The APOGEE English Press sat down with Darshan Walchale, the coordinator for the Department of Sounds, to break down the mechanism of their work during APOGEE.

The Department of Sounds will be responsible for the auditory aspect of all events being held in the main auditorium during APOGEE 2023. Their three main events are the APOGEE Inauguration—which would involve performances by the Music Club, Dance Club and Mime Club—The Mentalist show, and N2O. The work starts during the rehearsals and entails organizing the order, requirements, and flow of the programme and making necessary adjustments by employing their technical expertise.

The department would face quite a hectic Inauguration day by virtue of having to coordinate with all the clubs and their respective setups. Furthermore, the auditorium and the equipment have been experiencing technical issues as of late. The department’s members are constantly thinking on their feet as they are faced with dynamic challenges.

To handle all the issues in real time, the members of the department are well versed with the theory of sound design and sound reinforcement, and are adept at handling the equipment to respond quickly to sudden changes. Darshan said, ‘Sometimes if there’s a performer, the performer might point the mic out towards the audience, which causes a lot of very annoying feedback’.

To provide a stable auditory experience for APOGEE 2023, the department hopes to get their hands on a high-quality digital mixing console rented from a production company. The current mixing console has proven to be troublesome; during the inauguration of a previous fest, the mixer turned off and left the audience in silence for about 20 to 30 seconds.

A major setback that was encountered by the department was the occurrence of COVID-19—as the experience of the extremely knowledgeable seniors of the department could not be passed on to the juniors. He referenced a third-year of his in the Department, Derek, who has now gone on to form a band called Derek and the Cats, which recently performed at a major concert—a testament to the calibre of the mentioned seniors.

Speaking of his experience as the department’s coordinator, Darshan spoke about the duality of responsibilities and complaints. He also mentioned the gratifying feeling of being able to make events run smoothly, giving him a feeling of pride.

In order to make the general BITSian aware of the limitations of the BITS Auditorium, Darshan stated, ‘I wish people would realize that our auditorium is more than half a century old, so there are some limitations to how good we can make things.’ He also conveyed his and his fellow members’ enthusiasm towards sound engineering, ‘It’s like a fun challenge for us, trying to put on as good a show as possible with the available equipment. Yeah, we’re just a bunch of enthusiastic students, trying to help other clubs put on a good show.’