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CWM (SWIM) Celebrates International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a celebration celebrated globally. The focus is on celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The main purpose: Gender Parity or the idea of equal distribution of gender to every dimension in life. European Institute of Gender Equality

For women in the music industry, the best way for us to celebrate that goal was to partner with a local business that is at least part-owned by a woman and invite all the local singer-songwriters and musicians together for a night of music. Attendees were encouraged to wear red for solidarity. This year we celebrated it in Modesto, CA at Sandude Brewery and Tap Room co-owned by Janette Samuel Freitas and her husband.

The event was hosted by California Women’s Music with performances by Kayla Just, Melynda Rodriguez, The Islands Duo, Francesca Bavaro, Matte Overstreet, and Victoria Boyington. This was a perfect mix of local women coming together with a purpose: to show solidarity for equality in music.

Megan Avila, lead singer of The Islands Duo said “It was beautiful, a beautiful experience seeing women come together through a common passion that we all share. It made me excited and grateful to share music with one another and the community. The support I have felt from these women is so immense.”

Local singer-songwriter Kayla Just was inspired by the event “ I thought it was an amazing event. I was and always am so happy to be a part of anything involving Women’s Music. It is so cool to have everyone come together to show their support and just genuinely love what we do. All of us ladies are inspired by each other and the sense of unity was strong. I love that feeling! It is super uplifting to be part of it as a musician and also as a woman. Such a wonderful experience.”

Mattea Overstreet, newest CWM Board Member said “The International Women’s Day Celebration was a collection of eclectic and powerful female voices gathered to celebrate women in music, business, education and the fine arts and to promote equality and local businesses. Many thanks to Sandude Brewing CO.  for hosting a successful and historic event in Downtown Modesto. It was a pleasure to be given this amazing platform to showcase my original music.”

Jordan Waters a local singer-songwriter shows his support for women “I thought it was a terrific event and was glad to see so many talented women being recognized in our community. Glad they were able to show their talent and we were able to come together to support equality.”

Overall, It is the small movements everywhere in the United States that will help to advance women in music. When we all come together to show our support globally, in all of our local communities we show that we are united together. Let’s continue to show our support for the advancement of women in business, education, music and the fine arts. Find a local women’s organization today and go to their events, support the Future is Female movement today. The best way to make a change is in your own community.
Visit www.cwmusicfest.com for more information on the advancement of women in business, education, music and the fine arts. Get more information about upcoming events in your area. Want to have CWM come to your town? Let us know. Go to the contact page and send us a message subject line “Our Town”.

 

Post-Production Audio: Promo Mixing

One area of the post-production industry that goes under the radar when looking for jobs or career paths is advertising and promos. A promo is a form of advertising used in media/broadcast to promote a program or event. You’ve probably seen these a million times and never thought much of it. “Coming up next on the Simpsons!” or “Tuesday night right after the Voice!”

 

Mixing a promo is not terribly complicated. There’s usually voice-over, dialog, sound fx and music. The content is short – generally, you are given a “spot” which is 30 seconds (but could be other lengths). Then, there can be “cutdowns” of that spot – shorter spots that are usually derivative of the longest one. For a 30 second spot, the cutdowns might be 20, :15, and :10. Here’s an example of a 30-second spot and a basic cutdown version:

 

Once you mix the:30 it’s often a matter of conforming your mix/tweaking or applying settings from the original mix to the cutdown versions.

The main thing that makes promo mixing difficult is organization and file management. For one spot, you might have 3 cutdowns (4 mixes in total) plus “versions.” Versioning is taking your mix and changing the tag – the VO at the end of the spot that identifies the show, time, date, network, etc (“The Americans. All-New Next Tuesday. Only on FX”). Your average tv show that has a promo for next week’s new episode might have the following tags: Next Wednesday, Wednesday, Tomorrow, Tonight, Next. If they’re running a spot early there might be tags like “This summer,” “coming in May,” “premieres May 5.” Sometimes it gets specific like “Next Wednesday at 8” or “Wednesday at 9/8 Central.” There might be promotion across networks or platforms, too. For example, a mix I do for the cable network FXX might also air on FX, Fox, On Demand, and online streaming (FXNow). Some promos are also on the radio or play at movie theaters.
This basic Protools session shows tags for a :30 spot and 3 cutdowns (:20, :15, and :10). The three versions for each spot are “Starts Today at 3,” “Starts Next” and “Continues.” Sometimes it’s easier to do the mix and tags in separate sessions.

If you have a bigger session – say 10 tags for a spot and 3 cutdown versions – that means 40 total you have to edit voice-over (and mix), output and name files, double-check the file names match the mix and spot check the mixes. You may be asked for similar named versions like “premieres next” and “premiering next” so naming files correctly is very important. This is just one promo and you might be doing multiple in a day! This is why people who are detail-oriented do really well in promo.

Voice over script with many tags

As a promo mixer, you get to wear a lot of hats. You might be recording voice-over, editing dialog, sound design, recording Foley or walla (background voices), and music editing. Generally, you don’t get to wear so many hats working on movies or tv shows and definitely not on the same day.

There’s a nuance to promo mixing because there’s a lot of things happening at once that are all competing for your attention. Your job is to point the listener to what’s most important. There can be a lot of mood changes in a short period of time and a good promo mix can navigate these without calling attention to volume rides or overlapping audio. When an explosion happens in a promo you’re usually onto the next idea when the audio is barely starting to decay.

Promo mixing can be a great gig if you’re trying to pursue another interest, too. Mixers are usually booked by the day and there are opportunities to mix from home. It’s not as hard to break into as film mixing, for example. However, it’s not the type of gig you necessarily want to learn on the job because deadlines can be tight. Often a mix is booked the same day a spot needs to air so there’s not a lot of room for error. If you are good with details, organization, are a fast editor and mixer, enjoy wearing a lot of hats, and not looking for your name in the credits, promo mixing might be a good fit for you!

Failing Smart

Recently, I have been super excited to see many women sharing their stories and joining us as part of SoundGirls. Many of the recent posts on our Facebook page have been new members of our organization in school, about to graduate, or just starting their first position in this amazing field.  It reminds me of conversations about what’s next as student staff members and student event organizers around me begin their last steps toward graduation and their next steps toward their desired careers.

Working within an educational system, we frequently discuss with graduating students what they have learned if they feel prepared, and how to find support once out in their field. Outside of the educational system, I hope everyone can learn something through all of their life experiences. I would like to share some things that I have learned over time through failure in hopes you can learn from them.

How to Fail Smart

There are many things outside of our control that can lead to failure. Those we are rarely able to change, but there are things as an individual we can do to prevent our failures.  The first being, always blaming others.  It’s a fact, mistakes will be made, things will go wrong, and sometimes it is our fault. Something was missed, forgotten about, or we just simply misunderstood something. When this happens, and you know that you could have prevented it or you messed it up – take ownership of it. Own the mistake, apologize for it, and work toward fixing it.  It can be as simple as, “I’m sorry, I messed up on this – I am going to fix it by…..”

I had a situation just like this happen the other day.  I was making a room reservation for a client when I was pulled away for something else, and by the time I got back to my desk, I completely forgot about it. Then the next day I was reminded that I needed to finish the reservation. When I did so, I found that the hotel was sold out. I had messed up for not completing the reservation when I should have – but I owned it. I went to my team, let them know what had happened, and asked for help. I asked if there was any way we could fix the problem. We worked together, and we were able to solve the issue quickly.

A second way to avoid failure is to not complain about everything all the time. Yes, there can be negative times, but if all that comes from you as an employee, team member, and leader is negative, you have failed.  To get out of this rut, look at what went well and what didn’t and fix it. Take steps to turn the negative into positive outcomes. I grew up with an ideology of – if you don’t like it, then you fix it. Now that can sound a bit intense, but when you break it down this way take ownership, change what you don’t like, and if you can’t change it make decisions to make it better. As individuals within the sound world we will end up working with negative people, and if we continuously act the same as those negative people as well we will all live miserable lives – so let’s not do that, because life is too short to be negative all the time.

Finally, it will always be important, no matter if you are a rookie or a veteran to learn from your mistakes. As I mentioned above, we have all made mistakes. Taking ownership of those mistakes is important; learning from them is even more important.  They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  The same goes for mistakes.  If you are making the same mistakes over and over again, you are failing. Learn from those mistakes, and adjust your game plan from show to show. In the long run, this will make you a productive and valuable employee and leader, plus you may not have to spend so much time troubleshooting.

At the end of the day, no one is perfect when it comes to failing, but owning and learning from mistakes will help you succeed in your career path and remaining active will help you move through failure one step at a time by failing smart.

 

Dedication and Perseverance – Meegan Holmes

Meegan Holmes has worked in live sound for over 25 years doing everything from system teching to mixing monitors and FOH. She is now in Global Sales for one of the largest sound system providers in the world, 8th Day Sound – Los Angeles. At 8th Day Sound Meegan can utilize her years of experience in sales and account/project management, as she held a similar position at Delicate Productions for over 18 years.

With a mother who is an artist and a father who is a musician, chances were high that Meegan would end up working in the arts. Meegan says her parents “were always supportive of whatever I wanted to do and they never discouraged me from pursuing my goals. In many ways, it made me both fearless and a bit stubborn.” At age 13, Meegan was exposed to live sound and event production when she volunteered at a summer stock theater. She would spend many evenings through several summers, painting sets, hanging lights and speakers. It was there Meegan learned all about theatrical mic technique and live mixing from the FOH engineer. From there Meegan would go on to attend California Institute of The Arts, where she studied Sound Design and Music Composition.

After about 18 months at CalArts, Meegan realized that she was not going to make it as a musician and started to think about how she could still be involved in music and not have to perform. It was evident to her that bands would always need crew and if she chose a path on the tech side, she would always have a job. ”I loved the experience that I had with the technical aspect of live production when I was younger, so it was an easy transition for me to make and one that I do not regret.” During her junior year, she started working as a stagehand with LA Stagecall. While working for Stagecall, she would make friends with the guys at Delicate Productions, which eventually led to Delicate hiring her as a stage tech for a tour.

While Meegan does not believe that attending an audio program or obtaining a degree is necessary, it will most likely benefit you. “CalArts gave me a chance to try varying aspects of audio, not just live production. I tried designing and mixing for film, television, and animation. I spent time in the recording studio on campus; I used the first version of Protools. None of that excited me, but a live rock show did. I don’t think a four-year private university is mandatory. Where I grew up in Connecticut, we weren’t given an option to ‘not go to college. I had to apply to at least four and pick one. I chose an art school. Honestly, going to college gave me the hunger to learn, the networking skills to get a job and the discipline to keep it. Keep in mind; there are many successful people in our industry that do not have any continuing education at all. If you already know someone that can help you get involved in the industry, great but if you don’t, attending some education program might be the only way to get some contacts to help launch your career.”

Meegan’s first tour was Lollapalooza 1997, (back when it was still a tour), as the stage/patch tech. “The tour was a lot of hard work; I started my day with flying/ground stacking PA. Once the band risers were up, I would start mic’ing up the seven bands. I’d re-patch between each and only get sporadic breaks to eat lunch and dinner. After the show was over, I took down the PA I had installed in the morning. My trouble-shooting skills improved by 100%. I learned how to be a strong member of a team (not only the audio crew but the other departments as well), we all worked together to execute the show.”

From there she would go on to mix FOH and monitors for various smaller acts, such as Soul Coughing, Tenacious D, The Melvins and God Lives Underwater. The majority of her road experience has been as a monitor or system tech on tours with Natalie Merchant, Natalie Cole, TOOL, Queens Of The Stone Age, Linkin Park, Basia, and Gorillaz. She even had a brief stint working as a production assistant on Limp Bizkit “I just wanted to try something different, I loved working with the PM on that tour, but I missed being on the audio crew.” Her favorite thing about touring was being paid to see the world, but the disconnect from her life at home was taxing.

Touring would no longer become an option prompting Meegan to seek local full-time work with Delicate. Over time she would start to assist in crewing shows, eventually leading to working as an onsite Project Manager for the more complex shows. Meegan says she “developed a knack for dealing with some of their more challenging clients. After learning the onsite leadership skills and all about dealing with personnel, I just had one last piece to learn, the money. I was promoted to account management in 2013 where I learned pricing and client management on an entirely different level. It was not a difficult transition to make. I spent a lot of time on-site with Delicate’s clients, building relationships with them. Also being on-site, I developed stronger relationships with the crew, bands and event producers. Creating these relationships gave me the opportunity to represent the company beyond email and phone calls. I learned a valuable lesson about how relationships drive our industry. Clients liked dealing with me; they did not care where the equipment came from, they wanted the service, attention, and dedication that I had to offer.”

After 18 years, Meegan felt it was time to move on as she says “Account Management showed me a lot. It also showed me the limitations at Delicate as well. I knew I needed to move on to take my career to the next level. I needed something slightly different and challenging. I interviewed with several different companies. Initially, I was interviewing with 8th Day to take on some of the 30+ festivals they do in the U.S. each year. After my interview, the plan changed, and I was asked if I was interested in starting the west coast operation of the company.

So start she did, with a small pile of gear stored in a warehouse owned by one of 8th Day’s clients. Meegan worked alone with the support of the Cleveland office and freelancers that she knew in Los Angeles. “At the time, I did much of everything, sales, crew, trucking, prep, loading and unloading the gear. I don’t think anyone (including myself) knew how quickly we’d grow here. We hired more full-time personnel and moved into our own warehouse last August. I spend most of my days, now that we have more personnel, doing quotes for shows and tours, conference calls and attending site visits and meetings, hiring crew for our shows here in LA and keeping up with the warehouse maintenance and needs. I spend time on show site, I still feel like nurturing personal relationships is a crucial part of my job.”

When hiring crew Meegan says she looks for “someone that is willing to do any aspect of audio, patching the stage, FOH/monitor tech, RF tech, and mixing. This versatility is beneficial if you plan to work for sound companies. If someone specializes in something, we have less work for them of course but sometimes being the best RF technician brings you more work. Keeping a positive attitude, being reliable, honest and having a good sense of humor are all necessary traits. We can teach you the technical side of the things you don’t know, but we cannot teach you to have integrity. Spending time as a stagehand, working in a warehouse or working in a venue learning how everything goes together is beneficial, especially if you are starting out.”

Meegan’s long-term goals are to help build the 8th Day’s business here in Los Angeles and to use her position to help others achieve their goals in the industry.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I contacted two audio companies when I graduated from college; the first told me “we don’t hire women for touring positions.” The second told me “we don’t hire women because we find we have to pick up their slack.” These were literally the only two tangible barriers I experienced, and both happened in 1993.

How have you dealt with them?

I never stopped wanting to work in the industry and have always worked hard. I never made a big deal out of gender or my education; I let my work speak for itself. Either people wanted to work with me, or they didn’t. I kept a positive attitude and tried to have fun regardless of what I was doing. I never said ‘no’ when I was asked to do something like pull feeder or load or unload a truck.

Advice you have for women who wish to enter the field?

Get ready to work and prove yourself. Nothing comes easily to anyone, and there will always be someone smarter, stronger, and more experienced than you. Stay humble and open to learning from anyone and everyone you are around regardless of age, gender, race, or experience level. This applies to both technical and interpersonal skills.

Must have skills?

Patience. Drive. The willingness to learn. A strong knowledge of signal flow and troubleshooting.

Favorite gear?

Equipment that can handle the wear and tear of road life.

Parting Advice.

Don’t limit yourself! If you tell someone that you only mix FOH, then you’ve just limited yourself, and you’ve made it harder for someone like myself, to hire you or recommend you for a tour. Do not be afraid to fail; it means you tried. If you are not happy with your job, do everything you can to change that. We spend much of our lives working, and if you don’t love your job 90% of the time, it will affect your entire life. Have fun, be safe and do not give up on your goals, sometimes they might take a little longer to achieve than you want but the wait will be worth it.

More on Meegan

The SoundGirls Podcast Interview Meegan Holmes

Getting What You Give: Inside The Career Of Veteran Audio Professional Meegan Holmes

NAMM – Meegan Holmes

Meegan Holmes on Roadie Free Radio

Wrong End of the Snake – Meegan Holmes

The Pandemic Series THE ROLE OF AUDIO COMPANIES IN TOURING — PT.6 — 4/21/20

Showmakers – Meegan Holmes

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

Asle Karstad – Mic Tips for Acoustic Instruments

On the last day in February, Soundgirls.org – in cooperation with KRETS (Norway) – arranged a day with Asle Karstad, who gave a lecture on the reinforcement of acoustic instruments.

Asle Karstad has worked for over 35 years in sound, and and refers to himself as a ‘sound producer’ – the person who guides the sound so the listener will get the most optimal experience. He has spent most of his time working with the Oslo Symphonic Orchestra, but is also very well known by Norwegian Jazz and folk musicians.

On this particular day Asle had been kind enough to invite some friends to join him – an acoustic guitar player, a quartet from Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a well known contrabass player by the name Ellen Andrea Wang.

We were very excited to meet Asle in this relatively new venue in Oslo.
Sentralen is only a year old and contains five separate and diverse concert rooms. (If you happen to visit Oslo, don’t miss out on visiting this very special venue.)

Asle’s first mission was to show us how you find the resonant frequency of an acoustic string instrument – or the ‘Crazy Note’ as he refers to it. (The resonant frequency is the natural ‘note’ that the instrument will create on it’s own as soon as you ‘put’ some energy into it, for example by tapping on it.) The reason Asle places importance on finding the ‘Crazy Note’ – is because he discovered that when six violin players put down their instrument at the same time, the little bump on the floor creates the resonant frequency, which could lead to feedback from the six violins in close proximity with each other. The resonant frequency of a violin will be around 275 Hz – 280 Hz. Their fundamental note is 94 Hz.

The method he used to find the ‘Crazy Note’ was to place the instrument on a table and close mic it where the resonant frequency was assumed to be found (Asle was using a DPA 4011 as microphone). He would then tap around the body of the instrument, and take a ‘snapshot’ of the frequency response.

By using this method we discovered that the instrument has one spectacular note in the lower range that stands out- the crazy note! (If you try this yourself, remember to dampen the strings so they don’t resonate – a towel works well)

It’s important to find this frequency because you may have to deal with other issues in the low end, like for example the low hum that likes to ‘sneak’ around your PA and end up in your mic’s on stage. If that ‘hum’ happens to be the same frequency as the ‘Crazy Note’ on one or more of the acoustic instruments in the orchestra, you could quite quickly end up with a problem.

Asle reminded us that it is always good to consider that the low end has a tendency to travel around the speakers and up on the stage, higher frequencies, as we know are more directional and therefore don’t have the same problem. This is also why we like to close mic, to eliminate ‘sneaky’ low end frequencies from PA and the room itself.

Whilst we are thinking about resonance – we also have to remember that any kind of resonant shell acts like an amplifier. You will do yourself a favor knowing the resonant frequencies of your acoustic instruments in advance to deal with any issues. For example the resonant frequency or ‘crazy note’ of an acoustic guitar will most likely be around 200 Hz. Asle suggested, when you pull that frequency out of your acoustic guitar that you add a little decay to it around 1,85 – 3,25 seconds to keep the natural sound to it.

Here are some other resonant notes to remember: Cello 80 – 90 Hz, Contra Bass 105 Hz (105 Hz goes for electric bass too). Asle suggest to ‘work’ a little around 65 – 105 Hz, since you will have the low end energy from the PA in this area as well.

Some other interesting tips from Asle are to put a compressor on the reverb send for your acoustic strings. And if you do not want ‘things right up in your face’ as he puts it, delay the whole mix 6 – 9 ms. We tried this and it made a huge difference, it somehow also made the mix sounds bigger and brighter.

Also to make your mix sound more natural you might want to put a high shelf cut on your strings from 1500 Hz and up – it sounds crazy, but if you think about it, higher frequencies die quickly over a distance. We felt this method worked.

Regarding string instruments – aim the capsule at the wood when you mic up – not for the strings!

KRETS is a part of the Norwegian music organization that was founded in 2013, as a tribute to the 100 year anniversary for the Women’s Right to Vote in Norway. The group is trying to connect female technicians across Norway by supporting events like this one with Asle Karstad. Soundgirls.org would like to thank KRETS for their co-operation and support.

 

SXSW – Tips, Tricks and Other Stories

This festival is like nothing else in America. Its origin and functionality in our industry is modeled completely differently from any festival you will ever attend, work or perform at. I’ve been doing this festival since 2011 and have always worked as the house engineer for what I consider to be ‘pop-up’ venues; places that don’t normally have sound and that SXSW puts production into. So here is some of my advice, having lived through it for a few years.

Places that normally don't have sound that SXSW puts production into.

Attitude

If you are in anyway a grumpy, or pessimistic person, this gig will run you down. You need to walk into this knowing that what sustains the event for the people around you, is how you react.

I like to prepare myself to have a good attitude, amidst the chaos, by planning. Before I leave for SXSW, I ask myself “what piece of equipment makes my day faster?” I bring a few of my favorite mics and DIs, zip-ties, gaffe tape, e-tape, several flash lights, screwdrivers, fans, adaptors, Y-cables, a soldering iron, solder, and instrument cable. Do you need all these extras to pull off a show? No, of course not, but in a pinch, I’d rather reach over and grab the easy solution. Someone forgot their instrument cable? You know what? No problem, got you covered. It’s easier than having to send them to ask all the other musicians if they can borrow one.

Another way to prepare yourself within your venue. I test every piece of gear, every day. I test every line, every day. Every mic, every day. I ring out my main system and my wedges, every day. I may not start from flat, but I go through to make absolutely certain that what I thought sounded good yesterday still sounds good today. I try to get all the input lists, and plan all the patch changes I can mentally keep in my head at one time. I show up an hour before my call-time to do these things.

Understand your role on show-day

This is big. Will you have a stage manager? Most likely. But understanding their experience level is key. Most are volunteers and have varying skill-levels. They start working, planning, and contacting artists long before the music festival portion of SXSW starts. Letting them know on the first day how you like to have your stage function is key. Find out how the backline will work, making sure they know, and you know, where it all is going to live, how it will come off the stage, etc. Don’t over talk it, just get to the point. If something feels like it’ll be a problem, do not think ” that’s their job, their problem”. Its ultimately your problem. If the band doesn’t start on time, everyone will be looking at you – pointing fingers won’t fly. Work as a team. Just remember, you do this for a living and the stage manager is probably doing this for the first time.

You will also have volunteers at your venue. They are not your resource. The stage manager is their boss and if you need anything, I recommend going through your stage manager. I’ve been lucky; this year I taught one stage manager how to over-under cables. After the first couple days, she seemed very interested in production and when I asked if she wanted to have a more active role, she said yes. That was her choice – coiling cables and helping manage the stage is not in their job description. Most help at the door, or maybe carry gear on and off the stage, but they are not your stage hands. However, they can be an untapped resource, depending on their level of interest and, of course, how

That being said, prepare for everything you can think of, and just accept that many things will be uncontrollable. Almost all the bands that will play your venue understand how SXSW flows. Road closures, broken gear, forgotten gear; approach everyone as if your venue could turn itself upside-down and, despite that they (the musicians) will have a great show. It works.

Just roll with it

Yes, sometimes a band will go over by fifteen minutes, but later in the evening another band might end ten minutes early. Don’t get stuck on the little details. If the SXSW production staff or the event sponsors are happy, then you are doing your job. I let my stage manager have total control of telling the band when to get off the stage. Usually the event runs on time, but I’ve seen some engineers really get bent out of shape. It’s SXSW – just go with the flow.

Musicians should keep in mind, when playing these venues, that a line check may be all you will get. Unfortunately, that’s just how it goes at pretty much all the venues. Rest assured, every line will work and we mix so many bands each day that the in-house engineer will work like a machine, sussing out your sound within the first song. We get hired to work these events specifically because we are trusted to fly like that. We want you to be happy, we really do, and we want to enjoy the music, and the faster we can make that happen, the better.

As a band or a solo artist, the best thing you can do is to make sure your management sends out the most up-to-date stage plot, and avoid changing it while we are loading onto the stage. Sometimes I will have already set up my patch based on your paperwork, which said that the keys are on stage left and percussion on stage right. I’ll roll with the change, but those changes can throw hiccups into the flow. Guess what we like at SXSW? A good flow.

Make sure your gear is in working order

Does your bass DI not work? Please tell the sound person ASAP. Do you have a passive pick up in your guitar? I highly recommend carrying an active pickup with you. Please know all the functions of your gear: There have been times someone has brought a piece of guitar gear that I’ve never seen before, and therefore don’t know how to troubleshoot it. Are you a keyboard player? Please have cables and back-up cables – maybe even back-up cables for the back-ups. You play so many shows that those cables could work fine at one venue, get thrown into your keyboard case, and then come out ruined. Same for guitarist: please bring back-up cables and back-up strings. Assume there is absolutely no way to get a replacement or repair any gear. All the music stores in town will be out of everything and so busy it’ll be a mental drain to get to them. If you are a DJ, bring a small table with you. Also be aware that stage vibrations may affect your turntables; if that will ruin your show, please find appropriate ways to eliminate that problem. The sound person will have limited resources for you to use if that happens.

The stories

This year, from the very first day, I had my backline show up exactly at downbeat. This was a new room with a PA that had not had a band play through it yet and there were lines that hadn’t been used at all. My venues operate on a line-check basis, and my band had shown up at their load-in time, two hours before downbeat. Having been excited about having so much time to soundcheck, we then had to scramble to get started on time. Between the sponsor, stage manager, volunteers, backline tech, and the band themselves, we got set up extremely quickly. The sponsor was very stressed-out while I sound-checked: I had continuous feedback on a vocal mic, and insisted on them holding-doors until I could suss out the problem. During this, I had several folks at FOH adding a mental strain to the process. In a moment of clarity, I realized the vocal had a processor on it that I wasn’t aware of, coming from the stage. Within minutes the feedback was solved. We opened doors and started only fifteen minutes late.

Another year, I came in to find my PA sounding ‘off’. This was the year that I learned a valuable lesson: trust your ears. I had issues with feedback and an overwhelming wonkiness. While the first band was sound-checking, I ran to another venue that a friend was running and asked for his advice. After running noise through the PA, I found that in all four of my three-way speakers, the mids had frozen. If you don’t know how to test your PA, I highly recommend learning that process. My friend left the other venue while he had touring engineer at FOH and came over, collected my volunteers and anyone else who was interested, and started the processes of replacing every mid. We lucked out as the company I was working for had extra parts. Guess what was the life-saver? Me bringing tools. I won’t ever leave tools at home again. Having screwdrivers was a life-saver.

If you get booked at SXSW, don’t sink with dread or get an overwhelming sense of fear about it. It’s an experience that can bring the best together. As an engineer, you’ll get stronger, tighter, and faster. As a band, you’ll earn a level of teamwork you never knew you had before. Just remember, the music festival is just a week. Let the experience build you as a performer or technician.

Aubrey Caudill: Aubrey lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area and works as a freelance audio engineer. She currently works for several area wedding bands and runs monitors at The Potter’s House North Dallas. She is also a mother of two sons under ten.

The Important Art of Documentation in Theatre Sound Design

When you work on a production, you never really know what sort of life it’s going to have after that initial run or tour. A production you designed two years ago may suddenly get another run, and you realise you need to dig out all your sounds and designs and make them work in a different venue. Or, you need to hand it over to an associate to do the same. It’s at times like these that you discover the value of two things: accurate, detailed documentation and an organised filing system.

I know that documentation and filing are the least exciting aspects of a creative sound role, but I cannot overemphasize how much they will save your bacon when you need to recreate the sound design for a show. In the time-sensitive, pressured environment of theatre and theatrical productions, it’s very easy to let documentation lapse, so you need to either delegate the task or make time for it. You don’t want to be tearing your hair out the night before tech week kicks off because you have no idea where you put that crucial sound effects file you recorded four years ago.

Here’s a starter list of what you should be captured during the production of a show.

Rehearsals and production weeks before tech week

  1. Make sure you have copies of all your design drawings, whether you created them in CAD software or hand-drew them. If they’re hand-drawn, scan them so you have an electronic copy as well. Ask for model box photos as well (or take your own), so you have a visual reference point for this production.
  2. Make sure you have an electronic copy of the script, score, or both, and any additional material e.g. song lyrics, prologue/epilogue, as well as paper copies.
  3. Take photos of any pictures, sketches, diagrams, props, or anything else that were used in the rehearsal process or in your own creative time that directly influenced your sound designs. They may come in handy if you need to create any new files for subsequent runs.
  4. Label each sound file accurately as you create it, including documenting the recording process if you recorded it from scratch.
  5. Label and save all venue tech specs and sound hire quotes
  6. Label and save all photos taken during venue visits, including any notes about potential speaker/equipment positions

Tech week to press night

  1. Once speaker positions are set, take photos from multiple angles to accurately capture positions. If you have to hand a show over to an associate further down the line, it’s far easier to show them a picture of how you positioned a particular speaker in a venue than explaining it.
  2. Note positions of racks, microphones, processors, desks, screens, comms, cue lights, everything that’s specific to that show.
  3. If there’s anything particularly unique about this production that you may need to remember at a future date, write it down.
  4. Keep sound cue sheets and update them as necessary, including a record of deleted cues. They may be reinstated for future productions.
  5. Make sure you have an accurate list of hired sound equipment, including the hire company, any existing venue equipment used in the show, and any equipment purchased by the production
  6. Save all show and desk files

After press night

  1. Save copies of the final show files and desk files with copies of all final sound files.
  2. Save any sound files not used in the show to a separate folder. You may need them for subsequent productions
  3. Save all documentation, including sound design plans, final cue sheets, radio mic plans, scene maps, etc.
  4. Confirm where any sound equipment purchased by the production company will be stored following the end of the show’s run and save that information in a document
  5. Label everything clearly and put in a single folder so you can quickly find everything for that show
  6. Back up everything!

Managing your documentation should be an integral part of your sound design work, not an addition to it. Do it once and thoroughly for each production, and you’ll save yourself a lot of potential headaches in the future

SoundGirls Mexico Chapter Conferences at ExpoSoundcheck 2017 Mexico City.

SoundGirls.Org Mexico Chapter Conferences at ExpoSoundcheck 2017 Mexico City.

When: April 23 – 25 (from 11:00 to 20:00 Hrs)

Where: WTC Mexico City (conference room)

Cost: 100 Pesos for each conference.

Contact: Carolina Anton soundgirls@soundgirls.org

Six conferences in 3 days:

Saturday 23:

“Cinema Acoustics”

Speaker: Ing Sarudy Zuñiga

Time: 13:00 to 15:00 hrs

“Cinema Mixes round table”

Speakers:

Carlos Cortes (Splendomnia Studio)

Marco Peña (Astro Studio)

Pablo Lach (Azote Post Studio)

Time: 17:00 to 19:00 hrs

Monday 24:

“The Development of Sound Design and Mixing 5.”

Speaker: Marco Hernandez (Mixer at CCC THX Room)

Time 13:00 to 15:00 hrs

Sound Editing for Film, “Diseñando Delicias”

Speaker:  Maria Luz Orozco (Collaborates as editor with Martin Hernandez)

Time 17:00 to 19:00 hrs.

Tuesday 25:

“Sound Design; From Script to Screen … The Magic of Creating”

Speaker: Juan Francisco Hernández

Time 13: to 15:00 hrs

SOUNDGIRS.ORG Round Table (mentoring sessions)

– Laura Delgado; Marketing Coordinator for REPRE (Shure, Nexo, etc.)

– Aurora Ojeda; She is the head of the sound studio and professor of sound at the University Center for Cinematographic Studies (CUEC)

– Eva Escobedo: With more than 20 years of experience as production manager for several tours, currently 90’s pop tour.

– Griselda Jiménez; Monitors Engineer for Vicente Fernandez by more than 30 years. The first woman inside the audio in mexico

– Gabriella Galán: Design Services, Latin America at Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc.

Time: 17:00 to 19:00 hrs.

SoundGirls.Org México Conferencias Capitulares en ExpoSoundcheck 2017 Ciudad de México.

Cuándo: Del 23 al 25 de abril (de 11:00 a 20:00 Hrs)

Dónde: WTC Ciudad de México (sala de conferencias)

Costo: 100 Pesos por cada conferencia.

Contacto: Carolina Anton soundgirls@soundgirls.org

Seis conferencias en 3 días:

Sábado 23:

“Acústica de Cine”

Ponente: Ing Sarudy Zuñiga

Tiempo: 13:00 a 15:00 hrs

“Mezclas de cine mesa redonda”

Oradores:

Carlos Cortes (Estudio Splendomnia)

Marco Peña (Estudio Astro)

Pablo Lach (Azote Post Studio)

Tiempo: 17:00 a 19:00 hrs

Lunes 24:

“El desarrollo del diseño de sonido y mezcla 5.”

Ponente: Marco Hernández (Mezclador en la Sala CCC THX)

Horario 13:00 a 15:00 hrs

Edición de sonido para la película, “Diseñando Delicias”

Ponente: María Luz Orozco (Colabora como editora con Martín Hernández)

Horario 17:00 a 19:00 hrs.

Martes 25:

“Diseño de sonido, de guión a pantalla … La magia de la creación”

Ponente: Juan Francisco Hernández

Tiempo 13: a 15:00 hrs

SOUNDGIRS.ORG Mesa redonda (sesiones de tutoría)

– Laura Delgado; Coordinadora de Marketing para REPRE (Shure, Nexo, etc.)

– Aurora Ojeda; Ella es la cabeza del estudio de sonido y profesor de sonido en el Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC)

– Eva Escobedo: Con más de 20 años de experiencia como directora de producción para varias giras, en la actualidad gira pop de los años 90.

Griselda Jiménez; Monitores Ingeniero de Vicente Fernández por más de 30 años. La primera mujer dentro del audio en méxico
– Gabriella Galán: Servicios de Diseño, América Latina en Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc.
Horario: de 17:00 a 19:00 hrs.

 

SoundGirls at Frankfurt ProLight & Sound

SoundGirls will be at Frankfurt ProLight & Sound.

Stop by the Klang booth in the Silent Stage area in Hall 4.1.  Representatives (Malle Kaas and Petra Randewijk) from SoundGirls.Org will be on hand to network and answer questions about SoundGirls. Malle and Petra will be at the booth April 5 – 7th.  Stop by and say Hi.

On April 6th –  Join Soundgirls for dinner.  Meet at the Klang Booth at 5 pm.

 

 

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