Jenny Douglas grew up in the small town of Ozark, Missouri. She developed a passion for music by going to local shows with her older sister, who sold merch for bands. When it came time to attend college, she chose to study studio sound (more…)
GHOST is a timeless fantasy about the power of love. Walking back to their apartment one night, Sam and Molly are mugged, leaving Sam murdered on a dark street. Sam is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next and unable to leave Molly who he learns is in grave danger. With the help of a phony storefront psychic, Oda Mae Brown, Sam tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving and protecting her.
I knew the musical Ghost would be fun to do. There would be loads to play with; the ghost battles and the deaths. Add a band and loads of comedy and I knew this would be a great show.
SoundScape
I wanted the sound of the ghosts interacting with each other to be a strong sound. It needed to be full of energy and still have an element of impact within it. My first thought was to base the sound of the battles around sword fights but to give some other energy as well. Death and organisms seem very analogue to me and very elemental so I thought I’d throw some electricity around in there. The battles with the ghosts needed to be timed to be exact so the SFX would match with the live-action on stage.
I decided to film the fight scenes during rehearsals. Stage fights are choreographed and well-rehearsed, and I was confident the scenes would be the same every night. By recording the scenes, I was able to make sound effects to fit and come to the technical rehearsal with the nuts and bolts or the spine of the soundscape in place.
Trains seem to be featured heavily in the shows I have done recently but this was the first time I needed to time the percussive sound of the train on tracks with the music. Finding a small section I could loop and time stretch to match the tempo of the no. It meant the SFX, which was very loud and sudden within the show, would help move a number along rather than distract from it or break the spell.
The other big soundscape moments were the transitions from life to the afterlife. We didn’t want to lay on a thick moral interpretation of that; so we designed two versions for that transition. The first soundscape was dense; demonic, throbbing, growling, and animalistic. The second version used an element of glass and bells, to convey a sense of air and space. The denser more growling sound was used to signal the deaths that had some element of discord.
When the guy who killed Sam died or when Sam’s friend, who orchestrated the whole plot, died I used this soundscape. It helped to give a sense of the discord within those characters and a hint of them being surrounded by something not pleasant. When Sam died there was an element of the second soundscape there to give a hint of where he could go and to accent the choice he makes to stay with his girlfriend Molly. When Sam finally moves on to whatever comes next I used a fuller version of the second soundscape to covey a sense of having resolved things.
I created a ghost reverb to use when characters died; it was not too long or too short. It just put the ghosts in a slightly different space from the characters that were still alive. This did prove problematic at first, as it became messy moving from a ghost-speaking reverb to a ghost singing reverb during the show. Laura, (the No. 1 on the show and was programming the SD8), and I decided to use the ghost-speaking reverb for numbers as well. Maybe with a little tweak if we needed something longer for a ballad.
The set was a very open and lovely and all of it was required for the acting space. This meant the band would have to be remote. The band was a five-piece, plus brass and strings on tracks. The tracks were run by Qlab and triggered by the Musical Director (MD). A band room was constructed into a cloth store on the side of the stage; the band relied on a video monitor to see what was happening on stage. Also, the MD had a camera that was broadcast to the vocal booth on the other side of the stage and FOH. The cast and crew could see the MD at all times and were able to follow his upbeats, etc. Vocals and fold back of the band were fed to the room through an Aviom system.
Mixing tracks with a live band presents challenges; you want the tracks that were produced in a different space to sound as close to the band and the room. It’s a good idea to have as many stems from the tracks as the console and equipment will allow. Separating the string and brass tracks, etc. allows you to treat them differently. It helps if the tracks are as untreated as possible, so you can ride the faders and follow the dynamics of the show. Eliminating pre-recorded reverbs, allows you to use the same reverb on similar types of instruments and will help the mix to gel together. All of the vocals were live although some were sung off stage in a vocal booth. Laura the No. 1 did an excellent job in combining all of these elements into a cohesive mix.
Laura No1
I really enjoyed working on this production and with all the talented women on the sound team.
Laura – No1
Gemma – Production Sound Engineer
Sarah and Olivia – Backstage and radio mics.
Guildford School of Acting uses a professional band and creative team to put shows on. The cast and the technicians are all students supported by the in-house professional technical team.
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Melissa Britton started in live sound 20 years ago mixing in a classic rock biker bar. “My friend Casey knew I was interested in learning how to do sound. He was mixing at a club and told me I could come in on Sunday and mix the “Ladies Afternoon Stripper Party” Which was great! I rolled some cd cues and watched hot guys strip. I started working on the weekends mixing local bands. Eventually, Casey left to go work at the sister club, and I was hired on full time.”
While mixing five nights a week, Melissa was also going to school and working a regular job. She moved on from the club to work for Dowlen Sound in Denver, CO, where she worked festivals, graduations, corporate gigs, plays, comedy, and a large variety of music. “I worked really hard. I was determined to succeed. I would run circles around the guys. Bret Dowlen taught me a lot. He built his whole sound company from scratch, and even though I came into it 10 or so years after he’d started, I learned a lot from him. Watching him take apart consoles and fix them (analog consoles), watching him build crossover’s, wedges, Subs, and PA stacks and then take it all out and put it all up and analyze it, figure out how it could be better, throw farther, etc.… I learned priceless info from being around all that. “
Melissa with Bret Dowlen
Melissa mixed in every club she could get a gig in doing Monitors or FOH. “I worked every day, seven days a week. I learned by watching others and implementing their style, their technique, their flavor, into my own style, when it was my turn to mix.” “I learned to work with older analog consoles. Gamble EX56, ATI Paragon, Soundcraft Series 4, 800B, 800, Midas H3000, XL4, Bret even had a couple of Harrison’s.”
What got Melissa into this business in the first place was a love for music. “I am in love with music. I played music growing up. My dad played music while I was growing up. Actually, he still plays, and we are getting ready to cut an album at the end of this month, his lifelong dream I’m very excited about that. “ “I wanted to be involved in music somehow. I knew I wasn’t interested in performing, but I was passionate about music. Mixing was a way to be involved without having to perform on stage. I just wanted to be a part of it. “
Melissa has been working as an independent engineer for ten years now and specializes in monitors but is starting to do more and more FoH. “Dave Koz picked me up in 2001/2002, and I’ve been touring with him ever since. “ “I’ve done several short tours. The longest being about eight weeks, mixing monitors mostly. I was flying PA and teching and mixing monitors on my first tour, which was great a good way to stay in shape.”
“I love touring. Especially the way I do it. Which normally is four days on three days off. Almost like a regular job. Going out on a bus tour is great too! You get into a groove on the road. You connect with new people and develop great relationships. It becomes a family away from your family. I never dreamed when I started that I’d be out on the road touring. It just happened. “
Touring life and the road does come with its own inconveniences. “I started touring when my daughter was five years old. I missed so much of her life over the past 12 years. You can’t get those years back. They are gone forever. I haven’t been home for the Christmas season in 12 years. You’ve got to make the best of the time you have. Out of all the holidays, birthdays, school events, sports events I’ve missed I make up for the time I have off. Because when I’m off I’m really off and the time is mine to manage. So that’s what I like least. I don’t like missing the things that a 9-5’ver mom gets to experience. But, I LOVE what I do…and she sees that, and now that she’s older she can appreciate that. How many people can say that about their jobs? I love my job. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Melissa’s favorite day off activities includes DJ’ing. “I have a little turntable rig at home, and sometimes I just hang out and spin. I love house, techno, and dubstep. I’m learning how to work with Ableton and Serato and learning how to remix songs. It’s something I’ve always been interested in. “I also like playing basketball. I keep working on my shot and being a better player. There’s incredible satisfaction in making a great shot. “ “And I like hanging out with my kids. They are the super special people in my life. I love them so much. “
Kingston Audio Jazz Fest
“One of the highlights of my career was when I was teching/mixing FOH for Rave on the Rocks in 2000, at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Best show EVER. Paul Oakenfold headlined it was so great. “
Melissa’s long-term goals are to continue learning. “I’m always learning something. If I had to set a goal, it would probably be to take more risks.” “I’d like to tour with some other music genres; pop or rock, but I’m pretty satisfied with where I’m at now…I was just asking myself hmm what’s next
Favorite Gear:
VDOSC and K1 line array systems, Telefunken M80’s, and Shure Microphones.
“A Midas XL4 is probably still my favorite console, but I hardly see them anymore. I like the Pro9. Lexicon Reverbs, (Best thing about the Vi6). Digital is cool. There’s still something to be said for being able to see all your inputs at once. And analog feels good. For me, there are happy memories associated with it. But in the end, I‘ll take what I can get. There’s always something new to learn on whatever piece of gear you have. “
What does Melissa consider to be must-have skills for working in live sound?
“Patience and a good attitude. The days are long and sometimes roll into the next day. 4 am lobby calls for day of show fly dates requires a good attitude patience and a sense of humor.”
“I believe there’s a certain amount of talent a person has to have to make it this business. It’s not just technical. There’s a feel and an intuition. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s more than just faders and knobs. If you don’t touch the gear with respect and love, it’s not going to work for you.”
“The driver I had on the way to the airport this morning told me that it was a gift that I had. His gift was purifying water for the local water company, and mine was mixing and putting up a show. I had never thought about it like that before. But he’s right…. the ones that make it have a gift. “
More on Melissa
Monitor Engineer Britton, Earl Klugh Band Give Thumbs Up to NEXO Wedge
The Making of an Original Streaming Concert Series