Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1965 - 13

workable relationship better than earphone monitoring from the control room. However, earphone moni- ~
toring of general production cues from the stage:
manager and of cues on the effects system is also

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The four program channels, similar to proportional
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mastering in stagelighting control, centralize opera! i
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tions in more ways than their physical placement on
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the console indicates. In effect, twenty inputs can be
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selectively reduced to four controls and then, again
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ten speakers and their associated power amplifiers.
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The selective insertion of pan potentiometers, each
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with a three-position output permits a further centrali -I
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izing and standardizing of control. Such an interrela....,;.
.tion is roughly analogous to faders in stagelighting,
Fig. 4. Overall System F,equency Response. The 'espanse is
for unified directional control in sound is a new di- comfortably within the specification. ± 1 db., 30 to 15,000 cps,
mension in lighting control after proportional intensi- an bath graphs.
ty mastering was widely used. The importance of such
a reduction in the number of controls and such
standardization in the execution of cues cannot be
overemphasized in terms of the limits of human en-- .. gineering as far as the operators are concerned, es_c_ ·1- -l- .1 _. i·
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surround-of-sound facility. When the complexity of a
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production calls for a second or third operator, a
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compatible division of controls can be arranged. A '

The use of more than four program channels on a
production even more complex than The Tempest can
be envisioned with prepared master and cartridge
tapes and the use of such other tools as live microphones and live electronic sound sources. However,
the focus and efficiency of masterand preset controls
have not yet reached the same level of sophistication
in sound reproduction as they have in stagelighting.
Therefore, the suggestion recently made by Sturken
that ten program channels are functionally necessary
is a step in the right direction if successful provision for more mastering and presetting is also
developed toallow operations toremain within human
limits. 5 Any elaboration of control using stereophonic

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second operator usually takes charge of all speaker
and pan potentiometer operations on the right panel
in th e cont ro I room. Sin c e the re mote tape contro Is·'
and the cartridge tape unit are located on the right
side of the console, these operations can be allo- _:,
cated to either operator as necessary. Should filtering be required during the performance (a rare occurance), the graphic equalizer is available on the
right panel. Only on a complex production like The
Tempest is a third operator necessary to change tape
reels in the' sound-effects room and supply occasional assistance on other controls. Ordinarily the remote
feature of the tape recorders requires little attention
beyond reel changes. The apparent simplicity of
these operations should not be accepted at face
value. The entire operation requires efficient and
consistent organization; otherwise, entropy quickly
sets in and the probabilities for duplication of
effects as designed and refined in rehearsal fall too
close to the 95% or even the 90% expectancy level
of success.

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Fig.5 Frequency Response Equivalent Input Noise. All of the
tests were below the specified level of -120 dbm. The average of
16 such measu'ements was -122.75 dbm., a safe level below the
specification.

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Fig.6. Over-all System Distortion. The measu'es of total ho,moni c di startion were token at 30, 100, 1,000, 5,000 and 15,000
cps. The specification requi,ed that the THO nat exceed 2% at
the frequency from 40 to 15,000 cycles.

13
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1965
