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Designing Signature Sounds

The Project

I recently had the pleasure of creating signature elements for a new animated series which will likely air near the end of 2019.  We were brought into the process at a very early stage, the first animatic, which was incredibly exciting. If you aren’t already aware, in animation, an animatic is essentially a video of storyboard panels timed to work with the recorded dialogue and then exported as a video.  An animatic is a very thorough blueprint for the animation studio to follow. Adding sound design to an animatic can do a number of things: it can bring the animatic to life for the animation studio which allows them to better understand how to animate important moments. It can help executives to better understand the action when reviewing the animatic for approval. And it can establish signature elements early on so that the sound can help to inform the animators’ creative concept for the series.  Having clients who appreciate the importance of bringing the sound team into the mix (pun intended!) early on is a wonderful thing for us here at Boom Box Post! So cheer to all of our amazing clients!

The Process

Step 1: Brainstorm about an Overall Aesthetic

The key elements of the series are birds and babies (sorry to be cryptic about the premise, but it’s too early to share too much about this project!). My mind immediately started churning about how to incorporate these in a way that would be nuanced and special.  When designing sounds for a new project, it’s also important to consider the audience. This series is geared toward preschool-aged children. So I also wanted to create a soundscape that would be friendly and familiar to viewers in that age group.

First, I decided to make all of the items in this animated world sound like they are made out of materials familiar to preschool kids.  This would involve recording a ton of children’s toys to really let these textures shine through in the mix. The set locations look high tech and designing in that aesthetic is always fun. But isn’t it much more fun to design a baby’s take on tech?  Now that would be a challenge.  Second, I decided to incorporate the bird aspect of the series by creating new sci-fi sound effects for all of the tech elements by processing bird calls.  I didn’t want the bird calls to be in your face. After all, it doesn’t take much creativity to just throw a bunch of hawk calls on everything. But, folding them into my tech builds sounded like a fun challenge that would result in a truly unique signature sound aesthetic for the entire series.

Step 2: Decide which elements should be stand-out signature designs.

I consider anything that will clearly appear in a series again and again to be signature.  And so, even if it’s a mundane item, to me it’s an opportunity to add a little special flavor.  You might think it’s a waste of time to create special door open sound effects or record all-new hand grabs. But creating a new palette from scratch for all reusable elements can ensure not just stand-out sound design moments but an overall signature aesthetic for an entire series.

For this series, I decided that the sounds for all of the things in the main location should be signature: all doors, all grabs of items and furniture, all mechanical elements, etc.  Basically, anything that will clearly be seen again and again needed to be custom.

Step 3: Create a Custom Recording List

When I’m creating a recording list, I like to brainstorm things to record which might add to the overall aesthetic I’m trying to achieve while keeping in mind what I need to cover.  Sometimes, if you map out exactly what to record for each signature element, you close off your brain to considering other options during the process. Think about the general aesthetic you would like to achieve and come up with items that you think may help to achieve that aesthetic–whether you think you’ll use them now or they may just be handy to have in the future.

Here was my list.  Notice that I’m focusing on what I want to hear and not marrying myself to specific items just yet:

  1. Toy ratchet
  2. Toy click into place
  3. Different plastic items for grabs
  4. Toy rolling
  5. A toy which “pops” or “thunks”

Step 4: Browse for Items to Record

I took this list to a local children’s consignment store and roamed the aisles looking for interesting items and listening to how they sounded.  I chose a consignment store because it was cheaper, but also because the toys were not in their original packaging, so I was free to test them out.  Often browsing for things to record is best done in your own home or a friend’s closet for this very reason. Keep in mind that the best recordings are made from items which are different from what you actually see on screen. You want to achieve a certain texture, a certain sound, a certain feel. You don’t want to just record the exact thing you see in the picture.  Think about how an old loose doorknob is often used for gun foley or a piece of celery is broken for a good bone crunch. When choosing items to record, shut off the visual part of your brain that’s telling you to go for the obvious, and start listening to everyday items with your creative hat on. Evaluate each item solely on its ability to give you the sound properties you’ve already brainstormed in the above list.

Step 5: Record new sounds

Step 6: Edit your recordings to work with the picture.

Once you’ve recorded all of your new (or old) props, bring everything into your DAW and start playing.  Often I find that elements I recorded in hopes of covering a certain signature element actually work best for something else.  Don’t be afraid to play around and try new things. Use the clean recordings, process them to the point that they are unrecognizable, or mix them together with sounds from your library.  In this step, you are the sonic painter. Give yourself the creative freedom to use your full palette and don’t be afraid to make a mess. That’s how the best discoveries are made!

Step 7: Collaborate with your clients.

Sound is never a job that’s pursued in a vacuum.  We’re part of a larger project team, and most often that project is the creative property of someone else.  Once you’ve come up with your most alluring signature sounds, share them with your clients and let the collaboration ensue.  It’s incredibly important to realize that the creative process doesn’t end with you: it’s easy to think that your signature sounds are the best they can be when you’ve finished designing.  In fact, I find that they often get even better when I present them to the clients and they offer tiny tweaks and new creative insights. Sometimes muting one element or incorporating something else that you never even considered is the key ingredient to the perfect sound.

The Sounds

Here are a few of the original recordings I made with the help of our intern, Sam, and the signature elements that I designed using those recordings.  The recordings and designs may sound simple, but remember that signature sounds compound with each other in order to create an often nuanced and distinguishable scape for the series as a whole.  It’s the totality of all of your creative ideas that form an overall new and exciting aural aesthetic.

 

Shannon Deane – Post-Production Engineer and Stunt Car Driver

Shannon Deane has been working in post-production sound for over 15 years. Shannon has been working as a freelance engineer for the last ten years, and her specialties are sound design, editing, and mixing for film, TV and new media. She owns, operates and works as creative director and ninja for DeaneCreative.

Shannon attended The University of Texas (UT), graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film, with a concentration in audio. While at UT, Shannon’s interest in post-production audio was piqued with an assignment to recreate a scene from a movie using only audio, entirely from scratch/field recordings. “My partner and I chose a prison riot scene from the film Carandiru, based on actual events at the prison in Sâo Paulo, Brazil. Hearing the scene come to life as we added layer after layer of sound was exciting to me. There’s something magical about being able to evoke emotions through sound alone.”

Shannon reflects on this assignment “I wouldn’t say this project single-handedly led me down the sound design rabbit hole, but it does stand out as having had a notable impact on me and my choice to pursue post sound seriously.” But her internship at Emmis Austin Radio would, as it soon led to a job doing sound design/production for a cluster of six commercial radio stations in Austin, TX. “My boss, Jimbo, was a huge inspiration to me – he was a fantastic mentor. He’s an exceptionally talented creative mind who always offered me thoughtful guidance, insight, and encouragement, all with the patience of a saint.”

KaosBriefAnarchy

Shannon has worked on a variety of projects and mixed small gigs with Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. She has worked on a full season of the Brody Stevens Show for Comedy Central and done sound design for Netflix internal projects, which she found amazing but challenging due to crazy turnarounds! Some of Shannon’s favorite gigs “are actually the smaller ones, where I got to wear many hats. I did full post sound on a feature called The Kaos Brief, which is a supernatural thriller. I got to design “alien” sounds from the ground up, combining a lot of arguably opposing elements to get the effect I wanted. I regularly collaborate with a talented artist/director named Nadav Heyman, whose stories always speak to me in a powerful way. Our styles totally clicked right off the bat, and it’s a joy to work with another artist that you’re so in tune with creatively.”

Shannon is also a touring, recording musician playing guitar and bass, production sound mixer, and she spent seven years as a music instructor.  She also had a brief detour working a stunt driver. Yes, you heard that correctly a stunt driver.  Shannon explains how she stumbled into this “I was chatting with a college friend years ago at a party, whom I didn’t realize had become a stunt coordinator. When he discovered I had a background in martial arts, roller derby, bike racing, etc., he asked: “why aren’t YOU doing stunts?” I paused for a second, laughed, and said: “I don’t know.” He hooked me up with local stunt guru Richard Hancock, and I ended up training with him and getting little movie parts here and there for about three years until I moved to LA. My favorite gig was doubling a lead actress in a car chase scene, in which I spent nine hours power sliding around corners and smashing into another car. The other car caught fire at the end of the day (not planned).”

What do you like best about post sound?

I love that every day is different, every project is different, and I get to be creative with basically everything I put my hands on.  Picture is obviously essential, but if the sound is no good, then, well…bad sound can ruin a film or show. Mediocre sound is almost as bad – the image will never live up to its full potential. As a sound designer, I have to be sensitive to the needs of the project. What’s the best choice for x or y project? The answer is whatever helps tell the story the best – whatever drives the story, compliments it and makes it as compelling as it can possibly be.  I have to be objective and subjective at the same time – as an artist, you have your own ideas about what might sound cool, and you can get attached to specific ideas, but you have to be objective enough not to get married to something if it just isn’t working. Filmmaking is a collaborative endeavor, and I like the process of balancing my own creativity with that of the editor, director, writer, etc. I’m always striving to compliment the stories and images in ways that are unique or exciting. I may not achieve that to my satisfaction with every project, but I sure get a lot of opportunities to do so, and sometimes I feel like I succeed. That’s extremely rewarding.

What is your favorite day off activity?

I race motorcycles, so you can usually find me on a motorcycle of some sort. Or a bicycle. I also train Muay Thai and Gracie Jui-Jitsu.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

The sheer volume of talented folks in this industry, especially here in Los Angeles, means you have to work really hard to stand out and keep work coming in, especially as a freelancer. You have to be driven, passionate, and extremely persistent. I’m still a tiny fish in this big pond, but I feel fortunate to have built a solid client list of talented folks, and it just keeps growing and growing.

How have you dealt with them?

Perseverance. Never give up. It’s been challenging at times, but I buckled down and kept driving forward, and I’ve found that the reward has been great as a result.

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

If you’re truly interested in and/or passionate about a career in audio, don’t let anyone or anything stop you. It’s a male-dominated field, but who cares? I don’t let that intimidate me, and neither should any other female. Gender doesn’t matter. I’m in this because I love it, and that’s all that matters. So stay focused on what you want and never lose sight of your goal.

Also, don’t feel like you have to do it alone. Seek out mentors, don’t be afraid to ask questions, be humble and be a kind human. Also, don’t be scared to make mistakes and don’t be afraid to fail. It’s often out of the failures and mistakes that we learn and grow the most. Cheesy? Maybe. But it’s true.

Must have skills?

Know your gear! For me, that means Pro Tools, synths, MIDI controllers, plugins, and production sound gear for gathering original sounds. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the tools of your trade. Once you’ve gained a decent level of technical proficiency, you can get right to the (arguably more fun) business of being creative with your sound.

Favorite gear?

I’m biased, but my Manley Ref C and VOXBOX are staples in my studio. I record 99% of my VO through them and even do a lot of Foley with them as well. Output’s Arcade is a really rad tool for sound design. It’s easy to use, and highly customizable. You can drop in your own loops and manipulate them on the fly. (Full disclosure – I create content for Output). I’m a huge fan of Native Instruments stuff, as well as Soundtoys plugins. Izotope, Altiverb. I love my Grace Designs m906 monitor controller, and my Universal Audio Apollo for ease of use and sound, especially for the price point.

What are your long-term goals?

To be as good as I possibly can at what I do. To tell stories that matter. To represent the under-represented whenever possible. I’d like to be able to collaborate with as many talented people as possible with the time I have, and hopefully, leave behind some art that really matters for generations to follow.

Shannon’s Studio

 

 

Aspectos básicos sobre una mezcla de sonido en vivo

Para realizar sonorizaciones en vivo, es de suma importancia saber utilizar múltiples equipos relacionados con el sonido, así como tener claro el flujo de trabajo de los aparatos que utilizamos para trabajar. El tener conocimientos teóricos sobre los fundamentos del sonido, acústica, flujos de señal, nos ayudará a entender mucho mejor el proceso de realización de una mezcla para sonido en vivo. También debemos tener claros conceptos como estructura de ganancia, saber cómo funcionan los procesadores de frecuencia, dinámica, tiempo y dedicar mucho tiempo a cuestiones relacionadas con la fase, el diseño y la optimización de sistemas. Y, sin embargo, en ocasiones, nos olvidamos de lo fundamental: La Mezcla.

Introducción a la mezcla.

En grabaciones de estudio, la mezcla es un factor importantísimo (evidente: primero grabamos y luego mezclamos). Pero en las sonorizaciones en vivo, en ocasiones, se pierde un poco la perspectiva: Diseñamos el sistema de sonido, hacemos predicciones, se monta, se optimiza, se instala el monitoreo, se posicionan los micrófonos elegidos cuidadosamente, se hace el show y desmontamos.
Algo tan sencillo de decir como “hacer el show” o “sonorizar el concierto” es, realmente, un proceso de mezcla muy complejo que, como todo, se debe de aprender a desarrollar. Además, hay que aprender a hacer la mezcla rápidamente, pues las pruebas de sonido en vivo tienden a ser rápidas.

En estudio, podemos llegar a tener cierto margen de horario para completar la mezcla (en ocasiones, en el estudio, si no nos encontramos con el día inspirado, podemos cancelar la sesión y seguir mezclando en otro momento). Pero en el vivo no hay segundas oportunidades: hay que sacarlo adelante sí o sí.

Evidentemente, todos los conocimientos que hemos nombrado al principio del blog nos van a ayudar a hacer la mezcla (si no sabemos cómo funcionan nuestras herramientas, no conocemos los principios básicos del sonido y no tenemos el sistema bien ajustado, sería difícil sacar la mezcla adelante). Pero cuando nos ponemos frente la consola y tenemos al talento en el escenario, tenemos que ser capaces de responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo debe sonar?, aquí entran en juego múltiples cuestiones.

La primera es que las mezclas son una cuestión subjetiva. Pon a 100 ingenieros de sonido a mezclar al mismo grupo y tendrás 100 mezclas diferentes. Algunas te gustarán más y otras menos, pero seguramente todas serán válidas, al menos para el que la ha realizado.

En un concierto con mucho público es complicado satisfacer el criterio de mezcla de todos los espectadores. Pero deberíamos intentar satisfacer a la gran mayoría. Básicamente, porque si tu mezcla (que para ti es estupenda) no es del agrado de la mayoría, normalmente no durarás mucho en este trabajo…

La otra cuestión, totalmente cierta, es que para mezclar se aprende mezclando. Cada uno debe seguir su propio proceso de aprendizaje, escuchar, corregir, tomar decisiones y equivocarse. Por mucho que leamos cuestiones teóricas que nos puedan ayudar, tenemos que pasar horas y horas mezclando para ir mejorando nuestra técnica.

En este blog, compartimos algunos aspectos importantes a la hora de plantear una mezcla.

Cómo debería sonar?

Para empezar, siempre que podamos, deberíamos tener información sobre lo que vamos a sonorizar. Saber qué tipo de música hacen, y tener cierta cultura musical.

De nada nos va a servir que un grupo nos diga que hace jazz si no hemos escuchado jazz. Así que, el primer paso es escuchar música de todo tipo, o por lo menos tener un concepto mental de cómo suenan diferentes estilos musicales, pudiera parecer una tontería, pero es algo fundamental.

Imagina hacer sonar un bombo con mucho click (reforzando la alta frecuencia) para un grupo de jazz, seguramente no funcionaría, por otro lado, ese bombo en una banda de metal podría encajar muy bien.

Si te encuentras en la posición en donde no conoces el genero de música que te pidieron mezclar, investiga su discografía y estilo, es una obligación prepararse lo mas que podamos, porque de lo contrario, ¿cómo vamos a poder proponer la mezcla?

Algo fundamental es escuchar la fuente que vamos a sonorizar. Acércate al escenario y escucha. El principio más importante de realizar una mezcla es capturar el sonido que ejecutan los músicos en el escenario y transmitirlo a los oyentes sin producir grandes cambios en la fuente sonora; A menos que nos lo pida el músico.

Planos y frecuencias.

De acuerdo, ya sabemos qué tipo de música hace la banda que sonorizamos, e incluso hemos escuchado los instrumentos desde el escenario. ¿Qué hacemos ahora?

Quizás puede ser un buen momento de plantearse los planos de la mezcla. Si tenemos, por ejemplo, una banda de rock con batería, bajo, guitarra y voz ¿en qué plano vamos a poner cada uno de esos elementos?

Es evidente que no podemos posicionar todo en el mismo plano sonoro. La mezcla trata, entre otras cosas, de eso: Algún elemento tiene que estar más alto y otros más bajos y en frecuencias pasa lo mismo: hay que repartir. Tenemos, en el mejor de los casos, de 20 Hz a 20Khz para distribuir nuestras señales. Si pretendo que todas compartan el mismo rango de frecuencias, se producirá nuestro querido fenómeno de enmascaramiento.

Debemos mezclar tomando diversas decisiones en nivel, así como contemplando la dinámica de las canciones, que normalmente los músicos son los encargados de matizar para generar desde la fuente estos cambios de nivel.

El siguiente paso es balancear, y ecualizar escuchando el conjunto.

La distribución de frecuencias realizando un mapa mental, donde hay que visualizar los distintos elementos sonoros, con esto se distribuyen dentro del espectro frecuencial. La experiencia te ira ayudando a delimitar dónde puede estar cada elemento con mayor rapidez y agilidad, por otro lado hay que revisar con detalle los elementos que pueden chocar con más facilidad entre sí por compartir rangos frecuenciales parecidos.

Por ejemplo, un bombo y un bajo. Sus frecuencias fundamentales comparten el rango de frecuencias bajas, por lo que se buscará conseguir que hagan un complemento entre ellos sin llegar a confundirse.

Para el balance, además de niveles, se utiliza también ecualización, dinámica y reverberación. La combinación de todos estos procesos es lo que nos permitirá crear mejores planos sonoros.

Para mayor detalle sobre los planos en la mezcla, uno de los libros que pueden consultar es

“The Art of Mixing”, de David Gibson, principalmente, por los gráficos en los que explica la distribución de los elementos sonoros en función del tipo de música.

LOS EFECTOS

Finalmente, comenzamos a preparar la mezcla con los procesadores de efectos que me permiten, en cierta manera, rematar ese proceso artístico, dándole el toque final.

Como punto de partida en cuestiones básicas, podemos colocar una reverb corta y una larga para crear planos, también se recomienda utilizar un efecto reverb plate y un delay para darle ese pequeño toque de magia, normalmente sutil y poco evidente, que sin embargo lleva la mezcla a un nivel superior.

Evidentemente, los efectos cambian en función del tipo de música y del espacio acústico donde nos encontremos o incluso en función de la canción, pues no todo sirve para todo. Antes de las pruebas de sonido, es recomendable probar los efectos con una voz o con una grabación que tengas en la computadora (virtual soundcheck), esto nos va a permitir elegir de forma más precisa el tipo de efecto que necesitamos de acuerdo del espacio donde nos encontremos, así podemos ajustar parámetros como el tiempo de caída o el predelay.

Conclusiones

Me gusta pensar que en la mayoría de las veces nuestro trabajo de mezcla en las sonorizaciones en vivo es tan sencillo (y a la vez, tan complicado) como capturar las señales del escenario de la forma más fiel a la original y transmitirlas al público con un poco (muy poco) de elaboración.

Los mejores resultados se obtienen primero pensando qué queremos hacer y después actuando y aplicando los procesos necesarios para llegar a nuestro objetivo. Puede parece obvio. Si logramos tener una imagen del sonido que queremos obtener en nuestra mente, siempre será mucho más fácil llegar a buen resultado.

 

Basic Aspects of a Live Sound Mix

To work in live sound, it is essential to know how to use various types of equipment, as well as the workflow of the devices we use to work. Having theoretical knowledge on the basics of sound, acoustics, and signal flow will help us to understand much better the process of mixing for live sound. We must also have clear concepts such as gain structure, frequencies, dynamics, and time processors work and dedicate a lot of time to issues related to the phase, design, and optimization of systems. And yet, sometimes, we forget the one fundamental: The Mix.

Introduction to the mix.

In-studio recordings, mixing is a significant factor (obviously: first we record and then we mix). But in the live sound, sometimes the perspective is lost a bit: We design the sound system, we make predictions, it is assembled, it is optimized, the monitoring is installed, the chosen microphones are positioned carefully, the show is done, and we dismantle. Something as simple to say as “doing the show” is, really, a very complex mixing process that, like everything else, one must learn to develop. Also, you have to learn to mix quickly, because live sound tests tend to be quick.

In the studio, we have time to complete the mix (sometimes, in the studio, if we do not find the inspiration, we can cancel the session and continue mixing at another time). But in the live audio, there are no second chances: you have to take it forward.

Obviously, all the knowledge we have listed at the beginning of the blog will help us mix (if we do not know how our tools work, we do not know the basic principles of sound, and we do not have the system well adjusted, it will be difficult to get a good mix). But when we put ourselves in front of the console and we have the talent on stage, we have to be able to answer the following question: How should it sound? Here, multiple issues come into play.

The first is that sound is subjective. Put 100 sound engineers to mix the same group, and you will have 100 different mixes. Some you will like more and others less, but surely all will be valid, at least for the one who has made it.

In a concert with a large audience, it is difficult to satisfy the criteria of mixing for all the spectators. But we should try to satisfy the vast majority. If your mix (which is excellent for you) is not liked by most, you will not last long in this job.

You learn to mix, by mixing. Everyone must follow their own learning process, listen, correct, make decisions and make mistakes. As much as we read about sound practices and theories, we have to spend hours and hours mixing to improve our technique.

In this blog, we share some important aspects when considering a mix.

How should it sound?

To begin with, whenever we can, we should have information about what we will be mixing. Knowing what kind of music and the musical culture is essential. So, the first step is to listen to music of all types or at least have a mental concept of how different musical styles sound, it may seem silly, but it is fundamental.

Imagine mixing a kick drum with a lot of clicks (reinforcing the high frequency) for a jazz band, it probably would not work, on the other hand, that would work well for a metal band.

If you find yourself in a position where you do not know the genre of music that you were asked to mix, investigate their discography and style, it is an obligation to prepare as much as we can, otherwise, how can we get a proper mix?

Something fundamental is to listen to the source. Get close to the stage and listen. The essential principle of mixing is to capture the sound played by the musicians on the stage and transmit it to the listeners without significant changes in the sound source; Unless the musician asks for it.

Plans and frequencies

Okay, we already know what type of music the band plays, and we’ve even listened to the instruments from the stage. What do we do now? Perhaps it is a good time to consider the plans for the mix. If we have, for example, a rock band with drums, bass, guitar, and voice, in what plane are we going to put each one of those elements?

It is evident that we can not position everything on the same sound plane. The mixture deals, among other things, with that: Some elements have to be higher and others lower and in frequencies. We have, in the best of cases, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz to distribute our signals. If I pretend that they all share the same frequency range, the masking phenomenon will occur.

We must mix by making different volume decisions, as well as contemplating the dynamics of the songs, which musicians are usually in charge of nuances to generate these level changes from the source.

The next step is to balance and equalize by listening to the whole.

The distribution of frequencies is like making a mental map, where you have to visualize the different sound elements, with this they are distributed within the frequency spectrum. The experience will help you to delimit where each element can be with higher speed and agility, on the other hand, you have to review in detail the elements that can more easily collide with each other by sharing similar frequency ranges.

For example, a bass drum and bass.  Both share fundamental frequencies share the range of low frequencies, so we will try to get them to complement each other without getting confused.

For the balance, in addition to levels, equalization, dynamics, and reverberation are also used. The combination of all these processes is what will allow us to create better sound planes.

For more detail about the plans in the mix, one of the books you can consult is
“The Art of Mixing“, by David Gibson, mainly for the graphics in which he explains the distribution of the sound elements according to the type of music.



The Effects

Finally, we began to prepare the mix with the effects processors are the final touch. As a starting point in basic questions, we can place a short and a long reverb to create planes; it is also recommended to use a reverb plate effect and a delay to give that little touch of magic, usually subtle and not very obvious, that nevertheless takes the mix to a higher level.

The effects change depending on the type of music and the acoustic space where we are or even depending on the song because not everything works for everything. Before the soundcheck, it is advisable to test the effects with a voice or with a recording that we have on the computer (virtual soundcheck), this will allow us to choose more precisely the type of effect we need according to the space where we meet, so we can adjust parameters such as the time of fall or the pre-delay.

Conclusions

I like to think that in most of the time our work of mixing in the live sound is as simple (and at the same time, as complicated) as capturing the signals of the stage in the most faithful way to the original and transmitting them to the public with a little bit of amplification.

The best results are obtained first by thinking about what we want to do and then acting and applying the necessary processes to reach our goal. It may seem obvious. If we manage to have an image of the sound we want to obtain in our mind, it will always be much easier to get a good mix.

Lost in Translation

Should we be mixing with lo-fi portable devices in mind?

Some say “a great mix is a great mix”, and they’re not wrong. However the question remains a constant source of discussion, amusement and point of frustration between friends and internet strangers alike – should we be mixing with lo-fi portable devices in mind?

It seems a 21st Century problem that isn’t going away anytime soon; we have our portable devices on hand with a connected convenience between us that means we can listen to our peers’ newest song or latest mix in seconds. Is it any wonder that we surreptitiously count the “real” ceremonial listening sessions as drastically less frequent events compared with our habits of multitasking and listening on the go?

Considering most listeners and consumers listen to music on portable devices and speakers the majority of the time, should it at least be considered as a factor when mixing? Perhaps the better question is can we maneuver this current technological phase by using our phones as a reference point for how the mix translates on small mono speakers, helping us to reach that holy grail of a great mix in all forms.

Our phones are limited in their frequency range, with most having a distinct lack of highs and lows. We lose most of what’s going on below approximately 500 Hz and above 6 kHz in translation. To use our phones as our small mono reference speaker means balancing in ways that enhance the absent lows and highs with our busy mids, but that does not then overpower on better speakers.

One of the most universally agreed methods, to begin with, is the appropriate use of harmonic distortion, utilising the full range of naturally occurring harmonics, notably of the kick drum and bass which are often the first casualties of the mix. On the flip side of this, keeping the upper end in check from overcrowding of high frequencies from other instruments sitting in that upper range provides a much clearer and more even spread.

While mixing in mono is preferential to some, checking mono compatibility is a must. Phasing issues between left and right can mean even more loss of sound in a mix, so getting width and balance in mono is good practice. Checking compatibility audibly by doing an A/B of mono versus stereo via the DAW output is one relatively painless way, and there are several visual tools available on the market that can analyse the signal for us, helping to spot anything our ears may miss.

Without diving down the rabbit hole that is ‘compression,’ it is worth remembering the brief philosophy of “less is more,” which is possibly truer here than for any other technique or effect! Running the mix through a high pass filter from the low midrange is also regarded as a useful check for clarity in the mix, and can only help when taking into account the issues of translation. While these points are by no means extensive, they can go some way to helping our mixes sound better, and easily alleviate some of the loss encountered on most lo-fi devices.

While there have always been lo-fi speakers in days gone by, it does seem to have become more of an everyday consideration with modern solutions available – mastering software such as iZotope Ozone now incorporate a phone speaker pre-set on their output referencing features. Though the convenience of listening on our devices hasn’t run its course just yet, it doesn’t have to be a source of struggle and deliberation in the mixing and mastering process

 

Sonic Tourism

Have you ever planned a vacation around your ears?  As in a location with something unique to offer in aural pleasure instead of gastronomic or visual?  If you have not, it is time to become an epicurean for your ears. Many places host ear-pleasing experiences, but some are local secrets.  Here are a variety of options to kickstart your listening adventure.

If you are tight on vacation time, Soundwalking is a simple way to reward your ears. According to Dr. Andra McCartney, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Concordia University, “Soundwalking is a creative and research practice that involves listening and sometimes recording while moving through a place at a walking pace.”  It is to observe, rather than participate in the surrounding environmental ambience.

Soundwalking can happen anywhere. Urban centers are full of industrial symphonies for people watchers. Cars and machines can lay a rhythmic background for melodies from sirens and conversations.  City parks are a quieter option, full of birds and trees. During certain seasons birds migrate and bring with them a variety of songs. When I visited the Sandhill Crane Festival in Othello, Washington, I was fine with not using binoculars, because I heard the calls of cranes, hawks, harriers, and my favorite redwing and yellowwing blackbirds (metalheads of the bird world).  Next time I will bring an audio recorder in addition to a camera.

More remote parks and wildlife refuges reward listeners with isolation from mechanical sounds. In the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, there exists one square inch of silence. Other old growth forests might be hiding similar pockets of stillness as well.

Hoh Rainforest

Big Trees at Hoh Rainforest

When planning a metropolitan vacation, add a multipurpose experience.  Architecture is not just designed around the eyes, and older buildings are full of creative pockets of reverberation.  Cincinnati’s Union Terminal, a train station turned museum is not alone in its whisper arch, as an arched channel will do.  Whisper arches are perfect for private conversations between two opposite ends of a crowded room. In Europe, there is a garden that you can have a discussion with your echo.  The delay time of the reflecting sounds allows them to respond to your initial spoken message. Complex words can become full discourse as the word’s beginning decays with each successive reflection.

The Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City has gorgeous acoustics purpose-built for the choir and a massive pipe organ. While the modern trend is to create multi-purpose performance halls, venues from the early 20th century (or even earlier) are awe-inspiring locations for the bold and beautiful verb.

Mormon Tabernacle

 

An ambitious sonic tourist should start with The Sound Book by Trevor Cox to create their travel plans.  Cox chronicles the weird and the unique in the sonic realm. Abandoned cisterns in the UK boast insane sustain times, sand dunes in Death Valley sing and boom, and Australia has a little bird that can copy whatever sound it hears.  Also explored in the book is a silent retreat, where Cox does not speak at the monastery and instead learns to meditate and listen. After reading about his experiences, I started paying attention to other sonic peculiarities in the news.  Detroit has a fascinating little island with a mysterious hum of possible sinister origin, and Siberia has an old mining pit that emits an eerie noise. Otherwise otherworldly intermittent sounds, like ultra-low frequencies, occur in ways similar to UFO sightings and inspired The X-files.

No matter your vacation goals and budget, there is an audio experience for you.  Treat your ears to sounds that vary from peaceful, luxurious, strange, to intriguing.  There are places to participate or spectate in the sonic wonders, and there are places to be introspective.  Enjoy the world with a new perspective and add a new dimension to your memories. Go forth and explore with your ears.

Where Are You Going?

 

Around January, you can’t help but take stock of things. Even if you aren’t a “new year, new you” kind of person, over the holidays your family and friends quiz you on what you’ve been up to all year, and what you’ve got coming up. You might not want to say that you’ve had a tough time, or feel undervalued or ignored at work. Maybe your boss seems like the biggest a-hole ever, not giving you any support, or even somehow purposely sabotaging your career. Even if you’ve had a great twelve months, the unpredictable nature of the entertainment industry can make you feel like you just got lucky, or you’re floating from one job to the next without any direction or purpose.

I am not here to tell you that all you need is to believe in yourself and everything will work out. I’ve seen musician friends get nowhere because they thought believing in yourself and waiting to be discovered was how you got famous. The music business is a business. You have to put yourself out there, be your own promoter, find out who the decision-makers at record labels and festivals are, and hassle them until they give you a meeting. Throwing your demo at the stage when you watch your favourite artist will not magically give you your break (seriously. The artist never listens to them. We just have to throw them away afterward).

It’s the same on the audio side. Even if you’re in a full-time position, these days our (literal and metaphorical) gig economy means very few people have a job for life. Your boss is only your boss at the moment. If you’re a freelancer, they’re not even your boss. A friend of mine helped me to change my perspective on this: these people who give you work, or give other people work instead of you, are not your bosses, definitely not your friends, they’re your clients. They don’t owe you fairness, or help, or career progression. You wouldn’t hire a builder who didn’t know how to construct a wall, but was “eager to learn.” You wouldn’t take kindly to them complaining that you chose a better-qualified tradesman instead, or that you’re not sharing the workaround. At the same time, you don’t owe your clients loyalty or unpaid hours unless they deserve it. When you stop thinking of yourself as an employee and start framing yourself as an independent contractor, you realise that you are free to do what you want. There’s no point in complaining about your boss keeping you in a bad work situation because your boss is you. There are always other options, even if they seem scary at first. If you do work for good people who are willing to help you grow and flourish, I hope you see how lucky you are, and appreciate them for the superheroes that they are.

So, once you take ownership of your career, what are you going to do with it? You don’t need to come up with a detailed ten-year plan of how you’re going to take over the world just yet (although companies love that kind of drive and independence). Take a while to think about what you truly want from life, independent of the job role. Instead of thinking “I want to be a touring front of house engineer,” think “I want to travel,” “I want to help people,” or even “I want to be happy.” Once you have a shortlist of what you want out of life, think about the jobs that will help you get there. If you’re going to settle down, with a family, pets and a reliable income, or if quiet and personal space is integral to your functioning, touring is not for you, but you might do brilliantly in education. If all you want is to go to Coachella, it’s much easier and more profitable to get a steady job and buy tickets to it than to throw yourself into freelancing and hope someday you’ll get to work on it. If doing the same thing in the same place day in, day out would drive you mad, working in-house on a long-running theatre show will not suit you but the chaos of festivals might. If you love being artistic and creative, being a corporate AV tech will leave you frustrated, but you could be an exceptional sound designer. The audio world is much more varied than we first realise, and there are all sorts of niches that don’t often get discussed (that I will explore in a future post).

Of course, you’re very unlikely to work in one role for your entire career. Perhaps swapping between positions day to day, or spending a few years at each, will work for you. Your priorities will change at different ages as well, so be prepared to adjust your goals as you go along. Both life and this industry are so unpredictable, remaining flexible will help you make the most of what you’re presented with and will stop you feeling like a failure if you get thrown off track. Realising your lifelong dreams can feel like an impossible task, but the key is to break your goals down into achievable steps, as small as possible. If you celebrate the first time you troubleshoot a crunchy mic input as a step towards someday system teching for a festival, you will feel much more satisfied in your work. That sense of purpose will also increase your resilience: not every job will be awesome, but if you can put it into the context of how it’s helping you get to where you want to be (and paying the rent is a valid part of that!), you can take lessons away from it. At the very least, you can smile and invoice, and learn that it is not a job worth repeating. When you find the gigs that make you feel great and help you progress, you can recognise them for what they are, and it will motivate you to pursue more of them. I know it sounds unbelievably cheesy, but although it might not be where you planned at first, hopefully, you will end up in the right place, and enjoy the journey along the way.

Hello, I’m Susan. Educator. Microbudget Film Producer. Ginger.

As with most of us working in entertainment, I’ve had (and still have) many different jobs in my career. At this moment, I teach video & audio production at the university level, and I freelance at the Orlando Repertory Theatre as a sound technician for events. In the past, I have worked in film, television, theatre, corporate events, theme parks, and science centers. The plan for this blog is to share my experiences and research with a broad audience as we advance through 2019 with new technology, media, and ideas.

“As with anything in life, you get out what you put in.”

Many of my jobs in theatre included working with YA kids doing theatre, showing them how to run sound cues and basic mic settings. I helped run workshops in college for fellow film students to help get better audio. My teaching career officially began five years ago when I was fed up with the freelance struggle. The university where I work is year-round, which brings its own set of challenges for both the faculty and students. As an accelerated program, we teach one class each month and then rinse & repeat.

I’ve lived in central Florida for over a decade, so I’ve already heard it all about students who graduate from the program. Personally, I genuinely believe in my program and the content we teach. As with anything in life, you get out what you put into your experiences. Where you went to school doesn’t matter, what counts is what you were able to absorb and put into practice. A couple of times a year I will have a student question my background, how could I possibly know audio production/recording without having attended this school? My patience is tested, and I remind myself that many people do not research a damn thing before making a decision. There are many, many places that teach audio and most of us learn things on the job anyway.

SoundGirls EXPO 2018

My colleagues are a mix of FS and traditional college grads from all over the country. However, I am one of two women in our faculty of over 30 teachers. Both of us have backgrounds in theatre, and we are both named Susan. The female perspective is severely lacking in the department, so I do my best to represent and volunteer for as much as possible. At graduation, I am the only woman standing up on stage, and I make a point to be there. The university does attract some women, but most months are predominately male. There’s nothing wrong with this; it’s just an observation.

SoundGirls has allowed me to participate in more community events, the best one this year was with Girls Rock, an organization in St. Petersburg, FL that promotes teaching music to young girls. The Orlando SoundGirls went down to represent female involvement on the tech side, as many young people do not even know this career exists.

My hope for the future of women is more representation in general, not just in this industry but in life in general. We are your mothers and sisters, teachers, doctors, engineers, wives, and fellow humans. I joined SoundGirls to support women in my community and to be a mentor to those who need one. Here’s to the new year, SoundGirls.

 

 

Being the Intimidating Woman

It is frequently brought to my attention that people find me intimidating. Intimidating; for my interests, life choices, and career path. Intimidating because I like to live life on my terms. Intimidating because I don’t fit into whatever box they want to put me in and intimating because I don’t fit into the box, they’ve put themselves in.

I often find myself asking those who tell me I’m intimidating, what in your opinion makes me that way? I usually get a passive incoherent answer, because they weren’t ready for me to challenge them to explain. How intimidating, right? The best part is no matter their answer, it does not mean anything to me, because even though that is what they think, for me, it does not define who I am.

I like to think that their feeling of intimidation is my strength, intelligence, experiences, and outlook. I think women in tech are called intimidating because of the way we can look differently at situations, how we react, communicate, and problem solve. It’s different compared to what they are used to.

I’m sure many of you have also been told your intimidating for many of the same reasons and for that I have to say glad you’re here with me! And keep being you! For you are one of the reasons I can be intimidating and a reason those who follow in our footsteps may not automatically be looked at that way in the future.

We cannot let people like this get us down or allow them to affect us negatively. Instead of being upset at that person’s opinion, I think to myself that “I must be doing something right.” Maybe if they are uncomfortable enough, they will wonder why and that might be the trigger to get them to change or to at least think about it. We may never change some people’s outlook, and some may always be intimidated by women in the industry, but for me our perceived intimidation is strength. Strength to be with the women leading the way, taking the path that women before us laid so we could have the opportunities we have as well as the strength to continue creating a larger path for others to follow.

I am reminded every show how infrequent women are on a show site in a technical role, but I also get excited as I encounter more women in tech each day. We are making progress even though it may not feel like it when we face people who seem to work against us. Along with meeting more women in tech, I continually encounter men who are empowering women within the industry as well.  We are making an impact, and things are changing for the better.

As 2019 begins I hope all of us intimidating women can keep paving a path for the future, leading in our industry and creating change for everyone. I look forward to meeting and working with many more intimating women this year and to watch us all grow and excel.

 

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