Space Productions – the in-house company at off-West End fringe venue the Space – has brought The Lighthouse, to its boards. Written by promising new playwright Rachael Claye, The Lighthouse is a festive tale of a young girl on the brink of disaster and an old man who has forgotten his way. They must find a way forward together…
Resident Space sound designer, Keri Danielle Chesser, has defined a complex 3D soundscape for the production, bringing the play alive for the audience, and once again using TiMax Soundhub 3D audio showcontrol matrix. She connects sound effects playback directly from a QLab Macbook into TiMax via a MOTU UltraLite MK3 Hybrid interface, which also provides Midi commands from QLab. TiMax Group faders are used for any live volume changes, while all other mix elements are handled within QLab, with TiMax providing spatialisation via Midi triggers from QLab. TiMax analogue outputs feed the two main PA speakers plus two smaller monitors, which are hidden within the set and angled to bounce off the plaster walls to help create a more diffuse sound in this intimate space.
Chesser uses TiMax to create the intimate atmosphere of The Lighthouse, and also the anchoring spot effects: ‘There are a couple of flashbacks our male protagonist experiences where he hears echoes of the past. He remains tethered to the present replying to those words of the past. I anchored the different voices to specific locations to help create the conversations between Nikolas and those voices.’
Chesser is no stranger to TiMax and has used it in previous productions, ‘I like TiMax because it allows me to think a bit more outside the box and grow with my content and system designs. I think it adds another level to my productions by allowing me to create the world I hear in my head for the audiences better than other methods I’ve tried in the past.’
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