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Hearing Health Seminar

SoundGirls Presents Hearing Health with Musicians Hearing Solutions

Join SoundGirls for an evening learning about hearing health, live sound, noise-induced loss and how to prevent it.  Learn about IEMS and ear plugs and how to use them properly. Dr. Julie Glick of Musicians Hearing Solutions will have demos of different IEMS available; JH Audio, Ultimate Ears, Sensaphonics and Noble Audio. Plus we will have plenty of time to meet and network with other SoundGirls members. Musicians Hearing Solutions will be offering attendees a discount on products and services. (details TBD)

Register Here

JULIE GLICK, Au.D., F-AAA

Dr. Glick was first introduced to custom in-ear monitors and musicians earplugs twenty years ago when she started her career in a private practice in Beverly Hills, California and is thrilled to have come full circle after spending time gaining a myriad of experiences in Chicago and New York City.

Her passion for music and commitment to the field of audiology led her to recognize that the optimization of the live performances of musicians and hearing conservation was a niche she wanted to be involved in from the very beginning. Over the past twenty years,

Julie has spent invaluable time with monitor/sound engineers and has been backstage and in rehearsal studios with musicians of all genres.  She has also worked as an audiologist for two years at Sensaphonics Hearing Conservation in Chicago. Through all of these experiences, she has gained great insight and appreciation for all the technical details that go into live musical performances and how important hearing and hearing conservation is to not only musicians but to the fans as well. Dr. Glick’s knowledge and technical expertise of sound, hearing and hearing conservation make her a valuable asset to the music community.

Dr. Glick received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing Science from The Ohio State University, Master of Science in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge and Doctor of Audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, School of Audiology. Dr. Glick is a licensed Audiologist and Hearing Instrument Dispenser in the states of California and New York and a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology.

 

Performance Anxiety

I think pretty much everyone has at least once in their lifetime experienced anxiety in one way or another. Personally, my anxiety is a good old friend I have had with me for years. It is something I always have struggled with and there is different reasons to why that is, but some reasons that stands out the most is; I am a perfectionist and I am not best friends with failure.

For a lot of people, I think it is hard to admit that you suffer from anxiety and the impact it may have on your life. I used to be like that because I felt like I was overreacting.

In my previous blog post ‘A lesson about fun & failure,’ I briefly mentioned and touched on the subject about failure. My anxiety, and probably for a lot of people, is linked to the fear of failure.

I have studied music for many years; I began at the age of 11 to play classical piano. I love playing the piano, and I learned sight-reading from an early age. I played Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and I to this day absolutely love their compositions. But, what I could not get my head around was that I could not play those pieces perfectly every time. I got so angry with myself for messing it up to the point where I stopped enjoying playing the piano because I felt like I was failing.

Throughout college, I had to go through plenty of live performances, all of which I suffered terrible anxiety attacks from. I simply did not want to be on stage; I could not deal with the pressure and the possibility of failing. The pressure I put on myself, not anybody else, I’ve realised now later in life.

This is one of the main reasons I chose to work behind the stage and what makes me love and care so much about live performances. For me, it is so important that artists feel comfortable whilst being on stage because I know what it feels like when you don’t.

Performance anxiety is so important to acknowledge and to deal with in all aspects and careers of life. We put so much pressure on ourselves, from such an early age, it affects our mental health severely. It’s good to be ambitious, but when is it too much? At what point do we tell ourselves ‘hey it’s getting a bit too much now’?. Especially within the music industry, it is a very fast-paced industry and you’re expected to be multi-talented from a young age.

Sometimes it is not about overcoming your anxiety, sometimes it is merely about becoming friends with it. Nowadays I handle it in such a way that I give myself some time and space. I analyse what is going on in my life, usually my anxiety flares up when I’ve got too many things going on at the same time and really should’ve said no to a couple of jobs. I get terrible anxiety when I am new to things, especially jobs, to the point where I feel nauseous and overthink every possible scenario that might happen. But when this happens I tell myself that everything will be ok, one way or another.

We are only human in the end of the day, and as I have learned along the way, it is perfectly normal to feel anxious sometimes. However, if you feel like you need help to improve your anxiety and mental health do not hesitate to get in touch with your GP. There are also great apps to manage and improve your mental health here: https://apps.beta.nhs.uk/category/mental_health/.

 

Missed this Week’s Top Stories? Read our Quick Round-up!

It’s easy to miss the SoundGirls news and blogs, so we have put together a round-up of the blogs, articles, and news from the past week. You can keep up to date and read more at SoundGirls.org

August Feature Profile

Karol Urban – Sound and Storytelling

The Blogs

Live Digital Audio in Plain English Part 1

Basic Sound Circuit Glossary

El proceso creativo de la Iluminación

The Creative Process of Illumination

SoundGirls News

SoundGirls Expo in Orlando, Florida

SoundGirls and Girls Rock Camp

Seeking SoundGirls For Music Expo – Nashville

GIRLSCHOOL New York 2018

Career Paths in Film and Television Sound

https://soundgirls.org/event/bringing-the-audience-closer-soundgirls-at-plasa-2018/?instance_id=1321

SoundGirls and SoundGym

Shadowing Opportunity w/Guit Tech Claire Murphy

Shadowing Opportunity w/ ME Aaron Foye

https://soundgirls.org/event/bay-area-soundgirls-sept-meeting/?instance_id=1317

Round Up From the Internet

The Time After: Dealing With Post Show Blues

Ann Mincieli On ‘She Is The Music,’ Jungle City, Drake, Alicia Keys & More

 

SoundGirls Resources

Directory of Women in Professional Audio and Production

This directory provides a listing of women in disciplines industry-wide for networking and hiring. It’s free – add your name, upload your resume, and share with your colleagues across the industry.

SoundGirls – Gaston-Bird Travel Fund

Letter for Trades and Manufacturers

Women-Owned Businesses

SoundGirls Scholarships 2021 Now Open

Events

Sexual Harassment

https://soundgirls.org/about-us/soundgirls-chapters/

Jobs and Internships

Women in the Professional Audio

The Creative Process of Illumination

The importance of light is not only to appreciate the stage or the viewer to see the artist, whether an actor, musician, dancer, etc. Lighting is a complement to the show as important as any other. With light, we can create an entire concept, a unique atmosphere for each show depending on the type of event.

Now, how can this be achieved? It is definitely not an easy task!

First of all, we must bear in mind that to be an illuminator it is necessary to have knowledge of the equipment, color theory, voltages, among others, we must also have a lot of practice since lighting is a profession like any other.

Second, there are some specific factors that we need to consider before we start; Let’s start by identifying the type of show we are going to light, it could be dance, opera, a concert or television, depending on the type of show it we can determine how we are going to enlighten. Once we identify it, we have to know the overall concept of the work, for example, if our artist has a more theatrical concept such as Castañeda, Tricycle Circus Band, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, to name a few. Working with these types of artists is complicated since they have a very peculiar way of visualizing their show (the music, the theatrical concept, the drama of the show) and the way they seek to communicate with their audience is complex.  I do not mean that other artists do not have their complications, but these examples are useful because the idea of a concert exceeds what we usually see in a show, this makes it unique and unforgettable for each of its spectators.

Now, since we have the concept; the next step is to know the tastes of our artist (favorite colors, if you like strobes, etc.). This step is essential to start designing, and we can do it without the need of a very sophisticated equipment or software. Simply by having a great imagination, blank paper, and some colors you´ll have more than enough, although the above makes the work considerably easier.

To design, you must first realize your light plot or plane of lights. This is the basis of all your design since in it you place the equipment you are going to use and the location according to the characteristics of the place where the show will be presented. In it you must specify the type of luminaires you need, if they are conventional, LED, mobile, etc., how many you need, the voltage they use, the watts of power you require and if necessary the filters, gelatins or Lucas (whatever you call them) and even the console you want to use.

Once you have your light plot, then you start designing your cues or render. This can be done from a downloaded software either free or paid, there are many in the market, some of the best I have tested are Titan de avolites, MA of GrandMA and Magic Q of ChamSys, which are also free; but as I said, it is not mandatory that you use them, you could also use a sheet of paper and colors. The important thing is that when you get to the venue you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.

The advantage of designing/using software is that you can arrive with a programmed show and optimize the time on the console to correct the positions of the lights you will use at important moments, to highlight an action or the artist himself. Although in the entertainment world not everyone has the opportunity to always have the console we want, there will come a time when we can ask to have a fixed rider, although for that you´ll need a lot of experience and patience.

In the case of the theater, we depend on the console that the venue has, for example, in the Lebanese theater where I work, there is an ETC Element. Soon will arrive an ETC ION XE, but in the City Theater Esperanza Iris there is a roadhog console and Avolites Pearl Expert (both Venues located in the CDMX), which is why it is more complicated to schedule a show, but once you have your render, you can arrive at the venue to program your show without any problem.

Finally, a good design of lights does not depend on the equipment that is counted, but on the creativity and imagination that each illuminator has. In addition to the constant preparation and practice, the trial and error that each of the operators can have makes your performance grows.

Mary J. Varher – Dancer, choreographer, teacher and illuminator. She started her career as a dancer in Guadalajara at age 14 and at 15  as an actress, that’s where she had her first approach to enlightenment. Later she moved to the CDMX where she studied the degree in classical dance teaching at the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance, where she also receives scenic production classes from Jana Lara, thus having her second approach to enlightenment and being fascinated so it could be achieved with an unlikely element. She did her social service at the Raúl Flores Canelo Theater under the tutelage of Ivonne Flores. As their needs increased, they continued to learn from great teachers such as Carlos Mendoza, Zanoni Blanco and Mario Flores. She has worked on various projects such as “Sound-body-image connection” under the direction of Antonio Isaac, in dance companies “Project Bara” “Spatio Ac Tempore” and “Mexico Espectacular”, among others, she has participated as an engineer of lighting with artists such as: Genocides of the Mystery and Descartes a Kant. She is currently working as head of lighting at the Lebanese Theater in the Lebanese center located at the CDMX.

El proceso creativo de la Iluminación

La importancia que tiene la luz, no sólo es para que apreciemos  el escenario y el espectador vea al artista, ya sea actor, músico, bailarín, etc.

La iluminación es un complemento para el espectáculo igual de importante que cualquier otro. Con la luz podemos crear todo un concepto, una atmósfera única para cada espectáculo más allá del tipo de evento que se trate.

Ahora, ¿cómo se puede lograr esto?, pues definitivamente no es una tarea fácil,

Primero que nada se debe tener en cuenta que para ser iluminador es necesario tener conocimiento del equipo, teoría del color, voltajes, entre otros, además debemos de tener  mucha práctica, ya que la iluminación es una profesión como cualquier otra.

Segundo, hay algunos factores específicos que debemos tener en cuenta antes de comenzar; empecemos por identificar el tipo de espectáculo que vamos a iluminar, puede ser danza, ópera, un concierto o televisión, dependiendo del tipo de show es la manera en que vamos a iluminar. Una vez que lo identificamos, hay que conocer el concepto global de la obra, por ejemplo, si nuestro artista tiene un concepto más teatral como: la Castañeda, Triciclo Circus Band, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, por mencionar algunos. El trabajar con este tipo de artistas es complicado ya que tienen una forma muy peculiar de visualizar su espectáculo  (la música, el concepto teatral, la dramática del show) y la forma que buscan comunicarse con su público es complejo, no quiero decir que otros artistas no tengan su complicación, pero estos ejemplos me sirven ya que la idea de un concierto sobrepasa lo que usualmente vemos en un espectáculo, esto lo hace único e inolvidable para todos y cada uno de sus espectadores.

Ahora bien, ya que contamos con el concepto; el siguiente paso es saber los gustos de nuestro artista (colores favoritos, si les gustan los estrobos, etc.), este paso es primordial para comenzar a diseñar, y lo podemos hacer sin necesidad de un equipo o software muy sofisticados, simplemente con tener una gran imaginación, papel en blanco y algunos colores es más que suficiente, aunque lo anterior nos facilita considerablemente el trabajo.

Para diseñar, primero debes realizar tu lightplot o plano de luces, éste es la base de todo tu diseño, ya que en él colocas el equipo que vas a utilizar y la ubicación de acuerdo a las características del lugar en donde se presentará el espectáculo. En él debes especificar el tipo de luminarias que necesitas, si son convencionales, LED, móviles, etc., Cuántas necesitas, el voltaje que utilizan, los watts de potencia que requieres y de ser necesario los filtros, gelatinas o Lucas (como sea que les llames) e inclusive la consola que deseas utilizar.

Una vez tienes tú lightplot, entonces comienzas a diseñar tus cues o render, esto lo puedes realizar desde un software de descarga ya sea libre o alguno pagado, existen muchos en el mercado, pero algunos de los mejores que yo he probado son Titan de avolites, MA de Grand MA y Magic Q de ChamSys, además son gratuitos; pero como ya lo dije, no es obligatorio que los uses, puedes utilizar una hoja de papel y colores, lo importante es que al momento en que llegues al venue tengas claro qué es lo que quieres lograr.

La ventaja de diseñar utilizando un software es que puedes llegar con un show programado y  optimizar el tiempo en la consola para poder corregir las posiciones de las luces que utilizarás en los momentos importantes, en resaltar una acción o al artista mismo. Aunque en el mundo del espectáculo no todos tenemos la oportunidad de tener siempre la consola que deseamos, llegará un momento en el que podamos pedir y tener un rider fijo, aunque para eso se necesita mucha experiencia y paciencia.

En caso del teatro, dependemos de la consola con la que cuente el recinto, por ejemplo, en el teatro libanés que es donde yo trabajo, hay una ETC Element y próximamente llegará una ETC ION XE, pero en el Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris hay una consola roadhog y otra avolites pearl expert (ambos Venues ubicados en la CDMX), razón por la cuál es más complicado programar un show, pero una vez teniendo tu render, puedes llegar al recinto para programar tu show sin ningún problema.

Finalmente, un buen diseño de luces no depende del equipo con el que se cuente, sino de la creatividad e imaginación que cada iluminador tiene, además de la constante preparación y práctica, la prueba y error que cada uno de los operadores pueda tener hace que tu desempeño crezca.

Mary J. Varher – Bailarina, coreógrafa, docente e iluminadora. Comenzó su carrera de bailarina en Guadalajara a los      14 años y a los 15 la de actriz, ahí fue donde tuvo su primer acercamiento a la iluminación. Posteriormente se mudó a la CDMX donde estudió la licenciatura en docencia de danza clásica en la Escuela Nacional de Danza Clásica y Contemporánea, en donde también recibe clases de producción escénica de parte de Jana Lara, teniendo así su segundo acercamiento a la iluminación y quedando fascinada por lo que puede lograrse con un elemento tan poco tangible. Hizo su servicio social en el Teatro Raúl Flores Canelo bajo la tutela de Ivonne Flores. Conforme sus necesidades fueron aumentando, continuó aprendiendo de grandes maestros como lo son Carlos Mendoza, Zanoni Blanco y Mario Flores. Ha trabajado en diversos proyectos como lo es “Conexión sonido-cuerpo-imagen” bajo la dirección de Antonio Isaac, en las compañías de danza “Proyecto Bara” “Spatio Ac Tempore” y “México Espectacular”, entre otras, ha participado como ingeniero de iluminación con artistas tales como: Genocidas del Misterio y Descartes a Kant. Actualmente se encuentra como jefa de iluminación en el Teatro Libanés del centro Libanés ubicado en la CDMX.

 

SoundGirls and SoundGym

Collaborate to support women in the audio industry

SoundGym and SoundGirls collaboration in order to encourage and support women and girls in the audio industry.

SoundGym members have been donating Pro subscriptions to support women in sound.

First Step Register for a free account at soundgym.co
Then in your settings use our school code CP8I4084H89
The second Step Fill out this form and we will provide you a year subscription.

Register Here

 

 

 

 

Career Paths in Film and Television Sound

Tour of The Bakery, Sony Scoring Sound Stage, Panel Discussion, Q&A, Networking and Mentoring Social.

You must register for this event to obtain parking permit and reservation

Register Here

Moderator: Anne Marie Slack – Executive of Organization Services Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE)

Panelists

Karen Baker – Supervising Sound Editor, Warner Brothers

Karen is a two-time Academy Award-winning sound editor. She also has won and been nominated for several Motion Picture Sound Editors awards as well as winning the BAFTA Award for Best Sound. Her credits include Skyfall and the Bourne films.

Onnalee Blank, CAS – Re-Recording Mixer, Warners Brothers

Onnalee was a ballet dancer before getting into audio. Since then, Onnalee has won 3 Emmys and 5 Cinema Audio Society (CAS) awards for her work as dialog and music mixer on Game of Thrones.

Karol Urban, CAS, MPSE – Re-Recording Mixer

Karol has worked on Grey’s Anatomy, New Girl, Station 19, Band Aid, Breaking 2, and #Realityhigh. She has a diverse list of mix credits spanning work on feature films, TV (scripted and unscripted), TV movies, and documentaries over the last 18 years. She currently serves of the TV Academy’s Governor’s Mixing Peer Group as well as on the board of directors for the Cinema Audio Society and is an editor of the CAS Quarterly publication.

Katy Wood – Supervising Sound Editor, Warner Brothers

Katy has worked as ADR supervisor on the recent films such as Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Katy’s career in sound for film has spanned the last 20 years. Katy has worked extensively in the United States, New Zealand (including the Lord of the Rings series), Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Do you have a passion for sound? Music sound… movie sound… all audio sound? Then you should consider a career in audio post production. Audio post-production careers cover a lot of areas including television, web, movies, commercials, live events, scripted shows and movies, documentary/reality, sports, and more.

Join us for a panel discussion and Q&A featuring some talented women working and succeeding in the world of post-production audio. The evening will end with a casual mentoring and networking session.

Below are just a few of the exciting jobs in post production audio.

Sound assistants or machine room operators prep materials and offer tech support to sound editors, mixers, and engineers.

Dialog editors focus on spoken word. A dialog editor listens to all of the mics for quality, smooths out transitions, fixes technical problems, and removes unwanted sounds from dialog when possible.

Music editors are responsible for adjusting music edits and finessing placement for music in a scene. A music editor also coordinates with the composer on a project, delivers all the music to the re-recording mixer, and often attends mixes (as the representative of the music department).

Sound fx editors (sound designers) are person responsible for non-language sounds. The sound designer has a sound effects library (a catalog of sounds) but also records specialized sounds when needed. He/she adds background ambience sounds and will embellish sounds like explosions, car engines, or guns. The sound designer also has to build sounds from scratch for visual effects or creatures that don’t exist.

ADR Mixers are responsible for recording actors in a studio. The actor performs the line while watching it on a screen and the ADR engineer adjusts microphones and watches for sync (how well the new recorded audio matches their lip movements on-screen). In some cases, ADR is recorded without picture (some cartoons, for example).

Foley mixers are responsible for recording certain non-speaking sounds. The Foley engineer works in a studio with a Foley artist, who makes the sounds while the engineer records it. The Foley team covers sounds such as footsteps, cloth movement, eating, touching or handling objects.

Supervising Sound Editors (or Sound Supervisors) oversees the sound crew working on a project (sort of like a manager). They communicate with directors, producers and picture editors about sound, supervises ADR sessions, and attend the dub mix. Sometimes there are multiple sound supervisors on a project and are split up by element. ADR & Dialog Supervisor, for example, only focuses on those two elements.

Re-recording mixers combine all the sound elements (dialog, voice-over, sound fx, Foley, and music) into one project. The mixer adjusts the levels of those sounds together (similar to the job of a live sound mixer or a music mixer). Sound mixers may work alone or in teams with each person focusing on different elements. After the re-recording mixers adjust for balance (looking at it technically and creatively), there will be a review with the producer, director, picture editor, or other members of the film crew to listen, give notes, and make adjustments.

Basic Sound Circuit Glossary

Have you ever read the spec sheet on your favorite piece of gear and wondered what the terms mean?  Are you interested in modifying your gear, but are intimidated by the jargon? Now you can have a cheat sheet for those little components that work hard to make electricity into music.

Active device – A component that uses an outside electrical signal to control current.  Transistors are generally active devices.

Attenuator – A signal dampening device that is often in the form of a potentiometer (pot), a variable resistor like a volume knob or fader, but can be as simple as a single resistor.

Capacitor – A passive component that stores charge, and is often used in the circuit like a temporary battery.  It is also used to remove unwanted DC electricity from a circuit. When repairing circuits this is the little demon that can cause harm even when the power is off.  It also has a tendency to short, and is generally the first component to go bad.

Diode – A component that only allows current to pass one way.  It is used in voltage rectifying (turning AC into DC). Light emitting diodes (LED) are another common application for these components.

Inductor – A passive component that stores magnetic charge, and resist changes in current.  It can be used to block AC electricity while allowing DC to pass through.

Load – Any device that you plug into your designed circuit.  It is the catchall term, especially when the circuit is in the designing stage.

Operational Amplifier – A voltage amplifier that uses an external DC voltage to produce a high gain output.  It often takes the difference between two input signals and outputs a single amplified signal. They are a key component in analog circuits, and have a variety of useful functions when combined.

Oscillator – A circuit that creates a periodic signal, often sound when energized, usually by a DC signal.  There are a variety of ways to build an oscillation circuit, but many of them function on the principle of creating a feedback cycle that self-sustains.

Passive device – A component that does not control the electrical current by means of an outside electrical signal.

Resistor – The simplest, passive component on your circuit board.  It attenuates or dampens the signal. Every circuit has a resistor in some form, and a circuit without any resistance is a short.

Transformer – A device that transfers electricity to another circuit using magnetically coupled inductors.  They can be used to step-up or step-down the voltage from one circuit to the next.

Transistor – An active device that can amplify or switch electric signals.  It is one of the key components in electronics. They are used in analog and digital circuits, and can be found in tube or chip form.

 

SoundGirls Expo in Orlando, Florida

The event was hosted by the Orlando SoundGirls Chapter and Full Sail University.

A while back a few of us were talking at one of our monthly meet-ups, and I asked everyone “what would you all like to see us do and what do you want  to learn” The responses were varied, but everyone agreed they wanted a day of training and networking with other women working the industry.

From those conversations, I started dreaming about what we could do. I made a few calls and sent some emails. I asked Karrie Keyes for some advice, and she suggested I reach out to some of the local manufacturers that had shown interest in supporting SoundGirls, and I did just that. One of the emails I sent was to Full Sail University to see if we could do some training at the university. Mark Johnson head of the Show Production program at Full Sail University asked me to come in for a meeting with them, and from there, things just started coming together.

One of the teachers for the entertainment business program, Monika Mason, said she was a member of SoundGirls and wanted to help any way she could. Mark suggested having a two day Expo with manufacturers, and Monika suggested we also have panels and discussions surrounding women in audio. I’ll be honest it was a big event to try to pull off and I wasn’t even sure anyone would attend as we are still a growing chapter that hasn’t been up and running for even a year yet. We had two more monthly meet-ups where we spread the word, and we all started talking about it on social media. Mark from Full Sail connected me with Chet Neal from Mainline Marketing who has a ton of reps under their belt. He asked me a lot of information and told me he wanted to see if he could get different manufacturers to come and have female reps and promote what we do. I thought that was a nice touch.

We started planning in January and landed on a date in July. July is a slower month for us in Orlando, so that worked well for others in the industry to be able to attend. We continued planning, talking, and dreaming. Manufacturers like Shure jumped on board and said they would send Laura Davidson, Analog Way jumped on board and said they would send Chrissy Spurlock, Allen and Heath jumped on board and said they would send Willa Snow (who happens to be the Chapter Head for SoundGirls in Austin, TX), and local SoundGirls supporters Clear Tune Monitors jumped on board and said they would send Sandra Cardona and Castor Milano. This was all coming together! I started to get excited!

One of the greatest things I saw while putting this all together was how everyone was so willing to say “yes” and “what can I do to help?” My company, B4 Media Production sponsored breakfast for the vendors and volunteers. Chet’s company,  Mainline marketing sponsored lunch for the vendors and volunteers. Mark, Monika, and Full Sail got us crew, a space on Campus to have the event, and also marketed to the students.

I reached out to some other women who have been in sound for years to have a panel discussion, an audio engineer for a local theater who also teaches audio and video at Full Sail, Susan Williams, a sound engineer from NASA, Alexandria Perryman, and myself did the panel discussion and we just opened it up for any questions. That was my favorite part of the entire event. We had a real discussion about real topics for over an hour both days. Everything from “how did you get your foot in the door?” To “what is a good freelance rate to quote someone.”  All the manufacturers joined in, and attendees all asked questions. We laughed, we were encouraged, and we learned so much from one another.

In addition to informative training sessions, and interactive gear displays, the event highlighted and supported the SoundGirls organizational mission, “to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers.”

One of the SoundGirls I talked to this last weekend told me “I got emotional seeing all the women in one place learning from other women on the consoles and the Shure system and the IEMs and so on. She said she had always been one of the only girls in the field and she was so encouraged to be surrounded by women running top-of-the-line gear in the real world.” It was great hearing just how energized she was.

I still can’t get over how much fun we had and how inspiring it was. As a veteran of this industry for 18 years, this is the first time I was ever a part of something that helped raise us up as women in this field without it being a requirement or a political statement to do so. Professional women just being professionals, helping and inspiring up and coming women and helping them get a leg up on a ladder that took a lot of us a long time to climb.

I spoke with two other women at the (who found us via the social media events pages) veterans of the industry while at the Expo, one who has been a broadcast engineer for 20 years and one who has been a FOH engineer for 42 years and both women encouraged us to keep going and said, “if you do another one we will come and bring our friends and contacts too.” One of those ladies said to me “you know a lot of our generation is getting ready to retire, it’s great to see the future of the industry is in such great hands and I wanna help you ladies out!” One of the women said, “I wished when I was coming up we had something like SoundGirls, this is such an encouragement to me as a veteran to see women working together not back stabbing one another for the one spot available to women. She shared how men have always helped her, and how great it is to see us come together and unite with one another and the men supporting us to help raise us up not tear us down.” I said, “I to am encouraged by that!” She said, “are you doing another one next year?” I said, “I don’t see why we wouldn’t! This just proved to me that we need these kind of events as well as the monthly meet-up to be an encouragement to one another if nothing else “ she agreed and then said, “I’m going to reach out to all my contacts and help you make this even bigger next year.”

I would encourage all the SoundGirls chapters to try to have some sort of training or expo where you can invite new people and open discussions where you can share with one another. It was one of the most amazing productive things I have ever been a part of in our industry. We will definitely do this again next year! I am looking forward to what the future holds for us women in audio now.

Beckie Campbell is the owner of B4MediaProduction, a growing production company, supplying anything from small corporate set-ups and medium to large concert system set-ups. Being versatile, Beckie also works as an independent contractor to several companies around the US. Beckie’s experience  in the audio field is comprehensive, having the ability to work as Production Management, FoH/Monitors, and as a PA/System or monitor tech. Beckie is the chapter head of the SoundGirls Orlando Chapter. Read SoundGirls Profile on Beckie Campbell

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