Open Forum

Hello all-

What a strange and wacky time we find ourselves in! I too was in the middle of 3 shows when we left school to not return this school year. I'm attempting to put together shows via Google Meets. Our district does not allow Zoom. Yesterday I found out that there is a Chrome Extension for Google Meets which gives you Grid View and I'm stoked to try that out toady in my live online theatre classroom.

Link here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-view/bjkegbgpfgpikgkfidhcihhiflbjgfic?hl=en-US

We want to grid record some of our musical numbers from The Music Man Jr and the in sync with the music part was my biggest stumbling block. After seeing this performance this AM:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/culture/video/disney-broadway-stars-perform-distance-gma-abcs-day-70060344

I thought- how are they all hearing the same track and singing in sync? To which I found this online today- I will be exploring this more today with my students. It is a site where students join and then the host will play a youtube link (or many other formats) and they all hear it at the same time. They advertise it as a way to do online karaoke.

https://www.watch2gether.com/

If anyone has found another way to sing in sync via a grid like chat room, please share!!

Happy online teaching/learning!!
Shawn


Mrs. Shawn Hann
Director of Theatre
Chair of Theatre Department
Denver School of the Arts
7111 Montview Blvd.
Denver, CO 80220
720-424-1809
303-325-4549
fax 720-424-1845
www.dsatheatre.org

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message may be legally privileged and confidential information and is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any release, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the author immediately by replying to this message and delete the original message.

I am very interested in this as we had to cancel our show this year. Please let me know what you discover. My students would like the opportunity to sing online as well.

Thank you,
Kathryn Young

Sent from my iPhone


Original Message------

Hello all-

What a strange and wacky time we find ourselves in! I too was in the middle of 3 shows when we left school to not return this school year. I'm attempting to put together shows via Google Meets. Our district does not allow Zoom. Yesterday I found out that there is a Chrome Extension for Google Meets which gives you Grid View and I'm stoked to try that out toady in my live online theatre classroom.

Link here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-view/bjkegbgpfgpikgkfidhcihhiflbjgfic?hl=en-US

We want to grid record some of our musical numbers from The Music Man Jr and the in sync with the music part was my biggest stumbling block. After seeing this performance this AM:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/culture/video/disney-broadway-stars-perform-distance-gma-abcs-day-70060344

I thought- how are they all hearing the same track and singing in sync? To which I found this online today- I will be exploring this more today with my students. It is a site where students join and then the host will play a youtube link (or many other formats) and they all hear it at the same time. They advertise it as a way to do online karaoke.

https://www.watch2gether.com/

If anyone has found another way to sing in sync via a grid like chat room, please share!!

Happy online teaching/learning!!
Shawn


Mrs. Shawn Hann
Director of Theatre
Chair of Theatre Department
Denver School of the Arts
7111 Montview Blvd.
Denver, CO 80220
720-424-1809
303-325-4549
fax 720-424-1845
www.dsatheatre.org

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message may be legally privileged and confidential information and is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any release, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the author immediately by replying to this message and delete the original message.

Shawn,

Unfortunately, there is no way to create what is being presented in the Good Morning America video, or other videos, where you see multiple people singing together from their houses through the internet.  What you are watching are videos that were individually recorded by each artist where they listen to the accompanying music in an earbud or headphone and record themselves singing the song without the accompanying track being heard in the video recording.  This produces a perfect recording of their part in time to the accompanying track but without the music in the background.  They all submit their videos and then somebody makes a video of all the performers and syncs their videos up to the accompanying track to make it look like they are all singing live together from their homes on a platform similar to Zoom or Skype.  If you look, you can see that every artist has a headphone or earbud in at least one ear in their recorded videos where the music is playing.  This is unfortunate, especially during these times.  Schools were closed here in NJ two weeks before our show was to open and we do not know if we will ever be able to perform it.  The best you can do to rehearse is to run or rehearse your show on a video conferencing platform like Google Meets, Skype, WebEx or Zoom where you can play the instrumental tracks and when there are ensemble moments of singing, to mute all the singers so that the latency present from the differing internet speeds does not confuse the cast when they are singing because the latency will cause your students to receive and send video and audio all at different times.  There is just no way right now technologically to make what appears to be occurring in the Good Morning America footage possible live.  Sorry for the bad news, but I wanted to save you the time and stress of trying to make this work.  Much love and light to you and I wish you and your students nothing but happiness and health during this time!  All the best!

------------------------------
Scott F. Cooney
"Lover of Life"
NJ State Thespian State Board
CTE Acting/Theatre Instructor
BCIT Medford Academy of Performing Arts
Medford, NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-09-2020 10:35
From: Shawn Hann
Subject: Rehearsing Musical Theatre

Hello all-

What a strange and wacky time we find ourselves in! I too was in the middle of 3 shows when we left school to not return this school year. I'm attempting to put together shows via Google Meets. Our district does not allow Zoom. Yesterday I found out that there is a Chrome Extension for Google Meets which gives you Grid View and I'm stoked to try that out toady in my live online theatre classroom.

Link here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-view/bjkegbgpfgpikgkfidhcihhiflbjgfic?hl=en-US

We want to grid record some of our musical numbers from The Music Man Jr and the in sync with the music part was my biggest stumbling block. After seeing this performance this AM:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/culture/video/disney-broadway-stars-perform-distance-gma-abcs-day-70060344

I thought- how are they all hearing the same track and singing in sync? To which I found this online today- I will be exploring this more today with my students. It is a site where students join and then the host will play a youtube link (or many other formats) and they all hear it at the same time. They advertise it as a way to do online karaoke.

https://www.watch2gether.com/

If anyone has found another way to sing in sync via a grid like chat room, please share!!

Happy online teaching/learning!!
Shawn


Mrs. Shawn Hann
Director of Theatre
Chair of Theatre Department
Denver School of the Arts
7111 Montview Blvd.
Denver, CO 80220
720-424-1809
303-325-4549
fax 720-424-1845
www.dsatheatre.org

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message may be legally privileged and confidential information and is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any release, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the author immediately by replying to this message and delete the original message.

Original Message------

Shawn,

Unfortunately, there is no way to create what is being presented in the Good Morning America video, or other videos, where you see multiple people singing together from their houses through the internet.  What you are watching are videos that were individually recorded by each artist where they listen to the accompanying music in an earbud or headphone and record themselves singing the song without the accompanying track being heard in the video recording.  This produces a perfect recording of their part in time to the accompanying track but without the music in the background.  They all submit their videos and then somebody makes a video of all the performers and syncs their videos up to the accompanying track to make it look like they are all singing live together from their homes on a platform similar to Zoom or Skype.  If you look, you can see that every artist has a headphone or earbud in at least one ear in their recorded videos where the music is playing.  This is unfortunate, especially during these times.  Schools were closed here in NJ two weeks before our show was to open and we do not know if we will ever be able to perform it.  The best you can do to rehearse is to run or rehearse your show on a video conferencing platform like Google Meets, Skype, WebEx or Zoom where you can play the instrumental tracks and when there are ensemble moments of singing, to mute all the singers so that the latency present from the differing internet speeds does not confuse the cast when they are singing because the latency will cause your students to receive and send video and audio all at different times.  There is just no way right now technologically to make what appears to be occurring in the Good Morning America footage possible live.  Sorry for the bad news, but I wanted to save you the time and stress of trying to make this work.  Much love and light to you and I wish you and your students nothing but happiness and health during this time!  All the best!

------------------------------
Scott F. Cooney
"Lover of Life"
NJ State Thespian State Board
CTE Acting/Theatre Instructor
BCIT Medford Academy of Performing Arts
Medford, NJ
------------------------------