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In this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast, I talk with Daryl Bornstein about Rock of Ages, the most difficult play he has ever mixed. We discuss:
- How he first got work on Broadway.
- How he got the gig with Rock of Ages.
- The complicated setup procedure before every show.
- The sound system design and tuning.
- How to visualize sound in a room.
- What it takes to learn an intense Broadway musical.
- The moment of panic on every show.
People want to work with somebody who is a team player, who is going to do what they need to do to make sure their work isn’t compromised, but understands the big picture and approaches problems as a challenge as opposed to an annoyance.
Show notes:
- All music in this episode from Rock Of Ages (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Hardware/software: Avid Profile, LCS, Galileo, Sennheiser 5212 and HSP2 and MKE1, Ultimate Ears
- Quotes
- Think of it as light. How is it going to reflect off of walls and other surfaces?
- Rock of Ages is the most difficult show I’ve ever had to mix.
- It’s unlike any other show I’ve ever done, because you cannot make a mistake.
- The single most important decision I ever made was to approach a producer and lobby to be the production sound engineer on a musical…
- The only criteria [for hiring crew] was, “Is this somebody that you want to sit across from at dinner and have a fun time?” You want to be around people that you enjoy being around. And that’s probably what makes for success, aside from skills.
- This particular [Digidesign Profile] has more plugins on it than any other Profile in the world.
Thanks for sharing this informative interview about the intricacies of mixing a complex musical on Broadway. Daryl, I’m curious how many VCAs you’re manually dealing with at one time on Rock of Ages, including both the actors and the band.