O Captain, My Captain...
Friends, Romans, Bloggers, lend me your....eyes... Hi all- me again, filing your day, well, at least your screen, with more tantalizing tales from lovely Malaysia. Actually, things are pretty tame here as we get ready to enter the recording studio for the next two days. We are laying down our "vocal sweetening" tracks and voice over tracks to be used in the live production. For those of you who don't know, vocal sweetening is used to beef up the live vocals when the actors are off stage and unable to "wing sing"(i.e. sing from the side of the stage when not in a scene) due to costume changes or, once in a while, when dancing so hard it becomes difficult to carry the number by yourselves.
Now, I know you're thinking- "Hey, Gags, isn't that cheating?" Well, when it's the only music you use, maybe, but in our case, it will be used to sweeten the live mix, thus the term "vocal sweetening" . Also, it will be our own voices without studio magic, just plain old tracking of the parts. Again, it's mainly due to the fact there are a ton of quick changes and our mic's would amplify all the backstage sounds, including every time we brush against the bud(mic head) or grunt getting in and out of the big foam costumes we'll be donning.
Like I said, some of the actors will also be recording the tracks unable to be done live. For example, the actor playing the voice of Plankton also plays the live character Mr. Krabs, and he has a few scenes with himself, a feat only a few one person shows are able to achieve. So, he'll record Plankton's lines and the people doing the puppetry, like myself, will learn the lines as recorded and, with the help of our sound engineers, make the magic happen in live performance. It's kind of neat to see how it all works out, but it shouldn't be too difficult- just a matter of repetition.
That being said, the show opening is getting closer and closer and I'm getting excited to put it on its' feet, especially considering that, outside the original cartoon voice actors, well be originating these roles. That's something no-one can ever take away from you as long as you live. Pretty Cool! Well, I think so!
OK, I gotta go to bed, as we leave for the studio at 8:45 AM tomorrow and will be there until 7 PM, so, if you don't see me post for a day or two, you'll know why. Oh, and as for the explanation of the title of this installment of blog theatre, I have been selected as the production's Vocal Captain. What this means is that because the accompaniment is all pre-recorded music, there are no live musicians to conduct and, thus, no need for a full time music director. Which means as of her departure at the beginning of June, I, along with the Stage Managers and Dance Captain,will be in charge of maintaining the integrity of the production as set by the Artistic Staff(Director/Choreographer/Music Director).
My specific job is to maintain the musical side of things, which is a nice opportunity to put my experience as a music director to good use. Although, with this cast, my job will be very easy, so I'm looking forward to helping keep the production fresh and new. This means I'll probably be sitting out a few performances every few weeks so I can follow the score and listen for stuff that gets loose or slips with time, as well as getting a chance to see the show from the audience's perspective. That's the most exciting part about it!
OK, Blog to you soon!
Selmat Datang,
Steve
Now, I know you're thinking- "Hey, Gags, isn't that cheating?" Well, when it's the only music you use, maybe, but in our case, it will be used to sweeten the live mix, thus the term "vocal sweetening" . Also, it will be our own voices without studio magic, just plain old tracking of the parts. Again, it's mainly due to the fact there are a ton of quick changes and our mic's would amplify all the backstage sounds, including every time we brush against the bud(mic head) or grunt getting in and out of the big foam costumes we'll be donning.
Like I said, some of the actors will also be recording the tracks unable to be done live. For example, the actor playing the voice of Plankton also plays the live character Mr. Krabs, and he has a few scenes with himself, a feat only a few one person shows are able to achieve. So, he'll record Plankton's lines and the people doing the puppetry, like myself, will learn the lines as recorded and, with the help of our sound engineers, make the magic happen in live performance. It's kind of neat to see how it all works out, but it shouldn't be too difficult- just a matter of repetition.
That being said, the show opening is getting closer and closer and I'm getting excited to put it on its' feet, especially considering that, outside the original cartoon voice actors, well be originating these roles. That's something no-one can ever take away from you as long as you live. Pretty Cool! Well, I think so!
OK, I gotta go to bed, as we leave for the studio at 8:45 AM tomorrow and will be there until 7 PM, so, if you don't see me post for a day or two, you'll know why. Oh, and as for the explanation of the title of this installment of blog theatre, I have been selected as the production's Vocal Captain. What this means is that because the accompaniment is all pre-recorded music, there are no live musicians to conduct and, thus, no need for a full time music director. Which means as of her departure at the beginning of June, I, along with the Stage Managers and Dance Captain,will be in charge of maintaining the integrity of the production as set by the Artistic Staff(Director/Choreographer/Music Director).
My specific job is to maintain the musical side of things, which is a nice opportunity to put my experience as a music director to good use. Although, with this cast, my job will be very easy, so I'm looking forward to helping keep the production fresh and new. This means I'll probably be sitting out a few performances every few weeks so I can follow the score and listen for stuff that gets loose or slips with time, as well as getting a chance to see the show from the audience's perspective. That's the most exciting part about it!
OK, Blog to you soon!
Selmat Datang,
Steve
posted by Gags at 9:21 PM
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