Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Laptops running sound

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MartyW
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Joined: 2/02/04
Location: United States
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Posts: 555

Posted: 1/27/08 at 8:21am

Its been over a year since I've been up in "the booth" but I believe we are still using sound forge with a midi sequencer.. has always worked great and allows for adjustment right in the program..

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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domiii
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Joined: 4/26/08
Location: United States
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Posted: 7/02/08 at 11:25pm

Another vote for Sound Cue System. I have been using it for years.

In our small community theatre booth space is limited we share it with the box office, so I have one tech that runs the lights and sound. I program the lighting console, an ETC Express 48/96 to fire the sound cues using MIDI. It works great!! All the board op has to do is hit the go button on the Express and it works the lights and sound. This makes it easy to train board ops so just about anyone can run the show.

Sound Cue System even supports multiple sound cards so you can have sounds come from different places on the stage. You can even pan between sets of speakers. I have had a song coming out of a radio on stage at the end of a scene move to the FOH speakers when the curtain closes to cover scene changes.

Love SCS!

Karen & Dom

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amkuntz
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Joined: 8/21/08
Location: Canada
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Posted: 8/21/08 at 2:19am

We have been using Soundplant, it is a freeware program that allows you to attach sounds to the keyboard of your laptop. We have used it for the past 10 years and it is such a simple program and you get your sound effect without having to cue it up. http://www.soundplant.org

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TimmyP1955
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Joined: 12/30/09
Location: United States
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Posts: 37

Posted: 1/02/10 at 4:41pm

There are a number of programs available. Q-Lab and SFX are very flexible and comprehensive, but are also rather expensive.

Media Player and iTunes are free, but do not lend themselves well to theater, where exact timing and the ability to run concurrent/overlapping cues is very important.

The best compromise I've seen so far is the aforementioned Sound Cue System. It does almost everything - if not everything - that the expensive programs do, but most any organization should be able to afford it. (An added bonus is that the creator is very responsive to user input about bugs and feature changes.)

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colugino
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Joined: 6/30/09
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Posts: 55

Posted: 4/02/10 at 3:36pm

Sound Cue software is absolutely AMAZING! I tried everything from Win Media Player, Itunes, etc and finally broke down and bought Sound Cue. Was the best investment. It preloads the sound files so no lag time like the players would do.

I also use Sound Cue for my haunted house I run. It allows you to play each track to a different sound card (I have the one the supports up to 16 sound cards) so we are able to run the sound effects for the entire haunted house from one computer and each room having a different effect or background track playing. If you do a lot of sound cue stuff.. GET THIS!

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Mr. Lowell
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Joined: 1/30/07
Location: United States
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Posts: 269

Posted: 4/19/10 at 2:08pm

My crew has used laptops for sound effects and music cues over the past couple years. It has been rather successful doing it this way, but it still makes me nervous. So I offer a few precautions:

1) Be sure that the operator mutes the laptop fader on your mixer between cues, or else the audience may here that "bing" prompt sound! This can really ruin the suspension of disbelief during a period play.

2) Forbid your operator from surfing the web or playing video games on the laptop during long scenes in the show! Because, (by the curse of Murphy's Law), as soon as they get a "stand by" for a sound cue, their laptop will lag or freeze up completely or they might even close the wrong window by mistake!

3) Cover your butt by recording backups of the show on other sources or formats, just in case your operator forgets the laptop or is running late. Better yet, impound that particular laptop in a booth cabinet between performances, and make sure the stage manager knows all the computer passwords.

Break a leg, Dana

Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/19/10 at 2:11pm

Mr. Lowell,
Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director,
for the Linda Sloan Theatre,
in the Davison Center for the Arts,
at Greensboro Day School

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daveberrier
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Joined: 5/13/10
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 5/15/10 at 11:46am

Are you guys serious? Use Q-Lab. It's made for the Mac, does every mixing and fading you could want and it is free. Just download it online!

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Lights and Sound
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Lights and Sound

Topic: Laptops running sound( Topic Closed)
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Author	Message
MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 1/27/08 at 8:21am
	Its been over a year since I've been up in "the booth" but I believe we are still using sound forge with a midi sequencer.. has always worked great and allows for adjustment right in the program..
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

domiii Walk-On Joined: 4/26/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 7/02/08 at 11:25pm
	Another vote for Sound Cue System. I have been using it for years. In our small community theatre booth space is limited we share it with the box office, so I have one tech that runs the lights and sound. I program the lighting console, an ETC Express 48/96 to fire the sound cues using MIDI. It works great!! All the board op has to do is hit the go button on the Express and it works the lights and sound. This makes it easy to train board ops so just about anyone can run the show. Sound Cue System even supports multiple sound cards so you can have sounds come from different places on the stage. You can even pan between sets of speakers. I have had a song coming out of a radio on stage at the end of a scene move to the FOH speakers when the curtain closes to cover scene changes. Love SCS!
	Karen & Dom
	IP Logged

amkuntz Walk-On Joined: 8/21/08 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 8/21/08 at 2:19am
	We have been using Soundplant, it is a freeware program that allows you to attach sounds to the keyboard of your laptop. We have used it for the past 10 years and it is such a simple program and you get your sound effect without having to cue it up. http://www.soundplant.org
	IP Logged

TimmyP1955 Lead Joined: 12/30/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 37	Posted: 1/02/10 at 4:41pm
	There are a number of programs available. Q-Lab and SFX are very flexible and comprehensive, but are also rather expensive. Media Player and iTunes are free, but do not lend themselves well to theater, where exact timing and the ability to run concurrent/overlapping cues is very important. The best compromise I've seen so far is the aforementioned Sound Cue System. It does almost everything - if not everything - that the expensive programs do, but most any organization should be able to afford it. (An added bonus is that the creator is very responsive to user input about bugs and feature changes.)
	IP Logged

colugino Star Joined: 6/30/09 Online Status: Offline Posts: 55	Posted: 4/02/10 at 3:36pm
	Sound Cue software is absolutely AMAZING! I tried everything from Win Media Player, Itunes, etc and finally broke down and bought Sound Cue. Was the best investment. It preloads the sound files so no lag time like the players would do. I also use Sound Cue for my haunted house I run. It allows you to play each track to a different sound card (I have the one the supports up to 16 sound cards) so we are able to run the sound effects for the entire haunted house from one computer and each room having a different effect or background track playing. If you do a lot of sound cue stuff.. GET THIS!
	IP Logged

Mr. Lowell Celebrity Joined: 1/30/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 269	Posted: 4/19/10 at 2:08pm
	My crew has used laptops for sound effects and music cues over the past couple years. It has been rather successful doing it this way, but it still makes me nervous. So I offer a few precautions: 1) Be sure that the operator mutes the laptop fader on your mixer between cues, or else the audience may here that "bing" prompt sound! This can really ruin the suspension of disbelief during a period play. 2) Forbid your operator from surfing the web or playing video games on the laptop during long scenes in the show! Because, (by the curse of Murphy's Law), as soon as they get a "stand by" for a sound cue, their laptop will lag or freeze up completely or they might even close the wrong window by mistake! 3) Cover your butt by recording backups of the show on other sources or formats, just in case your operator forgets the laptop or is running late. Better yet, impound that particular laptop in a booth cabinet between performances, and make sure the stage manager knows all the computer passwords. Break a leg, Dana Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/19/10 at 2:11pm
	Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School
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daveberrier Walk-On Joined: 5/13/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/15/10 at 11:46am
	Are you guys serious? Use Q-Lab. It's made for the Mac, does every mixing and fading you could want and it is free. Just download it online!
	IP Logged