d&b Soundscape makes West End debut
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The production also marked the first d&b Soundscape show in London’s West End. An auspicious debut, the sound design provided by Gareth Owen, along with associate sound designer Russell Godwin and production sound engineer Andy Green won Best Sound Design at the 2019 Olivier Awards.
Using d&b Soundscape, Owen was able to overcome one of the major challenges of a show that features a 12-strong ensemble cast with actors playing multiple characters, often in the same scene: As he explains: “There are so many people delivering so many short lines very quickly that before we had Soundscape, the audience occasionally struggled to work out who is speaking.”
Prior to the London show, Come From Away director Christopher Ashley initially relied on lighting cues and movements from the actor to create the required focus. With the d&b software module En-Scene, up to 64 sound objects can be placed within a scenario so that what is heard aligns with what is seen.
”After doing the first run with Soundscape, the director said to me ‘This is a revelation. Suddenly I don’t need to worry about lighting or staging or what the cast are doing to know who is speaking. My ear is drawn automatically because of the acoustic element. I can hear the sound coming from the people’. He said it was an absolute game-changer,” Owen explains.
Not only did Owen achieve the focus required but using d&b En-Space he was able to ensure that each seat in the architecturally impressive three-level theatre experienced the same acoustic sense of space, whether tucked under a balcony or in the open stalls.
“We’ve now done five productions using Soundscape, more than anybody else from a musical point of view,” adds Owen. “Come From Away is by far the show where Soundscape has made the biggest, most significant fundamental difference. More than just improving the sound of the show, it’s actually added a new creative element that the show didn't have before. It's noticeable to everybody who's involved. Very, very noticeable.”
As well as installation of multiple loudspeakers from the d&b Y, T and E-Series throughout the auditorium, Owen wanted some “really serious low end” for a few key moments in the show.
“We would normally use J-INFRAs for that, but I simply couldn't find room for them in the theatre,” explains Owen. “I had resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn't going to have that in the London version.”
With help from d&b, Owen discovered he could have his low end and fit it under the stage too, using the 21S subwoofer from the d&b xS-Series.
“Steve [d&b Education and Application Support] told me it was a very shallow 21-inch subwoofer that goes really, really low. Phil Hurley at Stage Sound Services arranged to borrow it for us, so we tried it, we managed to get it in the space and arguably it worked even better than the J-INFRA for what I wanted to achieve. And it sits in a much smaller space. Phil very generously agreed to buy the sub. I didn’t tell him it was only for six seconds in the show. I guess when he reads this he’ll know [laughs]. It works brilliantly, and it achieves exactly what I wanted it to achieve.”
(Jim Evans)
