1

Hello everyone.

What script stand do you use?

Colin Hart touched upon metal mic stands creating reflections, and I'm sure this also applies to script stands - also paper.

Anyone know anything about what they use for film scoring stages? I heard they use "digital paper" or little screens that have the music score on them and they control it.

Your assistance is always appreciated!

5 Answers 5

3

We have two methods where I work. And both work tremendously well.

One is a super wide (4 score sheets wide) music stand that is covered in carpeting. The carpeting is not plush at all, kind of like you would find in an office, and tightly glued and conformed to the stand. I believe they were manufactured that way. They've been around for a lot longer than I have, so I don't know where we got them. There is absolutely no resonance ring from them like you get from plain old metal stands. Reflections off of them aren't too much of an issue either.

The other is a prompting system kind of like the one you mentioned. We asked specifically for that when we were designing our new facilities. It's a Winplus Autoscript system. The terminal to program and control it is in my control room, but we have a wired 9-pin remote that we can move between any of the rooms (control room, live room, vo booth). So, the talent can set the scrolling speed for themselves. It' very simple to use; and the few times we've used it with talent they loved it. If we have to jump around in a significant way, I'll just turn around real quick and click them to the line they need to be at. We also usually have a producer or two in the room with us, and that last little task is a great way to make them feel like they're contributing to the session while keeping them out of your hair.

To go along with those ideas, we also have picture monitors that can be fed from any source in our facility (including the Avid Mojo for my Pro Tools system). The company that built out our technical systems to an amazing job selecting those monitors too. Any noise they make is down in the noise floor and pretty much imperceptible. So, we can actually use them the way the system is designed.

2
  • @Shaun I can't wait to see your studio. It sounds like an audio nerd shargri-la. Sep 2, 2010 at 1:10
  • I feel like the ugly duckling when he finally finds his true family. No-one listens to me when I try to explain this concept, and both of you understand me!!! Thank you for the ideas!
    – Utopia
    Sep 2, 2010 at 1:12
3

You could get a wooden music stand and play with mic placement. Metal music stands are a poor choice for VO booths but I have a wood stand and it works wonderfully. I never notice the paper reflecting any sound and the talent always likes to make notes on the paper. So, having a Teleprompter or other digital medium seems to be more of a hinderance than a help. But, you could try an iPad if you really wanted to go that route.

1
  • wooden stands can still reflect, they just won't ring like metal stands would. i'd still suggest carpeting a wooden one. as for the teleprompter, we just make changes to the script for them if needed. most of the talent i have worked with only make notes regarding word/script changes because a particular phrase doesn't work well. Sep 2, 2010 at 11:58
2

You mean like this thing? I thought about how cool it would be when I first saw it, but I would imagine it would reflect far worse than a stack of paper. And as I sit here listening to my iMac's screen give off a high-pitched whine, I can't imagine this this is terribly quieter next to a LDC.

I ran a teleprompter once for a VO session. It was at the request of the talent, because he couldn't see too well. Great sounding VO, and easy to use once it was set up and we discovered the proper scroll speed for him.

Now, keep in mind that I deal with scripts from a single page to upwards of 40. Never really dealing with 3-ring bound, 90-page scripts or anything like that. But the best thing that I found so far to handle stand reflections is a scrap of carpet cut to the size of the stand.

4
  • I do exactly that - carpet on the script stand - and people laughed at me for doing it! My god - I feel like home. You guys really understand me!
    – Utopia
    Sep 2, 2010 at 1:15
  • I thought about mentioning that digital score display, but I don't know what formats it will display. Also, now that I think about it, a Sony e-Reader or Barnes and Noble Nook will display PDFs, which are damned easy to make nowadays. They're significantly cheaper than that score reader, though I'd imagine they're smaller. I can vouch that the Nook is silent, though you'd want to turn off its wi-fi and 3G signals. Maybe one of those is a solution for you @Ryan? Sep 2, 2010 at 1:41
  • I like the PDF reader idea @Shaun, but are they large enough? And what about script changes mid-session? You'd have to edit the doc and upload a new PDF I guess. A pencil and paper just seems much easier. Sep 2, 2010 at 13:54
  • Welcome home @Ryan! lol. Sep 2, 2010 at 13:54
2

Carpeting on the music stand. "Custom built" in that we bought some music stands and then cut up some industrial carpet scraps left over from the office/studio build-out.

1

Hi everyone Just use a iPad! It's good for a lot of things and there is no noise you can flip page to page without any noise what so ever.It has so many applications and you can buy a holding stand for it.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.