traditionally, there wouldn t be a loudspeaker system. - when massed pipes and drums are playing - there s 280 of them it s pretty loud. - but then there s other parts where there s 60 musiciansj and it s not loud enough. so ourjob is to make sure that it should sound a little bit - quieter than 280 musicians, but you should still be able i to really enjoy the sound of something like that, i | and to amplify that to the point where it sounds like it s coming from a speaker means we ve gone too far~ drumming and chanting of course, the show is also a big logistical challenge. we can t do much with physical sets because we have nowhere to store them it s a very tight space so we basically craft the look and feel of the show through sound and light. the show is described visually and sonically through the equipment we re using. obviously, what s critical is that we re telling a story. it s not just about technology,
hi. i m alasdair. if you were to design a space to do a show like this, - it would look nothing like this. it s too narrow. it s on a hill. there s no straight lines anywhere. it s really quite a tricky space to work with. - from our point of view, - it s very difficult for us to put a loudspeaker system somewhere that isn t in someone s view. we do a lot of olympic opening ceremonies, that sort of thing. | we deliberately design the show so that there s a technical area, | a zone where there s no creative activity, and it s out of the view of the audience, where we can place loads i of technology that doesn t get in anyone s way. - we don t have that option here. of course, instruments like the pipes and others are really loud, but there s still lots of microphones and amplification and things. you re right, pipes are loud, but this is a big space - and we re outdoors. so the sound of the pipes, - even when there s 100 of them, can need reinforcement.
there are nearly 700 crew and technical experts working backstage. and another stat for you 35 miles of cabling. up here is the control room where the technicians make the magic happen. hi. i m alasdair. if you were to design a space to do a show like this, - it would look nothing like this. it s too narrow. it s on a hill. there s no straight lines anywhere. it s really quite a tricky space to work with. - from our point of view, - it s very difficult for us to put a loudspeaker system somewhere that isn t in someone s view. we do a lot of olympic opening ceremonies, that sort of thing. | we deliberately design the show so that there s a technical area, | a zone where there s no creative activity, and it s out of the view of the audience, where we can place loads i of technology that doesn t get in anyone s way. - we don t have that option here.
cabling. another stat. step for you 35 miles of cabling. anotherstat. up here is the control room, where the tech dish make the magic happen. technicians make the magic happen. iii happen. technicians make the magic happen- magic happen. if you were to desi . n magic happen. if you were to desirn a magic happen. if you were to design a space magic happen. if you were to design a space to magic happen. if you were to design a space to do - magic happen. if you were to design a space to do a - magic happen. if you were to design a space to do a showl design a space to do a show like this, it would look nothing like this. it s too narrow, it s on a hill, there is no straight lines anywhere. it s really quite a tricky space to work with. from our point of view, it s very difficult for us to put a loudspeaker system somewhere that isn t in someone s view. we do a lot of olympic opening ceremonies, that sort of thing. we deliberately design the show so there is a technical
this is the software . that we use to do that. each one of these dots i represents a microphone. anyone with a microphone has a tracker. so this is where the musicians are split into two lines. - they started at this point, . they moved to this point over the duration of this cue, and this cue fires at - this timecode value. traditionally, there wouldn t be a loudspeaker system. - when massed pipes and drums are playing - there s 280 of them it s pretty loud. - but then there s other parts where there s 60 musicians| and it s not loud enough. so ourjob is to make sure that it should sound a little bit - quieter than 280 musicians, but you should still be able i to really enjoy the sound of something like that, i | and to amplify that to the point where it sounds like it s coming from a speaker means we ve gone too far~ drumming and chanting. of course, the show is also a big logistical challenge. we can t do much with physical sets because we have