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<p>The simple answer to your question is no. Wireless tablets are not a replacement for a proper booth space along with a physical mixer that is large enough to accommodate the events that are regularly held there. The line being argued by the teacher you mentioned is nothing more than a new take on the same old lines of thinking that we've fought for decades. </p>
<p>There have always been forces that try to relegate technicians to back corners, enclosed booths, broom closets, and even moving them to entirely different buildings. What's missing in that line of thinking is always the same: The technicians are an integral artistic part of the production, creating and modifying their part of the show moment-by-moment, based upon the performers, the environment of the venue, and the audience themselves. The best audience experiences come from giving the technicians the opportunity to become an audience member as closely as possible, seeing and hearing exactly what the rest of the audience sees and hears, while hiding them enough that their actions aren't distracting to the other audience members. </p>
<p>Wireless tablets are indeed a valuable tool for being able to easily make adjustments in different areas of the venue. However, none of the tablets have enough useable controls to replace a real, physical console for anything more than the most basic of events. Complex events such as musical shows, those with cues that need to be timed, having stage monitors or in-ears that need to be adjusted by someone other than the performer, ones with multiple inputs or any type of dynamic performances all require physical faders, knobs, and buttons that can be moved in a rapid, accurate, and easy manner. Many actions are done on-the-fly with fractions of a second to decide and implement them. Small, featureless touch screens are too cumbersome to use effectively for complex moves or over a large number of controls. The lack of tactile controls prevents the operator from implementing the numerous subtle and repeatable moves that are required. </p>
<p>Additionally beyond the use of a mixer, an audio engineer almost always needs to interface with other gear. Whether for playback, intercom, recording, wireless receivers, video monitors, or just looking at notes, a tablet can't replace every function. Plus, technicians are people; they need space to place things and organize a workspace so they can do their jobs the best way. </p>
<p>Seen in this light, the square footage of the technician's working space is easily the most valuable in the entire venue; worth far more than the simple number of paid seats that might be placed there instead. The reason? If a patron has a bad experience, the exposure is limited to their ticket and a possible refund. If a technician can't do their job well, it effects *every* patron in the audience and degrades the production as a whole. A fight to give the technicians the resources they need is a fight to sustain the quality of the entire production.</p>
<p>Stephen</p>
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<p id="reply-intro">On 2024-03-25 9:12 am, Bill Conner via Stagecraft wrote:</p>
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<div dir="auto">I guess I'm old fashioned but I have regarded the in house mix location as fundamental to a good theatre design: central to audience, good sightlines for operator as well as audience behind, easy access including wheelchair accessible, good connectivity including cable paths for temporary use.</div>
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