Multi-Zone Monitoring at the Academy Awards

Putting on any live performance has its challenges. Putting on the Academy Awards show, one of the most-watched live television awards shows seen by hundreds of millions of people each year comes with its own set of complexities. There are appearances by a who’s who list of Hollywood’s best actors, writers, and directors, and numerous live performances featuring guest artists from every genre of music.

This year the Oscars featured a multi-zone Aviom Personal Monitor Mixing System, designed and supplied by ATK Audiotek, to help keep monitor volume in the orchestra pit below the stage to a minimum while at the same time offering more control to the performers and technical team. The orchestra contained a standard rhythm section—drums, bass, guitars, and keyboards—plus a full compliment of horns, winds, and orchestral instruments. The multi-zone monitoring system included one system for the rhythm section and a separate system set up for the orchestral players.

The rhythm section members each used an A-16II Personal Mixer and were able to create their own monitor mix with content that included not only instrumental feeds but also a click track and cues coming from the conductor and production team.

For the orchestral players, the second monitor zone mix was controlled by the conductor. Audio channels for the second monitor zone were patched into a second Aviom input module to which an A-16II Personal Mixer was connected. The conductor mixed the content for the orchestral players and then the line-level output of the A-16II was connected to a headphone system for distribution to all the players. This setup allowed orchestra players to connect a set of headphones and change overall playback volume while the mix they were hearing remained under the control of the conductor.