For its Main Stage, the Playhouse has commissioned TTA and its Scandinavian distributor Benum to provide a Stagetracker 16XR audio tracking and positioning system, which uses MIDI to control TiMax audio imaging software from British company Outboard Electronics.
From its position in the truss above the stage, a single intelligent Stagetracker RadioEye receiver is able to provide coverage of the entire 16m x 16m (52ft x 52ft) stage. The RadioEye calculates the actors' positions and feeds positional information to the Stagetracker software which also incorporates a 3D view of the stage, and gives a visual representation of the actor's movements in real time.
By adding a small radio transmitter the size of a matchbox, called a TTA Tag, to each actor, the Stagetracker system is able to track all the performers, enabling the actor's voice to follow him naturally in the soundscape as he moves around the stage. For example, in Det Kongelige Teater's inaugural production of Hamlet, the appearance of the king's ghost will be accompanied by a sound effect, 'connected' to him using the Stagetracker Tag.
Karsten Wolstad, who, together with Jonas Vest, is responsible for the theatre's sound design, says: "This has been a personal quest for me for many years; I find it so annoying not to be able to tell who is singing or talking on stage. Theatre sound amplification works best if we are able to interpret the position of the actor correctly. The Stagetracker and TiMax elements integrate perfectly, and create, from the depth of the stage, a natural amplification which also has precision - in the audience, you can clearly sense what's coming from each actor."
TTA's success with Europe's premier culture houses continues, supplying to the new Norwegian National Opera House a complete 16-output Stagetracker 16XR system with audio matrix and dual RadioEye receivers. For the National Opera, TTA is also supplying its FX Audio Editor which provides control and arrangement functions for sound effect playback.
(Jim Evans)
