Diary of a Festival - Mixing Monitors at MMS

This summer I was commissioned to mix monitors at the Festival Melodije morja in sonca (MMS) in Portorož, Slovenija. It is a live music event that is being directly broadcasted by the national TV and radio stations where performers present new music and compete for the prizes. I was there as a part of the PA rental company team that provided sound reinforcement at the venue and IEM monitoring for the performers.

The Preparation Stage

Before the event even started, I started collecting information on the music pieces, gear used and other crucial information that would enable me to do my job well. About a week before the setup we had a production team meeting, where we decided on the monitoring console, which was a Digico SD9 with two D-Racks, being fed from an analogue 3-way splitter (other two outputs went to the broadcast truck and the FOH console, each post having control of their own gains for preamps). We got information from the producers that the live band is going to mix their own IEMs, but they needed a mix from me that contains the vocals of the performers, presenters and communication channels. I decided early on that I need multitrack recording for this event because I wanted to have the option of refining the mixes and having an archive of all the mixes sent to the transmitters. After all, this is a competition and I wanted to have a clear reference of how all of the mixes for all of the performers sounded throughout the rehearsal period until the main show in case any complaints were made about the IEM systems. A Digigrid MGB was connected to the console and feeding my tracks into a Reaper session on my laptop. The artist mixes were fed into Sennheiser IEM G3 systems and we had doubled all of the bodypacks. We were told that no more than 5 performers were on the stage at all times. So we specified 8 systems (5 for performers, 1 for my CUE system and 2 backups) with the addition of a stereo wedge system that was placed on the stage in case we had issues with IEMs and a switch had to be made quickly. Since the provided PA system was d&b audiotechnic, we opted for the M4 wedges (2 on stage and one as my cue wedge). 

We received the input list and I prepared a session file in the offline software, creating a 1:1 patch on one layer (60 inputs total) and then created a custom layer that included quick access to all my most important channels and functions. Mine was the only console that actually received all of the inputs, so I also prepared a few “just in case” busses and mixes (especially for communication, talkback mics, production mics, etc) that were not specified on the input list, but I thought they might come in handy. I also created a Reaper session with all of the track names, listened to all of the songs by the artists and made notes on tempo and general feel of the song. I double checked all my gear and waited for the event.

Day 1 - Setup

I arrived at the venue at 9 am on a hot Wednesday morning. The PA was already deployed and calibrated for the most part, the stage was ready and the crews from the national radio and TV were already on site. We decided on the location of the monitoring console, checked on the location of the splitter unit and started setting up the consoles, the IEM systems, the monitor wedges and all of the connections between various locations and departments. My primary goal for the day was to have everything connected, all of the connections checked, and, most importantly, having the multitrack recording ready before 2 pm, when the band would arrive for their line check. During my setup I ran into an issue with Waves SoundGrid Studio, which did not allow more than 32 channels of recording. Rather than chasing down the problem, I knew that 32 channels would be enough to record the band, so I proceeded to the IEM packs, programming them and making sure they were operating properly. The frequency coordination was done by the TV crew, since they were also using their wireless microphones and additional IEM systems for the presenters. With my session file loaded onto the console, I routed the channels for the recording and made sure all of the channel signals showed up properly in Reaper. I checked that my CUE bus was set up properly, since I ran it through a Matrix Out to have the ability to add communication channels on top of that. Then the band arrived and informed me of some minor changes to the input list. I patched and named the new channels (that were only used for monitoring) and we checked that the mixes I was sending to the band were patched correctly. I started the recording and then set the input gains on the console. I decided to go with the “faders at 0” approach, which allows me to quickly see what is going on with the mixes just by looking at the faders. I adjusted the gains during the line check and made corrections during the first song they performed. Then I kept an eye on the signals in Reaper, making sure they were all being captured correctly and everything was appearing where it needed to be. The band only performed 3, maybe 4 songs, but it gave us enough material to work with for the initial setup. After the band left, we took a lunch break, which doubled as a quick production meeting, detailing our schedule for the rest of the day and the tasks that still needed to be done.

At about 5:30 pm I returned to the venue. I ran the multitrack and started mixing the band on the console on my CUE bus. I was listening on my Ultimate Ears Custom Pro 7 earphones, which I am familiar with and was able to get the sound relatively good quite fast. After about 2 hours I took a short break, then returned to the console and started mixing on a pair of Sennheiser earphones that I knew most of the users would be using. My original mix had no corrections on the bus EQs, and for the Sennheiser ones I made an EQ curve on the bus PEQ. Still not satisfied, I engaged the graphic EQ on the busses for 2 more filters and saved the presets. I copied the presets to my bus EQs and turned them off. That way I could keep them off for the users that might be using their own custom fit earphones and engage them for the users using the earphones that were provided by the national radio. Since it was now already 11 pm, I saved my work to 3 locations (the console, USB drive and my computer), and we covered everything with a tarp for the night to weatherproof the gear. The venue has a roof, but it doesn’t cover the off stage area where we were located.

Our accommodation was just 30 seconds away from the venue, which was great. We had a short team meeting and went to bed at about 1 am.

Day 2 - Rehearsals

I arrived at the venue at about 8:30 in the morning, prepped my working station and made sure everything was in working order. I first focused on 2 remaining issues from the previous day. The first one was the 32 channel limitation for the recording, which was easily fixed after a few minutes of online research by simply setting the driver for the Waves Sound Grid Studio to 64 channels. The second was the iPad remote control for the Digico SD9. I couldn’t get it running the first day, but it took me just a few minutes the second day to realise I made a typo in the DNS server line on my iPad. Since I now had the ability to have OSC commands for remote control, I programmed more Macros that I could run from my iPad. I then rechecked my mixes from the previous day and made minor corrections, then copied my CUE bus mix to all other mixes. I then went through all the frequencies for the IEM packs, did a walk test of the stage and the venue, repositioned the antennas slightly because of the vicinity of the LED wall, repeated the walk test and then checked all of the wireless mics, making sure their inputs were coming into their corresponding channels on my board and in Reaper. I then did a quick backup mix for the wedges on stage before the other crews started arriving, so that I would not disturb them as I was playing the mixes on stage.

About an hour before the rehearsals with the performers started, I got a request from the percussionist of the band if I could mix his IEM mix as well. He had about 11 mics on his percussion rig and was only receiving the percussion overheads in his band mix, which prevented him from performing with proper dynamics. So I took one of the backup IEM lines and together we created a mix for him with the help of the multitrack. I made a note of checking with him as well during the rehearsal process and saved my work.

The rehearsals with the performers started at 1 pm, with each performer having 40 minutes to sound check with the band and have a basic IEM mix. I made sure I was recording all takes of the performance and placed a marker on the last take of the recording for future reference. I created a snapshot for every performer, and did a “blind mix” in their ears which was basically what I thought they needed in their ears. Then I went to the artist, introduced myself, checked which type of earphones they were using and asked if they had any preferences for their IEM mixes. That also gave me a sense of how well versed the performers are in terms of using IEMs - for some of them it was a completely new experience. Went back behind the console and as the band started playing, dialed in the gain setting on their mic and set the levels for their mix. Taking instructions from the act and listening in on the mixes, we were able to quickly get a good balance. I didn’t really dive into the details, just wanted to get a great starting point and observe the act for any instructions for either me or the band, making notes on what they need to hear in terms of timing and pitch reference. Then I saved the snapshot, the crew took a note of their pack volume setting and we went to the next performer. We had devised a system where my AUX 1 mix was always the lead vocalist (or if there was a duo, then AUX 1 and 2 would be used). We also always used the first microphone of the set for my lead, all the rest of the mics (and AUX lines) would then be distributed in the ascending order from stage right to stage left. Keeping a consistent system meant that I could keep my focus on the sound and not really think about which mix is the correct one for every act. 

The rehearsals kept running until almost 11pm and they went quite smoothly. After that I did a backup of my disk with all the recordings, saved and backed up my session files and secured everything for the night. 

Day 3 - Rehearsals Continue

It was just past 8 am when I was already on set. After my initial “pre-flight” check I went through all the snapshots and all my virtual soundchecks and dialed in all of the details. I didn’t change any of the levels, just did some minor dynamic EQ corrections to tame some of the sibilance or low mid buildup, adjusted the panning for the vocals so that the stereo image was balanced, and made a backup mix in the wedges on stage. Since we repositioned the wedges on the stage due a request from the director of the TV show, I had to adjust the mixes and make sure the levels were still correct. I also had to prepare another IEM mix for an act that was not a part of the competition, but was the entertainment for the duration of the voting period.

At 1 pm the rehearsals continued, as we still had 2 more acts to work with, plus do all of the mixes for the opening number of the show. We finished everything by 4pm, then had a lunch break. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed back before everyone else arrived so that I could also get the backup mixes in place for the new acts in the wedges and run through the details for the final 2 acts.

At 5 pm we had our first run-through of the show. During the rehearsal some of the acts from the previous day came to me after their performance, since they were not completely happy with the mixes. I politely asked them to come see me after the rehearsal and we would listen to the recordings and make appropriate adjustments, which we did. After everyone was happy, we got ready for the main run-through rehearsal, scheduled for 9 pm. I took a short break, having been mixing for more than 10 hours at that point, and got ready for the rehearsal. At the time the rehearsal was supposed to start, we got news that one of the broadcasting vans had issues with power and that they needed time to reroute their power cables. They could not give us an estimate of how long this would take, so they kept all crews on stand by. I saved my work and made sure I was set for a possible power shut down. And then we waited… and waited… and waited some more. After about an hour and a half, the crews finally managed to reroute the power to all departments and we were up and running again. We went through all the acts, and for one of the acts I discovered that I made a programming error (my snapshot did not unmute all of the microphones and one of the singers had their mic on mute for the first verse of the song). After their run I went to the performers and apologised for my mistake, reassuring them that it will be resolved by the next day and offered another rehearsal with the multitrack if they needed it. They were really gracious about it and did not take me up on my offer. After that one more act came to me, claiming that the sound was totally different from the previous setup. I told them to see me right after the run-through was finished so we could correct it, but I was bewildered since I didn’t hear anything different in my pack when running the show. 

“I cannot stress enough how this entire production was a team effort.”

We finished the run-through by midnight and then worked with the band that had issues by deploying the multitrack. My best guess was that the volume setting on their packs was different, since there were no other changes that we made. But we nevertheless put the act back on stage, ran the multitrack and had them perform the song a few more times to make sure everything was great in their ears. We were all exhausted, but I knew that if we postponed this until the next day, they would be nervous and we just wanted to make sure everyone had the best possible experience. I also did my best to calm everyone down and reassure them that we have eliminated all chances of anything going wrong and that they would have a pleasant experience for the show. I packed up everything for the night and got to bed at about 2:30 in the morning.

Day 4 - The Performance

I got to the venue a little later that day, knowing I don’t have much to do on my end, so I cruised in at about 9 am. I checked my rig, ran through all the snapshots and the recordings from the previous day and ran through the script one more time, making sure all my notes were in order.

Then I hung out with the FOH engineer who was dialing in the last details of the mixes. I suggested a few minor corrections since I had a pretty clear image of how the arrangements sounded. We made sure everything was ready for the live transmission and already made plans for the load out process, so that we would be more efficient after the show. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and at about 4 pm I got news that one of the acts is changing the backing vocal lineup, which meant I had to go and change the settings in her mix. After that some of the acts did another quick sound check with the band, and we had a few more corrections needed for their mixes, which got then saved into the snapshots. 

We took a short break about an hour before the show and I took a quick shower to regain a bit of freshness. Four days of working in extreme heat and the hours that we put in were starting to take their toll, but I knew I would be alright once the adrenalin of the live show kicks in. 

At 9 pm the show started and from my point of view it went without a hitch. There were no complaints from the acts, everyone was in high spirits and most of them came after the show to thank the crew for their work. I cannot stress enough how this entire production was a team effort. Without the help and support from all the teams that worked on the show, none of this would happen. I was again reminded how closely we have to work with people that you barely know or see for the first time in these stressful situations and how much a positive attitude, saying please and thank you, treating each other with drinks, snacks and kind words can bring everyone closer. 

When the show ended, I saved my work for the final time and started packing my gear. Within 2 hours the entire PA system was loaded onto trucks and ready to be shipped out. I packed my bags at the hotel and went home that night, exhausted, yet proud of our team and the work we have done.

After the Show

A few days later I finished the project by backing up all my files and recordings and writing out a technical analysis, in which I briefly discussed all of the issues that we encountered at the venue for this particular show and ways of correcting or eliminating them. Since this is an annual event, these notes might come in very handy if I get called back next year, and even if I don’t, I am happy to share them with anyone who might need them in the future. 

It was a wonderful experience, and to be honest, after a year of not doing live events of such magnitude, it felt a bit more tasking than I am used to. But I believe we all succeeded in not only providing our technical skills to the best of our abilities, but also in creating a pleasant and welcoming environment where everyone felt respected and taken care of - in my book that is an even greater achievement. Thanks again to all the members of the DB Team crew, the national radio and TV crew and everyone who made the event possible - it was my pleasure to work with all of you.