CAS Quarterly

C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 61 not encounter much, if any, during the shoot. Broadway is one of the densest RF environments on the planet, and all of the shows and audio shops coordinate with each other in order to 'play nice' with the other theaters in the area. We do encounter interference sometimes, but only when there happens to be a large event in Times Square with an outside sound company that isn't aware that there is a pecking order for available frequencies. That said, we have several spare transmitters, receivers, and frequencies that are available, should we encounter something that is not able to be addressed. "The primary front end of the audio system we use for Hamilton on Broadway is the DiGiCo SD7T. We have a sub-mixer here and there, but it does not affect the audience mix. I have full control of each input to the system at the FOH mix position. We are also using the SD racks for the system backstage. The system is running at 96K, and that sample rate stays in place throughout the system from input to speaker output. As for DAW, we do have a Logic setup in place to capture events, but it is used mainly for troubleshooting." Asked about specific challenges, Justin replied, "The entire event was filmed in the theater, which is where I go to work every day. So, I know the space and had worked on the show for long enough that nothing really phased me during the capture. As long as the truck was getting all the data necessary, I was doing my job." Justin wanted to thank the backstage audio crew of Hamilton: Anna-Lee Craig (aka A2D2) and John Senter (retired). "They are the best in the biz! NONE of what we heard could be made possible without their attention to detail. "Also, many thanks to both Nevin Steinberg (sound designer for the theatrical show) and Jason Crystal (associate sound designer) for, not only being there for moral support, but also with the technical assistance in planning for almost any detail that can pop up during a capture this large." TIM LATHAM: Re-recording Mixer Tim graduated from Berklee in '89, where he studied music production & engineering. He learned mostly by practicing in the studios at school and relied on networking to find jobs out of school. He has spent most of his career as a music mixer. He had previously done the Hamilton cast recording and won the Grammy for it. (He has a previous win for In the Heights as well). He was hired by musical director Alex Lacamoire and Lin-Manuel Miranda for the project because he had worked with them before and knew the score very well. He mixed the music, creating a pre- mix that could be used further down the line. All of the music and vocals were performed live, there were no pre-records or replacements. Any sound effects were added later. Tim's recollection is that there were about 160 tracks delivered. A lot of planning went into his mix so that his mix would be usable for multiple purposes. He met with music editor Dan Simmons to plan a standard template for each song. Tim mixes everything inside the box. His mix was delivered to the dub stage in numerous stereo pairs. In addition to split vocals, he also mixed stereo drums, bass, keyboards, strings, ensemble, background vocals, and multiple guitar pairs. He said the hardest song to mix was one area where there was 11 minutes of continuous performance (including "Non-Stop") that needed to play as a single take. The biggest challenge was Production mixer Justin Rathburn Number of mics used: Cast (actor) microphones = 25 (all wireless, including backups) Drums = 16 Percussion = 15 Bass = 5 Guitar = 5 Strings = 5 Keyboards = 8 Reverb and Effects = 10 QLab (Sound effects) = 16 Misc. (VOG, etc.) = <8 Types of mics used: Drums: Beyer M88G (has been swapped recently due to multiple capsule failures to a Shure Beta 52) Yamaha SubKick Audix D2 and D4's Shure SM81 DPA 4011's JDI Duplex DI Strings: DPA 4099's DPA 4011 Keys: JDI Duplex DI's BSS AR-133 DI's Source and mics used on the project Percussion: Shure SM 57 DPA 4011's JDI Duplex DI's Basses: Avalon U5 Aguliar Tone Hammer DPA 4099 JDI Duplex Guitars: DPA 4011 JDI Duplex/Fractal BSS AR-133 DI's that the arrangements were all unique as the songs vary in genre. "Dear Theodosia" and "Burn" were the most delicate to mix. Tim said that the tracks were extremely well recorded, but it was a live theatrical performance, so some reflected sound was already built in to some of the ensemble tracks, even though the sections were very well isolated. In addition, stage practical effects (a rotating stage) presented some noise issues that needed to be removed with iZotope RX. There were also occasional problems with cloth noise on the lavalieres. Additionally, he did some minor pitch correction using

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