THOMAS FORD

DESIGN CONCEPT

For this production of Ragtime I was the associate sound designer and mixer, and I worked very closely and collaboratively with Mike, the sound designer, to achieve a design that worked technically and conceptually to match the show. We decided to use EAW KF300 point source speakers as mains, because compared to Meyer CQ2s we felt that the fullness of the EAW provided a more musical sound that worked for the production. For the center cluster we went with a JBL Vertec line array, which provided excellent vocal coverage for us and really helped to get the performers over the band. Our primary concern with this design was making sure that everything that we did was in conjunction with the music because of how complicated and layered the book is. Despite that, there was still a fair amount of content that we created, and it all fit into the world that the director and designers were creating.

​

Both Mike and I worked on the technical design, and once he drafted the system schematic I prepared the groundplan, section view, and much of the rigging. The conceptual content for the show was mostly atmospheric sound that worked with the music to help create the world, as well as sounds that matched actors' specific actions. Some of the effects that I worked on were that of the car being destroyed, the city burning in the background while Coalhouse is making demands, a flare during Journey On, the gunshots at the end of act 2, and a sound that was used to emphasize Houdini's magic. I also assembled and edited a lot of atmospheric sounds that were used in the production.

​

SYSTEM DESIGN