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11 Ways to Get the Best Performance from your Singer in the Studio

 

I’ve read a lot of articles entitled something like “tricks for recording stellar vocals” or something along those lines, as I’m sure you have as well. I stopped reading them a while ago because they were all saying the same thing; what preamps to use, the best vocal mic, mic placement, acoustic space treatment, mic technique, etc. rather than addressing what I think is the most important element: getting the best emotional, confident and believable performance out of your vocalists! As important as the equipment and recording techniques are, what good does it do if the singer has not given their best performance? I know you already knew that. But what you might not know is that you, as the engineer and/or producer, can absolutely make or break the emotion/mental state of the singer in your studio.

Here’s the thing. Most singers are incredibly nervous or at the very least, a bit anxious when they come to record vocals. They usually have inner demons waiting to hammer them with all the worst words of self-doubt a demon can muster just as soon as they open their mouths. Your singers will love working with you if you can put them at ease in every way possible. What it comes down to is you need to wear other hats besides just “engineer” and “producer”. You must also be a therapist, life coach, cheerleader, BFF, and psychic.

Now, you can complain all day long that singers need to be professional and just deal with the stress and blah blah blah. But have you not figured out that the vocals are the most important part of the song? It doesn’t matter if you have the best drum sounds on the planet or the coolest guitar solo ever created. If the vocal falls flat, the song will not connect with people.

Do you want your singer (whether they are Kelly Clarkson good or not) to give the best vocal performance of their life in your recording session? Do you??? Yes. I know you do! So shift your mindset from being the dude/dudette at the console to being the singer’s advocate. Here is my list of the top eleven things you must do to get the best vocal performance from your singer ever.

Provide a low-stress, comfortable environment

  1.  Do what you can to make the temperature comfortable (for us home studio owners, this can be difficult but do your best with space heaters, fans, windows open between takes, etc.) This also means making sure they know ahead of time if you are going to have any visitors or observers. And if possible, keep your schedule open enough to where they don’t feel rushed in or out.
  2. Start with one run through the entire song as a “warm-up”. Record that first take, but tell them it’s just a warm-up. Because it is. But it’s also a take. I’m surprised at how often I go back to that warm-up take to use a word or a phrase at comping time because it was the best take.
  3. Let them hear themselves back after the warm-up take (whether it sounded good or bad) with some compression and EQ and a bit of sweetening so that they sound legit. I’m not sure how or why this happens, but when they hear themselves played back the first time, it gives them the confidence they need to sing better once you start doing real “takes”. Especially if they sang that first take timidly, they’ll hear themselves singing all wimpy and tell themselves, “Wait. I totally got this.”
  4. Be willing to adjust the input gain, but do it carefully. Some singers are very dynamic and will about blow the roof off on their loudest notes and be whisper-soft during the quiet spots. Others will be more even. You can figure this out very quickly during the warm-up take. As you decide what sections to record (see #6), if you need to adjust gain for the different sections, then coordinate it so you will only need to adjust the gain once; maybe twice so as to not have level change issues.
  5. Don’t do takes just for the sake of getting takes. I’ve had vocal files sent to me recorded at another studio where I had 8…9…10 takes of the entire song. And guess what? They all sounded pretty much the same. Sometimes it does take a singer a few takes to get into their groove, and that’s fine. But if you are working with a pretty seasoned singer, after the warm-up take, you might only need 3 or 4 to make sure you can comp the best vocal take ever. Going through the entire song and having them do 10 to 12 takes will make them pretty tired. The takes will diminish in quality and won’t be useable anyway. Here’s the other thing – singers burn out after a couple of hours! Four, five, or six-hour vocal sessions (for one song especially) will give you diminishing returns.
  6. Record the song in sections. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this is the best way to go when recording a vocalist. When they are singing the warm-up take, make note of sections that seem harder for them, places where they have to take a catch breath in the middle of a phrase, parts that might be too high or too low. Most singers have a harder time singing low when their voice is more warmed up so have them start with the low sections. Cheerleader hat comes on for the hard parts. Get really good at punching in and punching out so that they can get a great take on difficult notes that might need a focused breath right before or a vocal “marker” (more on that later). If there is a section that is especially hard or taxing on them vocally, only get a few good takes, then move on, go back again later if needed.
  7. Take a break if they seem tired (either you can see fatigue or you can hear fatigue). Chit chat, offer them water, start asking questions about them so you can get to know them better. Get their mind off of it for a bit.
  8. For crying out loud, don’t get mad at them when they are not meeting your expectations! Need I say more? Really. Yelling at them, showing frustration with passive-aggressive comments, mocking them, or whatever will most definitely not help the session go any better.
  9. Emotionally engage with the song they are recording. It seems like a no-brainer but one thing I hear from vocalists who love to record with me is that most engineers “just hit record and check out”. If the singer is struggling with getting the emotion to come across or they can’t decide between two different deliveries, they could use your opinion! They may even ask for it and if all they get is a shrug from you, they take that as a sign that they are completely on their own. Listen to the lyrics. Discuss hidden meanings or motivations behind the song with the singer. If they wrote it, have them tell you the story behind the song. If they are creating a music video, have them tell you the visual concept and let that help drive the vocal decisions. Help them explore ways to sing this song in a way that will “make” people listen.
  10. Let them do “vocal markers” if needed. The first word of a verse can sometimes be the hardest to hit perfectly. A little trick for singers is to sing the note while the pre-roll is playing to keep the note in their voice. Then at the last second, they take their breath and begin singing the phrase. You’ll obviously need to edit out the placeholder note later if it was recorded. This can also be a great help when they are singing harmonies as sometimes the melody is so stuck in their mind, coming in on a harmony note accurately can be tricky.
  11. Have a good idea of where you will want doubles and multiple stacks of vocals before the recording starts. You might get more than your 3 or 4 good takes in spots where you will want a fuller stacked sound, like in the chorus. It’s easier to get a few extra takes when you are first tracking that section than later when you are recording backing vocals. Sometimes you may not know what you’ll need until after the singer is gone. Once you have your lead vocal comped, use other good takes as doubles and stacks when inspiration strikes. You’d be surprised at how many times I decide quite far into the production process, long after the singer is gone that a double of that one phrase would bring the right emphasis to it. I use 2 of the other good takes (maybe even from the warm-up take) and add them to the final lead comped vocal – pan one hard left and the other hard right and there you have it.

***A word about auto-tune – The use of some type of tuning plug-in has become the industry standard, whether you like it or not. The problem is that the music we hear on our streaming playlists is littered with singers that sing un-humanly-possibly pitch-perfect. For your mix to stand scrutiny next to Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendez mixes, auto-tune must be used. It is not just about perfecting pitch within an inch of it’s life but it is a processing effect that listeners, without realizing it, expect to hear on polished productions. Expecting a singer to sing as perfectly as the pop music coming from major labels is like expecting a model to walk into a photoshoot “photoshop perfect”. “Why do you have blemishes and scars? I don’t see those on any of the models in the Victoria Secret catalog.”

Not all productions call for the tightest auto-tune you can get, however. This is where you as the producer of the vocals must know the genre you are working in and stay true to that genre. I think of it on a scale of 1 to 10. Adele, as far as I can tell uses no to very little auto-tune (because she’s pretty pitchy haha). Similarly, some genres such as indie rock or alt-rock (think of Brandon Flowers from The Killers or Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons) require the singer to have some natural imperfections to keep the raw, emotional element of the song. You’d better believe their backing vocals are pitched, however. So if you’ve got a more soulful singer in a genre that is more forgiving of that effect, then keep the pitching loose and natural. If you are aiming for a hit song on the charts, you must learn how to massage auto-tune to where the singer still sounds “natural” (meaning, not robotic like T-Pain) but has no pitch imperfections.

There you have it! I hope you can all become the singer’s favorite recording engineer by being their advocate in the studio. You’ll both benefit when the end product is something you can both be proud of!

Lilian Blair: Rock and Roll Fairy Godmother

 

Lillian Blair is a producer, engineer, and audio educator working out of the Seattle area. She is currently a staff engineer at The Vera Project Studios, where she chairs the Audio Committee, teaches studio recording and audio mixing and mastering. Lilian interned at the historic London Bridge Studios and received her degree in audio engineering from Shoreline Community College (A.A.A.S.), and in creative writing from the University of Washington (B.A.).

She offers a variety of services focused on the planning and creation of recorded music: songwriting, performance coaching, arrangement, production, and all aspects of audio engineering. She likes to think of herself as a Rock and Roll Fairy Godmother.

We caught up with Lilian to talk about her experience and work.

What was the first band you listened to growing up that became your “favorite”?

That would be Styx. I was definitely into dad rock as a kid, and to be honest I still am. Not really into Styx anymore, since I’ve moved on, but for a while that was all I’d listen to. Some greatest hits CD. I first heard them on a family road trip (never take your young children on a road trip) and, compared to the 90s pop country that my parents were mostly playing, it sounded interesting and complex and “new” and adult. Plus, Dennis DeYoung plays keys, and I’m a pianist, so there was that connection.

What was your first concert? Do you remember your reaction to it?

Again, Styx, at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA, which is the perfect name for a town. Kansas was opening and staying at the same hotel as us and helped my dad when a beach umbrella fell on him. Neither of us recognized them until they were on stage playing “Dust in the Wind.” Now that’s cool, but it certainly wasn’t as an eight-year-old. There were lasers and a bunch of people my dad’s age smoking. I thought it was cool and fun to be able to hear music live. The sheer noise of it (no earplugs for us). Seeing famous people, even far off. Singing along to the music that I loved.

How did engineering enter the equation?

I got my first taste of engineering in high school. I took an audio engineering class because my friends were taking it, and found it cool, though I didn’t get to do much engineering. My friends and I was in the house band, so I spent that class playing guitar while the other kids got to do the actual engineering. We did end up doing some home recording, and I even bought a bit of gear, including my first 57, fully intending on continuing with that. Then the band broke up. I ended up using the gear to make an EP that I have successfully scrubbed from the internet but put doing it professionally at the back of my mind for a few more years until I decided it was something that I loved and wanted to go into.

You are the Staff Engineer of the Vera Project in Seattle. Can you tell us a bit about what this center is and what it’s like working in the studio?

The Vera Project is an all-ages, youth-focused art center and music venue located in Seattle Center right across from KEXP, the world’s best radio station. We offer classes in engineering and other DIY crafts, such as screen printing, have volunteer opportunities for people to work shows, and are a way for young kids especially to get their start in live audio. We have members go to work at large venues in Seattle right out of high school because they already have a couple of years of experience running front of house in a 350 cap venue! It’s amazing!

The recording studio is one of the smaller programs. Lots of people don’t even know we have one, but it’s there, upstairs. We have an excellent live room, which is what attracted me to it in the first place, with lots of fun acoustic elements that I can play around with. An elevator shaft, a fun stairwell, an echo chamber in the form of the loading bay downstairs. We’re on the cheaper side as far as gear is concerned, but that’s not really something that bothers me. We have that great room, and almost as importantly we’re able to set up 32 inputs like the other professional studios in town. This means I can record the way I want to record, and give my artists a record that’s competitive, at least creatively, with the stuff they can get at higher-priced studios. This is perfect for young artists just getting their start and getting their first experience in a studio. And we still have good preamps and workhorse mics, just no vintage U47s.

You’re known for capturing drums with as many mics as possible. What led to this approach?

I went to school at Shoreline Community College and was introduced to studio multi-micing there. I think we topped out at your standard 12, though we did experiment with some interesting mic choices (front of kit mic, side of snare, kick drum tunnel), so I was already exposed to the idea of having fun and adding in more mics to be weird. When I interned at London Bridge Studios, also in Shoreline, that concept was kicked up. They introduced me to even more mic options, including the concept of putting up multiple room mics to capture the ambience as it moves through the space, extending the snare tail like you can get with compression, but without changing the dynamics of the performance. Plus, every acoustic space sounds different, just like every drum kit sounds different, so capturing that in interesting and creative ways gives you a sound that nobody else has, and in the days of samples that makes your work stand out.

Every bit of the drum makes sound. I don’t see people micing the underside of toms, but that head adds so many harmonics and resonance to the sound it makes the recording sound like the drum sounds in the room, rather than like you have your ear placed up against it. The front of kit mic (usually a 57 aimed at the snare) is another one that seems second nature to me, but people are always baffled by it. I measure it against the overheads, creating a quasi-Decca tree, and bus it with the spaced pair. It works really well with 414s, so you get the fullness of a large-diaphragm mic with the snap of a small diaphragm. I’ve done over-the-shoulder mics, but you have to worry about drummers knocking into them, and I’d rather avoid getting in the way of the performer.

You also like mic placement in out-of-the-ordinary spaces, like the elevator shaft. How do these sounds work into your mix?

Sometimes they’re mixed low, sometimes they’re mixed high, and sometimes they get cut altogether. Most of them are focused on making the snare drum sound cool, because when you listen to it that close mic sounds kind of boring. Toms are about the note (which is why you should tune them to be in the key of your song). Kick is about the thud and the power. Snare is about the uniqueness of the tone. If I put up weird mics, then I get an interesting tone nobody else has. Like the elevator mic. At Vera we have a wheelchair elevator that’s open-top, leading into our live room. It’s a rectangular shaft, and the metal sides are flimsy, so they vibrate, adding their character to the signal. It sounds kind of like an all-in 1176, without the weird dynamics, just the distortion and smoothed out since it’s sort of far from the drumkit. It adds a unique tail to the drums that really enhances the overall tone. I tend to mix that one pretty high, after some extreme EQing to get rid of that pesky high hat. Weird mics tend to get extreme EQing. Another fun acoustic quirk of Vera’s studio is our stairwell, in particular one corner that’s a very acute angle in an otherwise boxy landing. I like putting a Blumlein pair right in the corner (the mics know what they did), to capture the uniqueness of the sound as it bounces around in that uniquely shaped area. The Blumlein ensures that I get all the different idiosyncrasies while keeping it in stereo. I’ve done an Omni mic there, but it’s just not as cool.

Have you ever experienced any sexism as a woman in the industry?

Of course. Most of the professionals I know are, well, professional, and welcoming, and encouraging. They know the gender disparity in the industry is an issue and needs addressing, and one of the things everyone can do (aside from hiring more women) is to make sure the environment is exactly how they treat me: professional and welcoming, and encouraging. There are wonderful people in this industry and I have so much respect and gratitude for them and the opportunities and support they’ve given me.

Most of the sexism I experience comes from bands, actually. There are so few women who do what I do (I don’t know a single woman rock producer who works with bands in Seattle. Seattle! If you are one, let’s be friends!) so artists just aren’t used to the idea of working with women, and that includes women too. I do get work because I’m a woman, usually from parents who are more comfortable sending their teens to a woman than some dude, and of course the EQL directory, but I do get met with a lot of disbelief in the fact that I even have the pedigree that I do, let alone the ability to do what I do. Dudes in bands are worse, though. Far too many times I’ve had them walk away from me as soon as they realize I’m not going to sleep with them. I get it, some rock and roller chick comes up to you at a show, you’re immediately going to lizard brain yourself into believing it’s the 80s. No matter how I interact with them we’re not going to overcome that disappointment. There’s nothing I can do to control for that reaction.

Then there are the men who mistake professional admiration for sexual interest. Thankfully, none of them have tried anything. They’re professionals and act professionally. But I do feel like this assumption has hurt me, cost me connections and friendships. I don’t date in the industry, to the point of passing on relationships with people with whom I have a genuine (and mutual) attraction. The one piece of advice that was given to me by multiple successful women is to avoid appearing like I’m trying to sleep my way into a career. Not even not sleeping with people, but avoiding even the perception of it. Maybe that’s a relic of the past, just like all the dudes in bands who automatically think I want to sleep with them, but it’s advice that I follow. Kind of. I still dress however I want to dress. I like looking good. I’m naturally introverted, so it helps me get into character for going out and talking to people. But I still make sure to show up to events solo and deny myself the kind of personal connections that men seem to be able to have.

The worst though is that writing all this, I can’t definitively say that I’ve experienced sexism, or at least overt sexism, aside from a couple of instances of sexual harassment. Maybe it’s just Seattle, but everything is under the surface. I feel like I experience sexism, which is probably enough, but is that me being sexist against myself? There’s a lot of self-doubt around this subject. Is any of what I just wrote even real? Am I just expecting to experience something so I read into every interaction through that lens? Am I just making excuses?

You recently presented to the AES Diversity and Inclusion meeting. How did it go? What did you want to express to those attending?

I hated it, to be honest. I talked a lot about my experiences and what I said in the above paragraphs. Mostly I just talked about how to get more women into the industry. The cultural stuff needs to be said, because when it comes to getting more women in the industry everyone wants to talk about everything BUT the culture, which is so disheartening that I think it pushes a lot of women out, starting with the very start, with school and internships (I cried in the garage at London Bridge multiple times because of how people treated me). Most of my talk was positive, about inspiring girls and being proactive in mentoring young professionals and that most important of things, hiring women. But as I was doing it, knowing how important it was, it did feel like complaining, like I was risking my career by speaking up. That self-doubt I talked about earlier. Is this really real? Am I just deluding myself? Is anyone going to take me seriously, or are they going to write me off and decide I’m a liability because I’m willing to talk publicly about what I and other women experience? I still feel like I shouldn’t have done it. I haven’t heard one way or another what my industry friends think, so….

You recorded a band in the woods. How was that experience and what led to experimenting with outdoor sound?

It was really fun and powerful, especially since we infused everything with magic and witchery. I’ve actually done a couple of projects in the woods with that particular artist. The first was a ritual where we had about a dozen people participating, and the second was the album. We went out there because the band asked if we could go there. I could have said no, and convinced them to go into a studio, and we would have made a good record, but I was very much in “Say yes to everything” mode so I said “yes” and then set to figuring it out. It was a challenge, but you never should shy away from a challenge. We ended up using a portable battery pack, a laptop, and an eight-channel interface. I did not get to put up my 16+ drum mics, but that’s just a sacrifice I had to make to do something adventurous. We DIed the guitar, and used mics for the rest, including distance mics set on Omni to capture the ambience of the forest. Now that I think of it, I should have kept the mics on cardioid and faced them away from the artists, but whatever. Maybe the next chance I get to do a record in the woods.

My favorite memory from that was one of the songs we did at night, around the campfire. We’d timed the recording to coincide with the new moon, for witchy reasons, and being away from the city we could see the stars. There was a hill nearby so for one particular song I had the artists face the hill and I placed a lantern behind them (the campfire wasn’t bright enough), projecting their shadows on the hill. They danced as they sang, seeing their shadows move. Very Brocken Specter and super cool to watch. I think it helped them get into it more. Both songs we did around the campfire hit that magic(k) take exactly at midnight. Did I time it that way? Maybe? Knowing we’d go about half an hour from setup to them getting into it enough to give me what I needed. Was it witchcraft? Also maybe.

Through Gear Fanatix, a site for underrepresented voices in audio, you have written articles about the gear you’ve both enjoyed working with or been frustrated with. What has it been like to review various pieces?

It’s been fun. I have thoughts about everything, and just getting to type them out and go on tangents is something I enjoy. Everything has something good and something bad about it, even the stuff that I love, so making sure there’s a balance is important. I always love reading the bad in articles. I figure good is good, but the bad is where you’ll learn whether or not the gear is worth buying. I’m working on a review of iZotope’s Neutron, which is the first piece of gear/software that I was actually given, and that’s a tough position to be in. I kind of want to stick to demos and loans, to be honest. Free stuff is fun, and there are no strings with this, but it definitely does put pressure on the review. The pressure for me is to be as honest as possible and to really make sure that the bad is put front and center because there’s some stuff about that plugin that I really hate. And stuff that I love. Like with everything. As a tease, how is it that there’s a plugin that’s going to be on every mix I do going forward where I absolutely hate its key, defining, innovative features? Does that make it just another plugin bundle? Check out GearFanatix.com to find out!

What is one piece of dream gear? Why?

I don’t really have a piece of dream gear, to be honest. If I were opening a studio, I’d want a Rupert Neve Designs 5088, because why not, though I might also go full 21st century and get an Avid S6, but that’s all monopoly money and not something I’m interested in pursuing. I have a hybrid setup for my mixing, having jumped on the summing box train. I think having your stereo bus processing analog is a nice way to keep your mixes flexible while also being able to concentrate your budget into a few pieces of high-end gear that will affect your sound much more than getting a rack full of cheap compressors and EQs. Since I’m only allowed to pick one, I’m going with the API 2500+, the one with the wet/dry knob. I’ve used the software version, and it’s incredibly versatile and sounds amazing. A bit out of my budget, though. The Tegeler Crème is fun too, and a little more justifiable cost-wise. It’s a stereo VCA compressor with a passive high and low-shelf EQ that’s very transparent and, well, creamy. Perfect (and designed) for stereo bus processing. I’ve fallen in love with diode compressors too, like the 33609, even though they’re too vibey to be my sole bus compressor. I’d get one as my second, alternate bus compressor, though. Ok, that’s five pieces of gear. Do you think I might actually like this stuff?

How has COVID affected your job this past year?

I don’t want to get maudlin, but significantly. I record bands. If I can’t go to shows to talk to bands, I can’t find new bands to record. If bands can’t play shows, they can’t afford to hire me to record them. If studios are closed, bands are going to record themselves. This past year my work has been almost exclusively mixing and mastering. Thankfully, artists may want to do their own music, but still realize there are things for which they need a professional. I’m even doing some distance producing. I wrote an article about this, actually. It mirrors mixed revisions, in that there’s a back and forth with me giving the artist notes on the arrangement, and then making the adjustments until we’re both happy. Then I get to put it all together and they tell me what they want until we’re both happy. It works, though it takes a while, and leaving the recording schedule up to the artist does have its downside. When you’re in a studio, you’ve gotta get it done, and your whole focus is on creativity. A good producer will be able to keep those creative juices flowing throughout and keep things from getting monotonous and draining. I can’t do that if we’re communicating over texts and emails. So the whole process slows down, which in itself can be demoralizing. The projects still get finished, but I can’t wait to get back into the studio: be in a room with people, feel the agitation in the air, smell the sweat, get exhausted but keep pushing because we know that the next take is gonna be the one.

If you could talk to yourself from ten years ago, what one piece of advice would you tell yourself?

Trust your gut. Don’t assume people know best just because they’ve been doing this longer than you. Everybody is making it up as they go along, changing their approach, learning from their mistakes. There are stories behind this but you don’t get to hear them.

Follow:

Watch “Proof in Music” Episode 2 featuring Lilian Here.

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Instagram @lilinblair

Facebook @lilinblair

 

Post Graduate Resources

 

Freelancing for the Young Professional

Hello, summer 2021. Hopefully, most of you who are reading this are preparing for a busy summer. I know I am quickly booking myself as many safe live shows as I can, and I hope you are as well. Over the past few months, I have been collaborating with a friend and colleague to present an article that talks about freelancing in an extensive and informative way. Since summer is right around the corner and many of us will be hunting for work, now feels like the best time to release it.

Networking. Networking. Networking.

How many times have you heard the word networking thrown around? The word means roughly the same thing to everyone, but each person does it differently. For me, I like to listen to people, and if I want to start a working relationship with someone, I ask them what their opinions are. I make it my goal to learn from them or to simply talk about the work that we do. It is a great opportunity to hear from another person’s perspective, but also to prove that you know what you are talking about. People enjoy feeling like they are important and being heard. Typically, this results in a positive association of me in that person’s memory.

This also leads to one of my colleagues’ opinions on the subject. He likes to take a more online approach by keeping up to date with the ever-evolving industry. He frequently uses social media, online groups, and forums, as well as LinkedIn. Knowledge is a valuable tool in this industry, especially if you are looking into jobs centered around higher education or research. Networking like this also opens you up to the opportunity of coming across and engaging with professionals.

On the other hand, networking on the job can be a bigger challenge. Introducing yourself and making a good impression are two things you will want to prioritize. A peer of mine also likes to prioritize listening to artists’ concerns and will take on the ‘problem solver’ role. It is easy to forget that we are in a service industry and being able to listen and solve issues put your band or artist’s mind at ease. It is an excellent way to create a lasting impression of you in their mind.

One of my recent endeavors has also been to simply ask.  In preparation for my summer off of grad school, I started looking for local work. I noticed a local tavern had a full schedule of live music that they were going to have outside, and I asked if they needed any sound support. Fortunately for me, they did, and the conversation went from there. I might suggest as a tip to reach out to venues to see or offer your services rather than searching for a band or a couple of groups to work with.

Multidisciplinary vs. Niche

Something that also needs to be considered is what kind of services you are going to offer. I will cover two approaches that you may want to think about.

The first being multidisciplinary, which can also be associated with flexibility. Myself and many of my peers come from a multidisciplinary background. The education I received in my undergraduate program was well-rounded. As a first and second-year student there, we took several basic stagehand classes covering lighting, sound, production, scenic, and costume work. This results in most individuals being multidisciplinary on some varying level.

Some of the pros of this approach are that it opens you up to most gigs that need help. For example, I can finish up with my sound set up and jump in and help install the lighting rig if needed because I have basic experience with lighting. On most of the IATSE gigs I have worked, the other union members were also well-rounded workers. From personal observation, that appears to be how they live industry works and thrives. It is a fast-paced environment. When you need a hand with something, you typically do not have the time to wait for the right, single person to come and help. Having basic knowledge about several things on top of your more experienced expertise in one area is what makes you more marketable and typically, more desirable.

A second approach is a niche approach. This is a more concentrated or expertise-based method. For example, we talked about union stagehands typically being well-rounded and multidisciplinary. However, a union stagehand might not be the best fit for an audio programmer for video game production. That role should be filled by someone with more concentrated expertise and experience. Services can be even more niche than that. A client may be searching for a recording engineer in a twenty-five-mile radius, but they are specifically looking for a recording engineer who specializes in abstract noise rock.

This can also be perceived as limiting your chances of work and your possible clientele. As one of my close friends likes to put it, “how many eggs versus how many baskets”. This refers to the client to services ratio for you as the business, for the area, and for many other factors. If you have multiple baskets, representing a multidisciplinary approach; you may be able to fill your baskets with more eggs compared to someone with one or maybe two baskets; a niche approach. However, this is entirely dependent on client-related factors like area, service rates, or if the industry is suffering from recent financial hits.

Developing a brand

This section applies to everyone. Most of the time we, as the individual, are the brand or the thing that we are marketing. Everyone is going to have an opinion about your website or your social media accounts. However, what is most important is that it looks good, the information is up to date and easy to navigate, and that it represents you.

A person is always developing and changing, therefore their website’s style is also going to develop and evolve over time. For example, I prefer clean lines and black and white for my website. I like the simplicity and that it allows for my work to be the center of attention. I added a cool and interesting picture of myself or my work on each page for emphasis. The black and white color scheme is nice because it doesn’t clash with any of my pictures. It looks clean and professional and allows for myself and my work to take center stage. Small things like consistent use of single text font and watermarking or other associated symbols are also important. If done well, things will look professional and pleasing but will establish an association with your viewers and audience. We want that association to be positive. Therefore, we put time and consideration into this.

A peer of mine who spends most of his time working in live sound will establish a good impression with an artist or band and then follow them on social media to form a connection between his name and his face. This is also another great way to create a path that leads people to your website and credentials. Business cards are also a great physical object that can lead clientele to your credentials. The same principle applies to these as well. Use the same text font if you can and include any associated symbols or marking to make it personal to you.

Public Image

This leads to consistency and keeping up to date with information, services you can provide, and communication. Personally, I like to keep a log of everything that I have worked on or done. That way I can tailor my credentials and information that I  share with clients. For instance, the resume that I applied with for my MFA was a solid two pages, but you still want to stick with the one-page resume when applying for work like live sound gigs or audio editing for audiobooks or podcasts. Thus, because I keep a log of everything I have ever done, my one-page resume is consolidated to relevant work. This also means that I have multiple resumes and the one I use for live sound work is different compared to the one I may use for a gig doing sound design for a short indie film.

Consistency is also going to influence how professional you and your brand feel to potential clients. If I receive an email inquiring about my services, I am going to respond as soon as possible. On the other hand, I do like to follow the rule of responding within 24 hours once a working relationship has been established. Of course, there are always exceptions and if you respond within 48 hours, but have an open and clear sense of communication with that clientele, that is fine too. Communication is often one of the factors that make people move on and look for services elsewhere, so consistency in that regard is vital for any freelancer.

All of this plays an important role in your public image and how people perceive you. Are you reliable, does your resume or website reflect your capabilities, are you timely when sending emails, etc. Our industry tends to share information and recommendations through word of mouth, thus placing emphasis on a good public image. It is going to be impossible for you to not have some burned bridges, but the more poor interactions that you have, the less likely you are going to be recommended to others. Meaning you will most likely not be called back for more work.

“Don’t do it for the money, but don’t do it for free”

You should always be compensated for the work and services you provide. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean a paycheck. The phrase ‘don’t do it for the money, but don’t do it for free’ might sound foreign, but the mindset might allow you to see other possibilities. For example, a gig might not be able to pay you, but they are nonprofit, which allows you to write it off in your taxes. Several other professionals are also going to be there, which will allow you to network and possibly get your foot in the door for a few more jobs. Or even with potential clients. The gig might be broadcasted or have a large audience on social media which may look good on your website and help you develop your brand as a professional.

This mindset also works when a job might not be able to pay you as well as you want. When you begin freelancing, this kind of thought process is really helpful because arguably it is more important that the flow of work is steady rather than a steady paycheck. Things like networking, developing a brand, consistency, and public image influence that flow of work. It is all about what you can gain from that job. Sometimes it will be a paycheck or sometimes it will be other opportunities. Some people will only accept a paycheck, others may be looking for something more plus a smaller paycheck. What is important is that you value your time, and that will always be changing and will be unique to you.

The World is a Write Off

The gas that you need to get to a gig, the meals that you bought yourself for that day, your overnight stay at a hotel after working a show, and various equipment needs you have for your work are all examples of tax write-offs. Many freelancers will keep detailed records of all of this and submit them to their accountants or CPA. You must keep all receipts, various pay stubs and checks, and any other relevant records you may have. Having some kind of organizational system for these kinds of documents is vital. Depending on your flow of work, you may choose to organize by client or job. If that job is long-term or becomes more consistent, it may require a separate form of bookkeeping and organization.

Let’s briefly talk about equipment write-off and itemizing. This refers to the accounting of all of your receipts when purchasing equipment needed for your business or the work that you do. I will give a few examples. One, I just started out freelancing and I would like to get myself a small tool belt and crescent wrench for a gig I have coming up. When I purchase what I need, I will keep the receipt for my records, file it away in whatever organizational method I am keeping, and eventually present that to whoever files my taxes. Another example, I am working on a client’s podcast and would really like to add a denoiser plugin to the vocals. I can purchase the said plugin and keep the receipt for an eventual write-off because I needed it to do my job. This can also include much larger purchases like needing to upgrade your board if you are a freelance mixer for live music. All of this is relevant and should be written off to receive the taxes back. If large businesses can do it, so can you.

For those who do not know, a 1099 is a tax form for non-employed workers like gig workers. This is because they are not salaried and typically get paid per show. These should be submitted to an accountant or CPA when filing your taxes. Who should I expect to receive a 1099 from? Typically, any business should send you one. If I mix live music all summer for a local bar that pays me in checks, I will expect to get a 1099 form from them. If you worked for a business or client and made less than 600 dollars, they do not have to send you the 1099 form. However, it is also common to do a gig and be handed cash at the end of the night. This kind of payment is harder to keep records of.

Hopefully, this article has brought some sense of clarity or answered any unanswered questions that you may have had. Freelancing can be difficult, but also very rewarding. I have found most of my success by referring to my friends and peers who also freelance. At first, it may seem like a lone wolf type of work, but you will find so much more success and satisfaction if you spider web out and use the resources that you have.

Special thanks to Taran Schatz who helped develop this article. Also, special thanks to David Peterson, Drew Stockero, and Keith Norton for their stories and contributions to the article.

More Resources:

Tips for resumes and social media

Industry Directories – Get Yourself Listed

 

FabFilter Plugins

Are you aware of the story of Noah’s Ark? You know, the one about a man who builds a huge vessel to hold his family and two of each animal to save them from a great flood that would envelop the world?

Well… I’m going to assume you did! Fabfilter makes me think of this story vividly. Why? It has everything you need to fine-tune the sound you are looking for! It’s a little quirky that THIS is what comes to mind when I think of these plugin packages, but it’s 100% true! Just as Noah had all he needed in that vessel sailing the flooded lands, I have what I need for sailing my sessions in the mixing or mastering stages.

Fabfilter has gotta be my first choice for equalizing, gates, de-essing, and limiting. Let’s have a look at Fabfilter’s Pro-Q 3, Pro-G gate, Pro-DS, and Pro-L2 Limiter. While Fabfilter offers more than just these plugins such as the Saturn saturation, for example, I will be focusing just on the ones listed above. If you want to do some of your own research after this, more power to you!

Pro-Q 3

If you just started to work with Pro Tools, chances are all you would have at your disposal is built-in plugins. So your first EQ is probably going to be either the EQ 1-band or 7-band. While starting out, these EQs aren’t the worst in the world- they are limited. Compared to Logic’s Channel EQ, however, the 1-band/7-band are, frankly, not good for professional studio recordings, especially dialing in high tones in soprano vocals ( and I should know! ) or mid-tones in pianos.

Enter the Fabfilter Pro-Q 3! Equipped with a high-quality phaser, dynamic EQ, individual band mid/side processing, solo features, built-in gain, and wait for it….

The spectrum analyzer!

Why, oh why, would I need to gush about the spectrum analyzer? By sectioning out a part of my track, I can dial in low cuts, the after-effect ringing from a guitar slide, cut out the highs’ and correct the mids. All while using both my senses of sight and hearing to figure out what I’m looking for. While I would never recommend you just do visual mixing, It can be extraordinary in expediting the EQ process. The smooth response time and attention to detail added to this make it a winner all on its own.

Pro-G Gate

For the best sonic outcome while gating I would recommend the Pro-G Gate. Setting your threshold, range, and wet-to-dry ratios is a breeze. Like the Pro-Q 3, you can visual mix here as well. 7 times outta 10 I gate purely drums. Getting the snare out of the ride is somewhat possible while in the EQ process, but gating is just way more effective. Gating drums with this? A little too easy. With the Pro-G side chains, precise metering, and visual aspects are more than enough to buy what they are selling.

Pro-DS

You could shell out on the best preamps, spend thousands on that microphone you think is “the one”, certain words in vocal tracking just always seem to pop the wrong way. With post-it often becomes more apparent. The Pro-DS is transparent which is what I love about it. It comes with modes like single vocal and all-around, which can help with high-frequency limiting. Its look ahead up to 15 ms is perfect for fine detailing ahead of the current. This de-esser is great for triggering gain reduction effectively without much effort on the engineer’s part. Built-in plugins can’t touch this.

Pro-L 2

So you gated, de-essed, and EQ’ed the session. Yet, you still think that your readings are coming in a little too hot. Enter Pro-L 2 limiter. Peaks, clips, and loudness metering are standard for the Pro-L 2. While I personally wouldn’t use this in my mixing process, I would use it in mastering. Getting my levels ready for release in today’s music marketplace is key. We all are used to how a track should sound – even the crazy razor-sharp metal engineers know the sound quality is key to an optimal experience. To adhere to these loudness standards the Pro-L 2 does it well and using advanced settings to dial in only helps the customizability needed for a mastering engineer’s arsenal.

So Is Fabfilter Noah’s Ark For The Sonic World…?

To me, although some might call it silly, yes. The story reminds me that even if a storm is going on outside, as many sessions can be, my sturdy ship of plugins can help me navigate the weather.

Give Fabfilter a try, I really think it can help a lot of new engineers like students just starting out. If you are a broke high school or college student tight on cash, they do offer an educational discount of 50% off. Just fill out a form and picture of your student ID, and music teachers also qualify. So definitely check it out, 100% helped me out.

 

 

New Editors: How To Find Your SFX Editorial Process?

It can be both an exciting and terrifying feeling being a new editor. On one hand, you are thrilled to start editing on a project! On the other hand, you don’t know where to begin. I interviewed a few editors on our team who know exactly how you’re feeling and can give you some insight into their editorial approach.

I thought it would be easiest for our readers to visually see a reference clip, so I had our editors answer a few questions with this fun short! I think I want a pet camel after watching this…Check it out below:

If you were editing this what would your editorial approach be/what would you tackle first?

Brad– First, I’d do all of the BG’s and ambiences. They’d give me a good base layer to go off of and help set the vibe for the rest of my edit. Once finished, I’d also have a visual aid of any new locations and potential scene changes just by looking at my background tracks.

Second, I’d go through the clip and see if there is anything I might need to record or design. For example, perhaps the camel or any other vocal elements. Maybe the cell phone/remote control beeping.
Third, once I have a good base layer of BGs, and my recording and design files ready to incorporate, I’m going to go ahead and start my edit. I don’t have any particular order of things or passes that I do since I break up my work by time, rather than category.

Tess– Whenever I start a new project I always watch the whole thing down first and then set up my time management. Since I’ll go more into detail about that in your second question, I’ll just skip those steps and get right into editorial. I usually like to work chronologically, but there are some exceptions. I find it difficult to keep animal/creature vocals sounding like they come from the same character unless I cut them all in one pass, so for this clip, I’d probably just start with the Camel vocals. After that, I’d probably design the beeps from the remote. I like to make every sound I cut completely unique to the project I’m working on (if possible) and these beeps are an easy and fun one to design. I like to use a lot of different synths on my iPad when designing beeps or sci-fi elements, so I’d likely start there. Once I design a library of beeps that sound like they could all come from the same remote, I’ll cut them in. Footsteps are another element that I’d cut all in one pass, but we’re pretty lucky here at Boom Box that Carol does an amazing job of cutting all of our foley. Once those sounds are edited in, I’d just cut chronologically. A big part of this clip is all of the stone movement, so I’d probably plan my days so that I’d cut all of that in one day, but I can go more into that in your second question.

Jacob–  If I were responsible for covering all sound effects for this clip, I would start with creating some background layers. This particular short would be very fast because they are in one location the whole time!  I often like to do this at the beginning of my day or edit, because it helps me get a sense of where the cuts are, and it helps the dry sound effects feel a bit more natural when I start adding them later. Next, I would tackle all the Foley elements, starting with footsteps and hand grabs, and rubs.  This would also be pretty quick. Then I would move on to covering all the rest of the sound effects in one pass, dividing up the length of the short by the hours I have to complete it, and setting benchmarks. I use this when editing as a way to make sure I am working at a good pace to be able to complete the editorial and have time to review it, clean things up, and do some pre-mixing afterward. In certain cases, where there is a huge amount of original design, like an episode where there are whacky unusual vehicles or space ships flying around, I might set aside an hour or two at the start to create a library of the effects I need.

Katie– I personally like to work chronologically, so naturally, I would start with the very first thing I see. If there were a recurring, design-heavy element like a spaceship or time machine, I would work on that from start to finish to save time, rather than chronologically. It would be time-consuming to design little parts of something that may evolve later in the episode. But for this short, I would start with the very first action.

Assuming this was longer and given more than a day to do, how would you go about the editorial time management wise?

Brad– I’d figure out the total run time and divide by the number of days I have to get the project done. The resulting number is how much I need to get done per day. I edit linearly so I’d start at the beginning and edit to the according to time code I need to get done for the day. I do, however, edit linearly by scene. Admittedly, since my attention span isn’t long enough to digest one large clip, and to invoke a sense of accomplishment, I will edit from beginning to end a single scene. Once that scene is done, I’ll move on to the next. This also creates neat stopping points at the end of the day. Just make sure to go back and watch the entire thing to make sure the scenes flow together well.

Tess– I always start my projects by breaking them down by day. Usually, I just divide the length of the project by the number of days I have to work on it, minus one day, to determine how much content I need to get done per day. For instance, if this clip were a 22-minute episode and I have 7 days to cut it, I would divide 22 by 6 and determine I need to complete a little over 3 and half minutes per day. If I follow that schedule perfectly then I have a full extra day to accomplish notes or rewatch my work to see if there is anything I could sweeten or clean up.

After I determine how much content I need to complete each day, I divide up the project/clip into groups of that size. I like to color-code them as well. I usually just group them chronologically, however, if there is a specific element that happens multiple times throughout the project (like the stone movement in this clip) I’ll try to divide the project so that I cut all of those similar elements on the same day. This picture is an example of what a clip looks like when I get started. Each color would be a single day’s worth of work.

 

Screen Shot 2020-07-08 at 5.23.03 PM.png

Jacob– For a longer piece, my strategy would be largely the same, except that I might split the foley and backgrounds over both days, doing some at the start of each day.  I stand by the strategy of chunking out the episode into days or hours, as this allows you to get a clear picture of your progress, and prevents panic moments when a deadline looms and you discover you have only cut ⅓ of the episode instead of ¾!  So for a two-day edit, I would divide the episode into 2, maybe with the second day having slightly less time. If you like to be extra precise, you can further divide each day up into chunks of what you need to complete each hour.  I always leave an extra hour or two at the end of my last day for a watch down, so I can make balance adjustments, recheck client notes, and catch any missing elements or mistakes.

Katie– I like to estimate approximately how many minutes I need to cut per day to finish on my given deadline, and make large blank clips above that space and color them differently for each day. As I go, I turn the clips green to indicate that section is done. It’s an easy visual representation of how much is done, and an easy indicator if I am falling behind. If it’s a several-day edit, I like to give myself at least a couple of hours or even a day to comb through the episode and polish it. It’s very easy to miss obvious elements when you’re working frame by frame. I watch it back several times to make sure everything is covered. I also like to watch it back with any notes I was given to make sure they are all addressed.

What would be your advice to new sfx editors figuring out an editorial process that works for them?

Brad– Watch other editors edit. It’s how I learned what works for me and how most people learn to edit via school or internships/etc. There’s more than one way to do practically everything, and if you watch enough people do their thing the way they do it, you can pick and choose what you like from different peoples’ workflows. You create your own repertoire of tricks and methods and expand it over time.

Tess– The best advice I can give someone is to find a time management tactic that works for them. The worst thing you can do in the professional world is not complete your work thoughtfully and on time. If you aren’t sure what will work for you, try my tactic of grouping by day, or ask other professionals how they manage their time and try it their way. There are so many ways to manage your time, so just keep an open mind and find the method that works for you. Also, don’t get intimidated if 3.5 min/day seems like a lot to you at this stage in your editing career. You might have to hustle at first, but the more you edit and know your library, the faster you’ll become. On that same note, don’t be afraid to try new things in order to speed up your editing skills. When I first started at Boom Box, Jeff suggested I map my mouse buttons to the different tools in Pro Tools. At first, I was a little clumsy in getting used to switching my tools with my mouse, but in the long run, it made me so much faster.

Jacob– For newer editors, I would say it is important to figure out how fast you can really work, and allow yourself extra time. I was definitely much slower when I first started, and when I started scheduling my time and realized how much I could realistically get done, it became much easier to complete my work on time. It’s also important to understand what time of day you tend to work best and fastest. I tend to be most creative and efficient in the early morning and evening, slowing down in the middle of the day when communications can distract me and my brain needs breaks. If you can learn how you work best, you can plan to do your design work or complicated cutting when you are fresh and most likely to produce the best most interesting work.

Katie– Give yourself plenty of time when scheduling out what you’re going to need to cut each day. Don’t treat a three-minute action scene the same as a three-minute dialogue scene in the time that you give yourself. Cut just a little bit more than you need every day so at the very end you can comb through and add extra details or spend more time in areas that could use it.

As you can see, there’s no right or wrong way to approach sound effects editorial! You need to find what works best for you and you WILL figure it out as you continue to edit more and more.

If you liked this blog, you should check out these other posts that are helpful for new editors:
HOW TO CRUSH YOUR FIRST GIG AS A SOUND EDITOR
LUNCH AND LEARN: MAC KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS EVERY SOUND EDITOR SHOULD KNOW
BACKGROUNDS, AMBIENCES OR SOUND EFFECTS?
THREE BASIC SKILLS EVERY SOUND EDITOR MUST MASTER
STAY ON TRACK! FIVE TIPS FOR IMPROVING CREATIVE PRODUCTIVITY

A COLLABORATIVE POST WRITTEN BY BOOM BOX POST

 

What’s the Best Music City?

Hi SoundGirls! I hope everyone has been staying safe and healthy. With all the change that has happened over the past year, and how it has directly affected our industry- I’m wondering what’s the best music city to live in?

I’m currently living in Austin, TX. I’ve lived in Texas my entire life, and I grew up outside of Austin. As some of you may know, I moved to Austin right out of high school and began my audio engineering journey. That was 5 YEARS ago! It really is crazy how time flies. With that being said, the atmosphere of our industry in Austin has drastically changed since COVID-19. With closures of local venues and the scarcity of payable internships at recording studios- it has dawned on me that maybe it is time to live somewhere new that can offer me a different learning experience. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love Austin with all of my heart. I will most likely settle down here once I’ve achieved the level of experience I would like, but I can’t help but wonder if my time in this city has come to a close for now. I feel like I’ve experienced all I can experience here.

Now, the obvious choices on the list for possible cities to move to are Nashville, LA, and New York. As I am typing this out, I am sitting in my hotel room in downtown Nashville. I’ll be here for an entire week! I’ll be doing some touristy things, checking out local spots, and visiting studios. I feel like after being here a week I will know whether or not I could picture myself living here. I’ve always said I would move to Nashville eventually, so maybe this time I really will. I’m certainly enjoying my time here so far (the food in this city is INSANE). The reason Nashville has always been on the top of my list is because of audio engineering, and the fact that country music does have a huge influence on my songwriting and music. While I’m here I’d love to learn more about the alternative scene that is in East Nashville and what it has to offer.

Next on the list is LA. To be honest, I’ve never pictured myself living in LA, but I do love the west coast. First, I fell in love with San Francisco. I visited LA next, and I thought all the landscape and energy both cities had to offer was so beautiful. However, I know the cost of living in LA is very expensive, and quality of life is really important to me. Not to say that you don’t have that if you are there, but being able to write more and feel creatively inspired is what would make me most happy. I do love the rock scene and all of its sub-genres that live in LA though, and I would say that is mostly what pulls me to possibly live there. That, and the internships at fantastic studios. The learning experience would be incredible, even if just for a couple of years.

Last but not least is New York City. Before Covid, I think NYC would’ve been before LA. However, I’ve heard that the atmosphere of NYC has also changed drastically. I feel like when you move to New York, you move there for the nightlife and the amazing job opportunities that are there. The social life might be harder to grasp now due to Covid, but the job opportunities are still there.

Now, I don’t want this article to be me doubting what any of these cities have to offer. Nashville had its downsides too. I was at an outdoor coffee shop today. A girl was playing guitar and singing. She mentioned that artists don’t get paid to play in Nashville. The only money they receive are tips. This is wild to me. The city of Austin spoiled me in that sense. Playing shows with my last band, I would walk out with enough money to put towards our band fund, and to pay the other bands. I didn’t get into music to make money though, so I’m willing to eat some ramen while getting settled.

I haven’t visited LA, and NYC yet with the intent to move. I’m planning to do that this summer. However, my reason for writing this article is to get your opinions. If you live in these cities and have any advice, or want to say “YES! Move here. It’ll be life-changing, and amazing”, or if you live in a city that I didn’t mention (one that is on the cusp of becoming a great music city, or already is), but I don’t know it yet- then please email me at virginiahaladyna@gmail.com. With all of this being said, I’m going to go eat some hot chicken and see what more Nashville has to offer. Stay healthy and safe!

Keeping Afloat with Postpartum Depression

Content Warning: Discussion of mental disorders and suicide.

April Tucker has written some great articles on pregnancy and working as a mom in the Audio Industry, however, I want to focus on something specific:  Postpartum Depression (PPD).  Currently in the United States parents have been hit hard by the lack of affordable childcare, parental leave options, other childcare support infrastructure, not to mention the earthquake in the Entertainment Industry from the COVID pandemic.

PPD is a mood disorder that affects parents after childbirth.  Symptoms can occur regardless of gender and type of birth and start during the first year after birth.  While it is not possible to know for sure if you will develop it, there are several risk factors: family or personal history of mental and mood disorders, addiction, lack of support, complications with pregnancy, and childbirth.  Symptoms are low self-esteem, doubt, mood swings, irritability, emptiness, exhaustion, lack of concentration, inability to make decisions, poor memory, fear of the baby, thoughts of self-harm or suicide, thought of harm to baby or partner.  PPD is more than just “baby blues,” it is a real and serious disorder.

You are not alone

It is estimated that 15% of women have PPD, and I am part of that 15%.  My pregnancy and delivery on paper were healthy and tame.  I had a great medical team assisting me, and my husband had enough medical savvy to calm any worries leading up to and during the big day.  My family is full of healthy and supportive people.  However, I had no local support network of friends or family, had no close “mom friends”, I upended my career to become a mother, and my birth experience traumatized me.  PPD can happen to anyone, and there is no shame in that.

First consult your team: Doctor, Midwife, Doula, Lactation Consultant, Therapist, Psychologist, your child’s pediatrician.  Ask whomever you already have on your side.  They have the medical knowledge to help you, they want you healthy.  Strength lies in knowing when to ask for help.  I used the depression questionnaire as the opportunity to bring it up at my postpartum follow-up.  Even with a diagnosis, life goes on and appointments don’t happen every day.  Being a parent is more than a full-time job, and often parents have another job on top of it.  Sometimes it can be hard to keep your head above water.

In those moments there are little things that can make life bearable:

Find me on the SoundGirls Audio Moms group, reach out.  Also check out our video Breaking Norms: Moms in Audio and The Music Industry.

Hearing Health Resources

 

Living With Hearing Loss

I’m a sound technician. Losing my hearing was devastating

Dispelling the Inaccuracies of Hearing Loss in Sound of Metal 

Using Audiology To Extend a Musician’s Career

Audiologists and Hearing Tests

Audiologists

Musicians Hearing Solutions

Dr. Bruce Hubbard, CBT for Tinnitus

Hearing Health Foundation

Hearing Health Foundation Issue on Tinnitus

Find an Audiologist

In-Ear and Ear Plug Manufactures

 

Ask the Experts – Film & TV Production Sound

What is Production Sound?

The one factor that makes a movie or television show complete is audio. Bad sound can ruin a film, and the production sound department ensures that the film or TV series has great audio. It takes great eagerness and skill to create quality production sound for a set and requires an education in the on-set duties and skills in production sound.

What Does The Audio Department Do?

For starters, the audio department handles production sound and records, monitors and levels the audio. During production, this duty falls on the production sound mixer. This person is the head of the sound department on productions. Under the sound mixer, they have the support of a crew of assistants, which includes boom operators.

Together, the department records and maintains the soundtrack for their project and handles any challenges. It’s a two-part process that requires a lot of planning.

Join SoundGirls for a webinar on Production Sound. This is your opportunity to ask questions about Film & TV Production Sound and get them answered with this expert panel. Moderated by Katie Pagacz and panelists include Jan McLaughlin, Patrushkha Mierzwa, Jennifer Winslow, Amanda Beggs, and Camille Kennedy.

June 19, 2021 -12  – 2 PM PDT / 3 PM – 5 PM EDT

Register and Post Questions

Moderated By Katie Pagacz

Katie is a sound student, recently getting into the realm of audio post-production for film and television at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.  She’s heading into her final year of the Honours Bachelor of Film and Television program.

While Katie has gone through dozens of phases and considered many career paths—singer/songwriter, tattoo artist, pastry chef, makeup artist, comedian, anesthesiologist, and so much more!—she is delighted to have been bitten by the audio bug and is determined to follow this whole thing through to the end, hoping to someday be a Supervising Sound Editor on feature films.

A few assignments during her third year of studies had led Katie to interview several women working professionally in audio.  These conversations were so valuable and inspiring to her and they just happened to coincide with the SoundGirls Podcast’s search for new hosts.  Katie daydreamed about landing the gig for weeks and is convinced she manifested this reality.  Being able to continue the trend of speaking with folks working professionally in audio—and now getting to actually share the wealth in these conversations with people through the podcast—is such a worthwhile endeavor.  She feels really blessed and excited to be a part of the SoundGirls community!

Panelist Include

Jan McLaughlin

Jan  has worked as a production sound mixer for film and television since 1992; currently retired, two Emmy statues adorn her kitchen shelf. Her last film project–“The Many Saints of Newark”–hits theaters and HBO in September 2021. IDMb

Jan McLaughlin – YouTube

Patrushkha Mierzwa

Patrushkha Mierzwa has worked on over 80 movies and television shows for major directors including Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino, James Gray, and Robert Altman. She has been a judge for the Emmys, IATSE Sound Local 695 director, and given workshops in Los Angeles, New York City, China,
Norway, England, Ireland, and Holland.

Her Sound Oscar-nominated shows are Ad Astra and Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Patrushkha is one of the first women boom operators in Hollywood and has just published the definitive book on being a Utility Sound Technician, Behind the Sound Cart: A Veteran’s Guide to Sound on the Set.

Jennifer Winslow

Jennifer received her Bachelor in Art from Umass Amherst, with a degree in English; she came to LA to follow her dream of becoming a working member of the Motion Picture Industry. She has been a card-carrying member of IATSE Local 695 since 1990. She works as a Boom Operator and Utility Sound Technician in Hollywood on TV and feature films.

Her career includes shows such as Problem Child, Chicago Hope, Be Cool, Dear White People, and Grace and Frankie. She has recently been day-playing on the shows NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, and SWAT, to name a few. “I was the daughter of a nuclear physicist and a technical writer/journalist, so of course I was drawn to the technical aspects of the sound department.”

“I’m thankful for such a long and interesting career, spanning 30 years, and would especially like to thank the sound mixers (head of the sound department) who took a chance and hired a woman for their crew in the ’90s, before it was common practice.” She is a single mother of 19-year-old twins, both in college full time. She joined the Board of Directors and was named a Trustee of Local 695 in 2018.

Amanda Beggs CAS

Even before graduating from college, Amanda began working as a Production Sound Mixer in Savannah, Georgia, and Costa Rica. She then relocated to Los Angeles where she has been mixing features and television for over a decade. She serves on the board of directors for the Cinema Audio Society and is a member of the Television Academy. She also serves on the Equity, Diversity & Outreach committee for Local 695.

Camille Kennedy

Camille is a mixer and an IATSE 873 boom operator who resides in Toronto, Canada.  She also works occasionally at UbiSoft as a boom operator in the MOCAP studios.
Before starting her career in television and film, she graduated from the renowned Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College she went on to complete her graduate diploma in Audio-Post Production, also at Fanshawe.  Now as alumni she is involved in a yearly lecture on the topic of production sound to the audio post students and also has participated as a panel member for the development of the music industry arts program along with other established alumni.
In 2011 Camille started working on television and film sets and soon after becoming a full member of the IATSE 873 sound department. Since then, she has had the opportunity to work on productions such as Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, IT Chapter 2, American Gods, Black Mirror, and most recently What We Do In The Shadows.
Camille also boom-operated on Below Her Mouth with mixer Erika Schengili-Roberts CAS, one of the first mostly all-female crewed and produced feature films.

 

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