Need a remote audio performance set-up

September 19, 2013 3:52 PM

I am a performer looking for some type of system to remotely control audio. And I have no idea where to begin.

I am not a DJ, or even a musician. I am a comedian. In my performance, there are slews of audio files that require specific timing based on the length of people's reactions. I have made audio files that generally adhere to how long the laughs are, but there are always abberations, sometimes a part gets no laugh, other times their laugh is so much that it drowns out the next thing coming. Here is a basic (old) example of what I do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2rmtoR2ihc.
All the audio cues are "songs" I made on my computer, that I then put on my phone. I give the audio person a simple cue sheet, and 60% of the time it goes well. 40% of the time, a cue gets messed up, or an audience reacts strangely and there becomes this great big speed-bump in the show. No fun.
What I am looking for is some way to remotely control two playlists from stage without having my phone on stage, or at the very least control one. Step-pedal system, remote, all systems are welcome. My phone is Android. Is this possible to do?

posted by Philipschall to Technology (8 answers total)

powerpoint on laptop, laptop in soundbooth. Each slide has the right sound in it. Remote in pocket. You want the RF variety like that logitec

You want a USB extension cable. Put the receiver on the extension cable up above the soundbooth so you have clear line of sight to it where you are on the stage.

I mulled over some solutions involving itunes remote type stuff with your phone, but i think what i just said is probably the cheapest and most reliable/technically simple way to handle this.

The bonus of this is if you ever want to show things on a projector like images/little video clips/etc behind you on the stage you already have everything you need right there. Just drop the files in to powerpoint and connect the laptop to the venues projection system.

And yes, i know you didn't mention a laptop in the list of available gear for this, but i'm assuming you probably have one? That is by far the simplest way to remotely trigger this stuff in the way you want i could think of.
posted by emptythought at 4:33 PM on September 19, 2013

You say you don't want your phone on stage, but you can use your phone as a trigger for your PC using the venerable (and free) Valence along with PowerPoint as emptythought suggests. But let's back up from the phone for a second and into something a little more controllable.

I suggest you get a (cheap, used) DVD player from your local thrift shop/pawn store and make an interactive DVD to control with a handheld remote. DVDStyler will do this if you have a PC. IMPORTANT: Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when you install it to not install the "optional" garbage adware.

Once you open DVDStyler:

1. New DVD. (Be sure to select NTSC if you're using an NTSC player.)
2. Select the default layout.
3. For each sample you have, select DVD | Add | Menu from the top menu bar.
4. DVD | Add | File to add a dummy title (any compatible video clip will work) since it won't work without at least one title.
5. On the bottom thumbnail strip, Right click Menu 2, Delete.
6. Left click Menu 1 to bring it up; Right click "Play All", delete.
7. Double click the "Select Title" button.
8. Change the caption to "GO" (middle of the dialog) and the "Jump To" dropdown to "Menu 2". Click OK on the dialog.
9. Double-click Menu 2 and under 'Audio' (middle of the dialog), select your sound file and hit OK on the dialog.
10. Click the "Buttons" tab on the far left-hand side of the window.
11. Drag any button onto Menu 1.
12. Double click the button you just dragged and change "Jump To" dropdown to Menu 3 (or whatever the next menu in the sequence is).
13. Repeat steps 9-12 for as many sounds as you have.
14. For the last menu, you can have the button jump to the main title. Note: At this point you can save your layout and come back to it later, since changing the audio files for each menu is fairly straightforward - you double-click the menu you want to change, and select a different sound file.
15. Click the red "Burn..." button. If you have trouble with the inbuilt burner, you can create an ISO file and burn with ImgBurn.
16. You may also preview the ISO with VLC to make sure it works properly before burning a disk.

Now put the DVD you just burned into the DVD player and trigger the one-button interactive menus with an infrared remote's "OK/Enter" button. You can do fancier stuff if you want, like have multiple buttons on a menu that go down different menu paths for a different set of samples/tracks..depends on how far down this technical rabbit hole you want to go.

Now all this assumes you have line of sight to the DVD player. If you do not, you have some options: you can translate IR across RF with one of these gizmos, although you still need to be fairly close (10M in theory). You can also extend IR over a wire if that is more practical.

If you have trouble, send me a message on MeFi.

go get 'em tiger #highfive
posted by ostranenie at 6:29 PM on September 19, 2013

Trying my best to respond to the OP here in a helpful way and not just argue with/reply to the other commenters... but IR at that kind of distance in a place full of stage lights and other lights and people taking iphone pictures with the flashes going off and shit... works terribly.

Really, and kind of IR remote used anywhere except for a dark living room is crap. And even then sometimes you have to hit the button like 3 times, especially on a cheap DVD player.

There are DVD players out there with RF remotes, and some of them are probably quite cheap by now. But yea, i wouldn't touch anything with someone elses ten foot pole that used IR for this type of thing. Futzing around with hitting a button over and over and thinking/saying "well, crap" when your little clip doesn't play is pretty much just as bad as it playing at the wrong time, at least in my mind.

The DVD player solution isn't a bad idea though really, besides the fact that dvd players tend to lag for 3-4 seconds before even beginning to play something(think... seek... think.. fill buffer...play) whereas a laptop could probably handle it nearly instantly. I'd test out both beforehand minus the laptop remote and see how responsive they are, and then move forward from there. And i'd really stress testing any remote you end up using extensively. Go outside when it's not bright and sunny out and test it the whole length of the sidewalk on your block with line of sight, etc. Really try and make the thing mess up and see what it's limits are.

I do think that overall, ostranenie might have a good point with the dvd thing simply because of how commodified DVD players are now, and how you really wont have to care about any of the equipment at all. They're $5 at the local thrift stores here. Buy a stack, bring two. Burn a bunch of the discs. Anything goes wrong in your pre show testing? throw it back in the bag and pull the other disc/player out. Something gets broken in transit or just in the process of set up/takedown(and this happens a LOT in the process of using gear at any kind of show. your stuff WILL get worn out/break abnormally fast) then who the fuck cares? you're out a $5 dvd player, or a 10 cent scratched disk. There's also a lot few points and modes of failure with a dvd player and a disc than there is with a laptop.

There's pros and cons to each side, and i'd absolutely consider the hell out of that option. But know that there's unavoidable downsides to dvds, especially the lag thing which i've never really seen not exist.
posted by emptythought at 6:45 PM on September 19, 2013

As someone who's had laptops and other equipment grow legs and walk away at shows and clubs, disposable equipment can indeed be the thing that saves your bacon. I suggest you leave the computer at home; all it takes is for the sound guy to go to the restroom or for a cigarette, and suddenly you find your equipment has a new owner.

Also - as empty says above - you're going to want to extend the IR signal somehow unless you have direct line-of-sight (which may or may not be a problem in smaller venues), whether by RF or by a physical copper wire.

Protip: Bring extra batteries for your remote. I buy the cheap ones from Harbor Freight. And try the thing out before you perform, but you already know that ;-)
posted by ostranenie at 6:57 PM on September 19, 2013

Todd Glass used to use loads of cued audio in his performances and I haven't seen any missteps there (to be sure though, he's had quite a bit of time to work out a reliable system, being a quasi-veteran performer).

The problem may be that whatever interface you're giving the sound guys isn't intuitive enough (read: mind-numbingly, gut-wrenchingly, kindergarten-level simple). What are you triggering your samples with now? Have you considered something like an HTML5 "sound board"? Or is the problem just lazy sound guys?

Fun fact: I ran several conference rooms for several years in my past professional life. If you ever see me daydreaming and want to see me jump, just mutter "next chart" or "next slide" in front of me.
posted by ostranenie at 7:05 PM on September 19, 2013

Could you load everything onto something small like an iPod - one with the physical clickwheel so you can keep it in your pocket/strapped to your wrist inside a jacket and only look at it if unsure of what's next - and plug it into a wireless mic pack feeding the sound board? It automatically plays the next song but you can add a silent pad to the end of each song to give you breathing room to pause it. There are wireless packs out there that do line level input (a few hundred $ investment but possibly a good one) and you can get a line level dock cable for iPods cheap.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:31 PM on September 19, 2013

Or heck, even easier, just a small iPod dock with IR port hidden behind something near you so the audience doesn't see it and wired into the board, then you can just palm a tiny little iPod remote.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:38 PM on September 19, 2013

Another option: You could pair your existing phone with a Bluetooth audio receiver, the disadvantage there being that you'd have to take out your phone and tap buttons on its screen.

How surreptitious do you need to be? In your YouTube video you're calling out clips, so tapping cues on a phone can't be that much worse.
posted by ostranenie at 5:29 AM on September 20, 2013