Anyway, the next two (2) events on my calender are SINGFEST 2016 and NDP 2016. For SINGFEST i'll be mainly at Stage 2, (coz i not very pro lah) though i'll be flying between both. My main role there is to be Master EQ Master. So i'll be there around 10 am. Also, I will not stay the whole duration. For those who are going (or want to go), PLEASE LET ME KNOW =D
NDP 08... It's a total screwup from the rehearsal recordings that I have seen. Horrible FSV... I'll be there too, (and on the rehearsal dates too, but not all) This year, not a chance of me sneaking somebody into the control rooms. Don't even think about it. I think I should be taking over the video producer's role somewhere during the show. And also, I will be going down on the 6th August to do Master EQ again... Life sucks. Mediacorp SUCKS...
I must say, its quite a job well done for the crew. Compared to some concerts I have attended (5 minute wait for the audience in between items), CHMA was marvelous. There were no hiccups in terms of the running of the programme and only minor technical issues (which were rectified very quickly). CHMA has came a long way since I left iMedia, and I'm proud of the current iMedia peeps who have took it so far ;D
Anyway, now for the part about wasting my time. Put simply, I don't enjoy going to concerts. Be it pro concerts (like The Police live in Singapore) or not so pro concerts (ie school concerts) I am not a concert goer. Fullstop. I dont like the loud music (above 70, 80 decibels, sometimes even higher) and I just hate sitting down there. I would prefer recordings, seriously. My ears have taken a serious beating from yesterday. As a sound engineer, I really have to preserve my hearing. If not for the free ticket, I wouldn't have gone for CHMA. Perhaps my expectations are too high, or maybe its just because of my overexposure to (retarded Mediacorp) broadcast quality concerts.
Now, though I was part of iMedia until mid sec 2 and I know that I'm not really liked by some of the iMedia people, do understand that this post is neither a personal attack towards any of the crew members or criticisms directed at the club. I would rather focus my time on constructive feedback than waste time making enemies. Again, I'm not saying iMedia sucks. They seriously did a great job. Some of the aspects which were not very good were totally out of iMedia's control (such as lights). By providing my feedback, I'm not saying that iMedia had done badly in those aspect. Neither am I saying that I would be able to do much better. I am just commenting based on my end-user experience, as an audience. The following is my feedback:
1. Firstly the pre-concert stuff: Ticketing. The idea of using cards as a ticket is a novel one and it certainly is very unique. However some people have complained about the small fonts, though I find it quite alright. The ticket is actually quite easily forged. Hence, unless iMedia has a way to counter check the ticket number, otherwise they could be easily duplicated. All one has to do is to do a high res scan on the ticket and send it to a name card making company. Although the probability of it happening in this school where everyone is (supposedly) a gentleman of high integrity, it is completely possible. Also, I thought the cost of producing the tickets would be quite high, but since iMedia had sponsor, that problem should be solved.
2. Entrance. For every ticket that is produced for entrance, one light stick is given. The light stick is the "entry pass" in case you want to go to the toilet. a very unique and interesting idea indeed. I would never have thought of such an ingenious idea. Seriously. However, there is no labeling on the light sticks. Hence the authenticity issue will be a problem. Food for thought: What if somehow somebody got information and bought light sticks? Do the prefects or iMedia people check for the ticket if someone has a light stick? What if someone got a light stick, brought it out and put it in his pocket and came back in as a new audience? How would that be checked? Anyway its not really probable that these dishonest acts would happen... Its just my paranoia from my event organising experience, that this could happen. Nothing much to worry about anyway.
3. The overall technical aspect for the night was not bad. There was all the semi professional-professional equipment. 2 side profile intelli lights, 4 stage intelli lights, all controlled via digital DMX using laptop i guess. 1 mackie onyx 32-4, all the studio sound equipment (and the 8-ball (-_-")). EAW subwoofers plus 4 other speakers of which the brand I didnt notice. 2 monitors. For videography, 3 rented cams, 2 semi pro on either side at the back of the hall, 1 shoulder mount entry level pro cam, plus one school existing semi pro. One follow-spot was at the back on the floor. In all, A rather elaborate setup for a school.
4. Intelli lights were outsourced I believe. The light master was operating using a laptop (not an easy feat, considering the amount of time to do the programming). I personally feel that using digital light boards, CONNECTED TO A PC would be better, since u have the best of both worlds - ease of control and automation. The lights were quite good, I must say, especially the part where the 2 side profile intelli lights point upwards to the ceiling illuminate the hall using reflection. Very interesting concept.
5. The follow-spot was on the whole rather unsteady despite being on a tripod. And the problem about people's heads casting shadows on the circle of light could be removed by putting it onto an elevated platform. The problem with the unsteady follow-spot could be alleviated by adding additional weights as counter balance and applying force akin to that of a logarithmic curve. And also, PRACTICE.
6. There were a few occasions when all the intelli lights were on, facing the stage. The follow-spot pointing at the stage was henceforth very insignificant. Therefore the follow-spot seemed non existent. Perhaps the intensity of the intelligent fixtures could be reduced when used in conjunction with the follow-spot. At the same time, the colours could be changed to be complementary. This can especially be seen when the follow-spot was red when the intelligent fixtures were also red (-_-")
7. I liked the light show, but I felt it was so long that it got mundane. I know. they wanted the light show to be the length of one sound track. What the light master could have done was that he could have used more dynamic variants of the automation, such as intermittent/alternate blinking of the intelli lights. Either that or there could be 360 degrees sweeps regularly using the follow-spot. The lights also didnt stop after the music. It was a really long delay. So I'm not sure if its done on purpose....
8. The lights on the school crest could spark controversy, as some people may deem shining lights at it as disrespect. It could send some super patriotic old boy of the school jumping up and down. I don't know, but the lighting master could be slightly more sensitive.
9. Springsfield Ong as the emcee was okay for his first try. Crowd control could be improved, and he could colour up his off colour jokes.
10. The CHMA video was okay, one look, you know its a CHMA video. It has, you know, the CHMA look. Not bad given the time constraints. Someone asked me how should the video be interpreted. I told him it was fast forwarded to show how fast paced things were at the CHMA. Some extra feel could have been given to it by focus pulling or giving depth. Nonetheless, a job well done given the time factor.
11. I felt that Timothy's intro into his song was commendable, but the minus one track should have been at a slightly softer so as not to undermine the vocal dynamics.
12. Many of the CHMA vocalists don't really know how to use the proximity effect to their advantage. Trust me, it can work wonders (provided the sound engineers don't purposely high pass the mix)
13. For the instrumentals, the 8 ball being used to mic the flautist was a good move, but I felt that if it swapped with the blue ball at the piano, it would sound better. Moreover, if the acoustics of the flute was going to be important, a secondary mic (probably pressure gradient condenser) should have been used, while taking into consideration the phase relationship. The piano could have been miced in such a way that the hammers could be heard, to give it a more 'straight' feel. This could be done by front, rather than rear micing. However, it might be too much of a hassle to put in lavaliers into the piano, or removing the cover.
14. EAW subwoofers were used together with some other speakers (presumably non-EAW). As an EAW Level 4 Certified Sound Engineer, I was mortified at the miscalculations or oversight of the sound engineer in question. The beamwidth (h) and (v) calculations were all messed up. Where I was sitting at the last row, the imbalance was extremely obvious. To top it off, there were parts of the performance where the signal couldn't be "pushed" to certain speakers, due to fluctuations in the voltage of circuitry. This is very common when mixing and matching the types of amps and speakers. It's a problem inherent with Speakon(R) powered loudspeakers.
15. I believe there was a little miscommunication after Lee Yang's performance as the lights bathed the stage when there iMedia crew were on stage. Speaking from a Communications Specialist's point of view, communication screwups ARE FATAL!!! But not a big issue anyway. Also the follow-spot couldn't find the Emcee. A Nightsonic follow-spot viewfinder attached to it would have worked wonders. But out of CHMA budget anyway. Anyway, it was still quite okay.
16. The drum micing was a little out of ordinary. I found the overalls were not spaced out wide enough (3 to 1 rule) and the levels were just too low. This is a problem because not all drums will produce the same loudness of sound when hit at using the same force. Hence it is of essence to mix the drums into the PA. I personally feel (you may disagree) that it is not really doing justice to the drummer.
17. The toms of the drums sounded like Chinese drums. I'm not sure if that effect was intended, because it sounded really realistic. Perhaps a little attenuation will do the trick =D
18. I personally felt that Qiren and Kai Jie's performance was rather unjustified. What I mean is that they didn't sound as good as they were off the stage. Kai Jie's guitar is extremely bright. Perhaps a low pass filter and boosting abit of the lows will help. The overall mix was rather disappointing. The judges would be judging on what they heard from there, which could be inaccurate, considering they didn't have headphones (which in that situation wouldn't make a difference). Hence their judgment could be impaired. This is as far as I would go to pointing out the mistakes, as I feel this was the lowest point of the concert. (iMedia peeps who are reading this, please take this positively)
19. At the start of the concert, the Emcee's EQ made it sound like a walkie talkie. I'm sure that was an intended effect. It sure caught my attention. Great job Audio Crew! =D
20. Although there was feedback several times throughout the show: during the start, the instrumentals and during Wen Xuan and Daniel's performance, it wasn't an issue at all. Maybe for Wen Xuan and Daniel, the initial low gain followed by feedback might have affected them, but I believe its only superficial.
21. The smoke generators were a tad too noisy, especially when it is quiet. Maybe putting it at the back of the stage with a fan would make it less obvious. Perhaps there were space or logistical constraints.
22. The backdrop was an interesting idea, but from the design point of view, maybe more colours would have made it a little more vibrant, though it looks great as it is.
23. Sine P (the name was suggested by me XD) gave a rather great performance. Qiren did a nice job with stage presence. Clement with is wig was an interesting concept. Anyway, CONGRATS to Sine P for winning =D
24. Throughout the bands, the bass guitar amp sounded a little weird. Usually in Mediacorp, I would mic with 8 microphones (studio setup)+1 line in. Otherwise typically, one dynamic or condenser (SM57 or B5 hypercardoid respectively) and one line in (direct input) would do great. This way, I would always have a DI to fall back on should my mic sound bad. I agree that guitar amps should be miced for the best sound. However the technique in this case is extremely important. Moving the mic forward or backwards by 1 cm, tilting it left, right, up or down by 10 degrees would make a GIGANTIC difference to the sound dynamics. Hence, caution should be exercised.
25. I thought the sparkler at the mic stand was very interesting. I wonder if the video guys did a focus pull on that. IT WOULD BE DAMN COOL IF THEY DID!!!
I spent like from 6 pm to now (11:30 pm) writing this. Whew. I hope that this will not be taken as my personal attack towards anyone or iMedia, rather as my personal views and feedback. Anybody may disagree with this view or experience. Do tag on my cbox to provide opinions. However, as much as you didn't really enjoy the show, please do not say things like it sounded like "Malay wedding" or "COMMUNITY CENTRE KARAOKE SESSION". It can really hurt other's feelings.
In all, I felt that iMedia did a pretty decent job with CHMA 2016. I look forward to coming back next year (hopefully with gf) to see what CHMA has become. Cheers to iMedia. Keep up the good work ;D
20/7 EDIT: On saturday I went to school and saw this picture XD
LOL!
5. High pitched falsetto screaming... (NOT something that i'm proud of). It started with Minron pulling my hair... So I pretended to scream in pain. WTH NOW THE WHOLE CLASS DOES IT!!! (-_-")
Now, this is a strong warning to teachers who step into Class 4-9 with me around. Do not trigger events as mentioned above, as it may jeopardize the lesson and waste time.
Homework is once again getting onto my nerves... so much for O levels. On the brighter side its 92 days to O levels (I think). 92 days of torture. I can't believe that I'm hardly through the month and I'm buried in 18 centimetres of homework. I don't know... Should I just give up on my A's? My goal of L1R5 of 6 is almost dashed. my current L1R5 (Prelim 2 ONLY) is like 12 points... HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HALF IT??? English - B4. Considerably better than the C's that I have been getting for the previous few terms. I haven't seen a 1 in my English in Secondary school. Then again, there's like less than 40 people who got an A (consoling myself again). That's for my English. What about my Math and Sciences? Supposedly my better subjects. C5 in Bio. Down from an A2 that is. I only got 2 A1s for Prelim 2. How am I supposed to bring my 2s to an A1? my 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s to an A1?
A wave of horror overcame me when I looked at my report slip. 33 out of 38. 160-something in the whole level (combined Prelim 1 and 2 score). My goal? Top 20-30. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? ... ... Haiz. I really lack the kind of perseverance to study - mug, mug and mug. Maybe I need to learn from Melvin. I won't really get to blog much these days. I already don't get to use the computer very often. (Which is why some posts I only complete posting after 2 or 3 days) This blog will be very much dead when I start to "shift my concentration to studies. Must focus!" No motivation to mug. But what to do(uche)? Ok. Going back to books now. Life really sucks.
6G (2004)
Gary Lim
6I (2004)
Nick Chiam Zhi Wen
Preston Lim Lian Jie
Lee Lin Ping
Clement Lee Jian Xing
Others
Lexus Quek (P4 04 Junior)
Catholic High School
4-9 (2008)
Chai Wen Xuan
Terence Lim Chin Yee
Damian Wong Choon Hui
Terence Ng Il Shan aka Kim Chi
Lim Jun Wei
Clement Tan She Kuang
Melvyn Sng Guo Jie
Kenneth Chan Yong Kiat
Low Minron
Jonathan Leaw Yee Guan
4-8 (2008)
Chua Seng Yew
4-10 (2008)
Bryan Tan
Liew Wai Yinn
1-1 (2008)
Alex Lim Zheng An
Brendan Loy Ming Chuen
Darren Siah Joon Kiat
1-2 (2008)
Marcus Lim Tze Shiuan
1-3 (2008)
Melvin Lim Gao Yi
Ong Jun Sheng
Liu YinZhi
Ong Chee Kiang
Benedict Raymond Aditya T
1-5 (2008)
Khor Rui En
Goh Junjie
Cho Yao Rong
Colin Quek Guan Wei
Ng Gin Kee
Cyrus Lee Wei Kai
Ang Shenyang
1-7 (2008)
Benedict Tan Kwok Siang
Edmund Song Jun Jie
Keefe Sim
Benson Leom Meng Suan 1
Benson Leom Meng Suan 2
Benson Leom Meng Suan 3
1-8 (2008)
Huang Guang En
1-9 (2008)
Phua Tzai Wei
2-2 (2008)
Rayner Chua Jian Wen
Joel Hong Yi
Nicolas Joseph Ow Ying Jie
Luis Lee Zhi Rui
2-3 (2008)
Azaac Tan Wei En
2-4 (2008)
Luk Jing Zu
Eugene Nah Cong Kai
Ng Kit Chong
Justin Lua Jia Wei
Calvin Wong Eng Howe
2-5 (2008)
Tan Kian How
Toh Dong Hong
Thaddeus Tan Wei Shao
Theron Muk Wai Hung
Alvin Wong Pin Hoe
2-6 (2008)
Chen JianHong
Jesmond Lim Geng Cong
Tsang Yuk Tim
Lim Crenshawn
Law Kai Rong
2-7 (2008)
Leong Yi Herng
Leong Yi Herng (livejournal)
Lee Xuan Yu
Lim Chiu Yang
Abraham Moh Wen Zhe
Eugene Tan Yanliang
Brandon Sze Kai Neng
Shaun Yee Han Yi
Dwayne Cheong Jun Kheng
Ryan Heng
Yoon Zhen Yu
2-8 (2008)
Ng Hong Hui
OneManOneJar
Tan Zheng Yee
Martin Tan Zheng Wei
Richie Yu Kai Ji
Marcus Tan Tai Yuan
Yuan Ye
3-3 (2008)
Elgyn Lau Jun Sen
3-7 (2008)
Joshua Tan Jun Ming
3-9 (2008)
Darius Leong Jun Hoe
4-3 (2008)
Ivan Yak Yong Han
4-4 (2008)
Tan Sei Yee
Samuel Ng Ee Zhi
4-7 (2008)
Nikolas Lee Jun Jie
Terence Szeto Chang Loon
2-3 (2006)
Oh Teng Swee
2-5 (2007)
Chia Yi Xian (Ex MJS)
4-3 (2006)
Soh Yi Xuan (Ex MJS)
2-8 (2005)
Martin Goh
Other Juniors
Jonathan Chew
Ho Jing Yew (BRO!)
Other Friends
Bertinus Teo HL
Doreen Ang
Faith Ong - LSBC
Jasmine Ang - LSBC
Rachel Lim
Chloe Lim
Shirlyn Tan
Seah Kay Fong
Amanda Chua
Lai Wen Le
Cheryl Ong
Celine Tan
Sean Sum Jia Jun
Jerrold Lam
Mr Shem
Darren Foo
Jessica Lim Chien Yee
Heather Chong
Jasmine Ang
Amanda Sum
Jazlyn
Lim Jian Ping
Eu Lee - LSBC
(Good Photography Reference)
friends
See^2
Ariel Yap Qi Xuan
Clarence Sim
Dexter Sim
Victoria Junior College
Lee Chee Yann