company and venue staff, drama teachers, recent technical theatre graduates, and stage managers. Training is a particularly important issue in the current commercial climate.
"With the job market under such pressure, having the appropriate training and experience can provide a valuable competitive edge. The other key driver is the theatre industry's consistently high standards - across the professional and amateur sectors alike - with audience expectation fuelling the rise in production values. Quality counts, and to achieve it you need people with the relevant skill set."
Orbital Sound is adding a number of training opportunities to its 2010 programme, aimed at a variety of skill levels in theatre sound, and will be announcing course dates and content shortly.
(Jim Evans)
