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KUB Technical Crew Operations

Technical Terminology

Term Definition Daily Use Category
AC ​Alternating Current. The type of electrical current that runs through houses and buildings to power electrical devices/equipment. Example: Electrical extension cables. Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Acoustics ​Acoustics is the science of sound, including its production, transmission and effects. The acoustics of a room are those qualities that together determine its character with respect to the perception of sound. Yes Sound or Audio
Ambient Noise ​Ambient noise encompasses all sound present in a given environment, being usually a composite of sounds from many sources near and far. Yes Sound or Audio
Attenuation ​The reduction of sound energy as a function of distance traveled. Yes Sound or Audio
Backdrop Yes Rigging; Production
Balanced See also Stereo. Yes Sound or Audio
Blackout The sudden extinguishing of all stage lights, leaving the theatre in blackness, As contrasted to a fade out which is a gradual fading of the lights. Yes Lighting or electrics
Boom Stand Yes Sound or Audio
Boominess ​Low frequency reflections. In small rooms, acoustical panels with air space behind can better help control low frequency reflectivity. Yes Sound or Audio
Buss Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
​Buzz

​See also Hum and Feedback. The only real difference between "hum" and "buzz" is that buzz has more harmonics, and those harmonics extend to a higher audible frequency.

Reference 1

Yes Sound or Audio
​Cart Yes
Caster Yes Carpentry
CAT 5e, 6 ​Category 5e, Category 6, etc. A data cable normally used to transmit data from the internet to computers.  See also Hard line connection. Yes Sound, Video, Computers
Chorus ​(1) an ensemble of characters representing the general public of the play, (2) In musical plays, an ensemble of characters who sing and/or dance independently. Yes Sound or Audio; Carpentry
Cue Yes Production
Cycle ​In acoustics, the cycle is the complete oscillation of pressure above and below the atmospheric static pressure.YesSound or Audio
Cycles Per Second ​The number of oscillations that occur in the time frame on one second. (See Frequency). Low frequency sounds have fewer and longer oscillations.YesSound or Audio
Data Connection Ethernet connection. A connection using an RJ45 (Registered Jack) connector for the purpose of connecting a computer or data-enabled device to a telecommunications system.YesComputers
Decibel (dB) ​A dimensionless unit which denotes the ratio between two quantities that are proportional to power, energy or intensity. One of these quantities is a designated reference by which all other quantities of identical units are divided. The sound pressure level in decibels is equal to 10 times the logarithm (to the base 10) of the ratio between the pressure squared divided by the reference pressure squared. The reference pressure used in acoustics is 20 microPascals.YesSound or Audio
Dimmer ​The electrical device (technically a potentiometer) which regulates the current passing through the bulb filaments and, thereby, the amount of light emitted from the lighting instruments. Yes Lighting or electrics
Dolly Yes
Downstage The part of the stage closest to the audience. The term derives from the 18th century when the stage was raked so that the front part of was literally below the back (or upstage) portion. Yes Production
Dress Rehearsal ​A rehearsal, perhaps one of several in full costume; usually also with full scenery, properties, lighting, sound, and technical effects. Ordinarily the last rehearsal prior to the first actual performance before an outside audience. Yes Production
Echo ​Reflected sound producing a distinct repetition of the original sound. Echo in mountains is distinct by reason of travel after original signal has ceased.YesSound or Audio
​EMS Campus ​A software program by Dean & Evans, Inc. that the Kehr Union Building uses to keep track of all building events and equipment.  This is the main scheduling tool for the KUB." Yes
Feedback

See also hum abd buzz. Feedback is caused by an amplified signal from a sound system re-entering a microphone, and getting constantly re-amplified (i.e. a feedback loop). It is usually high pitched. To remedy, turn down the microphone or main system volume. See Audio feedback at wikipedia.org

Feedback is not caused by running an AC cable and an audio cable too close.

Yes Sound or Audio
Fly (v.) To raise a piece of scenery (or an actor) out of sight, by a system of ropes and/or wires. Yes Rigging
FOH "Front of House." Yes Sound; Production; Video
Frequency ​The number of oscillations or cycles per unit of time. Acoustical frequency is usually expressed in units of Hertz (Hz) where one Hz is equal to one cycle per second.YesSound or Audio
Gel Transparent colored sheets of material placed in front of a lighting instrument used to change the color of the light beam. Yes Lighting or electrics; Production
Gobo No Lighting or electrics
Ground Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Group ​See also Subgroup. Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Hand Truck Yes
Hard line connection A connection via a cable instead of via wireless transmission. Yes Sound or Audio; Video; Computers
Hearing Impairment ​A degree of hearing loss, temporary or permanent, due to many causes. Hearing loss can be caused by illness, disease, or exposure to excessively high noise levels. Affects 25 – 50 million people in USA of all ages. Hearing impairment as generally used means a hearing loss of mild, moderate or severe degree as opposed to “deafness” which is generally described as little or no residual hearing with or without the aid of an assistive listening device. Hearing impaired persons are particularly adversely affected by long reverberation times.YesSound or Audio
Hearing Range

16 – 2000 Hz (Speech Intelligibility)

600 – 4800 Hz (Speech Privacy)

250 – 2500 Hz (Typical small table radio)

YesSound or Audio
Hertz (Hz) ​Frequency of sound expressed by cycles per second. (See Cycle).YesSound or Audio
House Theatrical term indicating the performance venue. Yes Production
House Left ​Left from the audience point of view facing the stage. Yes Production
House Right ​Right from the audience point of view facing the stage. Yes Production
Hum

See also Buzz and Feedback. An unwanted low-frequency sound caused by power-line frequencies in any audio component. This hum is generated by oscillating electric currents induced in sensitive (high gain or high impedance) audio circuitry by the alternating electromagnetic fields emanating from nearby mains-powered devices like power transformers. The audible aspect of this sort of electric hum is produced by amplifiers and loudspeakers.

There are three basic ways that hum and other power line-related noises can get into an audio system.

  1. Radiation through the air.
  2. When a voltage difference exists between the common ground connections of two or more pieces of equipment.
  3. clicking and buzzing noises can get into an audio device through the power wires. Every time an electric motor is turned on or off, the motor's coils "kick back" into the power line a brief but high-level voltage spike.

solid-state light dimmers can also cause hum. These devices work by changing the amount of time the full power line voltage is applied to the light being controlled, as opposed to actually raising and lowering the voltage. Although AC power is supplied by the power company as a pure sine wave (having no harmonics), the dimmer's sudden switching of the voltage on and off actually generates harmonics which extend to very high frequencies. And these high frequency harmonics can get into audio gear both by radiation through the air and also by traveling through the power wiring directly into the audio circuitry.

Reference 1; Reference 2

Yes Sound or Audio
IMP Integrated Multimedia Presentation. See IMP Stations. Yes Sound or Audio; Video
Impedance Yes Sound or Audio
Input No Sound or Audio; Video
Lavaliere ​See also lapel. Yes Sound or Audio
Mono See also Unbalanced. Yes Sound or Audio
Noise ​Unwanted sound that is annoying or interferes with listening. Not all noise needs to be excessively loud to represent an annoyance or interference.YesSound or Audio
Noise Reduction (NR) ​The amount of noise that is reduced through the introduction of sound absorbing materials. The level (in decibels) of sound reduced on a logarithmic basis.YesSound or Audio
Octave​A pitch interval of 2 to 1. The tone whose frequency is twice that of the given tone.YesSound or Audio
Octave Bands ​Sounds that contain energy over a wide range of frequencies are divided into sections called bands. A common standard division is in 10 octave bands identified by their center frequencies 31.5, 63, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz.NoSound or Audio
Output No Sound or Audio; Video
Phantom Power "in the context of professional audio equipment, is DC electric power transmitted through microphone cables to operate microphones that contain active electronic circuitry. It is best known as a convenient power source for condenser microphones, though many active direct boxes also use it." Wikipedia.com source. Yes Sound or Audio
Pitch ​The perceived auditory sensation of sounds expressed in terms of high or low frequency stimulus of the sound.YesSound or Audio
PoE "​Power over Ethernet" No Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics; Video
Preamp Yes Sound or Audio
Preset To set or adjust in advance of its use. Essentially, to set something the day before it is needed. Yes Production; Operations
Props (Properties) ​The furniture and objects used in productions. No Production; Carpentry
Pyro ​Pyrotechnics No Lighting or electrics; Production
Receiver Yes Sound or Audio; Video
Reflection ​The amount of sound wave energy (sound) that is reflected off a surface. Hard non-porous surfaces reflect more sound that soft porous surfaces. Some sound reflection can enhance the quality of the signal of speech and music.YesSound or Audio
Resonance ​The emphasis of sound at a particular frequency.YesSound or Audio
Resonant Frequency​Resonant Frequency is a frequency at which resonance exists.YesSound or Audio
Reverberation ​Sound after it is ended at the source will continue to reflect off surfaces until the sound wave loses energy by absorption to eventually die out.YesSound or Audio
Reverberation Time ​The reverberation time of a room is the time it takes for sound to decay by 60 dB once the source of sound has stopped. Reverberation time is the basic acoustical property of a room which depends only on its dimensions and the absorptive properties of its surfaces and contents. Reverberation has an important impact on speech intelligibility.YesSound or Audio
RF (Radio Frequency) No Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Rider An object or piece of equipment positioned on top of a rolling cart or equipment case. Example: look at the wording on top of the large sound system Front of House (FOH) rack.YesSound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Rigging No Rigging
Set Yes Production; Carpentry
Setup To set requested equipment on the same day as an event. In reports, SETUP is used to block off rooms so that work groups have enough time to set them. Yes Production; Operations
Stage Direction ​Scene descriptions, blocking instructions, and general directorial comments written, usually by the playwright, in the script. No Production
Stereo See also Balanced. Yes Sound or Audio
Signal to Noise Ratio ​The sound level at the listeners ear of a speaker above the background noise level. The inverse square law impacts the S/N ratio.YesSound or Audio
Sound Sound is an oscillation in pressure, stress particle displacement, particle velocity in a medium. Sound produces an auditory sensation caused by the oscillation.YesSound or Audio
Sound Absorption The property possessed by materials, objects and air to convert sound energy into heat. Sound waves reflected by a surface causes a loss of energy. That energy not reflected is call is absorption coefficient.YesSound or Audio
Sound Level A subjective measure of sound expressed in decibels as a comparison corresponding to familiar sounds experienced in a variety of situations.YesSound or Audio
Snake Yes Sound or Audio
Speech Intelligibility The ability of a listener to hear and correctly interpret verbal messages. In a classroom with high ceilings and hard parallel surfaces such as glass and tile, speech intelligibility is a particular problem. Sound bounces off walls, ceilings and floors, distorting the teacher’s instructions and interfering with students’ ability to comprehend. Centers between 250 and 4000k.YesSound or Audio
Speech Privacy The degree to which speech is unintelligible between offices. Three ratings are used: Confidential, Normal (Non Obtrusive) and Minimal.YesSound or Audio
Stage Left ​Left from the actor’s point of view on stage facing the audience. Yes Production
Stage Right ​Right from the actor’s point of view on stage facing the audience. Yes Production
Strike

To remove a set piece or from the stage ("Strike that chair.") To "strike the show" is to disassemble the entirety of the set, return all equipment to storage and leave the venue as it was before the show was set up. May be used as a noun to refer to the event at which the show is struck (wikipedia.org).

Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics; Rigging; Production; Video
Subgroup Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics; Video
​Tape, Board Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics
Tape, Gaff Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics; Production
Tape, Spike Yes Production; Carpentry
Transceiver Example: The orange device used with portable lighting. In this picture the tranceiver unit is being used as a transmitter. Yes Sound or Audio; Lighting or electrics; Video
Twofer Pronounced "too-fer". A lighting cable in which two lighting instruments can be connected. Yes Lighting or electrics
Upstage ​That part of the stage farthest from the audience; the rear of the stage. So called because it was in fact raised (“up”) in the days of the raking stage. Yes Production
Vibration Vibration is a force which oscillates about some specified reference point. Vibration is commonly expressed in terms of frequency such as cycles per second (cps), Hertz (Hz), cycles per minute (cpm) or (rpm) and strokes per minute (spm). This is the number of oscillations which occurs in that time period. The amplitude is the magnitude or distance of travel of the force.YesSound or Audio
Voice Conneciton Phone connection. Phone jack. A connection using an RJ11 (Registered Jack) connector for the purpose of connecting a telephone to a telecommunications system.YesSound or Audio
Volume The cubic space of a room bounded by walls, floors, and ceilings determined by the Volume=Length x Width x Height of space. Volume influences reverberation time.YesSound or Audio
Wavelength Sound that passes through air produces a wavelike motion of compression and refraction. Wavelength is the distance between two identical positions in the cycle or wave. Similar to ripples or waves produces by dropping a stone in water. Length of sound wave varies with frequency. Low frequency equals longer wavelengths.YesSound or Audio
Wings ​The vertical pieces of scenery to the left and right of the stage, usually parallel with the footlights. No Production