Conductor Cams

What Is A Conductor Cam?
When you are working with a live band, the conductor cam is a live video feed of the conductor conducting the show. This is usually fed to a number of screens in the theatre so the cast can see them giving cues as well as various screens in the tech boxes so that the DSM, show caller or board ops can call cues based on musical passages. The most common place to find a conductor cam would be either on a TV on the balcony or above the stalls so the actors can look out front and still see their cues, but it’s common to have multiple screens facing the stage so an actor doesn’t have to be looking straight out front to get their cue.

Why Do I Need A Conductor Cam?
Working with backing tracks in a musical can be a nightmare, especially in shows that are through sung or have lots of dialogue over music. It can be so easy to lose your place, or forget how many times a vamp has gone round and before you know the song has started and left you behind! Or how about trying to do a song where you sing on the first beat? It’s almost impossible to match up! But with our conductor cams, that is no longer a problem.

Our conductor cams give you the confidence to perform as if there was a live band and the conductor gives cues not only for the soloists but for ensemble vocals too so you can ensure they remain as tight as they were in the rehearsal room. They will count you through vamp bars and give you cues into new sections, just like a real conductor would.

Why Do They Conduct The Instrumentals And Dance Breaks?
Great question! The camera feed is not just for the actors, the video is also for whoever is calling the show or operating the lighting desk. If they have specific cues that land on certain points in the music then the conductor cam is just as much for them as it is for the performers, so it would be very unfair to just conduct the singing bits!

How Do I Use The Conductor Cam?
Easy! When you purchase a ‘Conductor Cam’ package, your final backing tracks are delivered as videos, where the video is the conductor and the audio is your backing track. All you will need to do is connect the video to a monitor for the cast to see and send the audio to the sound desk and you are ready to go. If you would like a more sophisticated system with multi-output audio or stems within Qlab, we have experts on hand to make that happen too, but it doesn’t have to be any more difficult than pressing play on a video.