David Blaine: Real of Magic

DAVID BLAINE: REAL OR MAGIC

The revolutionary magician sets out on his first UK tour bringing his unique brand of unforgettable interactive experience and death-defying stunts. TPi discovers some of the audio wizardry taking place behind the scenes...

Embarking on his first ever UK tour, David Blaine’s Real or Magic arrived in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Bournemouth and London in June 2019. Renowned for his close-up street magic and elaborate, often dangerous stunts, the American is one of the most recognisable and pioneering magicians on the touring circuit. At the O2 Apollo Manchester, TPi caught up with the double act tasked with handling the audio for the one-man show.

Quite the logistical feat, Ben Hammond was drafted in to ensure there was studio-quality sound in a live environment. He told TPi: “The team was having issues with things being heard and required an engineer who had a good knowledge of mic placement and who could think outside the box.” The FOH Engineer explained how the main bulk of the show required audience participation, thus mic placement was essential to the delivery. “The last thing we want is to stop the flow of the show,” he commented. “We need to be able to capture the slightest reaction from the audience.”

Having amassed quite a collection of Audio-Technica mics over the course of a decade, the engineer worked closely with the company to come up with a viable solution. “I typically use Audio-Technica mics with rock bands, but they worked well on this production, too, because they pick up everything I want them to without compromising on sound quality.”

For the audio team, the brief was equal parts daunting and straightforward – the mics had to be as discreet as possible. “The thing with magic shows is that people in the audience are immediately sceptical as they think it’s fake,” to which end the crew was careful to represent blatant microphones, such as a headset or a handheld mic in addition to the hidden mics. Hammond added: “We had to achieve the balance between gaining the audio information we needed while simultaneously hiding the mics.”

On the props, Hammond specified an AT ES935/C Gooseneck Microphone with an ML6 capsule. During a particularly gasp-inducing scene that saw Blaine invite two audience members on stage to help him sew his mouth closed with a needle and thread, a medical table rolled on stage with a podium/lectern microphone and an additional ‘floating’ mic on a stand. “The mic was on a really low stand to keep the audience’s eyes focused directly on David Blaine at knee-height, pointing upwards,” said Hammond on the mic configuration used for the set piece.

David Blaine’s vocal mic came in the shape of a BP892cH headset directional mic, which fit into an AT 5000-Series wireless pack. “Using this new Audio-Technica mic, we were able to control the level of feedback when David was stood in front of the PA. A headset mic has a particular sound given its placement,” he explained, while gesticulating towards the

hardware. “Most importantly, using this mic, David sounds like himself, as opposed to a next-door version himself – and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

While the main bulk of the show featured structured tricks, no two shows are exactly the same. “David is almost like a stand-up comedian, feeding off the vibe of the room,” Hammond said. “The last 30 to 40 minutes of the show are completely improvised; he sits on the downstage edge and engages in a Q&A with the audience.”

Systems Engineer, Stan Saunders, who is no stranger to magic, joined the conversation. “There are certain things you can and can’t do on a show such as this,” he commented. “I came on board to cover the stage audio because I have an understanding of how a magic show comes together, and the flow required.”

Blaine is known for his self-described ‘endurance art’ – pushing his body to the limits in often death-defying situations. Saunders waxed lyrical about the daredevil magician. “In this show there simply isn’t any trickery involved,” he said. “David pushes himself and his body to the limits as a performer, and is highly trained and good at what does.” This astonishing endurance was on display as Blaine spent a full 10 minutes holding his breath submerged in a three-tonne water tank.

Saunders walked TPi through the various on-stage mics. “There’s a prop table that sits on the stage – a hole has been drilled in it with an AT mic and 5000-Series wireless pack at the bottom. There’s a bit of interplay between David and the audience members during the card trick.”

For the reactionary mics taped to things, it was integral that the team placed them in positions where it didn’t look like part of the act. Saunders explained: “On top of that, getting mics on David in the right place is integral without compromising his versatility on the stage during various gags.”

Hammond’s company, ROCK-tech, supplied the audio control package, which comprised an Allen & Heath SQ-5, a Waves server and MultiRack, along with a pair of Lake Processing LM 44s, QLab, as well as Audio-Technica 5000-Series network monitoring and control software.

When it came to control, there was only one brand in mind for Hammond. “I own a bunch of Allen & Heath consoles,” he explained. “I used the Allen & Heath SQ-5 during a three-month US tour this summer at both FOH and monitors, and it never missed a beat. It’s scary what it can do at such a reasonable price point.”

Hammond utilised his Waves MultiRack as a primary source expander on the vocals, to eradicate feedback. The software was designed specifically for vocals to achieve a soft, tuneable, and shallow gate – with multiple open condenser mics set to -8dB. “It’s like having 20 fingers or an automatic mic mixer, which is less noticeable and very natural,” he enthused.

Hammond purposed Waves F6 dynamic EQ to achieve high- and lowpass filtering. “This is the first time I’ve used Waves live and I had these plug-ins in mind straight away as they replicate exactly what I wanted to do and how to do it.”

With a plethora of mics onstage, there was plenty for Hammond to contend with. “It’s that constant battle to get the clarity and detail everybody wants without swarming the audience in a world of feedback, which is why Waves, EQ and the SQ are really integral, surgical pieces of kit.” Hammond also praised the 16 channels of RF, dubbing them, “rock solid”. He said: “The massive tuning range of the 5000 helps. Working

on Audio-Technica’s EG41 frequency range, which is 580-700mHz, is just massive.” Between the two systems, the engineer was able to fluctuate between 400 and 700mHz.

The PA boasted a Martin Audio MLA Compact system, provided by Stage Audio Services. “The MLA has been spot-on,” Hammond said. With no inears in sight, a pair of L-Acoustics ARCs were also flown and controlled from FOH as a “general atmospheric mix” to allow David to feel like he was in the audience. “Everything David hears comes from flown sidefills, and is not in sightline, to achieve invisible audio.”

Saunders echoed: “The MLA Compact is something we stock quite a bit of now. It’s a tiny rig and it doesn’t have a large ground footprint because it’s all self-processed and self-powered,” he added.

A single 19-inch rack ran 12 MLA Compact per side. “There’s a lot of set movement on the stage so we can’t have walls of amp racks and cables in the way,” Saunders commented.

The PA was run off the VU-NET software, which Saunders described as “quite a small, powerful and tidy little system” for this output – ideal for navigating challenging theatre spaces. He said: “We can transport the entire rig in a flatpack 18-tonne truck.”

Additional Martin Audio MLX subs were specified for “extra dB and rumble” with 12dB and 6dB for sidefills. Simply put, delivery clarity and involvement made the show an evening with David Blaine. “From an audio standpoint, the volume needs to be immersive and make the audience feel very close, almost as if they’re watching on television,” Hammond explained. “As technology evolves, I think a massive part of audio in general is that personal approach and involvement of the audience. Nowadays, there’s a certain level of expectation because tickets are so expensive.”

He added: “This show is something that you’d watch from home, but David has brought all the risk to the live audience, where there is nowhere to hide. Thankfully, the mics have helped capture the performance, and the 5000-Series body pack has been integral to convey that.”

In-line with the theme of ‘invisible audio’, the Audio-Technica 5000-Series wireless pack was idea for the application. “The footprint and size of the pack enables us to disguise the RF beltpack within his attire, so I’d like to commend AT for making such a tiny pack!” he exclaimed. “Audio- Technica has been excellent to me for many years. Long may it continue.” Photos: TPi www.davidblaine.com www.audio-technica.com www.rock-tech.events www.stageaudioservices.com