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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!

Eight Tips for Getting Started Mixing in any DAW.

If you’ve spent any time recording in your DAW, you are certainly aware by now how hard it can be to get things to actually sound good. As soon as you do a little Youtube search to get some help, you’ll find hours and hours of tutorials ranging from the very basic steps to master-level mixing. Where does one even start figuring it out?

I decided to write up my own basic mixing tips for anyone who knows how to record but just can’t seem to get things to sound good yet. These are easy, baby steps that work in any DAW. I hope it’s helpful!

Bring the level of every track down to at least -10db to -15db. Your Master Bus should remain at 0 dB. This is part of what is called “gain-staging” and it basically means that you need to always be conscious of not crowding the ceiling of your mix. If every track is at zero (the loudest) then you will only hear a crowded, jumbled, even distorted mess once all the tracks are there. What often happens is the first track that is recorded stays at zero. Let’s say that the first track is an acoustic guitar track. Now you’ve recorded a vocal. You want the vocal a little louder than the acoustic so you turn up the vocal 2db. Before you know it, you are running out of headroom fast. So, if you start out by bringing everything down at least -10 to -15 db, you’ll give yourself the headroom you need to turn things up or down as you build out the production.

Organize your tracks into folders. Categorize them into groups, such as; lead vocals, backing vocals, drums and percussion, electric guitars, pads, keys, etc. Staying organized will allow you to focus on the more technical aspects of mixing.

Create sub-mixes or buses. These should be grouped according to how you want them to be mixed. I usually have a submix for all lead vocals, and a few different categories of backing vocals (stacks, gang, texture, etc.) Drums and Percussion, Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Bass, etc. The sub-mixes should be instruments that belong together and you want to mix them as a group. I will mix electric guitars and acoustic guitars differently, for example. So even though they are both guitars, I will create a submix for each. I approach backing vocals the same way.

Try some basic panning. Panning is the “left to right” spacing of sounds in the stereo field (my own definition, probably not textbook!) Generally speaking, your lead vocal, snare drum and kick drum, and bass are all straight up the middle, in the center. Everything else is fair game! Play around with spacing individual tracks throughout the stereo spectrum. You’ll be amazed at the difference in sound you’ll get by doubling (not cloning or duplicating the track but recording a second pass) certain instruments and panning one hard left and the other hard right. Try this with electric and acoustic guitars as well as with backing vocals.

Don’t be afraid to use presets. In the mixing world, presets are frowned upon. Apparently, it’s only for noobs. If you are a noob, then use them! When you are learning how to mix, presets can be incredibly helpful as a starting point. They can also help your ears hear the difference between different settings. I still use presets as my starting point on a few things. I tweak from there until I dial it in. Eventually, your ear will be trained enough to dial in your own settings from scratch, if you want. But if the preset provides you with a great starting point, why not use it? You can also save your own presets, so once you do get comfortable dialing in your own EQ settings on a lead vocal, for example, you can save your settings as your own preset!

Use EQ instead of the volume knob/fader. If something is too loud or too soft, the volume knob may not be the solution. Try using eq and find a specific preset and see if it helps an instrument to pop out more or not stick out as much.

Use inserts for a reverb (make sure the plugin itself is completely wet) then dial up or down the insert level. You can do this on your buses as well which helps add cohesiveness to a group of instruments. It helps all of your instruments sound like they are living in the same space.

Focus on learning one mixing tool at a time. There is a lot to learn and it all takes time and practice. The fundamentals are EQ, compression, reverbs, saturation, and chorus. Each of these fundamentals has a string of other tools and techniques. De-Lessing vocals, parallel compression, side-chaining, and so on. It’s easy to get overwhelmed once you dive down even one of these fundamentals. Pick one at a time, take some courses, or find tutorials for that specific tool and move on once you feel confident.

Learning to mix is much like learning a new instrument. If you approach it like learning an instrument, then you understand and respect the amount of dedication it takes to improve. Start with these basics and I promise, you’ll start to gain confidence and your mixes will start to sound legit.

 

Readings and Workshops and Labs, oh my!

 

In a previous blog which you can read here, I detailed some of the key differences between mixing an existing work (or revival) and mixing a new musical. New musicals, as many of us know, are their own special beast, always evolving and keeping you on your toes as you process changes in real-time. But getting to the premiere production is already a long way down the road, and before that, a show will go through various iterations and phases. Often those phases won’t have a full production design with sets, costumes, etc. Perhaps they won’t be more than some actors with binders and one musician at a keyboard. There will, however, almost certainly be a sound designer and a mixer. In this blog, we will be diving into the specific challenges of mixing presentations of shows that are in development: what they are, why we do them, and how to set yourself up for success as the mixer.

 

A still from a staged reading of the musical “Theory of Relativity” produced as part of Goodspeed Musicals’ annual Festival of New Musicals.

 

What are the different ways to present a work in progress?

The three most common terms for a public presentation of a show in development are readings, workshops, and labs. First, some quick definitions are in order.

Reading: A presentation of a musical where the show is read and sung aloud for an audience by a group of actors. As its name would suggest, reading is almost always done with scripts in hand, i.e. the actors are not “off book.” Sometimes readings are more of the “concert” variety, with actors at music stands delivering their lines; sometimes they include more staging and choreography (hence the term “staged reading”). Since most readings are not considered to be fully staged, someone will often be tasked with reading some of the stage directions aloud to give the audience a sense of what’s going on in the play. The actors will not usually be in wireless mics and the sound support will consist of some handheld mics set up near music stands, or at other strategic locations around the stage. Other times the actors will be in wireless mics for ease of mixing and moving around. The orchestration will typically be minimal (e.g., a keyboard and possibly a rhythm section).

Workshop/Lab: A workshop is a fully-staged presentation of a show where the actors have memorized their lines and are performing the show “full out,” complete with choreography. Technically, as of 2019, a workshop of a show is a “lab,” but we’ll get to that in a moment. There might be a few minimal props, or a large-scale approximation of the set, much like you might see in a rehearsal room for a full production of a show. There aren’t usually costumes and there is not a lighting design other than “lights up, lights down.” The actors will be in wireless mics, and the expectation is that the presentation will be mixed line-by-line, like a standard musical. There is almost always a band, and likely a larger audio support package including either foldback wedges or a personal monitor mixing system like Avioms.

Fun fact: The history of the workshop dates to the 1970s, when a director/choreographer named Michael Bennett gathered a bunch of Broadway dancers in a room for a few weeks to try out writing songs and scenes based on some cassette tape interviews he had done with them about their lives working as what we in the biz call “ensemblists.” The result was the musical “A Chorus Line” which went on to run for over 6000 performances on Broadway.

Today, the words “lab” and “workshop” are often used interchangeably to describe a developmental process where a show is “put on its feet” and “presented” to either the public or an invite-only audience.

Side note about the word “lab”: Remember a few paragraphs ago when I said that all workshops are technically labs? “Lab” is now the technical word used to describe all developmental presentations or work sessions governed by the Actors Equity Association, the labor union representing theatre performers and stage managers in the US. The new lab contract has multiple tiers that delineate how much staging or props can be used, how many weeks of work can be done, and how much the actors and stage managers are paid per week. Additionally, as was the case in the former workshop contract, actors and stage managers who participate in a lab of a show that goes on to turn a profit on Broadway are now entitled to a small cut of the box office gross (https://broadwaynews.com/2019/02/08/actors-equity-reaches-agreement-on-lab-contract-ends-strike/). This is to account for the fact that even though they may not have been the directors, writers, or choreographers themselves (and might not even be working on the show if/when it gets to Broadway), the work and contributions they made back in those labs are an integral creative component of the eventual full production and should be recognized and compensated. The lab is meant to be overall more flexible as to how the producers and directors are allowed to use the time that they have their actors on payroll.

Why do shows do these developmental steps?

Two big reasons: to experiment and make changes to a piece before investing lots of time and money into a full production, and to “pitch” your show to potential producers and investors who might be willing to get behind a full production of the work if they think it has potential. It’s basically a place to work out your show’s kinks before putting on a “backers audition.” The team is here to “sell” folks on their idea for this musical. As the mixer, you are there to help them make their case by delivering the dialogue and music as clearly as you can so that they can decide if the songs are catchy, the jokes are funny, the story is meaningful, etc. This means that your goal behind the faders will be a little different than just “making it sound good.”

So without further ado, let’s get into some tips and tricks for how to do this!

DON’T. GET. FANCY.

This is probably the single biggest and most overarching piece of advice I can give when mixing developmental work. This process is going to feel like mixing a new musical on OVERDRIVE. The changes will be flying at you even more quickly, and you want to be able to adapt and react quickly and efficiently.

So, what are some ways you can do that?

DON’T GET FANCY with your programming.

Write as few snapshots/scenes as you possibly can. Do the least amount of programming you and your designer can get away with. Unless there is a compelling reason to do more (e.g., it’s what your designer wants), your programming really shouldn’t be anything more than some VCA changes, a little bit of band mixing/fader wiggling, and maybe a little bit of reverb safing/unsafing.

My personal favorite way to program a workshop is using what I call the “All-Skate” scene. Basically, I analyze the script, figure out which characters have the most dialogue, and design one console scene with VCA assignments that will work for most of the show. For a standard musical, every principal will be assigned to their own VCA, with the ensemble in two groups. That way if the writers suddenly throw in a new scene/song, you’ll be ready to mix along with minimal adjustments. Here’s what that looked like in a workshop I mixed last fall:

This is my programming scheme for Norma Rae with everyone assigned to their “home faders.”

Once you’ve got your all-skate scene written, build every subsequent scene out of that template and only change what you need. On a standard musical you might eliminate characters who don’t speak from your VCAs; don’t bother with that here. The likelihood of things changing and people getting added is so high that you might as well be prepared. So, to return to our example from above, here is what my programming for the whole show of Norma Rae wound up looking like.

You will notice from the color coding that I have changed as few VCAs as I need to in each scene to make the programming work. So, even if REUBEN isn’t in a scene/song, I didn’t bother clearing him out unless I needed VCA 4 for something else

DON’T GET FANCY with your book.

I am a stickler for a clean book, but there’s not going to be time. Use all your shorthand. Be ready to erase, rewrite, rip out pages, glue in new lines, etc. For the last reading, I mixed I simply crossed out all the stage directions by hand with a thick pen and did most of the write-ins with white-out and pencil.

On a reading in particular, you’ll most likely not be changing your VCA assignments as much, since you’re just mixing on wired mics that are in fixed positions, and the people speaking at them are the thing that is changing. Make yourself good notes so that you are always on top of who is singing where. If a whole page is just 2 or 3 people having a conversation, I’ll simply write a huge “2+3+4” in the top right corner of the page and then park the mics up. That way I’m not having to follow the dialogue as precisely and I’m not risking missed pickups attempting to be fancy and do a proper “line-by-line” when I don’t really have to.

If you read music notation, working off the piano-vocal score is going to be very useful here. I found myself constantly scribbling on the PV for the 2 workshops I mixed last year, because even with a great script PA, sometimes the score is just more accurate, and gives you a better idea of what’s going on in a song. I mixed only a few songs on the score for the actual presentations, but even so, I was constantly referencing my PV notes.

I know some folks are moving towards digital scripts, but until you are a true workshop expert, I would highly recommend sticking to a good old-fashioned paper script. It will allow you to make changes more easily and get your thoughts down more quickly. You’ll also be able to process subtle and small changes in the room that might not make it into the PDF of new pages that will eventually be emailed out. This is especially true if your show isn’t going to “freeze,” meaning even once you’re into presentations the creative team might continue to make changes.

USE YOUR ALLIES AND GET INFORMATION

Much like on any new musical, the script PA and the music assistant are going to be your new best friends. They are the folks who will be the most aware of what’s changing, who sings when, and what email threads you need to be on. Make sure you are not left out of the conversations that are relevant to you, especially if folks on the team aren’t as experienced or used to working with a mixer. Sometimes they don’t realize how much work you’re doing, and why you need all this information. But hopefully, once they do, they’ll be on your side and will do everything they can to help you out.

BRING YOUR ARSENAL

The workshop mindset requires you to work quickly. There is so little time. You’re basically doing an entire rehearsal, tech, preview, and run of a new musical in two weeks. Be ready with your A-game and all your tricks, hacks, and cheat sheets. Be ready to program quickly, either by keeping things simple, using the “all-skate” method, or some combination of the two. In a reading, consider not using scenes at all if you don’t need them. And above all else, breathe, smile, and have fun. You’ve got this!

If you have any further questions about mixing developmental works, feel free to send them my way and I’ll try to answer them in a future post. I’m always eager to hear from my readers about what topics they would like to learn more about, so all suggestions are welcome!

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