In all locations, the show is recorded in front of a small live audience, typically about 150 people. Musicians perform on one, two or three stage areas; a separate intimate seating area is used by the host presenters to chat with the artists. The format flows freely, with the audience moving around the venue to see each item as it happens.
However, a regular problem was that the audiences couldn't hear the interview conversations between presenters Steve Jones and Lauren Laverne and the guest artists. Jones and Laverne wear miniature headset mics, which proved to be less than audible on the studio monitors.
Sound designer for the Transmission tour Chris Beale of CBA went to Vieta's UK distributor Resolution Audio International to source Vieta's SO cubes as the solution. Low profile, the cubes can be casually placed around the temporary studios.
"They're so low profile that the director doesn't see them intruding into shot," says Beale. "To move them around, you just pick them up and plonk them down wherever convenient - the cube might sit on a stand, or just on top of a flightcase or PA cabinet. They can be moved very quickly and production doesn't notice them being 're-rigged'. "They are the perfect tool for the job."
Although the requirement has varied from venue to venue, at Udderbelly, they used 12 SO Cubes, running on UHF800 MHz. Vieta's director of engineering Josep Tresserra was in Brighton to see how it's all done, and watched a guest list which included Yoko Ono, the Scissor Sisters and Gossip. "Typically the levels are at around 80dBA for conversational monitoring, although the speakers can run at 86dBa (at 1m) if they're at full tilt. Because of the clarity of the speakers, you don't have to drive it hard and have it loud," he says.
Tresserra adds that, originally, the SO Line was targeted at the hotel and conferencing market, as a speech reinforcement and background music PA.
(Jim Evans)
