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Preparing for the Start of the School Year – Staff Training

As the start of the school year approaches there are many things that need to happen before the first events take place at UWL. Checking racks and carts to make sure everything is working. Installing fresh projector lamps where needed, and finishing up the last of the cable repairs to name a few. The overall goal is to be prepared for the busy season, which is virtually the entire semester.

Working for the school many of my staff members leave for the summer and won’t touch a soundboard until they are back in the fall. Just like in elementary school with such a long summer break many items are forgotten and time has to be spent relearning the skills and procedures, and then start building on the new ones. In preparation, student employees are asked to come to campus a week early for 40 hours of staff training before classes and events start on opening weekend.

This week is vital to getting the team back into the tech regime as well as setting the tone for the entire season. This is the one and only week for the entire year when the pressure of events are off and time is more flexible to address issues and try new things. I find this week to be one of our most important as it sets the tone for the year as well as gets everyone back up to speed, making the year easier for me. I take full advantage of this week, and carefully pick and choose what we will do, to make the best of our time.

Here are the topics we will be covering and why.

Technology

We spend a lot of time on technology; it’s what we do, and what our clients need the most assistance with. I make sure we always spend time on our primary audio systems as well as the lighting systems. We work toward advancing the existing skills by doing drills and exercises that will push the staff’s limits. Substantial time is spent on any equipment pieces that are new.

This year the technology training is going to complete via solo activities. This is purposely designed due to having a fairly new staff and needing those students to gain independence. Seven different stations designed for each person to refresh and improve their skills. The goal is to get everyone to their next level in time for our new building. The stations this year focus on mixing, LED light, faster setups, house lighting, troubleshooting, and more.

Emergencies

We work through our emergency procedures twice a year, but fall is where we get really in-depth. We combine the 3 teams that are most likely to need to react in an emergency and work together to make sure everyone knows their role and responsibilities. We cover medical situations, building safety, fire, inclement weather, and active shooter situations. These students also receive AED/CPR training from a certified instructor as well as basic first aid.

Teamwork

Teamwork is important to me; I think it is vital to be able to work together to create a successful event. We spend time developing how we work together by doing different exercises to see how people react and open dialogue about strengths and weaknesses. I usually ask for someone else within my office to lead this training so an outside perspective can offer advice to increase the team’s cohesiveness. Then throughout training, we build on these activates that expand on teamwork as well as offer some fun and competitiveness.

Communication

stageI’ve talked about the importance of communication before and it will always remain a forefront topic during our training. There is a great deal of communication that takes place in the learning and planning modes. The importance of good communications increases during an event. The emphasis is on different types of communication and how good communication can improve the success of the team. Each year we try to raise the bar on how the team uses communications to work together. An example of this is if the team struggled to work through conflict communication in the last year, we’ll spend time on that. Other topics could include leadership communication, directional communication, or even body language.

Customer Service

Customer Service in production technology is a whole lot different than customer service in say retail or restaurants. The customer isn’t always right and sometimes we just have to say no to some of their desires. Here we work to empower the staff to be able to help as necessary, offer advice for logistics, the best use of the venue and technology. It’s important that we develop the skills to communicate clearly with the customer, and address issues in a friendly manner. We work through how to tell a customer they can’t do something due to safety concerns or time constraints, or equipment possibilities, solving problems in a way that works for all parties involved.

Team planning

staffFinally, we spend time team planning or visioning. Usually, over a meal, we talk about what the team looks like now and what they would like to look like in the future. We talk about what procedures are working and which aren’t. Overall, we come up with a vision for the group that includes improvements through the year that makes the team better by continuing to learn, grow, and change as needed. Vision is important to me. When the team is involved in creating the vision and goals for the year, they will be more engaged in putting forth the effort that is needed to reach those achievements.

To conclude, preparation is important for the start of the year. Training, communication, and planning gives us the foundation to come together as a well-performing team. It’s not a one-time thing; the opportunity to improve and learn is continual. Next year we will be in a new building with hundreds of updates, new demands, and a new outlook on how we work as a unit and a team. While my focus for the moment is on training the staff for this year, my subconscious is already working to anticipate what will need to be done to prepare for the next year, when we move into a new facility. There will be more space, more technology, shifting customer expectations, and more deliverables expected from the team. One thing I feel confident about is that we will continue to work with the core concepts of technology, teamwork, communication, customer service, and team planning.

PS: more on the new building to come soon!

 

Professional Social Media

I like to read a lot of articles via sites like AV Nation, Inc. , Pro Sound Web, Forbes, etc. I read each platform for different reasons. Inspiration, motivation, to learn about new products, business storylines, and all in all to stay in the know. One key factor that is consistent across each of these platforms is the topic of millennials. 10 mistakes millennials need to stop making, what millennials want from the workplace, millennials, and how we use social media trends.

All kinds of titles leaving all generations kind of divided. We have a handful of industry leaders voicing their opinions, “they (millennials) feel entitled to things. They’re lazy.” On another hand, you have a group of industry leaders embracing us millennials and all the different aspects we have to bring to the workspace. They’re willing to teach us what we have yet to learn and guide us through situations we haven’t to fully experienced. Both of these groups are a blessing to all of us millennials. We might not like or agree with the boxes they try to fit us all into. But this group of wise industry leaders keep us sharp and on our toes if you take a minute to listen to what they’re really saying.

How does any of this tell you how to create an awesome portfolio on social media? It doesn’t, not yet anyway. But the point is, I want all of us to reap the benefits of utilizing social media outlets to build awesome portfolios no matter what generation. No matter what age, whether you’re a freelancer, entrepreneur, employee. Personal branding online is important in each circumstance and when your passion is reflected throughout your social media properly, it can create one beautiful portfolio and great opportunities to push you forward within your career. On social media not only do you need to remain professional, but you need to showcase your personality across all platforms.

Most millennials love social media and most of our elders are not fans of too many social sites. But in this day in age employers and clients are looking for you online before they even ask you to come in for an interview or to discuss a project. Here are some social platforms we all can utilize to create an awesome portfolio on social media.

Instagram 

Instagram is a great place to showcase your work for one reason that is pretty obvious. You can display visuals. Pictures and videos are one the best ways to show prospective clients and employers the gear you’ve worked with, the types of training you’ve participated in or even the school you’ve attended.  It’s living proof of you working with a particular console or at a specific gig. When utilized correctly, Instagram can be a visual resume of what you can do, how you do it, with a hint of personality to give a little sense of who you are. As a freelancer or entrepreneur, you will possibly have more freedom in posting what you want from the gig. But always be sure to have social media postings cleared in a contract or have final approval from the overall facilitator of the event. Do not overdo the picture-taking. Remember, you’re working so you will have other important things taking place. Find the right time and prioritize accordingly. Maybe before soundcheck, or after the show get a few pictures of the board and some behind-the-scenes footage of the band showing their gratitude toward all your hard work that night. Get creative but do it within the right time frame.

Twitter 

My favorite platform of them all. There is so much you can do with Twitter to showcase your passions and interests. The best thing you can do on Twitter is engaged in a Twitter chat. Twitter chats allow you to connect with like-minded individuals in the industry. It also allows you to become a part of a community where you can share your knowledge, collaborate and learn from others. This will show you know at least minimum information about audio or production. Or it will show that you are beyond proficient in the subject matter. If you don’t give a lot of feedback or information, still participate. Ask questions to show you want to grow, have a strong passion and are willing to learn. Another great way to take advantage of Twitter is to post about your work. Share tips on how you EQ a particular instrument or share a blog post about a console and incorporate a known hashtag to correspond with the post. For example, below I share an article. I tag the company or person it is in relation to. I then use hashtags to connect my post to the community.

You can also use Twitter to post pictures and videos. When you post pictures and videos on Twitter it will create more engagement. This is exactly what you want, you want to be active so people have a reason to follow and connect with you. If you’re not active why would anyone want to follow you? Of course, you must continue to be professional on this platform as well. Don’t tweet about how unorganized a client is or how difficult a band was during a show. Your public timeline is not the place. Your professionalism and personality have to equally shine and reflect you in the same light across every social media outlet.

LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is the social platform created for professionals. This is the place where you always want to remain professional no matter what, this is not the place to post too many pictures or add videos. It’s very direct and straight to the point. On your profile you create a resume, make sure you keep your profile up to date, and keep any gaps in your work history to a minimum. After you have created your profile make sure you fill out every section in its entirety. Especially the skills section. This will allow people within your network to endorse your skillset.

For example, as a sound engineer, you would list skills like audio engineer, audio, sound, pro tools, music, etc. Over time as you build your network people will begin to endorse you and vouch for you in your particular skill sets. The skills listed on your profile will also lead you into groups that represent your skillset. There you will meet possible employers and other engineers looking to connect and build genuine relations that can lead to greater opportunities in a community of your peers.

Now, this platform is professional, but you still have to find a way to incorporate a hint of personality. You can do this but publishing articles on LinkedIn. Here you can write about audio and anything else you have a passion for. This way anyone looking at your profile for the first time gets your work history, schooling and a little taste of who you are as a person. You must stay active on LinkedIn so you don’t miss any job opportunities or a chance to connect with influencers and shot callers. LinkedIn is not the place to down-talk your previous employer or talk about any other personal business. Your colleagues within your network will become very annoyed if you do this and it will turn off any future leads.

Website 

This is the place where you bring it all together. Yes, websites can be expensive but there are a lot of ways to get a nice presentation of yourself up and running. Here are a few free sites where you can have a bio, a display of your work history, showcase your mixed content, and have the links to all your social media outlets in one place. Utilizing anyone of these free website developers will give you a specific online address and help people connect with you. There are many more free builders I’m sure, but find which one displays you and your work best and create your online address.

Some of the industry leaders that have paved the way for us say there is no place for social media in the workplace. But there is and it can possibly help advance your career if done in a proper way. Social media can generate clients and a variety of different gigs. Creating more revenue, more experience, and greater opportunities. Social platforms allow us to connect with community more than anything, the SoundGirls platform is living proof of that. If it was not for the SoundGirls Facebook group and website, I wouldn’t have connected with all you awesome people. We wouldn’t be learning from each other and sharing experiences and how to handle situations in the moment. If you are using any of these social platforms to create an awesome portfolio, please share below so we can all follow you and see how you’re building your portfolio.  

 

Alesia Hendley is an AV professional that found her passion at a young age as a sound engineer with her Father’s church. In the early stages of the church’s foundation, they couldn’t afford musicians. By utilizing audio and technology she and her Father found creative ways to go higher both musically and spiritually, taking the congregation with them. Now you can find her operating/installing audiovisual systems or executing creative ventures. As a young professional she’s finding ways to bring AV, creatives, and creative visions together in the effort to leave her mark by making an impact and not just an impression.

 

Sound Engineer Needed for Independent Film – Los Angeles

Overview: Filming a SAG Ultra Low Budget short film called Yegua to later be developed into full length feature. The film revolves around Penelope ‘Yegua’ Moreno, a high school wrestler on her way to being the first girl in history to win a State Championship title when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s a naturalistic, human film shooting in East Los Angeles and Ventura County. Our mission in the film is to de-victimize our hero, tear down all labels, and build up a champion.
We are a mostly hispanic cast and a crew of NYU film graduates looking to fill our remaining positions with capable and professional women who can lead our on-set Audio Department. Our on-set Audio Field Recording Artist must be experienced in capturing perfect dialogue, wild track, ambience and field foley for post-production mix. No post mixing experience is necessary but could be a bonus as we will be hiring an audio mixer when entering post production in October. The position is payed based on Artist’s quote so we are accepting all competitive bids. Must be willing and capable of putting together her own team and crew (any necessary gear or additional crew will be payed for by production based on discussion).
This is an opportunity for an up and coming sound engineer to be a part of a special film with great ambitions, high future potential to be developed into a feature, crewed by a diverse and passionate young bunch. We are accepting all bids and would be honored and privileged to collaborate with any capable professional ready to lead her own department.
Shooting September 15-25 in Los Angeles and Ventura County. Please email all bids, sound reels and submission to yeguafilm@gmail.com 

Relocation Adventures

I recently took a huge risk. I took everything I had, packed as much as I could into my little white Volkswagen Beetle, and drove across three states from California to Texas. I had no job prospects, small savings (most of which went to fixing up my car), and no one with me except for Siri on my GPS. I did it because I knew that I couldn’t afford San Francisco, I didn’t want to be in Los Angeles or New York, and because I was eager to be a part of a music community again. As of the broadcast date of this blog, I will have been in Austin for three weeks, have been networking my tushy off, and have found a day job.

For me, this is the way I prefer to do things when it comes to relocation. I find somewhere I want to go, and then jump in headfirst. There’s nothing like fear as a motivator, and if you’re not willing to risk everything, then what’s the point, right?

Since so many of us will most likely relocate at least once or twice in our lives, I thought I’d share my process for moving to a new town.Relocating-for-Job

Step 1: Find a Place.

    There are several ways this can happen. You may get a job offer in a new town, or like me, you may just want to go somewhere new where the music is happening. Or hell, even just throw a dart on a map!

Step 2: Budget.

    If you’re not moving for a job offer, once you determine where you want to move, figure out how much your monthly expenses are going to be (rent, utilities, groceries, monthly record collection updates and gear buying, etc.), then start saving up enough for at least 4-6 months of “rainy weather” in that location. Now, this is just what I prefer (I like having a decent nest egg to start with, plus, if something like massive car repairs come up on the road, you have enough to cover it), but usually, 2-3 months of a nest egg is just fine.

Step 3: Reach Out.

    The super-cool advantage to being a part of SoundGirls… They’re EVERYWHERE! Reach out on the Facebook page, let them know where you’re going, and connect with some new friends! If you’re on LinkedIn, reach out on there, too! You never know who you’re gonna meet.

Step 4: Find a Place to Live.

    Go on Craigslist, Zillow, local listing websites, or reach out to friends and family you may have in the area. A lot of the time, larger cities will have a Facebook group dedicated to finding roommates or people to sublet.

Step 5: Breathe.

    In, out… It’s going to be great, it’s going to be fantastic, and if it’s not… well, nothing’s forever (repeat steps 1-3).

Step 6: Go.

    You’re gonna kill it.

Los Angeles Intern Needed

PrintTime: Every Sunday

Call time: 7am

Band sound check: 9:30am

Service: 11am

Place: Paul Revere Charter Middle School

1450 Allenford Ave. Los Angeles. CA 90049

Console: Behringer X32

You will be assisting SoundGirl Member and Head of Audio Kate Lee. You will gain work experience setting up and tearing down backline and sound for the services working alongside Kate.

Candidates should have basic audio knowledge – signal flow, mic placement, wrapping cables, etc. This is not a paid internship – but you will gain work experience. Candidates should plan on interning for at least six weeks.

If interested please send cover letter and resume to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

 

Theatre Sound Heroes: Overview of the role of a Production Engineer

 

There’s an unsung hero in the world of theatre sound: the production engineer (PE).

As shows get bigger, sound systems become ever-more complex. Someone on your team has to make it all work together, and that person is the production engineer.

Put simply, the production engineer “works with the sound designer to physically and logistically realise the entire sound system from the microphones to the speakers and the kilometres of cable in-between” (Gareth Fry, Theatre Sound: Who Does What?, Lighting and Sound International, April 2015).

Every designer will approach a show from a unique perspective. Some designers focus on the creative aspect; others have a more practical hands-on approach. Most designers will have a definite idea of the speakers and other equipment they want to use and where. The PE makes this happen to the best of their ability and also suggests modifications to make it reliable, effective and adaptable enough to handle every quirky requirement that may come up during tech.

As with sound designers, PEs have different specialties, so it’s important to choose one that suits your show and the way you work as a sound designer. If networking is a crucial element of your show, it won’t make sense to hire a PE who is a master rigger but less knowledgeable when it comes to media networking technology.

Ideally, the PE should get involved with a show at the same time as the sound designer so that the sound design process can be as open as possible with all the creative team. Discussions with the production manager about the budget and integration of the speakers (and associated cabling) within a set are of particular importance.  Involving the PE early on in the process can also help pre-empt tricky situations down the line, for example, when a speaker position doesn’t work for the lighting designer.

The first job for a PE after initial discussions with the sound designer is to look at the size of the venue or space where the show will be staged. They’ll consider what the show needs, what the sound designer wants, how much it will cost, and build a system spec from this. As well as evaluating potential speaker positions, the PE also has to factor in whether the venue can physically support and accommodate the system. Where will racks and radio worlds be stationed? Is there enough power available where it’s needed? Where can cable runs go? Is the proscenium arch stable enough to support the hangs – an important consideration when you’re dealing with theatres that can be 100+ years old, as is quite common in the UK.

Once a system spec has been drawn up, it goes to the production manager to tender out to hire companies.

Having solid technical sound know-how is an indispensable part of a PE’s job. Just as important is their ability to manage relationships with three key stakeholders: the sound designer, the hire company, and the manufacturer(s).

The ideal relationship between a sound designer and PE is two-way. The sound designer needs to communicate their requirements so that the PE understands the show from the creative aspect as well as from a technical perspective. This way they can make informed decisions about the system without involving the sound designer at every stage. Is imaging or coverage more important for the show, for example? Does the design need to allow for high SPL, or is it more important for the speakers to be discretely integrated into the set? The better the PE understands the show, the more trust the sound designer will have in their ability to realise the design with the hire company.

The relationship between the hire company and the PE is important, as a lot of what the PE does is dictated by how the hire company works. Production engineers will, therefore, prefer to work with hire companies they know. Often a single hire company won’t be able to offer the exact system spec, in which case the spec will be redrawn and hire companies will suggest alternatives. It’s a balancing act: the PE needs to include all sound (and related AV and stage) elements of the show within the spec, and they also want to work within the resources of the hire company.Kirsty-Gillmore-Aug2016-pic2

At this point, a PE may want to involve different manufacturers to find alternative solutions for aspects of the design outside of the resources of the hire company. Keeping clear lines of communication with manufacturers is important. They can offer product-specific support as well as solutions to problems, based on their in-depth knowledge of their products. A PE may like to involve a particular manufacturer in the system spec to help them create a kit list before it’s sent to hire companies.

Of course, everything revolves around the budget. One of the central roles of the PE is to make practical decisions given the resources they have at their disposal. They may need to negotiate a compromise with the sound designer, convincing the sound designer of an effective alternative approach.

Once the spec is approved, the next step is for the PE to build the kit: stage racks, fly racks, multis, looms, the Deputy Stage Manager (DSM) post,  radio worlds and more. As well as realising the agreed spec, the PE must allow for changes that will invariably happen during the technical rehearsals, e.g. extra runs in the multicore for additional speakers. Then there’s evaluation, testing, and installation in the space, which may take days or even weeks for a large show. Followed by more testing, modifications, expansions and problem solving during the tech and dress rehearsals and previews, and finally, sign off when the show is up and running.

As you may have gathered, a great production engineer is worth their weight in gold. So if you’re a current or aspiring production engineer, let me know! I may have a job for you in the future.

 

 

Soundgirls.org Sound System Optimisation Training

PrintSoundgirls.org is pleased to offer members a two day Sound System Optimisation training seminar from September 20 – 21 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Venue: Amager Bio, Øresundsvej 6, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark http://www.amagerbio.dk/

Dates: Tuesday September 20 12:00 – 20:00 CET and Wednesday September 21 10:00 – 18:00 CET

This course will be taught in English.

Course Content: The two-day course will include both theoretical and practical sessions. Attendees will learn basic measurement and operational concepts through FFT-based (dual-channel) acoustical analysis software platforms, including how to measure and analyse the frequency content of audio signals, study the timing and frequency responses of electro-acoustic systems, and perform basic room acoustics analysis. We recommend that participants download and review the Smaart V8 User Guide before attending the course and bring along a laptop or pen and paper to make notes.
Instructors:

Theis Romme, project manager at Victory Tour Production and system engineer for Volbeat. Theis is a Meyer Sound consultant and is considered an expert on the SIM3 audio analyser system, as well as Smaart V7 & V8 systems.

Rasmus Rosenberg, freelance sound engineer and workshop teacher in system design and optimisation for Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen and KTS (Copenhagen Technical School), among others. Rasmus is a Rational Acoustics Smaart super user, involved in program creation and assisting certified Smaart instructors and distributors. Since 2008 he has had the privilege of being a beta tester for Smaart versions (v7 and v8) before they hit the market.

Cost: The cost for the training will be £50GBP (around €58EUR) per person, payable by Paypal. This will include lunch and tea, coffee  and refreshments for both days. Attendees will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation.

Attendees will also have the option of attending a group dinner at a Thai restaurant on the Tuesday night following training. The cost will be €15EUR per person, excluding beverages.

To reserve your place on the course, please email soundgirls@soundgirls.org with the following details:

1) Name of attendee

2) Your arrival date and time in Copenhagen

3) If you would like us to arrange accommodation at a private residence (see below under Accommodation.) Please note that you may need to share a room with another Soundgirls.org member.

4) If you plan to attend dinner on Tuesday night

Places on the training course are limited to 15 people. We recommend you email soundgirls@soundgirls.org promptly to guarantee your place.

This training course is an exclusive offer for members of SoundGirls.Org. If you are not already a member, please visit www.soundgirls.org to register for free.
How to get to the venue:
Airport: Take the metro to ‘Lergravsparken’, walk 100 metres south of Østrigsgade, turn right onto Øresundsgade. You will see the venue on your left after 500 metres.
Centrale station: Take the Tivoli exit. Take bus no. 5A towards Sundbyvester Plads/Airport. Get off after 9 stops at Øresundsvej. Walk for 50 metres along Amagerbrogade and turn left at the intersection. Walk for 50 metres and you will see Amager Bio.

Accommodation:
Private residence – limited free shared accommodation in a private residence is available. Please indicate in your response email whether you would like to book a place.
Airbnb – https://www.airbnb.com/
Hotel Copenhagen – http://www.hotelcopenhagen.co.uk/
Hotel Amager – http://www.hotelamager.dk/english/

We recommend www.momondo.com to search for flight tickets. SAS & Norwegian are often more reliable than budget companies.

All enquiries and booking requests should be sent to soundgirls@soundgirls.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen!

 

 

Good Foundations – Part One

As a new monitor engineer, it can feel intimidating when the band turns up in front of you for the first time. Here’s a bunch of people who probably all know each other, who might be considerably older than you, and who all seem super-chilled and confident. And here’s you, about to play a major part in how they experience their gig, probably not knowing any of them and maybe feeling a little nervous. I’ve worked with a lot of different musicians in my 20+ years in the business, and in that time I’ve refined an ‘order of proceedings’ that has never let me down. Like so many things in live production, it mostly boils down to preparation, common sense and being methodical, and I’d like to share it with you in this two-part post.

This month we’ll look at the foundations you need to lay BEFORE you set eyes on your musos, and next month I’ll talk about how to proceed once you’re all in a room together and it’s time to make some noise. If you’re new to live work this should give you a good guide to getting started – and if you’ve been around the block a few times, I hope you’ll still find something of use here!

Step 1 – Get in Touch

So you’ve got a new gig – congratulations! Whilst it might be weeks or even months away, the work begins now – you need to get in touch with the people who can tell you the details. Depending on the scale of the show, that’s either the production manager, tour manager, PA company project manager, musical director or a member of the band. Good things to ask at this stage are the ‘W-H’ questions – who, what, where, when, how.

– Where do you need to be and when?

– Do you get to spec what gear you’d like, or are you using in-house?

– Where’s the gear coming from?

– How much prep / programming time is there, if any?

– How many people are in the band?

– What inputs are there?

– Do the band want in-ears, wedges, or a combination?

– Who’s mixing front of house?

And so on. Talking to the FOH engineer is a great idea at this stage – if they’re already working with the band, you can get most of the information you need about the stage set-up from them. If they’re new too, you can put your heads together and figure it out as a team. You need to think about what gear you want to use, and having one or two alternatives is a good idea – for example, I’ll always prefer a Digico, but a Yamaha PM5D is my second choice because you can get them anywhere in the world and they’re pretty much bomb-proof. And whilst I’d LIKE an SD7, I have to be sensible about budgets for artists with less money to spend – will an SD8, 9 or 10 do the job instead? For mics, I have my preferences but I’ll usually defer to the FOH engineer unless I feel strongly about something, because they have to cope with a far less controlled environment than I do.

Step 2 – Collate your info

When you have answers to your questions, start to get your paperwork together. It’s the dullest part of any gig, but being professional means being organised, and I promise you’ll thank yourself for it later! So make an input/output list if one doesn’t already exist, likewise a stage plot and spec (especially if you’re going places where you’re using local equipment) – Word and Excel are your friends. If you’re not sure what that all looks like, here are some examples: 

Example AUDIO RIDER – July 2016

Soundgirls example patch 2016

Soundgirls Stage plot example 2016

Be very clear and use the simplest, least ‘wordy’ language you can, especially if you’re going overseas. Think about little things like batteries – how many do you need per show? What about console software versions, which version will you be running? Don’t be shy about spec’ing things that might seem obvious, like comms and shout systems – the best gig in the world will fall over if you can’t communicate, and assumption is the mother of all f*** ups!

If there’s not much prep time, it’s a good idea to make yourself a template session file for your desk using the relevant offline editing software. Even if you just label and patch your inputs and outputs, punch in high pass filters, and set up some basic reverbs, it’s all-time saved on the day.

Step 3 – Share your info

Send your paperwork to the relevant people – FOH engineers, supply companies, production managers, house engineers (if you’re doing festivals for example). You need to know if there’s anything that can’t be supplied, any problems – it’s better to know now than find out later. Send that session file to the supply company or house engineer so they can load it up and linecheck the system. Print out a couple of copies of all the paperwork and have your session on a USB key. Get your toolkit together – if I’m doing a fly-gig where I can’t have my whole kit, I take a mini-kit with things I know I’ll need – black and white electrical tape, Sharpies, scissors, a Leatherman, RF scanner, multimeter, my in-ears, wipes and so on. If you’re prepping your gear, label everything to within an inch of its life – the simpler you can make things to set up, the quicker it will be – and labelling is priceless when things go wrong and you need to fault-find in a hurry.

Once you’ve done all that, you’re in good shape to load in and make some noise! Next month I’ll talk you through how I run things for soundchecking and getting the band’s mixes dialled in. Happy gigging!

A Teaching Guide to Monitors

This month we welcome a new Omani team member to our department. With only a few weeks left until the beginning of the season, we are focusing on desk training. In particular, programming for monitor engineering. This article can be used as a tried and tested teaching aid for those new to monitors.

We usually use our Digico SC9 or our Venue SC48 for monitors. This step-by-step guide can be used for any desk.

1. Get a copy of the rider. Check all the stage plans are clear and that you have enough information about who needs what mix and where. It is best to clear up any ambiguity at this stage so that your programming can be as ready as possible for when the band arrives. At the opera house, we always have a senior member of the department in charge of a show who is in communication with the visiting band. This can be an extremely difficult job as quite often English isn’t the first language of the visitors. We also have at least two members of the department assigned to the stage.

2. Use a template or set up a new show file to save your work to! Sounds obvious but during the season quick load-ins and outs can often mean that files are not saved accurately. We aim to back everything up to a USB stick too. Sometimes we may need to access files after a company has departed so this is important! Good practice is also crucial to our teaching objectives for the Omanisation programme.

3. If necessary ensure that the desk is set up in the correct configuration for inputs and outputs. Both our desks can be changed during programming but it is good to think these things through before you start. Using the stage plan and rider information, label all the inputs. Don’t forget the talk-back mic and FX returns. Check your gain structure and that all EQ’s are flat and compressors and gates are switched off. It is worth doing this now rather than trying to troubleshoot later.

4. Now label all the auxes. We like to add an extra two or three auxes for effects. Depending on the desk you will also need your own monitor aux – (cue).

5. Patching next. Depending on your set up check your desk patch. We have an optocore system so the desk is fed by madi. This should be nice and straightforward!

6. Now go back to your auxes. Referring to your rider you can feed a few inputs to mix auxes in preparation. For example, the drummer will probably want some kick in his sub. Less is best at this point.

7. Set up your FX auxes. We go for a couple of different reverbs. In most cases, the internal effects in the desks are quite ample. Sometimes bands ask for specific effects units. The set up is exactly the same procedure.

8. Use the FX return channels that you labeled on your inputs earlier. Remember not to send the FX back to itself (awful, awful feedback… just don’t do it).

9. Check and save!

Other things to consider:

– Digico (and other desks) have an iPad app so that you can control the desk remotely. This is useful after the soundcheck. You can walk around and make adjustments as the band are playing.

– In conjunction with this, consider having the monitor mix on a wireless belt-pack so that as you walk around you can solo mixes and actually hear what the musicians are hearing. This is especially useful to us when there is a language barrier! Up can surprisingly often be misconstrued as down!

– You might also want to insert a graphic EQ over each aux send. This will give you a bit of fine control if needed.

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