Sound for Bring It On: The Musical

Mark Woods goes backstage to see how Sennheiser came to the rescue for a show that involves dialogue, singing, dancing, gymnastics and a live band.

30 November 2019

Theatrical productions are tough audio. Mixing bands has its own challenges, but at least the vocalists sing into the mics. I had cause to reflect on this while visiting Sydney’s State Theatre to see the non-stop whirl of songs, dance and gymnastics known as Bring It On: The Musical. Based on the loyalties and rivalries of competing cheerleaders, the show is focused on the performers and the choreography. The audio production includes 22 wireless headset channels and a live band. Sound designer Greg Ginger from Outlook Communications gave me a look around.

HIDING THE BAND

The show needs all the floor space it can get so the stage at the State Theatre was extended forward 4m, covering the orchestra pit. The six-piece band was set up downstairs and backstage in the Green Room, leaving it looking like a combination of a Green Room, a rehearsal studio and a live recording room. It took a bit of soundchecking to get levels comfortable in the room, with everyone so up close and personal. The guitar amp ended up in a road case, and I think Greg Ginger wanted to put the drum kit in one too but couldn’t find a case big enough, so he dampened the skins with some cotton wool as a compromise. The benefits of the band being hidden away and removed from the stage were studio-like separation from the stage sound, and complete control in the FOH. The band had a conductor, and followed the show via headphone monitoring and a screen.

The mix required 24 channels to cover the band, with lots of Sennheiser e614 small-diaphragm condensers to be seen. The 24 channels were sent to a Digico SD5 FOH console, mixed in with the on-stage performers’ headset mics and some manually-triggered FX from QLab, then processed through a BSS Soundweb BLU-100 and fed to the house speaker system. The performers on stage heard themselves and the band through four little Funktion-One F55 dual five-inch speakers [[08]] attached to the front lighting truss, with another four on the middle truss. Positioned about 6m above the stage — just out of reach of flying cheerleaders — they weren’t close or loud, but supplied an even spread of sound that was just enough for the performers to perform happily.

ON-STAGE PERFORMERS

The person who invents invisible wireless microphones is going to do very well, but until then it’s omni-directional headset mics and bodypack transmitters for theatrical performers. The average rock opera might get away with headset mics somewhere down the sides of the performers’ faces; it’s not an ideal place to pick up vocals in itself, but it’s a luxury compared to Bring It On where the mics are hidden away on the performers’ hairlines or in wigs.

[[09]] — Green room converted into performance space.

[[08]] — Funktion-One F55s mounted on the overhead trusses provided on-stage monitoring while remaining clear of flying cheerleaders.

[[05]] — With 22 wireless mics on stage, plus spares, it pays to be organised.

The mics aren’t the only things that need to be hidden. With most of the cast in cheerleader outfits, hiding the wireless bodypack transmitters and keeping them in place as the performers jumped around could be an even bigger problem. Regular bodypacks (typically powered by a couple of AA batteries) would have been awkward under the tight costumes, and, with 22 wireless channels and a couple of spares, would have required a carton of fresh AAs for every show.

Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 system came to the rescue. Their new SK6212 bodypack transmitter, released earlier this year, is so small that it’ll change expectations for these devices. It feels strong, the replaceable antenna is thin and flexible, and I like the look and feel of the rounded corners and sides — it shouldn’t break or dig in if a performer falls over and lands on it. An additional inner seal helps to repel moisture, and Greg noted its effectiveness in this sweatier than average application.

Bring It On: The Musical is a fairly simple but boisterous and dynamic show. The audio production had to work within the constraints imposed by the physicality of the show, and relied heavily on the quality, stability and manageability of the large number of wireless channels. The singers on stage were the stars of the show and, apart from my concerns about mics in wigs and the lack of opportunity for any sort of mic technique, it worked remarkably well at showtime. The cast were experienced musical theatre performers with strong voices and good projection. The 2000-person capacity State Theatre has excellent acoustics and the PA was well-controlled in the highs and high-mids where it might feed back, so despite the inherently risky combination of a loud show, 22 omnis and a PA, there was no feedback or instability. The band sounded great, they were mixed to suit the vocals and I didn’t miss seeing them.

With most of the cast in cheerleader outfits, hiding the wireless bodypack transmitters and keeping them in place as the performers jumped around could be an even bigger problem.

[[07]] — Sennheiser e614 small-diaphragm condenser microphones were used on nearly everything for the band. They had no problem handling the peaky cymbals/percussion, and their tight supercardioid pickup pattern helped with separation in the crowded green room.

[[03]] — Sennheiser’s EM6000 two-channel receiver and LM6000 charging module.

[[02]] — Sennheiser’s SK6212 digital bodypack transmitter

SENNHEISER’S 6000 SERIES

The 6000 series as used in Bring It On consisted of three components: the SK6212 digital bodypack transmitters, the EM6000 digital receivers, and the LM6000 charging module.

Matchbox-sized at 63 x 47 x 20mm, the SK6212 bodypack is about half the size we’re used to. Weight is also about half, at 112g total with the BA62 lithium-polymer rechargeable battery on board. LiPo batteries are expensive but light, and the BA62s allow an astonishing 12 hours of operation between charges. They can be removed and recharged in the Digital 6000 rackmount charger via the dedicated LM6062 charging module. The long battery life made everything easier for Bring It On, especially on days with two shows. Greg showed me one unit that had been on for four hours and still indicated a full battery. LiPo batteries do wear out eventually, but Sennheiser says users can expect well over 500 duty cycles before replacement.

The OLED screen on the front of the transmitter is small but clear. Above the screen sits a single sunken Power/Mute button that requires determination and fingernails to activate; a short press gets Mute, while pressing for a few seconds turns the unit off. It turns back on almost instantly. Below the screen are three slightly recessed buttons to access the menu options. The screen turns off automatically after a few seconds of inactivity, but pressing any key brings it back with a display of the operating frequency (or a user name), the battery level and the time of day; a nice touch. Keep pressing and you get an audio level meter. The operating frequency can be changed from within the bodypack, and the power/mute LED light can be turned off if it’s distracting.

The EM6000 is a two-channel 1U digital receiver that presents itself as a premium product with solid construction and a quality feel to the controls. Operating over a wide 470MHz to 714MHz switching range, the Digital 6000 system is free from intermodulation between channels so it can use a simple equidistant frequency grid with a minimum 400kHz spacing for maximum channel density and stability. The sharp OLED screen’s default display for each channel contains everything you need at a glance, including a Link Quality Indicator (LQI) meter, with more details and editing available by turning the control knob to access the menus. As soon as you stray from the default display the Esc button lights up, offering a quick way back.

Around the back are the expected XLR and 6.35mm analogue audio outputs, joined by digital AES-3 and RJ-45 Dante outputs (optional card). External sync is possible via I/O BNC connectors and the RF antennas have BNC output splits for daisy-chaining up to eight EM6000s. Greg made good use of these options by sending the Dante output to FOH, with the analogue output used for backup, and the headphone output used for switching monitoring. The Digital 6000 series uses the same Sennheiser Digital Audio Codec (SeDAC) found in the top-spec Digital 9000 Series, and Greg found the audio quality to be outstanding (particularly the D/A conversion) with a wide frequency response and dynamic range. Latency is quoted at 3ms for all output formats and was not noticeable in use, nor was any of the error correction or audio error masking that could be happening in the background.

The sound design for Bring It On required a wireless microphone system that was sonically accurate, flat-battery-proof and discrete. Just the brief for the Sennheiser Digital 6000. Priced for professional applications, it’s been embraced by production and hire companies with good reason. Sennheiser is the long-standing market leader in the wireless segment and the Digital 6000 Series is as good as you can get.