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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
I need to find a small speaker and/or sound system that will sound life like. For the use I have it must sound like it's coming from a real person in the audience. Probably a speaker hidden under a seat or something like that.
I really can't publicly tell what use I'll have for it because it's not my idea to share. A friend of mine came up with this and gave me permission to use it if I can work it all out. So, just to give an example of what I need to do. Imagine someone in the audience yelled something out loud. I'd need a speaker to do this and it must sound life like. The people in the audience must believe someone actually said it. This is only a part of what I'll be doing but if the sound system can do this then it would do what I need it to do. I'm deaf so I could really use some advice and tips on accomplishing this. Anything from suggesting what system to use, what speakers or anything that would make this possible. Thanks. Ron Jaxon |
The Drake Inner circle 2274 Posts |
Hi Ron,
Nobody has replied to your post because there is no good news to offer. A speaker planted in the audience will NOT sound real. There is also the worries of getting a wire to the speaker or a power source if it is wireless. There will be a background hiss ( when audio is not coming out of it ) in a live speaker if it is loud enough for the entire audience to hear the voice that does come from it. You could get around this if you had a person cue the speaker at the exact moment and then shut if off but this is dicey. You would also have to hide it. There are so many realistic technical problems to overcome that I would suggest that you just use a plant in the audience to holler out what you want when you want it. This is the most simple, most natural and most reliable method. Good Luck, Tim |
Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
Thanks Tim.
The issue of hiding the equipment isn't a problem for my use. I can have it in something that won't be suspicious in this act. I'm trying very hard not to reveal this effect because like I said. It's not mine to share. I will say that the sound that comes from the audience will not be words. For example it could be a dog barking. A person coughing. A cat meowing. Things like that. So they wouldn't hear words. They would hear sounds. Sense they wouldn't have to be able to understand words. Do you think I might get away with it? Another thing I was thinking about is if it could be kind of faint until I walk out into the audience and my microphone starts picking the sound up. Then it would mainly be coming from the speakers so the sound might work? Thanks again and I understand what you mean Tim. I just hope to somehow find a way to make this work. Ron Jaxon |
The Drake Inner circle 2274 Posts |
Hi Ron,
I understand a bit more now. I had thought you were trying to simulate a person in the audience and you wanted to hide the speaker. The only real problem I see now is the direction the sound comes from. The speaker make it appear as if the sound is coming from the area that the speaker is placed and this may be distracting. I would suggest you use several speakers . This will "A" allow you spead the sound out so it doesn't come from one spot and "B" since you will have two or more speakers you won't need as loud of a volume to get the sound evenly across the audience. I really believe that the audience will not need to be completely fooled about the sounds being real as they will understand that they are in a theater enviroment and will just enjoy the effect. Side note: Years ago when I was a teenager I had a sound effects record of a cat fight. I ran about 200' of wire across my back yard and placed a speaker into my neighbours bushes. When I turned on the sound my neighbour came flying out of his house with a broom and began beating the bush to drive the fighting cats out. It was hilarious! It took him weeks to forgive me. Ha Ha Best, Tim |
Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
LOL.. Good story and thanks for the advice.
As I said before. I'm deaf now but I have a funny sound story of back when I saw just hard of hearing. Back then I could talk on the phone when I had an amplifier but I couldn't hear the phone ring because of tone deafness. Anyway, a magician friend of mine was over and we had a video camera out to record ourselves performing. When we where done we popped the video in the VCR (This was BCD - Before CD's) While we where watching my friend would tell me the phone was ringing. I'd answer but there was no one there. This happened a few times and it seemed like someone was calling and hanging up. At one point we rewound the video and my friend started laughing. You guess it. The phone rang while we where recording so that's what he was hearing. What was amazing to me was that the sound seemed to come from the direction of the phone to my friend. Anyway, it was funny. One more thing. let's say the speaker was in a pet carrier. Then I wouldn't have to worry about the direction of sound would I? It would just come from the box. My use isn't a cat sound but like I said. If this would work then my use will work. I promise. after I get this down and perform it a few times I'll let you all in on what it is. My friends idea is just to good to blurt out here in public.. It's a kind of thing that could become a trade mark for a performer in my opinion. Thanks again. Ron Jaxon |
The Drake Inner circle 2274 Posts |
Duhhh!!!!!
Why didn't I think of that. that's genius! The pet carrier is perfect to place a speaker in. Kudos to you, Tim |
muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
I had a parrot (African Grey)for 10 years that sounded just like my ringing phone. He also copied dripping faucets, squeeky doors, the neighbors barking dog, ect...
I have a sound system with surround sound, I can record my own tracks and add sound effects to the surround speakers only. Sometimes while watching DVD's on my 6.1 Home Theater system, the background noises are heard from the rear speakers only and sometimes sound effects that sound realistic. It's a high end system. With 5.1 or better recording capabilities and well placed rear speakers, you could pull this off in a crowded venue. Those few around the speaker would know but the rest would not know the source. |
Dan McLean Jr aka, Magic Roadie Special user Toronto, Canada 804 Posts |
Hi, Ron!
Another consideration is that people cannot easily discern the directional origin of sound if it is coming from above their heads. If it's directly above them, they're very fooled. Even if it's off to the side a bit, it's still hard to place. That's why, when a plane flies over, although people do look up (because they know that's the only place a plane could be), they look up and in all directions. If the audience isn't too spread-out, this should work! When people can't locate the directional origin of a sound, they rapidly move their heads from left to right, and even tilt their heads a bit (subconsciously listening "up", but short sounds make this re-orientation impossible. Cheers from Toronto!
Dan McLean Jr
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