Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1333072
Winter 2021 – LOCAL695.ORG 35 Clockwise from top left: Bruce Arledge's sound booth for Dancing with the Stars; Boom-Trac installed in the perms; The Calrec Apollo console "We're just starting to get back into it. In the last few weeks, we have set up new shows and a lot of the shows that went down because of COVID, just kept their stuff up. We're picking back up right now again. We are doing all of our installs on empty stages. I just want to keep my employees safe and keep the clients safe too." Bruce is there for every install and setup of Boom-Trac. "I'm there to make sure that everything's perfect for the twenty- six-foot boom arms." Bruce continues, "Because nobody does it as good as I would, I care about it, I'm very hands-on. I know how the device works and I want it to be perfect so when the operator steps up and has no issues." Bruce's first live mixing experience was on American Idol Gives Back at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with Elton John, the show received an Emmy nomination. The next year, he was hired for DWTS. "The show is two hours live. That train gets going, and there's no stopping." "I have fifty-five channels of RF microphones and about two hundred inputs and over three hundred outputs. It's not just a 5.1 mix that I send to the network. There is redundant Pro Tools, video tape machines, and everything is sent via fiber to edit. Each mic is isolated, so it's quite an undertaking. My book of notes is a binder so I can keep track of it all." Bruce equates his job to that of an athlete. He is also a surfer, skateboarder, and snowboarder, so he knows from where he speaks. "I love that edge and not everybody could be in the seat that we're in." Bruce expounds, "It takes a certain type of personality, some people hate it. Some say, 'I would not do a live show.' They don't want the stress. I love that. That's when I'm at peace; when I'm sitting there looking at a rundown and it's five minutes to showtime and the only thing I gotta worry about is the page in front of me, that's calming for me." Bruce always has a backup plan. For example, he'll have a hardwired microphone in case the RF mic dies. He also relies on his crew of five A-2's, an FOH Mixer with a Tech, and a Playback Operator. When there was a live band, there was an additional Monitor Mixer, Monitor Tech, and two more A-2's. Currently, the show is working under COVID protocols, things have changed. Bruce explains, "In the past twenty- eight seasons, the band has been live on stage but because of the current COVID-19 situation, it has forced us to record offsite. All the dance numbers are recorded Thursdays and Fridays, with the final mix on Saturday. After the band is recorded and mixed, our Musical Director, Ray Chew, is on stage during rehearsal and the live show to make any necessary changes to the tracks. Jose Alcantar, the Pro Tools Mixer, has all the recorded stems to make that possible in real time. The completed songs are then uploaded to a server to allow all departments access. All the tracks are striped with timecode for sync for lighting cues, and SFX. The system allows us complete flexibility and consistency." Bruce uses a Calrec Apollo console with fifty-two inputs each on the A and B side, going twelve layers deep, with enough pres and analog inputs to handle two hundred and fifty channels of audio.