NYU’s first annual Black History Month: Celebration Through The Arts was held on Saturday, February 10, 2018. A sold out Frederick Loewe Theater showcased an evening of dancing, music, poetry, and spoken word performances from some NYU programs and from special guest speakers Al Sharpton and Duke Ellington’s granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington. On a few days notice, the Immersive Audio Group was offered the opportunity to record the event in 360° audio and video.
The event ranged from drama therapy, spoken word, and speech, to drum performances, jazz bands, and hip hop dancing. With an eclectic choice of performance media, the Black History Month event was recorded from an audience perspective, rather than the perspective of being on stage with the performers, in part because of the more interactive audience component. A small group set up and recorded the event:
- Stephanie Benicek – Producer, Camera Operator, Lead Engineer, Assistant Recording Engineer
- Pari Songmuang – Lead Recording Engineer, Assistant Engineer
- Peter Berman – Assistant Engineer
- Ian Anderson – Assistant Engineer
- Sripathi Sridhar – Camera Operator, Assistant Engineer
An ESMA (Equal Segment Microphone Array) was set up, complete with four Sennheiser MKH 800 cardioid mics and corresponding Schoeps CMC6 MK6 bi-directional mics set up in each corner of the array. These mics were all in the same plane, and were arranged in a 12” x 14” rectangle (because of equipment size, this is the tightest arrangement possible). In the middle and slightly above this plane of mics was a Schoeps CMC6 MK6 omnidirectional mic and the Sennheiser AMBEO mic. At the top of this pyramid of microphones was the camera, a GoFro Fusion. The overall height of everything was slightly above audience perspective if they were sitting down, approximately 5′ with the GoPro on top. It was important not to obstruct anyone’s view.
This cluster was positioned in the 3rd row of the theater, next to the aisle. Along the front of the stage, a second AMBEO mic was positioned just above stage height, at 3’5”. The ESMA array, audience AMBEO, and omni-directional mic were recorded on two Zoom F8 recorders, and the stage AMBEO was recorded to a Tascam. The Immersive Audio group also received stereo and spot mic audio files from the venue staff.
The event ran smoothly, and the Immersive Audio Group is grateful for the event staff and organizers for working with us to get a successful recording of a sold out event. Everything is currently being organized and mixed for a thesis project in conjunction with the Immersive Audio Group. Expected delivery is no later than May 2018.
By Stephanie Benicek