heardrum.org

SAG and AFTRA United

heliarc — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:15:22 +0000

I had the unique honor of helping to broadcast the announcement of SAG and AFTRA’s merger today from the SAG headquarters at Museum Square. Singing broke out before the 1:15 pm tally was read and cheers broke out when it became clear that over 80 percent of each union agreed to the long discussed and long fought merger.

Absolute Live Productions brought me along to provide audio support to transmit wireless signal to the outer courtyard for the crowd that gathered outside, and also provide audio support at the press bridge for the various news agencies present. Congratulations AFTRA and SAG Members. There is power in a Union!

Martin Carrillo Nominated for an LA Weekly Award

heliarc — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:37:27 +0000

This morning, I was nominated for the LA Weekly Theater award in Sound for the Theatre of Note production of Have You Seen Alice? by Jacqueline Wright and directed by Adrian Alex Cruz. I was nominated alongside my fellow designers Dan Meilley (Set), Ann Closs-Farley (Costume), and arguably Brandon Baruch since we were nominated for best Production Design — Brandon, you deserved a nom too buddy!

Jacqueline Wright was also nominated for Best Female Leading Performance for her work on ESTLA’s House of Gold Congrats Jacqueline!

Take a look at all the nominations for another great year in LA Theater.

Eric Whitacre Wins Grammy

heliarc — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:52:40 +0000

Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings

Esteemed friend and Composer of Paradise Lost Shadow’s and Wings, Eric Whitacre won the Grammy last night for his album Light and Gold on Decca Records. In 2007, I had the true pleasure of Sound Designing and Mixing Eric’s world premiere of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena. Congratulations to him and his amazing wife Hila Plitmann. They are quite the Grammy award winning couple with two in the house now. We’ll be looking out for his new choral composition for the text of Goodnight Moon. Cheers Eric. It was only a matter of time.

2012 Center Staging Grammy Warmup

heliarc — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:26:43 +0000

The Guitar Room at Center Staging

Kicked off Grammy weekend with Meyer Sound at Center Staging’s yearly bash. Heardrum Studios is just about 2 blocks away from the Burbank Center Staging Studios and I find myself there from time to time helping Meyer or visiting Center Staging’s fantastic cafe, but tonight was really a fun industry evening with the true core of the rock and entertainment community… We gathered and supported School of Rock, and then got rocked by a band of 12 year olds followed by a killer performance by Tyler Bryant. Meyer Sound provided the MINA array loudspeakers and 500HP subwoofers for the event and I got a chance to hear them in full tilt.

The Halls of Center Staging

There was also time for a drink with friends in the Guitar room. Fender, Marshall, Paul Reed Smith, and many others provide equipment and instruments for the artists who rehearse at Center Staging to “take for a spin.” It is a well known story here that Snoop Dogg switched speaker Manufacturers for his touring and rehearsal systems because of his experience here with Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Relationships with artists like Snoop, and Bruno Mars (who was rehearsing in one of the Studios earlier in the day, are hotly courted by the many manufacturers who frequent the company with facilities in Burbank, CA, and Nashville, TN. It was good to see Will Lewis again, and meet Meyer Sound touring liaison Lee Moro, who was FOH mixer for Norah Jones on tour as well as Dean Roney of Solotech in Las Vegas.

Three Weeks in January

heliarc — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:47:33 +0000

Culminating in a meeting of the minds. LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck, Code Pink Co-Founder Jodie Evans, Dr. Jackson Katz, USC Adjunct Professor Rose Monteiro, Award Winning Dramatic Writer Julie Hebert, Activist Gail Abarbanel, Professor of Sociology Francesca Poletta, and Aileen Adams, moderated by KNBC’s Ana Garcia. I was honored to be the sound and mix engineer for the event, coordinating wireless frequencies, and communications including earwig com, and recording services. Suzanne Lacy’s “Artwork” had the character of a panel discussion, and the goal was met… putting people who hardly ever speak with one another but need to speak with one another in one room to confront each other on the issues of Rape in LA County. Activists Gail Abarbanel and Aileen Adams provided the context of the original Three Weeks in May, while Jodie Evans and Dr. Jackson Katz provided some fascinating developments in community organizing around the same issues today. There was interesting conflict around Media portrayal of Rape Victims as (accusers) in the news, and in Dramatic depiction as “plot points” instead of the focus of a program. Moderator Ana Garcia at times was put on the defensive to speak for journalism. As there will be with intelligent and engaged people, there was an awful lot of common ground and Rose Monteiro at one point even admitted “I think I’m falling in love with you” while Dr. Jackson Katz spoke forcefully and eloquently about the responsibility men need to take to end Rape.

Meyer Sound MM-4XPs were used to spot directional reinforcement for the panelist’s conversation to bloggers seated around the “ring”
DM1000 provided a Mix engine for delivering various feeds to video and to loudspeakers…
The microphones were powered by a True systems Preamp that split the signal for record and to a Shure SCM810 for automated mixing to the speakers.
a Phonak earset was utilized to deliver second to second updates to Ana Garcia from the Artist Suzanne Lacy who played a role in steering the discussion.

City Hall: Three Weeks in January

heliarc — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:16:35 +0000

I visited Bradley Hall today to meet with Daniel Guttierez working with Three Weeks in January. We’ll be helping to realize the sound dreams for the performance event which features a video taped roundtable discussion with city officials on the topic of sex crimes and domestic violence cases. The event will be monitored live by an audience of bloggers. The Bradley room is a beautiful old 45′x45′x40′ cube of a room on the 27th floor with windows on all sides. The event goes live on January 27th 2012 at 3pm PST. Learn more about Suzanne Lacy’s work and the Los Angeles Rape Map installed in Deaton Hall here.

New World Symphony: Constellation Site Survey

heliarc — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:36:59 +0000

Early in September I had some discussions with Steve Ellison of Meyer Sound about an interesting application of Meyer’s Constellation system which utilizes a VRAS reverberator to simulate acoustic conditions. Tonight I had the pleasure of checking out the installation outside the brand new home of the New World Symphony after having enjoyed a fantastic meal at ola restaurant and turning out in the wet, but uncharacteristically cool Miami air. They were presenting the classic Some Like it Hot projected on the side of the building and the Meyer rig delivered crisp dialog, but the real magic here must be when the orchestra is seated and the speakers which surround the park begin to return a perfectly sampled acoustic of the hall through the VRAS processing and the park begins to sound, not like a part at all. I didn’t get to hear it this time, but the park itself and a crowd of moviegoers enjoying a classic film was fun in itself. Looking forward to another chance to hear the Orchestra from the grass in a virtual hall.