Sound work:
lount and 3. BMahon mea-
sured the room response of each balloon pop and pistol blank using a variety of microphones positioned around the theatre, returning to the exact same seats from earlier visits. Multiple measurements were taken, as “all balloon pops are not the same, and all starter pistol shots are not the same,” Blount said.
4.
Those are specially calibrated acoustical balloons, right? Nope. The consultants bought them at a party store—and then manually inflated them while standing on the stage. Mahon rhythmically breathed into one balloon, growing light-headed. “And that’s how Matt passed out in front of a video crew,” he said with a laugh.
For a video of the Arup team at work on the acoustical commissioning, go to www.vtmag.vt.edu. You’ll also find a collection of similar videos on the center’s hydraulic stage, the pianos, dance floor, lighting, and orchestra shell.
6.
The third noisemaker was the dodecahedron speaker and a sub-woofer, which emit what’s known as a frequency sweep. Cascading from low notes to high, the sweep allows the consultants to measure every possible note that audience members will hear—from 30 hertz, near the bottom of the range the human ear can detect, up through 22.5 kilohertz, slightly above what humans can hear. hall is filled with acoustically 7. The designed features, from the shapes of the balconies and the proscenium down to the plenums under the seats that quietly circulate air.
significant 8. Avariable is the
seats—and how many people are in them. Even winter or summer clothing on members of the audience makes a difference.
has worked with the center’s 9. Arup production staff to help them learn
5.
Also resting on the stage was a case holding two .38 Specials—sixshooters modified to be starter pistols. Ear protection was a necessity; the concussion after the pistol’s firing reverberated through the chest cavity of an observer standing nearby.
www.vtmag.vt.edu
how to adjust the hall’s sound according to the performance and the audience. Two primary methods are available. Acoustic drapery, horizontally deployed on a chain-driven system, can cover reflective surfaces on all levels. With adjustable angles, the orchestra shell can seal off the proscenium, yielding a concert hall.
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