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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Recording and Binaural Audio

A little history…

Thé Théâtrophone

Its creator was Clément Ader, recognized as a pioneer of telephony in France, and was first presented in 1881 in Paris, although the term Théâtrophone was used until 1889. It was the first form of cultural diffusion using a communication technology electric, is an ancestor of stereophony. In the plays, concerts and especially operas, a series of approximately 80 telephone transmitters were connected to the front of the stage, thus being able to transmit a stereo signal.

First World War

1914 – 1918. During the First World War, two receivers were used several feet apart connected by rubber tubes to the ears of an operator to track and locate aircraft.

Oscar

In 1933 AT&T presented at the Chicago World Fair the first binaural head called “Oscar,” it was used for experiments performed by Bell Labs with the help of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.

Dummy Head

In 1972, Neumann exhibited the first generation of Dummy Head (KU-80) in Berlin at the International Radio and TV Show, designed to perform acoustic tests. Later came the KU-81 and KU-100 models, which are currently used.

How does it work?

Binaural recordings allow us to create sensations of space and perspective much more real since human beings can understand and locate or locate in a three-dimensional space any sound source thanks to our brain detecting the volume and time differences between our ears, These differences are influenced by the obstruction of the head and nose, the shape of the auditory pavilion and the acoustic conditions of the space in which we find ourselves. For a binaural recording you need a dummy head, this has an omnidirectional microphone in each ear, so when listening to the recording you can locate the sounds in any direction (front, back, sides, top, bottom, etc.). ), unlike a stereo recording, in which we can only distinguish between left and right.

The dummy head can be placed anywhere depending on the experience that is sought. However, there are some recommendations that I can give you:

Other current applications of binaural audio.

Ana Karen Robles – Originally from Mexico City. She showed great interest in music since she was ten years old when she started taking violin lessons. Ana started her audio studies in 2014, and from 2015 she worked in recording studios like ¨Studio 19¨ as a recording, mixing and mastering assistant. She currently works in the sales area of 3BlueHouse.

 

How is your equipment doing?

Whether you work in a studio, venue, or on the road, it is easy to neglect our equipment and not give it the love it deserves.  Drinks are spilled, dust gathers around fans, and if singers are using the same microphones, well, a lot of bacteria lives on those SM58 grills!

Here is how I look after our equipment regularly and how I am preparing for the busy festive season that is slowly approaching us!

Day-to-Day cleaning:

It is good to keep things up to scratch on a day-to-day basis just to extend the lifespan on our equipment. I start the day by cleaning and dusting our mixing & lighting desk area. I regularly check the fans on our Yamaha Ql1 desk to make sure it does not fill up with dust. I usually give it a quick clean with our mini hoover to get the dust out! That goes for the XLR in- and also outputs, as the dust tends to want to get in there as well!

Moving onto the stage area, we dust and polish our N3X Avant Grand Digital Piano on a daily basis as it is used every day. We also get it serviced regularly, although it is a digital baby grand when it is played every day the keys occasionally break.

On stage, we have a ‘drinks on the floor’ policy. We want to avoid any spillages on our equipment. It is common sense; we do not want any equipment to get damaged or anyone to be electrocuted.  We also do not want our equipment to get sticky.

We keep our cables coiled and labeled to ensure our XLR’s and jack cables lives a long and healthy life. The cables we have off stage are also neatly coiled and tucked away in a cable bag.

Our vocal microphones we clean on a daily basis with a foaming cleaner & deodorizer. Lipstick and bacteria often live on those grills so to make sure the germs do not go from one singer to another we keep them clean, which is only fair for the vocalists coming in using our microphones.

Monthly & Yearly Maintenance:

Our in-house Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple drum kit we reskin every 2nd or 3rd month as it is used almost every day. It just sounds a lot better when it is looked after.

We have two club areas with permanent CDJ setups. We have unfortunately had a couple of drink spillages the past year. Luckily, they were saved. Top tip – Turn off your equipment immediately if any spillages occur and do not turn back on again, send it straight away to be repaired. This way the motherboards have a higher chance of being OK and repairable.

We tidy up our DJ booths monthly, give the CDJ’s and mixers a dust and wipe.

Our lighting trusses are tested yearly to ensure maximum safety, and the lights themselves are being manually shut down every night to ensure they do not get overheated. They occasionally need a bit of dusting as well which is done whenever we have the trusses down for our more significant events.

Relationships with repair companies:

It is incredibly important to build good relationships with the people who repair your equipment. You never know when an accident might happen and you need a quick turnover for an event. Often if you have a good relationship and require their services regularly, when needed, they will prioritise your product or perhaps lend you one of their products as a temporary solution.

It is a win-win situation if they provide a good service you will most likely recommend them, which keeps their business up and running. I praise everyone we work with; they are all indeed the best at what they do, and I make sure they know that we think so!

Overall, a tidy workplace is a happy and long-living workplace. It does not cost you anything to take that little bit of extra time to take care of your equipment. Neglecting it, however, will probably cost you a lot in the end!

Cristina Allen Live Sound Engineer and Mother!

Cristina Allen is a Live Sound Engineer working at the Knitting Factory in Boise, Idaho. She has been working in live sound for over 15 years. She does both FOH and Monitors but prefers mixing monitors.

Cristina grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico and always loved Rock n Roll. For her 15th birthday party, her parents threw her a rock concert, hiring in sound, lights, and staging. She says “it was love at first sight. I can’t explain what came to me but that night I figured out that that’s what I wanted to do, I talked to the sound guy, and he explained a few things to me.”

Shortly after she graduated from high school, she was hanging out with some friends who worked in the industry, and they let her set up microphones and wrap cables. From there she decided to attend a recording school in Barcelona and eventually made her way to Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. She took full advantage of the studio space while in school; booking the recording studio for sessions, finding bands to record, setting up the sessions, micing and mixing, and taking control of the board and pro-tools without an assistant. This taught Cristina to be self sufficient and gave her confidence, and she loved it.

Cristina got a break when she was mixing a friends band at the Avalon, and she was offered a job. She says she worked a few shows for free and got to experience pushing cases and loading trucks. She says it was so hard and she remembers thinking “how come no one is saying that I shouldn’t be doing that cause those cases were too heavy for a girl?”  But, I think they were testing me to see how serious I was about working production, and I passed the test. Unfortunately, my work visa was not ready for me to stay, otherwise, I know I would’ve worked there for years, it was perfect for me! I’m so thankful to Don Tartaro, he was great and really wanted to help.

When Cristina graduated from Musicians Institute, she was nominated as the most improved and outstanding student.  “It was a big surprise to hear my name and to be recognized at graduation. The graduating class was made up 95% male students; I was excited to know that it didn’t matter if I was a woman, as long as you work hard you have a place in this business. I was also the only one in my class that had a job in audio while going to school.  I think part of my success has been because I’m not afraid to take on something new and go for it. Also, asking questions when you don’t know how to do something is critical, you learn as you go if you pay attention and make sure you master that situation.  You have to learn to be outspoken and hang with the guys if you’re a woman in this business, you can’t be shy.”

After she graduated and got her work visa in order Cristina mixed bands all over Los Angeles; The Roxy, Troubadour, Whiskey a Go Go, and more. Jason Dacosta, the former production manager at the Roxy and Bobby Crown head of audio at the Troubadour both, believed in her and gave her jobs. Cristina also toured with Klymaxx for three years as FOH and Monitor Engineer. But after five years of incredible experiences and lots of fun, she and her husband moved to Boise, Idaho.

In Idaho, she went to the Knitting Factory and asked for a job. “They gave me a three-day tryout, and I got hired.  I’ve been working here at The Knit for eight years. My first show was Fear Factory; Dino Cazares was pleased to see a Mexican Girl running monitors for them. Working here has been great, I’ve made lifelong friends with the other two engineers Cedric Booker and Kris Crowley, great guys that also gave me a chance and taught me so much”.

Cristina loves working in a venue and getting to meet so many different engineers and artists.

“You always have to be on your game, making sure the crew gets what they need and contribute to the show with your mix when they are in need of an engineer, FOH or monitors.  I’ve lost count how many bands I’ve had the privilege to work with. Some of them can be very demanding and others intimidating, but we always end the show very happy. I’ve had the pleasure of mixing for Gin Blossoms, Volbeat, Highly suspect, The Breeders, Violent Femmes, Brandi Carlile, Peter Murphy, In this moment, Fear Factory, Lacuna Coil, and hundreds more.”

Cristina toured for a few years and found that she liked working with different people and building a show in a new venue, but she prefers working in town, finishing a show and getting to go home. Now that she is a mother this a bonus. Cristina has a four-year-old son and one year daughter. She says that you can do both and not to be discouraged “you’ll need time off when after your baby is born; but you can always resume your job when it feels right. I’ve never felt like that was the end for me, it’s also thanks to a very supportive husband, who happens to be a musician and studio engineer as well.

What is your educational or training background?

CRASH Instituto Audiovisual in Manresa Barcelona 2001

Musicians Institute; RIT 2004

What are your long-term goals?

To never quit this career! I love it!  I want to continue to get better and better; there’s always room for improvement.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

My teacher in Spain that said I had two significant disadvantages; one is that I’m Mexican and number two is that I’m a woman. But I think I’ve been fortunate to work with great people. I get a large number of rotating engineers that I have to assist, set up the whole stage for them, or mix the show; we always communicate without any problems.

Maybe one or two men have been a little sexist, but I try to forget them. Even when I worked at eight months pregnant (twice), I try to not make this job any different than anything else I could be doing. In fact, I don’t even see myself doing anything else but being an audio engineer. I feel fortunate that I did not have to choose between my dream job and having a family.

How have you dealt with them?

When I run into someone rude, I just do my job.  I’m not intimidated by them. It’s usually their issues, as long as I know what I’m doing, nothing should make me feel less or not worthy of being part of this business.

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

Love what you do, work hard, be professional, take notes, pay attention to details; people love to see a well organized and meticulous process before, during and after the show.

Must have skills?

Excellent listening skills, a thick skin, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Favorite gear?

I’m loving our MIDAS pro2, & the D6 on floor toms

 

 

 

Teaching the Next Generation of Audio Engineers

Life hardly ever takes the simplest route.  Many in the field of Audio embody this sentiment.  When I first moved to the Nashville area from the West Coast (I live in neither location now), I joined the Nashville Chapter of the Audio Engineering Society on Facebook, and as soon my request to join was approved I received a friend request.  I am no social butterfly and was surprised by the notification. Audio Instructor and Engineer Jill Courtney noticed that another female Sound Engineer had joined her beat, and that was reason enough for her to connect. However, in getting to know Jill, I learned that it is natural for her to mentor and support her sisters in arms.  In the spirit of #breakingtheglassfader, I thought I would get Jill to share some of her secrets of teaching the next generation of SoundGirls.

What is your current job title?

Audio/Video Producer/Educator of JCreative Multimedia at www.jillcourtney.com

What subjects and grade levels have you taught? Any preference?

I have taught K-12 and college, and I think I prefer college, with middle school being a close second. High school would be third, and elementary fourth. I love all my students, though. I just relate to college and middle school students the most. Both college and middle school are defining periods in a student’s life.

What got you into teaching audio?

My first truly entrepreneurial adventure was a partnership called Sharkbait Studios, which originated in NYC. When my partner and I relocated the company to Nashville, we were networking among the local universities, of which there are many. During a networking meeting with the Chair of the Music and Performing Arts department at Tennessee State University, the Chair asked for my resume, and I happened to have it handy. Right then and there, he asked if I would teach TSU’s audio production classes, and he even utilized me as an applied voice instructor and the Director of the vocal jazz ensemble.

I was newly out of my Master’s program at New York University and had only taught music, voice, Spanish, and other K-12 topics. Once I taught at TSU for a year, I was in demand as an adjunct (ha!). I ended up working for Belmont University, The Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville, and Nashville Film Institute, along with a 2-year out-of-state residency at Lamar State College-Port Arthur, where I taught Commercial Applied Voice, Songwriting, Piano, Music Theory, etc. Once back in Nashville, Sharkbait Studios was closed and JCreative Multimedia, my sole/soul venture was established.

What skills (both audio and life skills) do you focus on in your classroom?

I teach my students to listen to details in the music at hand, do their best in building the sound from the ground up, if that is their task, editing when the materials are flawed, and polishing a song into a finished product for online, CD or video applications. I teach them to keep the end goal in mind from the start, to plan too much, protect the quality of sound at every stage, and be a life-long learner without ego. Once you think you are a badass, you are finished. The most revered artists are the ones who are never good enough for their own standards and strive to be better than their former selves with every new project. I believe each new project should reflect an evolution of growth, and personally, I don’t believe in stagnating. So my skill set is constantly being added to or refined. A growth mindset is where it is at, and I hope that conveys amongst my students.

Equally important, I teach them that they must be prepared, punctual, professional, persistent and passionate about their work. If one of those elements slips, then the commitment won’t be present enough to find continued success over time, unless they luck upon a hit or a really fortunate employment scenario. I teach them to be twice as good and half as difficult as their competitors. In addition, I think it is important to paint a picture of reality for them on the job, because I would be doing my students a great disservice if I made it seem easy or glamorous because it takes a lot of years of hard work for the ease and glamour to show up, if ever it does.

I also teach my students the importance of beating deadlines. If a song or project is due on Tuesday, to have it done completely on Sunday to allow for tech glitches, tweaks or a buffer time for life to mess with you. Inevitably, life WILL mess with you, so having the peace of mind and a happy client is worth the extra effort. I love to under-promise and over-deliver with my clients. Often, the only pat on the back I get is a return client and a recommendation, and that is how I know I am doing well. This business isn’t for those who need verbal praise.

My students hear me preach about the importance of knowing the business side of the industry (music or film) as much as the technical/creative side. This is how you can be forever employable and indispensable to a company, team, or client.

What is generally your first lesson?

All lessons begin with the ear. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am an excellent talker. However, it is my listening ability that keeps me working. Learning about the craft of sound in relation to spaces, the tools you utilize, and the subjects you wish to preserve through video and/or sound are crucial. But learning how to listen and reiterate what a client is seeking is perhaps equally crucial. If they come to you for a country track and leave with one that is a little too rock-like, they may love it, but will feel unheard or manipulated on some level. If the client makes those decisions along the way, that is one thing. But the client needs to steer that ship, and as professionals, it is our job to facilitate that vision and only inject our creativity or opinions if requested. There is such nuance in human communication, especially these days. Being a great listener and an effective communicator is arguably as important as having well-refined artistry.

What have you learned from teaching?

Teaching had refined my own skill set immensely. I wouldn’t know my craft as well if I didn’t have the pressure of being on top of my game so I don’t make a fool of myself in front of a room full of students. Especially in audio, being a minority, I have to know my subject well, or inevitably, it will become a reason why a student is disrespectful or discards my authority or knowledge. Teaching has also highlighted where my strengths and weaknesses exist. It has allotted me a second chance at fully learning the parts in which I was deficient, so I can parlay that effectively, and has given me practice and a platform for showing off my strengths, conveying my secrets to success with the true joy for teaching and helping others. It has given me as much as I have given to the world over the last 20 years of teaching. I have also connected with the next generations in a way that I never would have otherwise. I love kids and young adults, but I never wanted to be a mom. In this way, I get to leave a legacy in the minds of the masses, which better serves humanity, in my opinion,/circumstance.

Why is it important to include Arts (and STEM) in the general curriculum?

Funny you should ask this, as it is so very timely. My current research for my graduate Ed.S. program in Educational Leadership through Lipscomb University is focused on this very subject. The title of my research is “Promoting gender equity in audio and other STEM subjects.” I think that audio fields, specifically, are a perfect merge of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and with the new STEAM initiatives that are trending, the Arts portion is also covered. With STEM skills, it allows students to be versatile, and ultimately more successful in their future adult endeavors, which translates into more economic security, which translates into less hardship.
The more skills you have, the less you will starve. I am a walking advertisement for that fact, cause this body hasn’t missed a meal in 42 years. Ha!

What makes audio a unique subject to teach?

Audio/Sound is a trade or skill that at its root seems simplistic in nature. However, as you peel back the variables, the other factors around it become more vital. The space, the tools chosen, the subject, the mood, the health of the individual… there are so many variables that can distinguish one moment in time from another. And yet, it is also an art form. Some pay little attention to the process with a sole focus on the product, but audio must consider both as equally crucial. To further investigate, the business side, legalities, personal relationships, niche markets, and self-concept/limitations can all play into the final scope of one’s career in audio. It is unpredictable, beautiful and an immense challenge. It can be a dream come true or a total nightmare, and everything in between. Teaching this subject is as subjective as each individual in the class. It is constant differentiation.
Not everyone has an equally musical ear. Not everyone has gumption. Not everyone is healthy. Not everyone is intrinsically motivated. The best I can do is find out more about my students (by listening) and then cater to their strengths and enhance any identified weaknesses or lack of knowledge, provided that they are open to allowing me to do so.

I know you started a girl’s club in one of your schools, what was your goal in implementing it? How did your students respond? Do you have an interesting story from the group?

First, Nashville Audio Women Facebook group is an online place of connection for the few women who are studying and/or working in audio/sound in Nashville. The other was a girls’ club that I began at the middle school where I was teaching last year. My main mission for this club was girls’ empowerment because the middle school years are perhaps the most crucial for a growing girl in so many ways. Many of my students from that school, a Title 1 school, don’t have strong role models in their lives. Many had never met a woman like me.

Developing relationships based upon trust and respect was my primary goal. My secondary goal was to allow them to observe me as a strong female in this world, and once they knew me, they paid attention to how I interacted with the world. Another goal was to give them a person whom they could come to with all the questions they might have about being a female, kind of like an open-minded big sister. I think in this way, I was able to act as a role model that is unique – one that teaches because she digs helping kids, but also goes out and makes movies and recordings, sings with a rock band, pursues more academic degrees, and obsesses over animal photography in her non-teaching time. I wanted them to see that all of this is possible so that they might internalize it. My bottom line with my girls was to instill confidence and parlay life lessons. While they picked up on all of these things, they also wanted a space (in my classroom) where they could play touch football without boys. They wanted a place to paint their nails and video fake-fights for Snapchat. They wanted to ask me about boys and about periods and how to handle dramas with “haters.” I provided the space for all of that, as much as I could. I let the students direct how their club would go, largely, because I wanted them to build their own capacity as leaders and give them an honored voice.

How is mentorship important for young audio students?

I have many mentors. Many have been men, but I have found some incredible women too in more recent years. I believe they are crucial to growth and can help guide your career and provide you with a reality check and advice as you navigate the workplace. Mine are nothing short of lifesavers. For young audio students, I think one thing they don’t realize is that if all are successful, the audio instructor will eventually become a colleague, so the relationship they build with teachers is ever the more crucial. The teachers can help them find employment, write recommendation letters, and help them create lifelong connections. The reach of the teacher is often the potential reach of the student if the student proves her/himself to be worthy of such extensions of help and resources.

Any advice for the next generation?

Oh my, where do I begin? Well, I would highly suggest that any interested potential audio/sound student be as crystal clear as possible on the economic realities of this industry right now. I would encourage them to build an arsenal of skills that they can utilize in a variety of related industries. I would recommend focusing on the parts of the industry with the most jobs and welcoming atmospheres, and to be open-minded to all styles of music and sound jobs. I would also advise that they interview as many people as they possibly can along the way so that they can make informed decisions about how they want to paint their lives. Education has been key for me in remaining relevant and employed, both in the industry and beyond, and while I probably take it to an extreme that not everyone can handle, I recommend being a life-long learner. I am like a sponge with information, and am wholly unafraid to admit that I am uneducated in certain areas, but these are often the areas that arouse my curiosity. My former boss called me the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of the department, which is flattering and probably a bit accurate. I want my students to be similar so that they can survive in their chosen industry for as long as it makes sense for them.

In addition, I always thought my career would be linear. We are always taught this as we grow up. But my career has taken the most unpredictable zigzags, and I have finally come to understand that in some cases, this is the norm. This business rarely sees someone graduate with a college degree, go into the field, stay at the same company and retire with a pension. So creative thinking, a diverse skill set and a willingness to change it up when necessary are crucial for forward motion

 

A Guide to Supporting Women in Sound

A resource for men and all people interested in social equity in audio

Women in Sound includes All women, non-binary genders, LGBTQIA people, and people of colour (we also point you to this fantastic website White Accomplices)

We are often asked ‘How can men proactively support gender equality in the audio industries?’ We’ve put together a list of concrete actions you might take.

These recommendations are for people working in education, industry, audio production and other related fields.

They are summarised under three action headlines:

● Collaborate – offering support to the feminist collectives who are already helping girls and women in sound. Adopting new interventions. Also, understanding and addressing unconscious bias.

● Perspective – doing your own research, checking your assumptions, and recognising that women of colour are subject to a double hit of bias due to racial discrimination

● Changing environments – creating environments that are truly fit for purpose.

We invite you to make an #audioequitypledge:

● Read this document and identify three or more interventions that you would like to make to supporting women in sound

● Post this document on your website/blog with a summary of your interventions using #heforshe and #audioequitypledge

● Post an update six months later.

Please do something, because if you’re leaving this work to a few (almost always women), then you are part of the problem.

Collaborate

Identify and offer support to groups/collectives/non-profits

To be supported but not in a way that that seeks to promote your own organisation: Identify groups that are already supporting women and ask what kind of help you can offer.

Examples include:

Volunteer your time and expertise for background administrative support:

Undertaking advocacy work (especially if armed with data about what specific organisations have accomplished, highlighting what they need in order to further their work)

Paying for consultancy on diversity and inclusion

Amplifying work on social media

Checking if your organisational values align with the values of an organisation that you wish to support (before putting them in a position of explaining that it isn’t a good match)

Aurélie Salvaire’s book Balance the World: Tactics to help you launch a gender revolution offers many really great examples and resources.

Perspective

Check Unconscious Bias

Understand your own implicit/unconscious bias; that you may be inclined to hear some voices more clearly than others. Implement unconscious bias training

Understand the various types of unconscious bias: conformity bias, beauty bias, affinity bias, the halo effect, the horns effect, similarity bias, contrast effect, attribution bias, and confirmation bias, and others

If hiring, check that you have a qualified and diverse team looking at resumes. Look at diversity in your organisation and take steps to build a diverse team (non-binary, women, people of colour, people with disabilities)

Seek to anonymise the application process where possible.

Doing this with integrity means centring others – listening mindfully while checking your goals and assumptions.

The Audio Engineering Society is making proactive steps on diversity, and welcomes new members to its Diversity and Inclusion committee.

Listen

Listen to experiences of marginalised groups when they provide examples of what marginalising behaviours look and sound like

Centre women by listening to our values and experiences, but especially women of colour. Listen, and keep listening without debating, diminishing or deflecting. Just listen. Really take the time to digest each lifetime of experience and insight if you want to centre women  in the process of supporting change.

Relieve the burden and contribute to proactive social intervention

Don’t make women responsible for addressing gender. We need to work together to shape change:

Open your studio and employ female sound engineers to deliver workshops for girls in partnership with an organisation like the Yorkshire Sound Women Network and SoundGirls in particular are always looking to partner for workshops, and to provide internships

Offer internships specifically for women (employ consultants to advocate that you are providing an environment that is suitable to all people). The Women’s Audio Mission  offer some good examples but you don’t need to be an all-women organisation to do this

Set equity targets i.e., to be recording an equal ratio of female artists, works by female composers, and working with sound engineers by a specific date. You might subscribe to the PRS KeyChange initiative. Huddersfield Contemporary Records at The University of Huddersfield have done this. See this excellent statement and commitment from Professor Aaron Cassidy.

Wear the T-shirt – literally! The Women’s Audio Mission, SoundGirls, Gender Amplified and Beats By Girlz sell their T-shirts. Help normalise and advocate for diversity in audio

Provide allyship and bystander training for staff.

Changing Environments

Understand how to create supportive environments for women

Make sure your physical environment is welcoming to all people. See this paper on feminist hackspaces or ‘Barriers to women’s involvement in hackspaces and makerspaces’by Dr. J Lewis.

Consider how your environments are biased towards certain groups –  perhaps find diverse images of women in sound for your studio walls and remove images of musicians who are associated with sexism/racism. Imagine a space full of images like these from the female:pressure Tumblr!

Think about who you want to come to your events and support them:

Ensure that the venue is physically accessible by all people

Institutions are employing more men, so provide grants for self-employed people who are not funded by an institution (i.e., University academics are funded and independent practitioners and scholars are not)

Understand the barriers around childcare (offer funding to cover childcare and access to gender neutral baby changing facilities)

Be a responsible host (understand what marginalising behaviors are and be ready to address them – examples include everything from misogynist or sexist behaviours, through to constant overtalk and interruptions)

Make sure you share your events with Women-Led Organisations, inviting their members (and listening carefully to their feedback). You can find a few of them here

Work collaboratively with venues, clubs, studios, festivals, journals that subscribe to an inclusive agenda

Look for and/or insist on an explicit anti-harassment statement that is welcomed by the community that you support. Help draft it and work with others to check it is inclusive for all. This challenging work needs a robust, resilient, and diverse community. See this example from The Seraphine Collective

Women often know they will be a minority and this is exhausting

Conferences – don’t comment on someone’s gender, take interest in their work

Support people online, not only when they are diminished or marginalised for no other reason than gender, but also to bring out their positive contribution.

Education: create intelligent, inclusive environments for learning

Reflect on approaches to teaching and learning. From a young age, girls seem to be more socialised to collaborate, so integrate more problem solving, communication methods, and peer learning tasks into music technology education. Erin Barra’s Beats By Girlz lesson plans are great examples of this, and they encourage collaborative learning

Be demanding as all students can become experts. If you teach a minority of girls (who are also less confident), create environments that build up their confidence but also don’t shy away from being demanding. Evidence suggests that those girls will need to be confident and to prove that they have excellent technical knowledge (see unconscious bias) – and anyway, knowledge is power

Support the least confident. Notice where less confident students aren’t contributing, take the issue seriously and consider why this might be happening. Perhaps some students need other (more private) opportunities and spaces to feel comfortable to take risks and make mistakes, because they may not have had the same opportunities to work with technology in the past, or because they have been pushed away by other more confident learners. Some students may just need more assistance with working their way back into practical collaborative projects where they need to feel confident in order to be more assertive with peers

Provide equal visibility of women and especially women of colour. Just because we know about Björk, Delia Derbyshire, Wendy Carlos and Mandy Parnell we can’t simply assume that some kind of gender balance has been achieved. This is tokenism, and it is a big part of the problem. Help to address this by inspiring young people to understand that the default identity of a music producer is not a white man.

See the websites: ManyManyWomen , shesaid.so, female pressure, Her Noise Archive and SoundGirls Profiles. This also means visibility in literature. When you claim a social study of studio practice which includes a particular demographic, acknowledge it and make it clear

Employ women. Advertise roles in the right places and make proactive inclusion statements in the advert. Provide clear opportunities for prospective applicants to contact you directly for further information about the role. Think carefully about how to bring female experts into education. If you find that women aren’t applying for particular roles, undertake consultancy and ask why this may be.

In Higher Education, seek out people you can invite in to deliver guest lectures/workshops/supervisions. Some may be part-time university academics also working in live electronic music, or in a studio, or in other areas of sound – so look beyond your network, and beyond conventional academia where possible. This helps to bridge the divide between self-employed artists and academia, and provide pathways for women to have the option of engaging in academic practices

Invite conversation. Talk with colleagues to check what your institution is doing to engage students who may have experienced discrimination and, if necessary, seek consultation from staff at other institutions who are clearly addressing this well. Some institutions have called meetings with students, then set up women led or feminist groups supported by staff (i.e., Steinhardt NYU) and some work collaboratively with industry bodies such as The Audio Engineering Society (i.e., University of York #HEFORSHE)

Learn a bit more about how gender informs place and space making across our music industries

Homework: Read Sam De Boise’s Men, Masculinity, Music and Emotions and other literature on music/sound/audio/electronic music and gender

Understand the statistics by reading academic articles and education research, and drawing on websites of all-women groups. Try to avoid asking women to explain it – because this is exhausting and the resources are all available. There are some excellent resources on the Gender Research in Darmstadt website

You Can’t Be What You Can’t See. Challenge the media representation of women in sound and music. Women do not see themselves in the trade magazines, in panels at conferences or in advertisements. Digico ran a fantastic ad campaign last year called Excellence Exposed which featured a diverse group of women engineers in both their ethnic backgrounds and musical genres.

SoundGirls has a monthly feature profile of women in audio to offset this, and all their tri-weekly blogs being written by women.

Other initiatives include the PSN Europe Women in Audio podcast.

These are just a few recommendations and the issue is much more nuanced and layered, however, we’re asking you to make a start by stating your pledge. Be proud that you are a part of this important audio industry initiative.

This battle will be won by men championing diversity, standing shoulder to shoulder and making a difference together. #audioequitypledge #heforshe

Further recommendations and guidance can be found here: How Men Can Be Allies, Sexual Harassment and More Inclusive Industry Here.

Co-ordinated by Dr. Liz Dobson and written in collaboration with: The Audio Engineering Society,  Mariana Lopez of University of York Big Bear Audio, SoundGirls, The Yorkshire Sound Women Network, and The University of Huddersfield

Together we offer this, our #audioequitypledge

The Yorkshire Sound Women Network

 

Live digital audio in plain English part 2

Never mind the bit clocks… it’s a word clock primer

My last blog dealt with translating audio into a digital signal. The next step is keeping that signal in time when it’s being captured, processed and sent to different parts of the system. This is where the fabled word clock comes in. If anything weird ever happens with a digital set up, like odd clicks or pops over the PA, you can seem wise beyond your years by nodding sagely, saying “Hmm, it sounds like a clocking issue”, then making your excuses and leaving before any further questions can be asked. However, you can become a rare and very valuable member of your audio team by actually learning what word clocks are, how they work and how to fix the most common problems they can cause. They might seem strange and complicated, but they are of course not black magic. It’s all about crystals.

So… what is a word clock?

Any device receiving audio sees a string of 1s and 0s. How does it know whether 0000011100001011 is two samples, reading 00000111 (= 7) and 00001011 (=11), or the second half of a sample, a full sample (01110000 = 112), and the first half of the next one? As you can see, the resulting values can be very different, so it’s essential to get it right to the exact bit.
A word clock is a signal that is sent at a very accurate frequency of one square wave per sample (the bits in each sample make up a ‘word’). This signal is produced by passing an electrical current through a small crystal inside a word clock generator. The rising edge of the resulting wave means 1; the falling edge means 0. The clock runs alongside the audio signal, with 1 usually meaning “this is the start of the sample” and 0 meaning “this is the end.” Different shapes and sizes of crystal resonate at different frequencies, then more subtle changes are controlled by variations in the voltage running through the circuit and temperature. Some clock generators even keep their crystals in tiny ‘ovens’ to keep the temperature constant.

What the clock?

Clocks are necessary for a few different stages in the signal path. AD convertors might take a fixed number of samples per second, but they still need to make sure those samples are evenly spaced. If they aren’t, the waveform will end up deformed when reproduced by something that is in time. Thinking back to the video analogy from the last post, it’s like film taken on old hand-cranked cameras: uneven capturing of the signal leads to weird inconsistencies when it’s played back. In audio, it’s referred to as jitter. This can also happen when an accurately-captured signal gets reconverted with an unreliable clock, like a film being played on a clunky projector (see figure 1). Clocks used to trigger the capturing of the signal are often called sample clocks. There are also bit clocks, which produce one cycle per bit. These days they are only used for signal transport within devices, for example from one PCB to another. You’re very unlikely to encounter a problem with a bit clock, and if you do there isn’t much you can do except send it back for repair. You might also hear people referring to word clock as sync clock, signal clock or simply clock.

An AD converter with a stable word clock (represented by the square wave at the top) captures an accurate waveform (left), but if it’s converted back to analogue through a DA converter with an unstable clock, the waveform will become deformed (right). Source: Apogee Knowledge Base http://www.apogeedigital.com/knowledgebase/fundamentals-of-digital-audio/what-is-jitter/”

 

One clock to rule them all

A stable clock compared to a jittery one, compared to one whose frequency has drifted. Jitter is caused by a varying clock frequency, whereas a clock that has drifted has a pretty stable frequency. It’s just the wrong one. Source: Apogee Knowledge Base http://www.apogeedigital.com/knowledgebase/fundamentals-of-digital-audio/word-clock-whats-the-difference-between-jitter-and-frequency-stability/”

What we are really interested in for live audio is using word clock to keep multiple devices, e.g., the front of house desk, monitor desk, and system processors, in sync. Think of it like keeping a band in time: most digital devices on the market have their own internal clock, so it’s like each member of the band having their own click (or metronome if you’re that way inclined). If it’s a solo artist, there’s no problem. Even if the click wanders a bit, it probably won’t be noticeable, because there’s nothing to compare it to. However, when there are several members, they need to stay in tempo. Neither clocks nor clicks are perfect, and even if everyone starts off together, they will eventually fall out of sync (known as frequency drift. See figure 2). It makes sense to choose one person to keep the beat for everyone else, like the drummer. Much in the same way, you need to designate one device in your system to be the master clock, and the other devices are slaves who sync their clocks to the master. Sometimes, it can be even better to get a separate device whose only job is to keep time, i.e., an external word clock generator. This is like hiring a professional conductor for the band. Much like a conductor though, they can be very expensive and for the most part aren’t necessary as long as you have a good enough band/set up.

“Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall during the Aldeburgh Festival, 2017, by Matt Jolly. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mirga_Gra-inyt–Tyla_conducts_the_CBSO,_Aldeburgh_Voices_and_Aldeburgh_Music_Club_at_Aldeburgh_Festival-crop.jpg”

Each device still uses its own clock when following the master. They constantly monitor at what phase in the cycle the incoming clock signal is and compare it to their own. If the two fall out of time, the device can adjust its clock (usually by varying the voltage running through the crystal) until it’s locked in sync. The circuit that does this is called a phase-locked-loop. It’s like a band member nudging the speed of their click or metronome until it matches the conductor. However, some common sense is needed. You don’t want to constantly adjust for every tiny discrepancy, nor do you want everyone to follow when the conductor is obviously wrong, like if he sneezes or falls over. A phase-locked loop’s sensitivity can be adjusted, so it ignores fleeting differences and remains locked to the last signal it received if the master clock outputs major errors or drops out of the system. The device will then continue at that speed until the master gets reinstated or replaced, but will slowly drift if this doesn’t happen. The sensitivity can also be adjusted depending on how good the device is compared to the master. If your conductor isn’t the best, it might be better to listen to your own click when in doubt (or invest in a better conductor). In the next post, I’ll discuss how all this relates to our real life setups.

Be Bold, Be You, & Be Proud

We are all amazing women; we do great things, experience amazing events, and live in wonderful ways. We are strong role models and have strong role models. We are moms, significant others, teachers, bosses, trendsetters, friends, and leaders.

All these traits are wonderful and amazing qualities that many people look up too. So then why do a lot of us as women self-deprecate? Why do we not accept compliments when they are well deserved, we don’t take ownership of our significant achievements, and we don’t lead without fear of being called a bitch. Part of it is some of our less progressive counterparts accelerating the way we feel, but I think this idea has been ingrained in us over centuries. We tell ourselves things that bring us down, and we allow others to talk or act that way to us as well. We feel the need to search for approval than to already know we are doing the right thing. We need to accept ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, but that does not require us to tear ourselves down. We have enough people that will do that for us. Since we are such magnificent women, it’s time for us to start changing this for ourselves.

Think about the last time you looked at a picture of yourself – did you look at it without thinking something negative about yourself or did you start picking it a part? Thinking or even saying out loud “I have ugly bags under my eyes,” “I didn’t stand right,” or “I look fat.” Maybe you didn’t even look at it because you already knew you looked terrible because you’ve told yourself that so many times you think it is true.  Society markets to us that we need to be skinnier, dress differently, act differently, and more. As a result, we do it to ourselves too. Society brings us down enough. We don’t need to do it to ourselves, and we definitely don’t need to do it to each other. We need to make sure our false opinions of ourselves don’t turn into our realities.

I think it’s time we challenge ourselves to reset the trend. I know so many strong women, yet this still seems to be engrained in us as those strong women also deal with these feelings and thoughts.  It’s time for a change, and it starts with us. Look at that picture and see your health, beauty, strength, and remember the moment in which the picture was taken. Remind yourself your leadership and direction is no different than your counterpart. You are not bitchy, you are confident, and are giving clear directions! You are a leader no different than anyone else. Stop getting stuck on that one decision or one thing that did not go according to your plan; instead, focus on everything that did! Let’s be the example that all women need and change the outlook for the next generation just like the generation before us has done in other ways.

Let’s look at that picture and say, I look great! That day was so fun! Let’s be bold, be you, & be proud for those before us, those after us, and most of all for yourself

 

Performance Anxiety

I think pretty much everyone has at least once in their lifetime experienced anxiety in one way or another. Personally, my anxiety is a good old friend I have had with me for years. It is something I always have struggled with and there is different reasons to why that is, but some reasons that stands out the most is; I am a perfectionist and I am not best friends with failure.

For a lot of people, I think it is hard to admit that you suffer from anxiety and the impact it may have on your life. I used to be like that because I felt like I was overreacting.

In my previous blog post ‘A lesson about fun & failure,’ I briefly mentioned and touched on the subject about failure. My anxiety, and probably for a lot of people, is linked to the fear of failure.

I have studied music for many years; I began at the age of 11 to play classical piano. I love playing the piano, and I learned sight-reading from an early age. I played Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and I to this day absolutely love their compositions. But, what I could not get my head around was that I could not play those pieces perfectly every time. I got so angry with myself for messing it up to the point where I stopped enjoying playing the piano because I felt like I was failing.

Throughout college, I had to go through plenty of live performances, all of which I suffered terrible anxiety attacks from. I simply did not want to be on stage; I could not deal with the pressure and the possibility of failing. The pressure I put on myself, not anybody else, I’ve realised now later in life.

This is one of the main reasons I chose to work behind the stage and what makes me love and care so much about live performances. For me, it is so important that artists feel comfortable whilst being on stage because I know what it feels like when you don’t.

Performance anxiety is so important to acknowledge and to deal with in all aspects and careers of life. We put so much pressure on ourselves, from such an early age, it affects our mental health severely. It’s good to be ambitious, but when is it too much? At what point do we tell ourselves ‘hey it’s getting a bit too much now’?. Especially within the music industry, it is a very fast-paced industry and you’re expected to be multi-talented from a young age.

Sometimes it is not about overcoming your anxiety, sometimes it is merely about becoming friends with it. Nowadays I handle it in such a way that I give myself some time and space. I analyse what is going on in my life, usually my anxiety flares up when I’ve got too many things going on at the same time and really should’ve said no to a couple of jobs. I get terrible anxiety when I am new to things, especially jobs, to the point where I feel nauseous and overthink every possible scenario that might happen. But when this happens I tell myself that everything will be ok, one way or another.

We are only human in the end of the day, and as I have learned along the way, it is perfectly normal to feel anxious sometimes. However, if you feel like you need help to improve your anxiety and mental health do not hesitate to get in touch with your GP. There are also great apps to manage and improve your mental health here: https://apps.beta.nhs.uk/category/mental_health/.

 

Karol Urban – Sound and Storytelling

Finishing the Mix

Karol Urban CAS MPSE (Grey’s Anatomy, New Girl, Station 19, Band Aid, Breaking 2, #Realityhigh) re-recording mixer, has built a diverse list of mix credits spanning work on feature films, TV series (scripted and unscripted), TV movies, and documentaries over the last 18 years. Describing herself as “part tech geek and creative film nerd” she enjoys using her language skills to work in both English and Spanish.

Karol holds a BS from James Madison University in Audio Post Production from the School of Media Arts and Design, is on the Board of Directors for the Cinema Audio Society (CAS), is co-editor of the CAS Quarterly Magazine, and serves on the Governor’s Peer Group for Audio Mixing for the Television Academy.

While she is incredibly passionate about telling stories through sound, technology, and the art of the craft, her favorite aspect of her position is “the team sport of filmmaking and television production.”

Her enthusiasm and energy for the job help her retain a high work ethic. She is known for being a hard worker in and out of the studio.

What was your path getting into sound?

I was sight impaired as a child and benefited greatly from surgery. I still, however, have problems with depth perception and naturally gravitate toward sound as my primary sense of distance and spatial location.

I studied dance, piano, and voice as a child and went to the Governor’s School for the Performing Arts for high school. It is a public, county-supported, audition-based high school with a focused curriculum on the arts.  I was fortunate to compose and record in my first recording studio there for the first time at the age of 13. I have been hanging out at one studio or another ever since.

Truthfully, I never wanted to perform. But sound and storytelling always fascinated me and held my attention steadfast.  And I have always obsessed over the movies and loved narrative television. When I discovered you could work in sound, not necessarily music, and in sound for picture, I knew what I was going to do with my life.  Every big move in my life I have made since has been to earn the next opportunity to tell a story through sound for picture.

I graduated high school a year early and went on to Virginia Tech at 17 where I took a lot of audio engineering classes. I transferred to James Madison University and majored in the School of Media Arts and Design with an audio concentration and minored in the music industry.  I left school with the clear goal of becoming a re-recording mixer.

If you had to pick your favorite type of content, role or project what would it be and why?

Personal Sound Assistant Sync

The collaborative aspect of what we do is to me the most precious, as a result, I love to be a part of larger teams as the dialog and music re-recording mixer. While it can be fun to do a single-person mix, especially if you have a very creative and collaborative producer or director, I am truly in heaven when I have a creative team behind me.  Bring in the party. I love to craft the story as a collective.

I don’t really have a favorite genre. I love action and sci-fi, and I adore thrillers. Police procedurals are fun. But comedy and drama can be amazing too. I really enjoy the diversity of genres. It widens my toolset. Basically whatever genre I haven’t mixed in a while is my current favorite. I really do love it all.

The creative problem solving and technical aspect of cleaning and repairing dialogue is enjoyable, but I also love the subtle use of dynamics, reflections, and frequency details in dialogue mixing which can help you feel as if you are eavesdropping on a secret or hearing someone lose their composure. It is sneaky in that good dialogue mixing is rarely noticed while it is being most effective.

I also studied classical piano, voice, and composition for many years. I love music. Being able to craft the music into the final mix is a real honor and joy.

That’s why the dialogue/music re-recording chair feels like home.

A lot of people in post-production sound specialize in a single role (like dialog mixer, sound designer, etc.). How has it helped your career to not focus on one particular niche? Or, do you think there is an expectation now to be versatile?

I began my career in the mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast.  There are people who work in post sound are often asked to perform all the roles (Foley recording, narration/ADR recording, Foley/ADR cueing, dialogue editorial, sfx editorial, and re-recording mix).  Even if you were not working on a project as a single person, you and your team would often change roles to suit the schedule or client preferences. It is a different market for sure.

But, when I first got to Los Angeles, folks would advise that being a jack of all trades does not make you qualified to be a master of anyone. When I looked inside myself, I found that I was truly a dialogue-centered individual and macro thinker. I am an extrovert.  I also love the subjective discussions and explorations that occur on the dub stage. All these aspects helped me excel as a dialogue and music re-recording mixer.

But, over the last eight years, I’ve noticed that the ability to diversify is becoming more valued in LA. In this way, I may have chosen the perfect time to come to LA, with a clear, specific goal on what I prefer to center my focus on, but enough diverse experience and knowledge in multiple fields of post sound to be usefully skilled. I gladly switch roles when needed; a change is often good for perspective.

Can you talk about transitioning from working in DC to Los Angeles? Since you didn’t have a job lined up in LA, how did you decide it was time to move?

I am a true believer in the concept that knowledge is power. I had reached a point in DC where I was feeling a little stagnant.  I wasn’t learning as much, wasn’t experimenting as much, and wasn’t challenged enough. I was struggling to find opportunities where I could make myself wonderfully uncomfortable with a challenge. I was searching for mentors.

I found a short, small contract in LA and left a job of 10 years with crazy benefits, paid vacation, and a very decent salary to seek out the challenge. Finding a gig, even one as short as a 3-month contract, while on the other side of the country seemed like a sign.

At the time I was frightened that I wouldn’t be capable of competing in such a large and complex market.  But I knew I would never stop wondering “what if.” Once a few months passed, and I took a couple of professional punches to the face, I recognized I had learned a ton and began noticing a difference in my work. I got excited. There is no other option other than success. Moving to LA has proven to be the most wonderful adventure I have ever had in my life. I love it here. I love the market, the challenges, and the ever-changing, seemingly endless possibilities. There is so much to learn and grow from here. I am grateful.

Can you walk us through an average work week for you? How many hours are you working, spending outside the studio on other work-related demands, etc.?

The amount I actually mix depends on the projects I am on. Sometimes it is 16 hour days and six-day weeks other times it might be two days a week for 9 hours a day. Production schedules move erratically and the day is not over when it is scheduled to end or when you are done… it is over when the client feels whole, and they are done.  My life is a continual game of scheduling Jenga. The terrain is insane. It is awesome and exhausting.

When I am not in the chair mixing, I am still working. Mixing is only part of the job.  I try to be a resource for others as much as possible. I give back to my community through volunteer service in the MPSE, CAS, & TV Academy, edit the CAS Quarterly publication, meet with industry folks new to town, and of course, establish new relationships in the community.  It is a rare day off when I don’t meet up with someone, watch a tutorial on new technology, or volunteer on a project. I keep an ear open for any industry positions available and try to recommend people in my network that I know can tackle the duties and forward their careers.  It is all-encompassing, but I love what I do and I simply never tire of the hustle. Don’t get me wrong, there are days or weeks where I am truly exhausted, but I never dream of doing anything else. I want to be the best I can be, and I feel like I have incredible joy ahead of me in that I have much more growing to do. I am not even close to done.

What are the differences between mixing documentary/reality and scripted?

Depends on your project and your client.

There are certainly workflow and logistical differences, and there also tends to generally be a larger expectation of detail and desire for the school of perspective mixing in scripted media. But the core of what I do is really only made different by the client’s desires and the needs of the film/project.

I certainly will repair, clean, and fit the spec. But the true value in having a re-recording mixer is that you have a professional who is a life-listener and skilled craftsperson. We study and develop sound as a storytelling tool that can steer the minds of the viewers. I certainly have had projects of all genres that demand and expect narrative storytelling in their mix.  I have also had many projects of all genres that look to me for technical audio triage and to emulate their temp track. It is less genre-specific than project-specific.

Can you explain how a 2-person mix works?

 

Karol and Steve Urban on the movie BFFs

There are many ways to work. It depends on the team, the technology, and the project’s scheduled mix time. In the end, however, the goal is to make sound decisions and become four hands and two minds working with the singular focus of intensifying the story through sound. It really is a wonderful way to work.

On a 2-person mix, what are the challenges of working with a mixer you haven’t mixed with before?

Sometimes you don’t know the perspective or tastes of your partner when you are newly paired or the tempo at which they need to work. You have to learn the sensibility of your partner as soon as possible.  Luckily most folks who mix in multiple-seat dub stages are very collaborative and have the ability to morph to the style that works with the team and serves the director or producer. I have certainly been made aware of other ways of looking at things that ended up being the right choice for the project and client at the end of the day.  This difference of perspective can be a complexity and/or a gift.

You’ve mixed over 100 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. What are the challenges?

We suffer from a lot of set noise as there is a lot of busy scenes with lots of background action…IV stands, gurneys, and of course, paper medical gowns.

You have a reputation for having an incredible work ethic, drive, and energy level. How do you maintain that level of focus? How do you not burn out?

Wow.  That’s a crazy question.  It blows me away that I have a reputation at all. I just keep swimming.

I have had a very specific and pointed goal for a very long time to be a re-recording mixer. It started as soon as I knew the job existed. I knew it was what I was supposed to do. I never took a lot of electives in school or tried a lot of different things professionally because this goal was what I knew I wanted specifically.  I knew it was competitive and I knew I wouldn’t generally look like or come from the same places that a lot of my peers would. I grew up in a town that simply doesn’t have a substantial market for this craft. I knew it was a different world and I was going to have to break in.

Practically every extracurricular activity, club, or group I have participated in has been focused on trying to be in this world. Sound makes sense to me and communicating by putting people in sound spaces is pretty amazing and evocative. I am always trying to make myself worthy and valuable to the opportunity in front of me.

What skills are necessary to do your job?

You have to be at least mildly obsessed with detail, technology, and storytelling. Our jobs are not sprints; they are marathons. You will watch a reel or episode over and over and over again for days, sometimes weeks.  You must remain present and have the ability to fall back into the perspective of a first-time viewer but also switch quickly to the mind of a mixer. You have to be able to see (and feel and hear) the effect of what you are doing while also seeing possibilities.

It is also very helpful to like people and have no ego. It can be hard sometimes because you have to emotionally experience something in order to create and having that emotional response rejected can feel personal. But in the end, you are completing the vision of your director or producer and creating their film/show. You should understand that a person may be inspired by your suggestion at times but may also feel something completely different. Notes are not criticism. They are opportunities.

What are your favorite plugins?

I am loving the Pro Fabfilter Q2 and De-esser right now.  I also love my McDSP SA-2 and NF575. I am still a sucker for Audio Ease’s Speakerphone, and PhoenixVerb is pretty amazing.

What technology are you excited about right now?

I love the new immersive formats. I really feel a naturalness when I hear an environment in Atmos.  And I love the panning precision and full-range reproduction.

What have been the challenges for you as a woman in the field?

It is getting so much better. I have definitely found myself in moments of overt creepiness and absolute inappropriateness. But as the years have gone on whether it be because we as a society are becoming more progressive, other women have paved the way, or because I have become more established, it has gotten much, much better. I just keep forging ahead. I don’t give that crazy a lot of focus. The best thing I can do for equality is to be successful as a woman and be a force for equality by treating everyone around me the way I would want to be treated.  I try to lift others up who share the love of what we do, and I take no mind in their gender, race, or creed.

I still have to discuss my gender as an anomaly from time to time, almost always on a new job and have to occasionally educate people on my knowledge and fandom of a diverse range of genres such as action, horror, and sci-fi. Because as a woman I am often thought of as a strictly romantic comedy or drama person.

But I do have to take care to go out of my way to get to know my co-workers and let them know they can be comfortable around me and that they can be confident that I am an assertive individual. People don’t walk on eggshells around me because I will let someone know if I am uncomfortable or disagree. I hold no grudges and pull no punches. I have been set straight once or twice in my life when I have said something I thought was harmless that had no presumptions behind it that accidentally affected someone in a negative way. We all need to be open to learning from one another without fear or pride. I do believe most people are intrinsically good.

It is paramount to respect your coworkers (male and female alike). While I am aware of situations through the years where I have not been hired because I am a woman or where criticism has been very blatantly gender-biased, I know I am also here in my dream job because of all the wonderful folks, the majority of whom are male, who have given me a shot, had confidence in my abilities and welcomed me into the fold.

It is a weird landscape, ladies.

What advice would you give women in our field?

Be assertive, persistent, and consistent. Respect the contributions of everyone around you from the valet service to reception to account management to your engineer. Show respect and act respectfully. Expect the same in return.  Be humble but also speak and act with confidence and kindness. Some folks really do not recognize what they are saying. Some are uncomfortable or culturally insensitive without knowledge of their actions. Ignorance does still exist. Some folks lack perspective and understanding without intending ill will.  Many people who are considered notoriously challenging that I have worked with were not an issue with me at all because if I had an issue, I stated the issue, explained my issue, asked for a change in behavior, and then dropped it from my memory and became a friend and advocate to them. And while I am not so ignorant or smug as to say it doesn’t matter what others think or do (There is real malice in the world.), I do believe social transformation happens individual by individual. We can be seeds of change by keeping our decisions untarnished by the poor actions of a few and giving each new individual in our world the opportunity to be wonderful.

I believe in equality.  I can’t wait to work in a world where we don’t have to support each other as minorities but we can just support competent, talented artists and craft people and diversity will naturally take place.

If you were to guide someone trying to get into post-production today what advice would you give? What would you advise to find work and build a career?

Don’t wait for someone to give you permission to do what you want to do.  Even if it is for little or no money, get in there. Until you have a professional-level skill to offer, you need to be doing what you can to acquire it. Participate in your community, seek mentors, seek other folks coming up, collaborate, create, rise, and lift up others. Remain open to life lessons. The universe has a lot more opportunities to reward you with when you put yourself out there and participate.

 

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