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Five Days In The Life

 

We often are asked the question “What’s a normal day in your life in this industry?” Well, that’s a difficult question to answer because every day is so vastly different, and hardly anything goes as initially planned. As an example of this, I’ve taken the opportunity to write about my recent trip to France for work and the five days spanning that trip. Everything from getting up and going to the airport for the travel day, to a rather unexpectedly long day, and everything in between. It should be stated that I wrote about this trip specifically because it gives insight into how the industry, in general, can be, as well as what it is like being new to an established crew and the only woman on that crew.

Day 1: Wednesday

The alarm goes off but you’re already up and getting dressed. You could barely sleep the night before because you know how travel days are and what is to be expected: Everything will go wrong. Teeth brushed and you double-checked everything to make sure nothing is left behind (something is always left behind). The bag that you’ve already packed the night before is grabbed right before you head off. The cab meets you on the street and drives you the 25 minutes that it takes to get to the airport. Normally this would have taken longer, but there’s no traffic at this time in the morning. Thank the driver as the door closes, rush through security checks at a snail’s pace, check your watch to see if you have time to grab a coffee or something on your way to the gate (you don’t), do the awkward half-run/half-speed-walk straight to your gate, board the plane, get the announcement that the plane will be delayed in taking off by at least an hour and no one is allowed to leave the plane. It’s not even 7 am yet. You finally arrive an hour and a half later than you needed to be. Go through the security checks again and find your ride. Try to memorise all the names of the performers and their specialties that your new colleague is throwing at you, drive an hour and a half to the studio where the orchestra recorded what they’ll be performing this weekend, and spend about three hours in the studio listening and re-listening over and over again. Back in the car to drive another hour down the road to the warehouse where the orchestra has mock setups so everything can be perfectly presented on an actual stage. After a quick tour of the place, you spend the rest of your day going through the setup and asking questions (always ask copious amounts of questions). Dinner out is a quick pizza with the guys on the tech crew. Back to the warehouse around midnight and finally to bed where you see the guys were kind enough to make it for you with bunny sheets and a pillow. Thanks, guys.

 

Day 2: Thursday

Up at 7 AM. Shower in a bathroom full of men giving you a hard time because you’re the only girl, but eventually they leave and you finally have some privacy.

 

 

Breakfast is whatever you can scrounge and a cup of tea. Time for setup and powering everything on for the 9 AM first sound check and rehearsal at 11 AM. Your lunch break rolls around 1 o’clock and it’s family style. Everyone sits around the large table and luckily there’s wine (viva la France!). Back to another rehearsal at 2 o’clock sharp. Dinner is suggested around 8 that night after we’re practically at each other’s throats and had enough. We go out for dinner and more banter at 9 PM. The usual debrief over food helps ease everyone’s minds and stomachs. It is back to the bunker beds close to midnight.

Day 3: Friday

You’re up at 6:30 this time to get some alone time in the shower. One of the guys comes in at 7 on the dot but you are already dressed and about to head out of the bathroom. You’ve found some bread and cheese for breakfast and sit at the communal table to go over yesterday’s notes. It’s raining outside. There is so much to prepare for the show tomorrow to make sure everything goes smoothly and tensions are a little high between techies and performers. Everyone got up and joined the table by 8 AM and the first sound check was at 9 with the first rehearsal at 10 this morning. You’re going to try recording today’s rehearsal.

Mother Nature has other plans for your day…

At exactly 11:30, the power goes out due to the storm and you haven’t hit the save button in the last hour… FUCK! Your coworker thinks that because of the cover of the dark, this is a great time to slap your ass, and you repay him with a harder slap across his face. By 12:30, everyone (mainly the boss) has finally agreed that the power isn’t coming back on anytime soon. The remaining people come in from their extended smoke break and lunch is served around 1 in the afternoon. Power still isn’t restored after everyone is done with lunch, so the tech crew decides now is a great time for another extended smoke break and to show you the town in the pouring rain. At least there’s a castle nearby.

 

 

You get a call around 3:30-4 that power was restored so you head back and see how bad the damage was. You spend the rest of the rehearsal doing damage control before the first truck needs to be loaded. Shut down and final loading of the second truck before everyone goes out for dinner that night around 9. The usual debrief over food and drinks. Back at the warehouse and the performers leave on the tour bus at midnight sharp. You head up to bed and pass out immediately.

Day 4: Saturday

The screaming alarm goes off at 5 am. In the shower, dressed and tea in hand by 5:45. You go to the communal table where a new friend is waiting for you. At some point, the guys bought you a small stuffed animal. Final check to make sure you are not forgetting anything in the bunker room. You and the rest of the tech crew are in the van and leave at 6:30. The Head of Audio plays the show over Bluetooth so you and he can go over notes and highlights of the show. An hour and a half up the road to the venue the show is at today. Arrive at the concert hall at 8. Breakfast is provided by your hosting venue: muffins, coffee, tea, etc. Set up and the push for getting gear from the truck begins at 8:30. Someone’s foot gets run over by a flight case at 8:35. Lighting, video, and sound attempt to work together as best as possible. Risers are raised, then lights are flown, and then hard patching begins. But you notice the audio snake isn’t long enough for the venue. Why did no one check this? You compromise and have the FOH mixing console in a slightly awkward area and decide to mix the show from the tablet. Everyone has worked up an appetite and lunch is served around 1, a type of gumbo-style dish with stewed beef, rice, potatoes, and wine. It helps you prepare for the first sound check at 2. The dancers and performers finally decide to join the fun and come to rehearsal after making it just in time for the lunch break. The show somehow starts magically on time and it goes really well. Then, it happens. The audience won’t stop demanding an encore, and the company boss gives in (at the protest of the entire crew) and runs the whole show again, with intermission. The second unexpected show ends at 2 am and you still have to load out. The dancers and performers disappear sometime around 3:30ish in the morning (no one saw them after they took a second smoke break), and it’s just the tech crew left to break down the set and load trucks. You finally finish the load out at 6:30 in the morning. You have a plane to catch in four hours, and the airport is an hour’s drive away. Do you opt for a little sleep, or act like a zombie for the rest of your extended day?

Day 5: Sunday

You opted to stay awake and one of the guys agreed to give you a ride to the airport since it’s on his way back home. You’re in the car and on the way to the airport at 7 am. After traffic and getting petrol, you arrive a little later than intended but still with plenty of time to get through security and the boarding process. You rush through security checks at a snail’s pace, check your watch to see if you have time to grab a coffee or something on your way to the gate (you don’t), do the awkward half-run/half-speed-walk straight to your gate, board the plane, get the announcement that the plane will be delayed upon arrival due to weather in the local area and that no one will be allowed to leave the plane. The travel day begins, and the circle of techies touring life continues…

Who’s Who?

 

This is a blog I should have written years ago. But better late than never, right? So 20(!) blogs in we’re finally getting to some theatre basics: who’s who in the world of theatre audio. I’ve touched on some of the jobs in other blogs, but today we’re going to hit all of them. After all, you can’t be what you don’t know, so let’s make sure you know what your options are!

The sound team is usually comprised of

The Sound Designer

The designer is in charge of the big picture: creating a design concept, communicating with directors and designers, and delegating to their team. What their exact duties are in relation to their team will differ from team to team depending on the skill sets of each person. Some designers are composers (those tend to do a lot of plays since the music for a musical is done by someone else) or are more focused on the design aspect of creating soundscapes or effects. Others are more involved with the technical side of things: the gear, the system, etc. Either way, designers will specify the gear they want to use (console, speakers, mics, processing, etc) and collaborate with the director and other designers on the artistic scope and special needs of the show.

The strengths of a designer help determine who they look for while creating their team. Most designers end up working with associates or assistants that have complementary skills. If they’re more creative, they might work with someone who can provide insight into what gear can accomplish what they want to do. If they’re more technical, they might want someone good with coaching a mixer or creating sound effects.

The Associate Designer

The associate acts as the designer when the designer isn’t around. They have worked with the designer before (usually on multiple projects), know how to set things up to their liking, and the designer trusts them to take care of projects on their own. They might have started as an assistant or a mixer with that same designer and they work closely with the Production Audio to get the sound system put together and installed.

Sometimes a designer has multiple associates. When we teched the Les Miserables tour, the designer, Mick Potter, had three tours teching at the same time: Les Miserables, School of Rock, and Love Never Dies. Each tour had an associate to get the sound system loaded in and tech the show. Mick split his time between the three shows, trusting his associates to get everything ready and roughed in, scheduling his time so he could be at each show for their mission-critical moments like Quiet Time (when the sound system gets tuned) and Cast on Stage (the first day the cast is onstage in mics for tech). The associates could go to him with questions when he wasn’t there, and he didn’t have to actually be in three places at once, even though it very much seemed like he was for that month. As you can see, with multiple projects going at the same time, having an associate that they can trust is absolutely essential for a designer.

The Assistant Designer

The assistant’s job is very similar to the associate. However, while an associate can act in the designer’s stead, the assistant typically has to get permission before making changes. The division of labor depends a lot on the dynamic and skill sets of the team, especially if there’s both an associate and an assistant on the show.

The Production Audio

This is a job I talked about in detail in another blog when I was in Production for a tour. Production is in charge of taking the system specified by the Designer and turning it into a reality, accounting for every connection, cable, piece of gear, nut and bolt, and loading it (or installing it in Broadway’s case) into the theatre.

Advance Audio

The advance position is found on larger tours that need extra people to load in, but not during the show run. An advance crew usually has at least an Advance Carpenter, Electrician, and Audio, but may also have a person for rigging, automation, or other specialties. They get to a venue before the show-to-show crew (the ones that run the show) and start loading in. When I was on the most recent Phantom of the Opera tour, our advance crew started in the theatre on Monday while we were loading out and traveling to that city and we’d join them and continue loading in Tuesday and Wednesday, then they’d leave on Thursday. On tours like Aladdin, the advance load in lasted several days before the show-to-show crew arrived, which isn’t surprising when you consider they had a magic carpet to set up!

 

The Mixer (A1)

This is what most of my blogs focus on, especially the first one, but in brief, the mixer’s job is to run the show, blending vocal and instrumental mics to execute the Designer’s concept for how the show should sound. They are the head of the sound department which involves contacting the shop if there is a problem with gear, making sure the department (deck and local audio as well) have everything and all the information they need, and on tour talking to future venues and developing a plan for load in.

The Deck Audio (A2)

The A2 is responsible for running the deck track (mic swaps, handoffs, etc), maintaining microphones, and troubleshooting mid-show, and they will mix the show on a regular basis to act as a cover for the A1. (In NYC, sometimes there is a “non-mixing” A2, which means there is another person, not in the building on a day-to-day basis, who’s trained on the mix.)

Other jobs

Depending on the needs of the show, other positions may come up. Sometimes there are so many sound effects that the mixer can’t run them and accurately mix the show at the same time, so an Operator position is created for someone who is designated to run effects for the show. Or there might be lots of live instruments played onstage so an Instrument Tech is added to the show and may fall under the sound department.

That may not seem like a lot of people at a glance, but it can make for a lot of moving parts, and knowing who to communicate with for a given problem is key. So, who do you talk to when you have a question? During prep in the shop or tech in the theatre, it’s easy to get anyone’s attention because you’re all in the same room. Once the show is up and running and Design and Production have left the building, who’s your go-to now?

On tour my main point of contact is the associate; they’re usually accessible to double-check on things or so you can pick their brain. They end up being a natural choice because you end up spending the majority of your time in tech with them anyway.

For the first few moves on tour, I’d have the Associate check the preliminary speaker prediction I did, then review any adjustments I made once we were in the theatre. Once they felt comfortable that I knew what the Designer was looking for and could make informed choices on my own, they would check in less and less, unless I asked for input on something specific. They also got copied on the advance email I sent to my A2 before we loaded into a new city which had the plan for the venue, any special thing we might have to take care of, or if it would be a normal day.

They are also the contact for any comments or concerns that pop up in addition to the questions. Some examples are if there are audience complaints and you need some help figuring out which adjustment to make, or if the actors or management have requested something that will change the design of the show. One common request I’ve run into is actors asking for vocals to be put in the onstage speakers. This is usually something that is decided either in or well before tech and isn’t in the mixer’s purview to change. That gets sent to the associate either as a “can we change this?” or “please respond so someone higher than me on the food chain has reiterated that we can’t, and we can end this conversation.”

If the Associate needs to involve the Designer, they will. Other than that, the Designer might stop by on occasion, maybe every 6 months to a year, to check in on the show (in which case I’ll also include them on my advance emails for that load-in). Other than that, they may not have much to do with the day-to-day of the show.

If I have system or gear-specific questions, I’ll usually ask the production audio, since they’re the ones that built the system and spend a lot of their time around the gear. On tour, they might not have much to do with the show once it’s up and running, but in NYC you might contact both the associate and the production audio with questions. They might also be involved in finding people to sub on the mix or the deck track and figuring out training schedules.

One thing to mention is pay. Ideally, associates and production are paid what’s called “weekly” which is a weekly fee, past whatever salary or flat fee they got for production and tech. This is paying for their continued time and assistance to keep the show running and answer questions. However this isn’t always the case, so that’s something to keep in mind. If my associate is being paid weekly, but production isn’t, I might send my question to the associate first to see if they can answer it before asking production to spend time on something they aren’t getting paid for. Oftentimes, they are happy to help regardless because they want you to be successful and their name is still on the show, but some people may be protective of their time if they aren’t being directly compensated for it.

While we’re talking about communication, let’s touch on other departments that we regularly need to talk to

If I need to address something that involves the actors, but isn’t related to music, I’ll talk to the PSM (Production Stage Manager). They are the glue between all departments, managing the company’s schedules, communication, and on top of that running a show. Notes usually go through Stage Management so they know what’s going on and what to watch out for. From sound, our notes are usually simple: it could be that an actor’s mic placement was out of place, the A2 has adjusted it, but then the actor put on incorrectly the next show.  Or someone has changed a line or blocking that affects how or when I take a cue. This communication goes both ways: they’ll let me know if someone’s sick and might need a little help in their big moments, or if there’s trouble hearing something musically onstage and can I see if there’s anything I can do at the board to help?

Anything music-related will go to the MD (Music Director, who usually conducts the show). They’re your link to the musicians as well as the actors. If an instrument consistently sticks out where it’s not supposed to, or you need an actor to give you a little more in a quiet bit of a song, you can go to the MD with notes and they will be able to pass it along or work with the actor on the note if it’s a reoccurring technical problem in their singing.

Someone in the pit, besides the MD, will be designated as a Keyboard Tech. They are there to help if there’s a problem with the software controlling the patches for the keyboards. For sound, as long as we’re patched in correctly, we’ve technically done our job. We’ll never be asked to tune the timpani or restring a violin. However, keyboards are an exception where the instrument and the gear are so intertwined that we might be asked to help the Tech troubleshoot, even if it isn’t directly our responsibility. On the other hand, when we’re checking out the system during the preshow and test the keyboards, we would call the Music Tech to help if there’s a problem that a re-boot or some simple troubleshooting doesn’t fix.

For other issues, usually departmental or personnel, you go to the Head Carpenter or the Steward. The Head Carpenter is the head of the crew, submits payroll, sends out schedules, coordinates and oversees local and show labor on load in and out on a tour, etc. They are the ones you go to with logistical questions that involve special situations or the local crew, setting up work calls, or helping if there’s an issue among crew members. The Steward is there to answer questions about the contract and help if there ever seems to be an overstep or inconsistency.

Returning back to the sound team to wrap it up: interdepartmental communication is some of the most important. The A1 is the head of the department, so gets official communications like performance reports and is likely to be the first point of contact for notes. If the information is necessary or even just helpful, the A2 should know about it. The A2, on the other hand, gets most of the informal communication. They’re backstage, so they’re the ones within earshot if someone needs to pass along a quick note if Wardrobe has heard that one of the actors will be calling out for the evening show, or if there was a last-minute change in the schedule and the official email hasn’t gone out yet. Communication is always a two-way street, and an open policy keeps both parties well-informed and valued.

Sound is one of the few departments that touches every single other during the show run. Between com/video, mics, and music, we cover it all. Which means there can be a lot going on at any given point. Hopefully, these guidelines will help if you’re ever unsure who to talk to!

Interview Time

 

This month’s blog post is going to be on a quite specific topic but has information that can apply to many varying situations.

I mentioned in my previous post that I was being flown out to interview for a job! I have since undergone this interview and I am basically going to give a play-by-play of what this 36-hour interview looked like. I will again not be naming the specifics of the location or the name of the employer but I will give as much detail as I can.

The job is for a sound designer and audio engineer in academics. I would be sound designing several shows as well as teaching students about sound design and audio engineering.

To start I had a phone interview for this position and instantly I was very interested. They explained to me the parameters of the position and we talked about my experience. I was then informed that I would be contacted with the next steps. Within a day I was contacted saying they wanted to fly me out to the school to do an in-person interview!

I was insanely nervous! I thought who would want to fly someone like me out to a different state for a job interview? It was crazy to me! Luckily, I have a best friend who told me, “why wouldn’t they want to fly you out for the job?! You are incredible and a good fit!” This gave me the confidence I needed to get on a plane to a new place!

They booked a flight and I packed and got ready to go! I went shopping of course! My mom told me it was important I dress nicely even on the plane because someone from the school was picking me up from the airport. I got three outfits that made me feel confident and professional.

When I landed, I was picked up, and driven to the school.  I had butterflies. I knew this was a place I really wanted to work and I didn’t want to mess this up. The person who picked me up from the airport talked to me about the town a little bit! They offered to drive me around the town before dropping me off at the hotel! I also asked them some questions about their own experiences in the town and the students at the school! If you are interviewing for a school I highly recommend asking those kinds of questions to the people you interact with that aren’t responsible for hiring you. This is because if they want you for the position they could hide some aspects of what life is like in the town. However, the people that you meet outside of the hiring committee have no reason to lie to you! I did the same thing with the woman who worked at the front desk of my hotel! I asked her if she had met students from the school and just how life was there because I wasn’t very familiar with the area! She was able to give me some really great unfiltered information about the town that I wouldn’t have received otherwise! Therefore, if you are considering moving to a new place for a job I definitely suggest this!

After I got to my hotel, the man that initially interviewed me, picked me up to take me to dinner. I had dinner with him and three other members of their theatre department faculty. I immediately felt so comfortable with all of them and felt that I was really able to be myself while still being professional. They talked to me about their program and asked me some more general questions that didn’t necessarily pertain to the job, they were just trying to get to know me! It was a nice introduction to the program and the people I could potentially be working with.

The next day was a day packed full of interviews! I was interviewed by several different people some from the theatre department and others on the administrative level and I can honestly say everyone were so genuine and incredible.

My biggest tip for these day-long interviews is to pack snacks and bring a reusable water bottle. This is how I survived. And most importantly gum or mints! I kind of felt like I was saying the same thing in every interview but I had to remember that I was talking to a new person every hour so I had to deliver the same information multiple times!

I met the rest of the theatre department as well over lunch and they were all so kind! I could genuinely see myself working alongside these people and I found that extremely exciting and it only put more pressure on myself to do well during this in-person visit.

Overall, the interviews all went well! They all felt more like a conversation than them just throwing questions at me which made the day way easier to take on.

The day ended with me going to see one of their department performances! I was so thankful that I was able to watch one of their shows and meet some of the students! It was an incredible production and just made me want to work there more!

 

This experience was like no other. I am so thankful for it. My biggest advice for undergoing a multi-day interview similar to this one would be as follows:

  1. Dress to impress and be comfortable. In my opinion I would rather be over dressed than under dressed BUT if I am not comfortable in what I’m wearing, I won’t be able to be confident during my interviews.
  2. Bring snacks and a reusable water bottle. I wasn’t super hungry at meal times because I was nervous during the day so having snacks really helped!
  3. Bring gum or mints. Chewing gum helps calm my nerves which was my main reason for bringing it, but you also don’t know what you’ll be eating so you want to be prepared to fight bad breath!
  4. Prepare questions and do research before you get there. There were so many times someone would be walking me to my next interview or location and I was so thankful I did some research on the school and had some questions ready to fill awkward silence.
  5. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. This might sound dumb because everyone tells you to be yourself. However, when you are doing interviews like this it is crucial to be yourself because you need to know if you feel like you fit in at this new place as much as they want to know if you fit in to them!

 

In conclusion, I was so stressed about this interview for so many reasons, but a big factor was the industry has turned away from in-person interviews since COVID so I wasn’t sure how I would perform in an interview in person! But you will be fine! If I can do it, you can do it! Just remember to breathe and smile through the nerves! Oh, and have a best friend who tells you that you are worthy of the opportunity even when you don’t feel like you are!

A Production Transition Tip 

I recently released my latest single “Anchored” on SoundCloud and wanted to share with you a production tip for this song that I learned online. I found a really interesting YouTube video about creating moments and transitions in production via ear candy techniques, and I decided to implement some in my latest songs. I’d also like to note that I found this video from a Facebook group called TeamVibez, founded by one of my amazing Berklee professors, Rachel Alina, and run by my good friend and brilliant colleague, Skyler Bennett. This group is an inclusive discussion space for all things audio, production, and mixing!

Something that I think was missing from my productions was thoughtful transitions that served a purpose for the story behind the song and didn’t distract the listener. I wanted to implement some of these “ear candy” moments in my latest release because there is a lot of space between the lyrics and a lot of visual concepts in the song that can be utilized in sound design. For example, throughout the pre-chorus and bridge of the song you can hear a tuned and distorted radar sound as though someone is looking for me underwater. Listen at 2:27 to hear that effect.

 

The moment I want to showcase is at the beginning of my song and can be heard at 0:11. The song is about trying to get someone off my mind who I can’t let go of, and in this transition, I emphasize the lyric “up to the island like a dream.” In the original recording, I don’t repeat the lyric “like a dream,” but I realized a good way to fill in some of the spaces in this song was to pick out some lyrics that are important to the story and create a sort of “call-and-response” effect with them. To connect the first part of the verse with the second, I centered the sound design around the “like a dream” response followed by the same vocal pitched down.

In the image above you can see the sound design build I made. I organized this as though it was a sound effects build in a post-production project like I learned while working at Boom Box Post. For the most part, the tracks are organized in the order they appear, with like sounds being grouped together. The important points made in the Youtube video I watched were to make sure to include both high and low frequencies in an ear-candy moment and to focus on dynamics with level, filtering frequencies, rhythmic movement, and symbolic sound design (for this song that was the radar sound).

I interpreted this by initiating the moment with a boomy 808 and distorted saw bass hit, which leads into the call-and-response vocal. In the first part of this transition, the 808 and bass fill out the low end, but the filtering in the bass contrasts the limited range of the 808 and starts to introduce more frequency range into this section. The follow-up vocal brings in a softer sound and introduces a motivic rhythm that the pitched vocal and bell sound copies. The bell sound occurs twice to reiterate the vocal with brighter frequencies and leads perfectly into the first hit of the next verse. The last part of this transition is a reversed crash symbol leading into an electronic woodblock sound that I use in the chorus of the song, and is supported by another distorted bass hit. I combined this with a small vocal part that I reversed and modified with reverb to create an echoey, anticipatory effect for the next part of the song. I love doing this trick because I often have so many vocals to choose from and can really play around with which time-based plug-in I want to use to get the right effect.

Overall, I was really happy with how this transition came together, and hope it gives you some ideas for your next production. I also proved to myself that I can learn something on my own from Youtube, which is sometimes a daunting task, even when there is so much information out there. In achieving this, I really tried to stay authentic to the song’s message and started getting a sense of how more intricate productions might sound as I develop these skills.

 

Be Better Than Your Past Self

As I mentioned in my first article, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a composer and music producer. Starting from scratch in music production can be overwhelming, with endless acronyms, tools, software, plugins, virtual instruments, audio concepts, technical issues everywhere, everything is new, and everything is daunting. But despite all difficulties, I feel it’s worth it because I love what I do.

For example, I started learning online and looking for information about which DAW (Digital Audio Station) to choose and how to use it. I made my first musical experiments with a few virtual instrument libraries that I had at that moment. I had a lot of technical issues with audio for recording and mixing it as I didn’t have a specific audio interface at the time. But it was in one of those experiments that Miracle was born.

Scoring – One at Time

I always wondered about composing for films, for years I thought it was something very difficult and out of my reach, but shortly after I started my journey into music production, I found a mini course about scoring for short movies. Would I be capable to do that? It was the kind of question that I was asking myself. I decided to take the chance to make my first scoring. Sometimes we are surprised by our own unknown abilities. I discovered that I was able to make it. During the composition process, for each scene I had to compose, it was as if the music came naturally out of my head. There were two opposing moods in the movie and, I could feel each scene and transfer it to the music. Finally, the soundtrack for Dear Darkening Ground was created, and I was very proud of my first scoring.

As I loved this experience, I decided to continue on this path composing one score at a time. When I was looking for the next one, I found a short movie that I immediately felt connected to, it was a short movie used for a previous scoring contest and this video was longer than my first one, another little incremental challenge. “Memento mori” or “remember you are going to die” was the catchy monologue line said in this short movie called The Lost Piano, the music should match each scene and I composed the soundtrack on the piano with my heart.

 

Break time in my studio along with my little cockatiel

The First Competition

Then I searched for a music composition contest. I was very surprised by the number of competitions I stumbled upon, my first reaction was “Great, I want to enter all of them as they have different styles, etc”, but I knew that I needed to pick the ones I liked the most and make one at a time; that could help me to build my portfolio over time.

I found my first competition a few days before the deadline, I had to score for Elevator Alone a hilarious animated short movie promoted by Animegaron, the International Animation Film Music Competition of the Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, Greece. It was the first competition I took part in, in December of last year.

It was a defying task because the comedy genre is one of the most difficult ones. I had to make the general soundtrack, but I also added some sound effects, I also made specific music for each character, this is called “leitmotif” in scoring. Throughout the composition process, the truth is that I had a lot of fun creating it and more than that, I got attached to the four characters in the end.

Last month, they announced the finalists and winners in a beautiful streaming ceremony directly from Athens, it was like watching the “Oscars” and when I heard my name in the finalists, I felt like I was floating on air full of happiness. I received the “Second Distinction”, the 5th place, it was a great achievement for me in such a short period of time. A few days later another unexpected thing happened, I received a direct call from Greece where I talked to the artistic director, and he congratulated me on my work and said that the aim of the competition was also to help new composers. Talking to him was an incredible feeling of being recognized as an emerging composer.

One thing to note is that many competitions out there require you to put your name in the video. Fortunately, the Greek competition had a blind judgment, giving a fair chance for everyone no matter who it was. I’m grateful to Animegaron for setting a strong example and for giving us the opportunity to enter the professional world.

After my first competition, I have been participating in many other contests in different styles and challenges including creating music for drama, comedy, hip-hop, epic, action music, etc. Every genre has its own world inside it to learn.

Final Thoughts

If you are thinking about starting this journey in film scoring, I encourage you to take the first step, there is a lot of information on the internet to learn, and courses to make and we can support each other, you can count on me.

In those contests that I kept challenging myself, isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there were several times when I felt stuck, as I was not moving forward.

Composers and producers spend many hours in front of the screen, like me, we must give ourselves short breaks, and if one day the creativity stops flowing, just go for a walk, do some sport, call a friend, play your favorite instrument, sing, be with your pet… because when you come back to the task, you will find yourself refreshed, I do that, and it works for me and I hope it can help you.

One of the things that I realized in this process is that instead of thinking that “it is difficult” or “it is so hard”, “that we are not capable”, or that “we are not going to make it”, we must take action and start creating because something beautiful created by you will come out of it.

Past, present, and future

When you look back at your past, you will see how far you have come; you will be in a different place than you are now if you continue to push yourself in the learning process. Your future self will be proud of your growth.

 

 

The Rules of Engagement

 

I want to start this by stating three things:

  1. Date (or don’t date) whoever you want.
  2. These are not actual rules, merely an observation of what I have found works best in most situations but every situation is different.
  3. It’s not “all men” but it is enough men to still be a massive issue.

The following piece is in two parts:

The work relationships, and lack of, and friendships can feel left out in our ever-so-busy lives. The rules of engagement are an all too familiar hazardous road that is complicated to navigate. Hopefully, this roadmap helps and can be taken light-heartedly as it is meant.

Working Rules:

 

Everyone knows it’s a bad, even terrible, idea to date someone you work with (if you don’t believe me, there are plenty of television shows about it). This is one of the golden rules of working in this industry: it’s always a bad idea to mix play with pro. Even during shorter contracts where you might be there for just a few months, or just one weekend, and it’s justifiable that you might never see the person again. However, as women in this industry, the majority of the time when we try to be friendly to our male colleagues it often comes across as flirting. Then when we explain we were simply being friendly, things tend to get a bit messy. This is not unlike any other work environment except ours, our male colleagues can taint our reputations and easily get us barred from working with them or anyone they know or in the general area again. There are men literally everywhere in this industry as womxn only make up roughly 5% of it. Even during the minor miracle of times when our male colleagues don’t assume we’re flirting, we are constantly talked down to, discouraged, dismissed, and deterred. How do we engage in this professional environment with these situations stacked against us?

These rules are in no particular order.

Rule 1: When you go out from work together, it’s not just the two of you.

I like to call this the kindergarten rule, this means if you invite one person on the team for drinks then you invite as much of the team as possible. This is so you don’t get caught up in someone’s rumour mill of “they were on a date” or “they’re sneaking around.” You may not like everyone on your team, but it’s highly unlikely that everyone you invite for a drink will say yes.

Rule 2: Join in on the banter.

Everyone you work with is going to give you hell of some kind. So give it right back to them. This banter isn’t necessarily specifically toward you. It could be just general goofing off between coworkers and we all need to laugh at ourselves occasionally.

Rule 3: Stick up for yourself.

It’s one thing to banter, but it’s entirely different when you are outright disrespected. Disrespect can also come in many forms. Those with more experience generally know how to guide those with less experience. Leaning over our shoulders telling us how to do the job that we were hired for is not teaching, it shows that we are not trusted to do our job and it is a form of disrespect.

Rule 4: Ask luxurious amounts of questions.

Yes, this will most likely get on your colleagues’ nerves eventually because you’re asking so many things. However, we don’t learn new skills without asking these questions. If we don’t ask, we are often not given the same treatment either. While many of my male colleagues were outright given training for specific skills, I had to ask (multiple times at that).

Rule 5: Teaching isn’t touching.

This is one I have seen with nearly every female’s experience in trying to learn new skills. Teaching someone how to solder shouldn’t involve them sitting on your lap. Teaching someone how to programme a show shouldn’t involve putting hands over the top of theirs. Teaching someone about a studio set-up shouldn’t involve them texting you late at night saying they are in the studio alone saying and thinking about you. And don’t ever let “Well, that’s not what they meant” or “They were just being friendly and working in a small space” be gotten away with. If it felt wrong, it was.

 

Rule 6: You’re not a relationship therapist.

Typically in a more office or corporate setting, somehow women become the experts on other women and what they want. There have been too many times someone’s wife/girlfriend/whoever came into the production office (or tent for those times during festivals) and accused me of telling their partner to do or say something that I didn’t. I later found out it was one of their guy friends but the men told their partner that it was me.

Rule 7: Make a good reputation for yourself.

A reputation is better than gold and worse than death in this industry. A reputation is what everyone will judge you on and expect from you, especially if you’ve never worked with a certain person or crew before. Whether we like it or not, women represent other women in the industry. We are judged as women for our work, and what we do is how it will come across as how every woman does things. Be fast at learning, and even faster on your feet with a problem. Be early, even earlier than your boss. If you’re the first one there, they have to deal with you. When you know you’re right, be heard and be confident about it.

Rule 8: Don’t mince words.

Men customarily are straightforward. Stating exactly what you mean, what you want, and need will go a long way. They’ll get it. You don’t need to explain or go into depth about it, just state it as a matter of fact. This includes your interest, or lack of it, towards them.

Rule 9: Decide your own professional boundaries.

I reached out to a friend, a fellow female audio engineer, who is currently dating someone she works with regularly. She has been dating them for roughly six years and has worked with them multiple times over those years. Her partner’s a lighting technician, and they often found themselves working together before becoming serious in their relationship. She told me it did take them several projects together to find what really worked for them in their relationship while maintaining that professional boundary in the workplace, but it is indeed possible.

 

 

Rule 10: Be yourself.

I can not stress this rule enough. To make it in this industry, it is generally demanded of everyone to be tough because it’s a cut-throat environment. I won’t lie, this industry is tough. This industry is cut-throat. What is tougher is walking into work and acting like someone that isn’t yourself. When I was talking to my friend about her partner, it came up that she recently worked with another female audio engineer. She said she caught herself noticing the other female’s makeup. She caught herself almost judging this other female and how she did her job simply because she appeared “more feminine.” It’s those moments where we have to catch ourselves because really, who cares? It doesn’t affect how you do your job.

Friendly Practices:

 

Our male colleagues are not the only ones whom I have found require a map to engage with them while working in this industry. Over and over, we forget our friends who are on the road or while we’re on the road. It’s not that you don’t miss them, the schedules are just too hectic. You don’t get the typical Friday night through Sunday to make time for each other and hang out. Your days or nights off become Monday and Tuesday. Remember growing up and you hating Monday, now you look forward to it simply so you have a day to sleep in. This is why this industry is so commonly called the “anti-social club” because it truly is for those who don’t plan on socialising within normal hours. Our friends outside of this industry don’t want to go out on either of those days because they’re likely to have work, and we can’t go out with them on their nights off because we have work. So they try to compromise and they make the effort to come to see us at work at one of our shows on their night off, but we still don’t have time to hang out immediately before or after the show because that’s soundcheck time and everything else magical that happens behind the scenes. This often leads to friendships fading or ending.

Again, these rules are in no particular order.

Rule 1: When you do go out from work together, put work aside.

My friends don’t always understand why I don’t want to hang out with them at festivals (the ones I’m not working), or at live band nights. Honestly, it’s difficult to get away from work in those places. I instantly notice things that my friends naturally don’t, and my mind gets stuck back in work mode. Lately, it’s worked when my friends outside of the industry meet me in neutral spaces like a coffee shop or getting a bite at a restaurant.

Rule 2: Don’t expect every detail of each other’s lives since you last saw them.

When working on the road it can be difficult to remember exactly the last time you saw one of your friends, especially if they’re also on the road at the moment. With the hectic schedules, it’s simply tough to remember anything other than the next assignment that needs to be done. When you do get to finally see your friends again, try not to expect a play-by-play of exactly everything that happened since the last time. Honestly, most people will give the big events that had an impact and leave out the details. We will also get things wrong because of so much time away and apart. That’s okay!

Rule 3: Try to remember important days.

Remembering days that are important to your friends can sometimes be challenging, and is even more so with the constantly changing schedules of the job. Try setting reminders and putting things in your calendar so you don’t forget things like birthdays.

Rule 4: Talk as often as you can.

Let’s face it, this is a pretty cool career even if some of your friends have no idea what you really do, they know it’s cool. You may not be able to talk shop with all of your friends, but you’ll still get to tell them about the awesome night you had mixing a show. The friends you can talk shop with, you can always bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes when we’re stuck on something, we forget that some of the best resources we have are our friends in this industry.

 

Rule 5: Take a break from the anti-social club.

It’s okay to take a night off during the weekend once in a while. This is when the majority of your friends will be able to actually spend time with you. This is why we have subs for when we’re on our tour. Take a break, and remember what the world is like on the weekend when you’re not working. Enjoy your friends’ company.

Rule 6: Respect their time.

It might not be a late travel day for them, but they might still be busy. In this industry, it can be easy to roll your eyes and think “You don’t know what busy looks like” because we’re regularly busy. If your friends say they’re just too busy or something came up, chances are that either it’s important or that they’re too tired to hang out. Each of those is fine, and it needs to be respected either way. It’s true that you may not get to see your friends all too often, but you will see them again. Perhaps not today when they’re busy, but maybe they’ll be free for something later while you’re still in town or maybe they’ll take a vacation and come see you on the road somewhere down the lineup.

Rule 7: Treat your friends in the industry as more than just marketing.

A friend in this industry can do wonders for anyone. That doesn’t mean it’s the only way to get anywhere. Your friends in this industry don’t want to feel like they are just tools for you to get ahead in your career. Friends in this line of work can either open new doors for you or slam them shut and lock them before you ever get the chance to ask. It’s good to show support and congratulate them not just because you think it will get you ahead someday. There are so many ways to support each other in this profession like following each other on social media and collaborating with one another.

 

Rule 8: Lifelong friends need to stay lifelong.

One of the worst goodbyes I have had to do was going on the road for the first time. Of course, it’s exciting but also terrifying leaving something that you have gotten comfortable with and somewhere you know everyone. Leaving my best friend to go out on the road to pursue my career while he finished school was heartbreaking. We both promised to stay friends and talk every day as you do when you’re young and naive and don’t know how busy life can get. We haven’t always kept the promise of talking every day, but we’re getting back to that and he’s still my lifelong best friend. Those don’t come around every corner and it’s good to reminisce about things only lifelong friends would know about.

Rule 9: No one is always easy to get along with, and you’re no exception.

Canceled travel plans for the weekend, again. A last-minute phone call from the studio about a client even though you’re already out for the evening, again. Your boss telling you that they need you to cover until four in the morning on Friday even though you’ve already asked for that night off two weeks ago, again. It’s one thing after another at the start of your career, and sometimes it feels like it doesn’t go away. Our friends, especially at the start of our careers, put up with a lot from us too, and deserve to be recognised for that. How many times have we canceled, or gotten pulled away from a beer with the gang because of work? Yet they’ve stuck by us while we’ve advanced our careers because we were putting in our dues. That’s not an easy thing to always get past.

Rule 10: Let them be themselves.

In this work, sometimes we get to work alongside some A-List clients. Setting up panels for Comic-Con, mixing a live concert, or running playback sound for a film festival. We can become accustomed to this environment, but our friends outside of this industry (and even some inside) don’t. What we tend to forget is that we all have that one person/show/film that we would do anything just to get a glimpse of. When your friend is standing next to you shaking you uncontrollably so your arm resembles jello because you got to introduce them to their favourite person/show on the planet, to you it’s annoying and embarrassing. To them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Just let them be themselves and try to enjoy the excitement on their face while they’re starstruck.

 

Chelsea Body – Foley Mixer & Editor

 

Chelsea Body is a freelance Foley Mixer and Editor, working primarily with Footsteps Foley and Formosa Group (Toronto). Chelsea has been working in Foley for seven years and became a freelance engineer five years ago. Currently, she can be found working among the Foley teams on critically acclaimed productions such as ‘Dune (2021)’, ‘Women Talking (2022)’, and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale (2018)’.

Chelsea grew up taking classical piano lessons from age 10 and worked her way through the Royal Conservatory rudiments to a Grade 10 level. She now considers the bass as her main instrument, which she enjoys. She loved listening to music and going to concerts as a teenager and always admired the tech crew at live shows and thought that would be a really fun job. She attended Mohawk College and Fanshawe College, both in Ontario, Canada, and graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Applied Music from Mohawk College (2012), Diploma in Music Industry Arts from Fanshawe College (2014), and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Audio Post Production from Fanshawe (2015).

 

Career Start

How did you get your start?

At the end of college, I was offered a contract at Urban Post in Toronto doing Closed Captioning work. While it wasn’t specifically in my field, it was my first foot in the door and I took that opportunity to connect with the staff there and show my interest in audio. After a few months, they were looking for a new Foley recordist and they thought of me for the job. It was a night gig and a position I didn’t have much experience in but I jumped at it. I had such wonderful, supportive mentors there and I learned so much from everyone. After about two years, the time came for me to explore other studios and network with the broader Toronto community, and from there I went freelance as a Foley mixer and editor.

What did you learn interning, or on your early gigs?

I especially enjoyed my time working in a post house as I was able to jump between roles and projects. If Foley wasn’t busy, I would be editing a reality tv show or was able to take the time and sit in with a re-recording mixer, or an ADR session. Being in that environment, I was able to gain knowledge in many aspects of the post field which really helped me understand the wider process and how to better communicate with other colleagues along the pipeline of a project.

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

Footsteps is about an hour’s drive each way from home which isn’t ideal but I enjoy being in the city and having that escape to the countryside for work. We work a typical 8-hour day, though I often work longer to tidy things or finish up emails and scheduling. While my main role is Foley mixer and editor, I also manage the scheduling at Footsteps. We work as a team so I find time throughout the day when I can step aside to answer client emails and update our work schedule. We have a small, tight-knit crew there that’s extremely collaborative and I enjoy working in a team like that.

How do you stay organized and focused?

I guess I am somewhat organised even if it doesn’t feel that way sometimes! I do enjoy finding new tools to help me keep track of everything but it can be difficult to find software geared toward our field that does exactly what we need it to do. I still keep an old-school handwritten planner because I find it faster to jot things down than to open an app on my phone. Finding what works for you is important and planners that I can put stickers in make organising things more fun too!

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Being able to work on a variety of projects is a real pleasure. One week we’ll have a drama, the next, a horror, and then a comedy. All of those genres require a different set of aesthetic and creative mindsets and I love the variability and challenge of jumping between them. Sound editors typically work on a job for weeks or months at a time while our timeline is much shorter in Foley, so we have the opportunity to create sounds for many different projects throughout the year.

What do you like least?

Sometimes the budgets we have to work with can be challenging. We always focus on the high quality of our work and that can be tough to manage when we’re on a tight timeline.

What is your favorite day off activity?

On my off days, I enjoy focusing on my hobbies which include yoga, sewing/crocheting, and playing bass in my band.

What are your long-term goals?

I still have a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to being able to do that. I would like to spend some time in different roles in the post field to have an even better, well-rounded knowledge of the work my colleagues do. I know that no matter what, so long as my work is in audio, I will be happy so I’m looking forward to a long career playing with sound.

What, if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I feel very fortunate and acknowledge the privileges I’ve had in my career so far. I think a big thing for me has been having the ability to say ‘yes’ to pretty well every opportunity that has come my way. I am so grateful for the mentors I’ve had who have helped guide me and I hope to extend that to the next generation of folks coming into the industry.

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

Say yes to those opportunities. Even if you doubt your ability, say yes and figure out how you’re going to manage it after. Apply for those jobs where you don’t think you quite qualify because you never know, you could be the best candidate. Don’t sell yourself short and be sure to ask for what you deserve. My golden rule is always “don’t be a dick”, that goes for everyone. If you’ve got a personality that people want to be around, that’s worth more than how much you know about compressors or the frequency response of every microphone.

Must have skills?

Unfortunately, you have to know ProTools for post-audio work. Every studio uses it – though some editors work with other DAWs, so long as you’re able to output what your supervisor or client needs from you.

For Foley recording, a good knowledge of different microphones is useful as well as recording techniques including compression and EQ.

Favorite gear?

Hardware:
TLM103
My ’92 Lake Placid Blue PBass

Software:
FabFilter Pro Q3 – I put that on EVERYTHING
Whatever the most current Izotope RX Suite is at the time (de-click gets the most use in my work)

*Huge thanks to my parents for sending me to piano lessons and listening to my sometimes painful practicing; for not getting upset when I said I wanted to go to music school; and for generally being super awesome and supportive.*

 

Benefits of a Full-Time Job in Audio

A common question from people starting in the audio industry is, “should I have a full-time job or freelance?” Even veteran professionals may ask themselves that question throughout their careers. It is perfectly normal to want different things during different stages of our lives!
I lived a freelance life for a long time, and I eventually started applying for full-time positions for economic stability and professional development. After many applications and a few interviews, I eventually got a job at NPR! I have been there for almost three years now, and have discovered a few surprising benefits of working full-time along the way.

Economic Stability

This one is perhaps the most obvious. Personally, I have been able to pay off debt, build savings, travel and have a wedding without going into debt. I have also been able to do basic things such as have health insurance and buy food and clothes without feeling guilty or worrying about whether any of it would set me back. All of this has been achieved through a combination of a steady paycheck and diligent budgeting.

This brings me to a bonus economic benefit. Through consistent work, I have had the time to learn about better financial practices. I have had the time to research different budgeting and saving methods, read stories about how others have paid off debt, developed budgets through spreadsheeting, read up about building better credit, and even began to understand investing. I should have made more time for such things when I freelanced, but I never got good at it because I was always flying by the seat of my pants and just focused on current expenses or saving for the next time I did not have a gig. A steady paycheck has enabled me to spend time learning about long-term financial well-being.

Self Care

I was definitely prone to self-martyrdom in my freelance career. I was always pushing aside things like dentist and doctor’s appointments. To the rest of society, these things are non-negotiable. And they should also be priorities for those of us who work in production! My mental health and thus, my ability to perform at work has increased drastically because I have had the time and guarantee for basic needs.
By “basic needs,” I mean routine exams, sick time, psychotherapy, and vacation time. If you are or desire to become a parent, maternity/paternity leave is a must. Yes, time off is a basic need. Even when you love what you do – rest is necessary. Time with loved ones is essential. Time to rest up when you are sick (for yourself, and so you don’t infect others) is essential. People outside of production view these needs as non-negotiables, and we should too. As I said, I have seen my work performance and ability to interact with others in a productive and positive way drastically increase by having my basic needs met.

Building Skills.

We get really good at things by working on them consistently. At my job, I have gotten really good at audio repair (de-noising, de-clicking, spectral editing, etc.), mixing the human voice, mixing to loudness standards, editing and mixing in ProTools, and routing connections for broadcast. I use my ears every day and have noticed improvements in my technical listening skills. When I freelanced, I was working on skills less consistently or using different skills day to day. Zeroing in on specific skills has allowed me to get really good at everything I mentioned above.

I also work with many other audio engineers! We swap tips and tricks all the time. Learning from other audio people is a huge benefit to a full-time job. It has also increased my self-esteem when I can share an effective audio strategy with someone else. As a freelancer, I was not always sure the way I did things was “right.” But now I am surrounded by people who validate my knowledge too. Being able to receive and exchange knowledge has been one of my favorite experiences.

Career Reflection.

This is the most surprising one, or at least it was for me! Having a full-time job in audio has allowed me to reflect on what my career has been and what I want it to be. In the past, I had positions where there were unreasonable expectations or they were unclear. And all of us have had to deal with the toxic, degrading boss or worked under other audio people who did not treat others with basic dignity and respect.
At NPR, I have seen how we can treat others with productive kindness. We can support one another and give constructive feedback while meeting deadlines, working under pressure, and producing high-end content. Now that such actions have been demonstrated to me, I know how I want to act throughout my career, and what I expect from the people I work with. I have boundaries now that I did not have in my previous work.

Besides general culture and attitudes, I have also reflected on the kind of work I want to do. I have been able to ask myself questions such as, what am I gaining from this job? What am I missing? What could I be doing differently? How can I do more work that aligns with my values? How can I do more creative work? What skills do I want to learn next? What is important to me outside of work? These questions are very necessary for career growth.

During these past three years, I have learned that a full-time job can provide economic stability; the importance of meeting primary health needs;  an environment to consistently develop and exchange skills; and the time for personal reflection. I would like to close out by mentioning that taking a full-time position does not have to be a forever choice. You can have a job for a while, then go freelance, then go back to another job, and so on. Our field demands agility, and that includes making choices that will keep you working towards your goals and personal happiness.

Interviews – Interviews – Interviews

 

This month has had many ups and downs….

I have had many interviews some good and some not so good. I will get into details about these interviews in a moment.

I have applied for 36 jobs in total. Some are strictly summer contracts some are further into the future. Until I specifically have a job I will not be naming the companies that I interview with but I will go into detail about my interview experiences.

I have had a total of 16 interviews. Don’t worry I am not going to summarize every single one. I am just going to talk about the standouts… whether it be because they stood out for a good reason or a bad reason…

To give a brief overview of the interviews, some didn’t go well because the job posting differed from what they actually wanted for the job, or they would imply it was paid and then tell me in the interview it wasn’t. Others our personalities didn’t mesh very well. I am a pretty bubbly person which doesn’t mesh with everyone! However, I am a person who enjoys what I do and I like to enjoy the place I work so this can be a deal breaker for me.

My first interview was with a small regional theatre company. I was interviewed by two men. One was the Technical Director of the theatre and the other was the sound designer and audio engineer. I was interviewing for an A1 or A2 position. I immediately knew within minutes of being on zoom with them, that this was a place I would want to work. They were so inviting and it just felt more personal than generic interview questions. We even had a mutual connection through a director which also allowed us to connect! Although this interview went extremely well, and I did in fact get the offer, I had already agreed to mix another show and the dates conflicted. I can genuinely say though, because of this interview I will keep this theatre on my radar for future possibilities.

What I learned from this interview process was that even if you can’t accept the offer currently, interviewing with a company allows you to know if you would EVER want to work with them not just in the present. They also have all my contact information now so if they ever need someone I have told them to reach out!

The next interview I would like to talk about is one that did not go very well. I interviewed with a larger more well-known repertory theatre. I interviewed with one man and he was the technical director. I was interviewing for a sound assistant position. Immediately when I got on the zoom call I could tell he wasn’t taking the interview seriously. He asked me extremely generic questions and little about my actual experience, and when he did ask about my experience the answer was on my resume. He then asked when I was graduating college and scoffed when I told him it was this May. Next, he asked me how much supervision I would need in this position after explaining the duties of the job. I replied saying that I didn’t think I would need any because everything he explained I had experience in. He again scoffed and told me “oh I’m sure you would need some supervision.”

Overall, after this interview, I was completely uninterested. Even if he didn’t mean his comments in a malicious way I am unwilling to work under a supervisor who speaks the way he did. In the end, I did get the offer and I declined it. I chose to not work in a place where I felt I wouldn’t be valued. Saying no was extremely difficult especially with it being a more well-known theatre. However, I know I made the right decision and I don’t regret it at all.

The last interview I will debrief was one of the best interviews that I have had. When I applied to this company it wasn’t high up on my list of places to work. This immediately changed as soon as I got on the interview. I was interviewed by one woman for this position and she was the production manager for the company. As soon as we started we clicked. It didn’t feel like an interview it just felt like two colleagues talking about their experiences in theatre. We talked about this very blog and she told me how she loves that I am sharing my experiences and advocating for women in sound. We shared a passion for this art and empowering women within the technical aspects of theatre.

After this interview, a company I barely considered working for became one of my top choices. And even better I got the offer. I am currently in the process of making sure the dates work with my other commitments and if they do I will undergo a background check and hopefully sign a contract!

So, let’s talk about the point of this month’s blog… The point of this blog post is that I believe the right job will come. There were other interviews in between these and none of them were the right fit, but when the right and more importantly unexpected right job came along I knew it was the right fit. So, don’t settle on a job you don’t feel is right no matter how new you are in the industry, the right fit will come along!

This next month I have more interviews set up including one that I am flying to a different state for! I can’t wait to share this next month’s journey with you! Talk to you in March!

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