Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1491103
42 S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y areas of the room did not always hear the narration as clearly as intended, so we decided to utilize the middle ring of speakers to deliver the narration. With the pre-dub, we had a narrator recorded in a booth who was nicely isolated. With the live show, we now had live narrators, with some wearing masks. We ended up doing multiple tunings and EQ's for the narrators, as well as trying out different mics to avoid feedback from the speakers above when the narrator walked around the room. The final choice for the narrator microphone was the DPA 4188 DC-F-F34-MH. As I mentioned earlier, trying to get the more dynamic parts of the soundtrack to time out with the different narrators and not step on their lines was interesting. There was a flute line we removed in one of the revisions and the narrator noticed it immediately because that was one of the cues that he took for his next line. It was a fine balance between the music and sound effects and making sure to leave the room sonically open so that there was always a space for the narrator. The composers also did a great job with the score, shaping their music to leave space and choosing instruments during the score that complemented the vocal range. What about the music and SFX, how did you approach placing them in the planetarium? We decided to mix the music so that you hear the dry source from the LCR, and then I used different plugins like Nugen Halo and others to up-mix to the lower, middle, and top speakers that would surround the audience to sound as though you were in a Cathedral Hall. Occasionally, throughout the show we would pan certain instruments around the dome utilizing all speakers to get a sense of movement with a featured instrument. For the SFX, we kept the ambiences in the lower ring for the most part. But with the sound design, we utilized the lower, middle, and top speakers for objects that would pan and fly around the dome, as well as give a sense of moving up and down. One of my favorite sound design moments that Jon Schell did was that when you enter in the crevasse of a planet, the audience actually feels as though they are sinking into the crevasse. The sound pans from the lowest speakers to the highest speakers. Dan Radlauer also made a good point in which he noted that the creative team members on this show have scientific backgrounds and initial discussions were along the lines of "there is no sound in space." Eventually that