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TiMax SoundHub and TrackerD4 for “Nixon in China”

Contrasting with the postmodernity of its theme, the recent stage interpretation of “Nixon in China” for the Teatro Real in Madrid presented a rather traditional production. Adhering to the operatic principle of “clarification not amplification”, sound designer Cameron Crosby matched a TiMax SoundHub spatial audio engine with vocal tracking from TiMax TrackerD4, which delivered the locational coordinates of the principal performers in real-time.

Teatro Real’s Head of Audio Visual, Fernando Valiente Uceda, discussed the project and the specification in detail with Out Board’s Robin Whittaker at the ISE exhibition in Barcelona. With a full appreciation of the capabilities and benefits of using the TiMax system, the allure was made real with a positive decision.

TiMax SoundHub formed the spatial core of the sound system, controlled by both the TiMax TrackerD4 and Cue triggers from a Digico SD10 sound console, with outputs to the loudspeaker system comprised of four main areas, including an orchestra pit system, front stage fills which covered the majority of the auditorium, line arrays directed at the upper balconies and a small number of delays to infill side positions.

As well as the tracking of the principal singers on the stage, Crosby employed TiMax to integrate audio from the chorus in non-tracked locations both on-stage and off to mix that with the audio from the moving performers.

Crosby’s aim was to keep the gain structure of the loudspeaker mix to a minimum to “create a soundscape that is able to blend the natural sound coming from the singers with the aural content coming from the loudspeakers. This is the point of using object-based audio so that the reinforced voice enhances the natural voices.”

“TiMax TrackerD4 provided a dynamic X-Y, and Z location for each singer, so that TiMax SoundHub was able to continuously reposition each perceived location to accurately match the actual position of the singers. This meant there was never an image shift between the direct and enhanced voices”, he adds.

(Photos: Javier & Elena del Real)

www.outboard.co.uk

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