This is not about the looks, not about the show, all that matters is the voice...
In 2010, John de Mol’s casting show The Voice of Holland became a major TV success in the Netherlands. Its market share of up to 54 per cent made it not only the most watched prime time show, but also the most successful casting format in the Netherlands. The US show The Voice, adapted for Sat1 and ProSieben in Germany in 2011, also enjoyed great success.
The Voice of Germany is centered on the music.
Studio Berlin’s sound engineers produced the recently finished first seasons of the show on a Lawo mc²66 console. System administrator Uwe Herrmuth and sound engineer Lars Bieber prepared carefully for every show – first, the communication paths to the control room, editor’s office, and production had to be set up, followed by the placement of stageboxes and microphones. Effects had to be selected separately for every vocalist and were then saved as a snapshot in the mc²66.
‘Since the run of the show varied from one week to the next, we also had to adapt the GUI layout constantly,’ says Lars Bieber. ‘Both the snapshots and the ability to copy DSP values from the compressor and the EQ were a great help during the set-up of effects.’
‘Organising the signals and the signal exchange – for instance, between the FOH and the monitoring position as well as the setup of intercom modules – was a challenging task,’ Uwe Herrmuth adds.
Bieber is insistent that quick and very reliable signal routing that allows a clear overview of a mix, notwithstanding the large number of channels being managed. Additionally, custom functions and the ability to assign buttons freely helped create an intuitive workflow. As system administrator, Herrmuth valued Lawo’s mxGUI as a second control interface, allowing interventions in the system while leaving the work of the sound engineer unaffected. Further, he points out the AdminHD tool, with which the system can be extended without having to contact the service department every time.
Studio Berlin has used Lawo consoles since 2002. According to Herrmuth, one of the major points in favour of using Lawo is the fact that Lawo does not sell ‘off-the-shelf’ consoles, but rather a product that is largely adapted to the specific requirements of the customer. In those cases when Lawo’s service department is required, any question or concern is processed quickly and efficiently. ‘All these factors make the decision to continue using Lawo products for our future investments very easy for us at Studio Berlin,’ he says.
The Voice of Germany was looking for real artists with unique vocal skills for a sustainable career. The first stage consisted of ‘blind auditions’, during which artists had the opportunity to succeed based on their voice alone. They performed with a live band in front of four famous coaches (Nena, Xavier Naidoo, Rea Garbey, and The BossHoss), who judged the participants based on their voice (listening with their backs to the artist). In stage two, the artists faced off in one-on-one duels within their teams, the losers being eliminated from the competition. In the third and final stage, the remaining vocalists had to compete in live shows.
In the end, viewers voted Ivy Quainoo as the winner of Season 1 of The Voice of Germany. The show enjoyed such great popularity that it will be continued in the fall of 2012.
More: www.lawo.de
