no problems with intelligibility.”
Butland adds that 90 per cent
of the time, the mics he’s mixing
on the traffi c desk are actually
out in front of the PA. “Clarity is of
the utmost importance,” he rein-
forces, “and this PA has defi nitely
delivered. If I have someone
super quiet on the mic, or really
plowing it with heavy speech,
the response of the PA is really
accommodating for full-bodied,
accurate sound.”
The icing on the cake as far
as the entire team is concerned is
how easy it is to rig. “We can set all
of our angles, fl ip the boxes on, and
away we go,” says Donin. “It’s fast
going up and fast coming down.”
He adds that many of
the techs travelling with the
high-profi le performing artists
are happy to hear in advance that
they’ll be working with Adamson
products, which can instill con-
fi dence for what’s otherwise a
relatively unique engagement for
many of them.
“They tend to be very easy to
work with when they come out,
knowing who this event is for and
what we’re doing,” Donin says
about the various artists and their
camps. “This isn’t a headlining
show or some big awards gala;
there are obviously requirements
they have and we’ll work to ac-
commodate them, but a lot of
times, they’re open to collaborat-
ing and fi nding a happy medium
that lets us put on a great show
and keep everyone happy.”
Sometimes, those artists will
perform stripped-down acoustic
sets with bare-bones technical
requirements; however, in other
cases, the talent works with WE
Day producers to develop a special,
one-of-a-kind performance that
can carry a heavier input count.
As an example, Jordan Smith,
the winner of the 2015 season
of NBC’s The Voice, participated
in a few WE Day dates and was
accompanied by both a local
choir and drumline. “So there
are things like that they’ll put
together before we’re even in the
picture, but we have a good team
and a package out with us that
has enough mics and gear that
we can handle pretty much any-
thing they send our way.”
Donin says if it’s a perfor-
mance that’s “outside the norm,”
the production team will consult
with him and his crew about
bringing it to fruition, though
these days, “being told a choir
will be joining someone is kind of
the norm,” he says with a laugh.
Another unique aspect of the
event is that many members of
the production team and those
working behind the scenes with
WE are young people who’ve
come up as active members of
the movement.
MONITOR WORLD
“So it’s a lot of people start-
ing their careers in this world,
whether it’s writing or producing
or directing, and it’s nice seeing
them at this early stage in their
careers and being able to work
with them and introduce them
to a whole diff erent world and
watch the progress they make,”
Donin off ers.
Adds Butland: “There’s a very
good line of communication that
runs through the whole event,
so that makes a big diff erence.
It also makes it easier for us to
lend some help or advice when
people want it for things like mic
technique or helping someone
communicate their audio needs.”
With that model, there can
be turnover from year to year,
but even then, both Donin and
Butland say they enjoy the odd
update on where someone ends
up after their time with WE Day.
While the end result is a truly
world-class spectacle, Butland
says it’s not just the show itself
that makes him proud to work
on WE Day. “They’re doing great
things,” he says about ME to
WE and WE Charity. “Like, they
have a WE Day app that basically
tracks the students’ involvement
with ME to WE and their other
charitable work, and they’re us-
ing technology that young peo-
ple use to promote a good work
ethic and responsibility. They’re
getting a younger generation to
think outside of themselves and
think more about others.”
And that’s a great thing for
people of any age – including
those working behind the scenes
in the live production industry.
Andrew King is the
Editor-in-Chief of
Professional Sound.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND • 37