NORTHRIDGE, California – American Idol reigns on as one of the most successful shows in television
history. Its mix of stars in the making, spirited interplay between celebrity
judges and the show’s wildly enthusiastic live audiences continues to enthrall
viewers. For the show’s upcoming live episodes, Valencia, California-based ATK
Audiotek revamped the American Idol
set with a variety of HARMAN’s JBL Professional loudspeakers to meet the unique
audio demands of the show’s new staging.
Baltzell
designed some novel loudspeaker arrangements for the new American Idol system. “We had to accommodate a number of needs for the
new set at CBS Television City in Hollywood, and they can’t be accommodated by
a one-size-fits-all system,” said Pat Baltzell, sound designer for American Idol. “The main PA needs to be
heard loud and clear by the performers and audience. However, we need a
separate audio system for when host Ryan Seacrest and the contestants are
speaking, because they’re on lavalier mics and the judges are situated right in
the middle of the main PA system.”
Left-right
arrays of 10 JBL VERTEC® VT4889 fullsize line array elements on each side comprise
the main PA system. The main hangs are complemented by a front fill system of six
VRX932LAP Constant Curvature loudspeakers installed into the set. Two VRX928LA compact
Constant Curvature loudspeakers are also installed into the contestant couch
set to provide a mix minus foldback of the judges and Ryan Seacrest. Four JBL Control 8SR speakers are installed in
two additional mix minus zones under metal gratings in the stage serving as
foldback speakers for Ryan and the contestants during periods of dialogue.
“Since
the judges’ table is more than 60 feet away from the stage and the judges are
somewhat removed from the main stage, we built three JBL AC15 compact speakers
right into the judges’ table,” said Baltzell. “We know that as the season
progresses, the audience becomes more animated, and come April and May when the
number of contestants is whittled down and the audience has chosen its
contestant, the ambient noise gets even louder but the judges still need to
clearly hear the performances. The mix that is sent to the judges’ table
speakers is only the lead vocal and the background singers. The AC15 does a
remarkable job.”
“Another
very important consideration is that a lot of the contestants are younger and
they have big voices but limited microphone technique,” Baltzell added. “This
puts a lot of demands on the audio engineers to control the mix and apply
limiting, and for the judges to hear the contestants properly those AC15
speakers need to get loud without distortion.”
To
ensure that dialogue will be clearly heard, no less than 280 Control 25
loudspeakers are placed under every other seat in the audience.
“The
American Idol audio system might be
unconventional, but it ensures optimum audio reproduction for dialogue, singers
and musicians,” Baltzell concluded. “We’re looking forward to wowing everyone
as the show builds to its season finale.”
For more information on ATK Audiotek, please visit www.atkaudiotek.com
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