Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1277927
50 S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y just one in-ear and also wants wedges, that's a whole different deal. But if a band's super comfortable on stage, that carries out to the house and the audience." It all does start with the stage. If the artist is comfortable with what they hear, they have a good experience. That carries through from the house to the broadcast, creating those great Grammy moments of people dancing in the aisles. From rehearsals to show, Tom and Mike, and teams of A2's, monitor techs, and stage crew, work a nonstop schedule. When their stage is not rehearsing or performing during the show, it's setting up and testing for the next act. No downtime! THE HOUSE For the Grammys, there are two house sound mixers. One mixer that handles all the musical performances and a production mixer who handles all the dialogue microphones, pre-recorded video & audio playbacks, and announcers. For the 2020 Grammys, those duties were handled by music mixer Ron Reaves and production mixer Mikael Stewart. For the music mix, all the performances will come to the one console. Reaves will use the console automation and recall to bring up the entire setup for each performance that was dialed in at rehearsal. Production mixer Mikael Stewart will handle not only all the handheld, lavs, and podium mics, but also all the pre- records for segments like the In Memoriam. The Grammys are done in a large arena, like the Staples Center or Madison Square Garden—in many ways not unlike a normal concert. But they still rely on the monitor mixers to balance levels that both minimize interference with the house sound and enable the artist to deliver a great performance. Zoning of PA speakers is also a key factor in the Grammys front of house. This is especially true when performances take place in the middle of the room. Without zoning, having an artist perform in front of the main speaker arrays in the arena would be problematic enough for the house itself, not to mention the effect it would have on the broadcast sound and room tone. The house sound mixers have to balance minimizing any negative effects on the broadcast sound while still creating a great room sound that the production mixer can use to put the home viewer in the room. This is a music show, a big-concert environment. They also have to generate the energy needed to engage the audience in the room to both excite the band and the viewers at home. And these folks have artist reps looking over their shoulders as well. No small feat! THE BROADCAST MUSIC TRUCKS The Grammys use two identical but separate music mix trucks. Music industry veteran mixers John Harris and Eric Schilling handle each truck respectively. Like the monitor mixers, they alternate performances, and like monitors, they work with the artist reps overseeing those performances. John explains: "Ahead of the show, Eric and I will meet and go through the artists and performances to see if there are artists that clearly he or I should do because of existing relationships. We'll also talk a lot about bass and reverb and things like that that are going to be the signature sound of the show. Other than that, we will just A/B the schedule. This allows time after each rehearsal that the artist can come into the truck and have a listen to see if the mix is going the way they think it should." Both trucks record each rehearsal direct to Pro Tools. Each channel is recorded separate and untouched, no EQ, compression, and so on. This allows for time to work on the mix and the automation for the show performance when time permits. John talked about how artist reps get involved in his and Eric's trucks. "When you have multiple artists in a single performance, maybe they've rehearsed prior or maybe they haven't. But they're not going to say how it would be in their normal show. Though they're there to look out for their artist, they're very cooperative with me because there's a lot of trust built over my 30 years doing the show. Instead of talking theory of whether it's supposed to be moody or blue or exciting or whatever, I'll say to them, 'Let me take it somewhere, then we can work on how we make it what it needs to be for everyone.'" John says with great pride that "no one ever says, 'Oh, I can tell that that was you or that was Eric.' That's a great compliment for us." John also credits Tom Holmes, the main production mixer, for the consistency of the sound and how he blends their mixes with the house sound. To John, "There's no one better at this than Tom." John Harris recalls: "Many years ago, the different audio crews functioned as autonomous groups, each managing their own part. It wasn't a singular team. The Grammy Awards evolved a long time ago into a cooperative group and was really the first show to make it an 'all for one,' working together to make the show happen. Today, everyone understands the importance and how what they do affects everyone else." THE FINAL BROADCAST TRUCK As mentioned, the final broadcast duties go to Tom Holmes, the show's main production mixer. Tom is a veteran of the Grammys, the Emmys, and many others. Here we do find some similarities between shows like the Grammys and the Oscars. Like Paul Sandweiss, Tom will constantly switch monitoring from stereo to 5.1. At the same time, he's listening to the director calling cues and monitoring A2's or the music mix trucks giving him updates. Tom gets discrete feeds of all the stage dialogue mics and voiceovers. He also takes discrete feeds of all the house mics for room tone and audience response, the 5.1 sweetening mix, pre- One of seven stage monitor mix consoles at the Grammy Awards.