Maintenance

It's that time of the year again.... If you're involved in a church, then it's most likely that you've had your hands full with a production of some sort. If you're involved in theatre, this is the time it's most quite as the major season will usually draw to a close. In Australia, most of the regional performing arts centres will close and this is the time the techs will get busy with maintenance.

This is the time that's good for maintenance!

Maintenance is a necessary evil to keep a facility in tip top condition. It doesn't matter if you're a big or small venue, with corresponding technical inventory - keeping equipment in good working order is one way to reduce the odds of Murphy's law from kicking in the coming year.

Many people think that maintenance is about fixing or cleaning equipment. In actual fact, that's only partially true; maintenance is about knowing the condition any piece of equipment is in. I won't go into the full details of planned maintenance and its various incarnations, but I'll talk a little about tips to keep your gear happy over the years.

1) Schedule your maintenance
The easiest way to take care of your gear is to put is on a maintenance schedule. It doesn't have to be a complex diary of tasks that sucks all your time. I find that most equipment will perform a hundred percent better just with an annual inspection and maintenance routine. Put aside some time when it's quiet - for a lot of churches there are generally two periods; in July/August when Easter is over and Christmas production hasn't ramped up yet, or in January/February after all the Christmas productions and ham. Depending on the amount of gear, it could take a couple of hours for a few pieces or a day if there is more.

2) Plan the maintenance
Set a time for your maintenance. Most equipment will benefit from at least a yearly inspection, if nothing else. Annual items include amplifiers with fans will need to be cleaned, mic grilles cleaned or replaced, stage lighting fixtures' lenses to be washed and cleaned, all cables checked visually for fraying or loose strands, mixing console surface dusted, connections buffed, and so on..... The major quarterly item that requires some sort of visual check are projector filters.

3) Log your maintenance
Keep a logbook of all work that has been done on equipment, when a bulb was changed, who did the repairs. A logbook also eventually gives you an overview of the service life of a particular piece of equipment; whether there is a recurring problem happening in increasing frequency. It also helps the people who come after you to understand the issues and continue with the work.

4) Involve the team
Maintenance time is one of the best times to involve the entire team. Not only does it make the work lighter, but it'll build the team and give each one a good overview of the gear and how it works.

5) Outsourcing your maintenance
Now, for those of you who can't seem to find the time, energy or expertise to do your own maintenance, there is the option of outsourcing. Many companies offer maintenance packages at different levels and price points. If you're really tight on manpower, this is a good way to go as it relieves you of a major headache and you have the peace of mind that all the equipment is being looked after regularly.

Well, that's my thoughts on the subject for now. Have fun!

Technology

Interesting week for me.... two on the road performances for a one-man play performing as Charles Dickens narrating A Christmas Carol. During the last 16 years of his life, Charles Dickens gave 444 readings of his works in Great Britain, the United States and Europe to deafening acclaim. His and the public's favourite was A Christmas Carol.

We swung to both ends of technology for these two gigs - one was held in a community hall and another in a turn of the century church.

For the performance at St Peter's Anglican Church in Elmore, there was limited power available. We had two 10A power points to work with, hence low power lamps were the order of the day. For frontal lighting, we had two Selecon 650W PCs for some control, with 4 Par56 300W lamps giving us a general wash. This was complemented with four Par56 300W lamps for a cool and warm backlight. All these were controlled and powered off two quad dimmer/fader packs. The production manager ran the cues manually off the quad packs and managed to do a very respectable job.

The Rusty Divas performing in the church.

The two quad packs running the show at Elmore.

For the performance at the Heathcote RSL Hall, we were fortunate to have a three-phase power supply, hence I was able to bring in a Jands 12-channel dimmer and control all lx via my Macbook Pro running on Windows XP with the Robert Juliat Espion Console software. We set up a full galore of front, side and backlight for this performance, running off 55 cues off the Macbook. We also hired some pipe and drape to block off half of the hall in order to shrink the space and make it more 'theatrical' and intimate for the audience.

Phil Zachariah as Dickens at the Heathcote RSL Hall

Lighting control via a Macbook Pro with WinXP running the Robert Juliat Espion Console program

I think both shows were very successful despite limitations in terms of technical operations. You don't really need a lot of fancy gear if you've got a good production and some creativity and ingeniuty in making the equipment work for you in all kinds of different situations. I often raise an eyebrow when I meet people who send me a technical rider full of demands and requirements, some of which are never practical for touring smaller venues. I think many times, there is a need to go back to basics of the essence of what theatre and entertainment is all about. No amount of fancy gear can save a mediocre performance, but a brilliant performance can lift it beyond the physical limitations of a space.

In many of the projects I've work on, it's often I have to think out of the box to solve issues related to budget, physical limitations, and creative vision of the artistic team. Issues related to budgets are especially very real for the clients, and the technician that is able to see beyond the gear will go far in this field.....

Let there be light!

I've talked about my toolbelt and tools I use everyday in an earlier post. During my day-to-day work, one of the indispensable tools is my trusty flashlight. Carrying a flashlight is a habit that started very early in my life - during my teenage years. I guess a decent flashlight is somewhat cool and accessible for a teenager on limited monthly allowances. My first flashlight was an Energizer water resistant unit with a halogen bulb. I bought this off the shelf from a local 'emporium'. At that time, the halogen type bulb was a relatively new innovation, giving greater output than regular tungsten type incandescent bulb. I used that flashlight for a good number of years, including trips to Tioman Island and Taman Negara, where is got covered with bat poo in a cave crawling adventure. It finally gave out years ago when the rubber membrane switch broke.

My next flashlight was a more 'professional' model - the much touted Mini Maglite AA. As I've mentioned before, this fella is almost indistructable! Great light output and durability meant that it was with me almost all the time and definitely on all of my little travel adventures. The only weakness was the bulb, but a spare bulb in the tail cap meant that a handy replacement was available. I used it for about 12 years before retiring it. I was looking for a unit with greater light output. After trying out a few different models, I found its successor - the Pelican M6 LED, which is much brighter and carries a lifetime warranty. Only weakness of the M6 is its high consumption of CR123 cells, but rechargeable batteries took care of that issue.


Recently, I took the opportunity to upgrade the old faithful Mini Maglite with a 1W LED upgrade. The result was pretty impressive and has given a new lease of life for the fella. In fact I like it so much that I've started carry it again! What so great about the rejunevated light? It's good a pretty decent light output, decent battery life and it's using the commonly available AA batteries. As a result of this, I get to put in 'used' AA batteries from my shaver, wireless packs, etc and still get some very usable light from this little beauty.

In my line of work, I am constantly amazed at how many people I've bumped into without a flashlight. We work a fair amount of time in darkness and low light conditions. For safety and ease of work, it's really not an option for not having a flashlight. It's singularly more important that a Leatherman or any other fancy tool out there. Cost is also not an excuse - when I first got the Mini Maglite AA, it cost me over SGD50.00, now, they are selling for less than SGD25.00 . There is also a proliferation of LED type flashlights in the market that range from less than SGD10.00 and upwards. I reckon at that price, a flashlight should be one of the first things any aspiring theatre technician should have on their belt.

Think about that, next time you're feeling your way in darkness backstage.....

System calibration and optimisation

I've said in an earlier post that many audio systems that I've heard are not properly calibrated and optimised. What does this really mean? Is it just about improper selection and matching of equipment? Is there really a level of 'acceptance' or 'standard' ? Is it due to poor understanding or a lack of knowledge of how audio systems work? Incompetence? Poor design?

Based on my experiences, it's a little or all of the above. I don't want to focus on what the causes may be at this point, but rather, I'd prefer to look into the design process that leads to a successfully installed system.

I was in Singapore for a few days to commission technical systems that I've designed for a refurbished community centre. Basically, this tail-end job ensures that the system specifications are installed properly and meet the prescribed design standard. In order to get to this point in time, a whole slew of process would have taken place. So, bear with me as I describe this process.....

Designing an audio system is not a task that is done in isolation - many times, I've met sales people who have come up with 'designs', complete with fancy graphic simulations and predicted sound pressure levels, even before a building plan is finalised. This is pure salesmanship.... designed to impressed with lots of meaningless data and fancy charts.

The design process begins by talking to the client and listening to their thoughts on music, programming and operational issues. We may visit different venues to evaluate various systems that are installed, and discussed preferences in terms of audio quality and perceptions.

On another front, discussions with the architect or interior designer will be happening in order to get an idea of the space and its finishes. This may also be the time to specify acoustical finishes for the floors, walls, ceiling and stage. This is often overlooked in many projects, but a sound system never works in isolation. It is always installed in a particular environment - it could be a very live sounding space or a dead space when indoors, or, a system may have to cover large areas if it is outdoors.

Once I have firmed up the client's needs and nail the space requirements, various audio system options are presented as possible solutions depending on programming and budget. Loudspeaker simulations are a good starting point for a consultant to study the effects of the audio systems and how it could possibly perform in a particular space. Like any other computer program, careful entry of data is crucial and a sound knowledge of the program's limitations is very important to successful use of these type of programs. Many times, these simulations are used to impress possible clients by unscrupulous sales people, who churn out colourful charts with meaningless data.

Once the system concepts have been firmed up, a specification is drawn up and sent for tender or quotations. Once that is sorted out, usually with the appointment of a contractor, site supervision is the other important issue during installation; equipment positions will need to be confirmed and checked, ensuring proper wiring runs and high quality of connection termination will ensure the system will be free from physical hums, crackle and pops.

One of the most important steps after the physical system is installed is its calibration and optimisation. It is not simply tinkering with the master program equaliser and making it sound OK at the mix position as is often seen and done. This process involves checking each and every component in the audio system to ensure that it is in phase, in time and balanced with each other. Issues such as coverage and summation are addressed by using various instruments to confirm and check the results of the installation. Besides using test gear, ultimately, lots of listening tests are conducted to using music which I am extremely familiar with. Voice tests using microphones are also conducted.

Usually, after the final calibration and listening tests is completed for a system that is designed properly, there is little need for drastic adjustments to the master EQ. In this type of system, any adjustment on the master or channel strip EQ should be consistent across the entire listening area. All the settings should be password protected and copies of the settings made as backup for future reference.

In many cases, I'll usually pop in after a couple of months to have a final listen and confirm that the sound quality of the system is as last left it. Sometimes, it is necessary for some final tweaking as there may be changes to the space or feedback from the users based on their preferences.

In conclusion, it's important to get an experienced system designer as this may mean it's going to be the last system you'll ever put into the space.

Programming

Here's the programming 'block' that came out of my workshop session with one of my clients in KL. We basically looked at the vision, plans, growth and needs of the organization and converted them into what they wanted to see in the short and long term and built a 'building' space around those plans.

In these case, a lot of time was spent fine tuning the main hall as the space was limited. A programming block helps the organisation to visualise their space needs. It helps to work out the initial kinks and streamlines the communication process with the architect, by aiding in his understanding of adjacent spaces and design possibilities. Often this process is done by architects themselves, but our process is more performing arts venue 'centric. The focus is on performance and what it takes to make it into a practical space. What you don't see in the above photo is that it is a 3D model which can be rotate 360 degrees, cut open to reveal the inside and rearranged to consider other options.

It'll be exciting to see how this project develops in the coming months and years......

The little Philips test pen

My Philips test pen broke last week, after some ten years of faithful service. Some people swear by them, others hate it. I guess I belong in the former - it's been with me on all my gigs and has been used to do a variety of tasks like opening lids, making holes in bags and covers, ripping open plastic bags, tightening screws, testing for live circuits and digging dirt out of holes.

I'm missing it in my daily work; yesterday, I was troubleshooting a commercial kitchen stove burner and needed to undo a couple of flathead screws. I reached into my tool pouch and there was no test pen. In this case, a Leatherman tool was just too cumbersome for the tight space....

I can't find a replacement test pen here as they don't sell it here. But I've got some guests coming over in a couple of weeks from Singapore and they'll be bringing in fresh supplies.

Technology

I was watching the Live Aid DVD this afternoon. Watching the young looking Bono, Phil Collins, Sting and Madonna strutting their stuff on July 13, 1985 put a smile on my face. I remember being a young college student in the US. I remember the charismatic Bono pulling up a female audience and dancing with her. I remember seeing Freddie Mercury do his thing.

What was interesting, of course, was how the live concert industry has changed and moved on from that point. Some things that I noticed in the Live Aid concerts :

Analog - Everything was analog then. No digital consoles with fancy recall. No digital signal processing. No mobile phones. No camera phones.

Loudspeakers - Looks like a lot of custom made (aka homemade) loudspeakers and monitors were in use then. Loudspeaker design has progressed tremendously in the last twenty years with more efficient transducers, computer aided design and digital signal processing. Gone are the massive arrays that were a feature at most 80s concerts, replaced by sleek and slim line arrays that are lighter, louder and faster to set up.

Monitoring - Lots of wedges all over the place. Nowadays, you'll be hard pressed to find an artiste who is not into in-ear monitoring.

Stage lighting - Noticeable was the lack of moving lights. I did see a few changes in the Wembley stage but in general, PAR64 and ACLs were the order of the day. Lots of flashes and chases... Varilite moving lights was in its infancy having been developed in 1981 and toured with Genesis in their concerts.

Video - again like lighting, there was nothing flash about it. No fancy video walls or backdrops. Just good music.

Some things that are still the same - Fender Strats and Teles, most music gear except for synths (DX7, Simmons electronic drums) which are obsoleted and mics; the SM58 was used then and is still used by quite a number of people today.

Live Aid in itself was pretty fantastic in a few aspects - it was done in London and New York on the same day. Phil Collins kinda made history by performing in London and then zooming off in the Concorde to perform in NY on the same day! The Who reunited for this gig. U2 and other acts got major exposure to millions worldwide.

I guess the only thing interesting to note that despite all the technology, it's still about the music and getting that across to the masses whether onsite or offsite.

Does anyone remember why they held Live Aid?