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Gender in the Workplace

 

 

A Nonbinary Individual’s Foray into Corporate A.V.

Part 3: Religious Intersectionality

 

Since writing my last blog post, a lot has changed. Namely, I no longer work at the A.V. company that I mentioned before. To be frank, the misgendering and discriminatory practices became too much to handle, and I needed a way out.

Before I left, there were unfortunately a few more instances of transphobia, and worryingly, antisemitism that I faced.

Our A.V. team would always work with other teams to make the corporate world function. A.V. would set up and coordinate projectors, laptops, internet (whether WiFi or Ethernet,), sound boards, microphones, lights, you name it. We were on the tech side of the event sphere. The banquet team would prepare and serve food, the sales team would budget and interact with the clients, and the arrangements team would set up chairs, tables, and stages for each event. My main problems always seemed to arise from arrangements.

The arrangements team was all-male. I find this worthy of note for a variety of reasons, but primarily that it had created a work environment that lacked any diverse perspective, and as such, created a “locker room” environment (borrowing words from Justice Kavanaugh here.) This meant, in their case, that there was no wariness of verbiage among them, and they felt free to say whatever was on their minds without fear of repercussion. In one particular instance, I found myself in the Great American Hall with the arrangements team and one of my A.V. coworkers. We were folding drapes, and as the arrangements staffer rolled in a table, he was loudly complaining about millennial women. Of course, I turned an ear in. The Great American Hall is a very large space, which is worthy of note because even as he walked past me, he was talking to his coworkers across the space. Once again, I felt very ignored. This would have been fine had he been discussing work, or shared stories with his coworkers, or even movies or music. However, when he’s loudly talking about women’s rights (yes, specifically that we belong in the kitchen making him dinner! So original,) I find myself unable to keep quiet.

In response to his complaint, I uttered a quick “Oh, I just love working in a hostile sexist workplace, don’t you?” to my male A.V. coworker. He looked at me with wide and concerned eyes. A hush fell over the entire hall, and I felt my perceived female invisibility vanish in an instant. Eyes were on me as I continued working like nothing had happened. Later that hour, as I had moved on to another task, I heard one of the arrangements team start to make a joke about how Starbucks is only for women. He then paused, looked directly at me, and then said “Well. Let’s just say, my wife likes it more than us guys, huh?” I rolled my eyes and continued my task, thinking to myself that the group of them probably won’t even remember this conversation. But I will. I have to. If we could so easily forget discrimination, perhaps life would be easier, but as it is, I will never forget how it feels to be mocked and talked down to.

Another member of the arrangements staff found it funny to torment me at length. Somehow, he found out my dead name and thought it was really funny to constantly refer to me as that at work. I tried to tell him this upset me, and that I didn’t find it funny. When I expressed that, another arrangements employee approached me, saying that his coworker was only making fun of me because I reacted, and that I should be less hurt! I balked at those words. I distinctly remember looking into his eyes, and saying “But I am hurt.” Clearly, this didn’t matter, as the toment didn’t stop.

Since leaving the A.V. company, I began work at a small theatre, Civic, located in the West End of Allentown. I wish I could say the misgendering instantly ceased, but even with short hair and a gender neutral presentation, I am still often referred to with she/her pronouns. What brings me comfort, though, is that the strangely passive-aggressive comments and debaters trying to engage me have all but completely ended. In theatre, someone might mess up your pronouns, but most seem to believe and understand you when you say you’re not cis. I am no longer responsible for explaining my reasoning for being, and that is such a relaxor.

On one of my last days at the A.V. company, I was not only asked to explain my gender but also my religion. I don’t find myself talking about my Jewish identity much. I wear a Star of David pendant most days and occasionally will wear my Star of David earrings. I will request off for major holidays, but other than that, I tend not to discuss it. Throughout my time working there, I was met with different levels of acceptance from my coworkers, and I learned that sometimes even the most vocal supporters are the ones with something to hide.

The older gentleman I mentioned last month, with the staunch antimask and climate denial beliefs, was quite the offender of that. As Chanukkah approached, he purchased a small LED menorah to keep in the office, and would have me light it each morning (I worked from 6 AM to 4 PM usually.) He seemed to take great pride in that. But on one of the last days of the holiday, the governor of PA, Josh Shapiro, was holding a Zoom meeting in one of our meeting rooms. I wanted to wish him a chag hanukkah sameach, or a Happy Chanukah. I mentioned to my coworker how important to me it was that we had a Jewish political leader, as we’ve never had a president who is anything but Christian. After that chat, he pulled me aside privately, and told me that “my people are plenty well-represented in government.” Oh. I left this conversation shocked– did he just imply to me that he thought Jews ran the world?

I was still working at this workplace during the Oct. 7 events that preceded Netanyahu’s siege of the Gaza Strip. Four separate coworkers tried to debate me about this, as well, like it was something that I had a personal stake in. I tried my best to explain that I’m against murder and war in any way and that by being an American Jew my experience and opinions were likely vastly different than a Jew living in Israel. But I kept being talked over. I left that conversation less shocked. Clearly, they didn’t actually want my opinion, but rather my ear and my time. They wanted my validation of their beliefs, with me simply being a token Jew, and a token female Jew at that– meant to sit quietly and agree. Fantastic.

The most egregious case of antisemitism came from a coworker named John. I feel less afraid to name him specifically, as he was well-known throughout the workplace for being a poor worker and an entitled, arrogant person. No conversation with him would last five minutes without him mentioning that he’d been in the industry thirty-five years (a number he kept inflating, as if we wouldn’t notice,) or that he knew better than his coworkers, despite his constant errors that would delay the team on a near-daily basis. As such, nobody wanted to work with John. Since I was young and quite a pushover, I was often assigned to work alongside him.

John would often try to teach me as if I were a young protegee and he was a grandmaster. The largest flaw in this was that he’d try to teach me the same few things over and over again, seemingly forgetting what he’d taught me before. Much like with my unwillingness to correct people on my pronouns, I found myself unwilling to correct this, either, and just go along with learning what he’d shown me before.

On my very last shift with John, he pulled the card he’d seemingly been waiting to pull: he asked me why I didn’t take work off for the Sabbath.

In today’s gig economy, it’s very hard to become an established professional. I want to be a sound engineer, so I will have to work Friday night performances. It may be a bit of a sore spot for me, yes, but I’m more than happy attending my Rabbi in Selinsgrove’s online services on Saturday mornings. To grow my career in this field, that is a necessary sacrifice. John wasn’t content with this answer.

Somehow, he began on a tangent about how he believed Jews were very controlling. I was very stricken to hear this. That is a common antisemitic talking point, and I didn’t want to stand for that. Of course, I didn’t. I tried to defend myself, but he kept talking over me. It was another weird circumstance where I wasn’t being talked to, but rather talked at– he didn’t care what input I had, only what he had to say. Whether he was holding on to this protegee notion or simply seeing me as “only a woman” (re: lesser and subservient,) I wasn’t sure. But I did leave that conversation seething at the hypocrisy. He’d just told me a good deal about his form of Christianity, and I couldn’t help but think: isn’t this a double standard? You call Jews controlling, but will happily turn a blind eye to Evangelical suffering in small communities, brought on by a controlling leader where no child is allowed to be different or they will be sent to hell? It is just all so convenient. If you shame the target (in this case, Jews,) for something your own religion struggles with, it will shift the focus and conversation away from your own issues, and perpetrate a stereotype that’s been in effect for decades. It’s the same scapegoat blame that has followed the Jewish people for generations.

Before I end this blog post, I want to take a moment to derail my own conversation. I want to say, unequivocally, that I stand with Palestine. It took some processing immediately following the music festival attack, but whatever supposed retribution Netanyahu has taken is so beyond the scope of that one day. Over 30,000 people have been killed by the IDF, and that number is only increasing daily. Gazans have been told to flee to the South, where they were then bombed. They were told to flee to Rafah, which was then bombed. Some of the poorest people in the world are being herded like cattle, where a mass extinction event is unfolding. What is occurring is not a take-down of a terror organization, as many U.S. Citizens would like to paint the issue. Civilians are starving to death in the largest numbers since the Holocaust, and to see my people perpetuate that cycle is so maddening and heartbreaking that I cannot truly put it into words.

I may have faced heightened antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but it is nothing compared to the militaristic US-sponsored hell that Israel is invoking on Palestinian civilians currently. If you have taken the time to read this far in my humble blog, I ask, from the bottom of my heart, to donate where you can. There isn’t much one person can do, as I’m woefully aware, but as a union of individuals, we can change the world.

I am linking multiple GoFundMe pages from disenfranchised Palestinians. Please, if you have the means, donate what you can.

Kylie Grace Snyder – Forging her Own Path

Kylie Grace Snyder is a reformed singer-turned-audio and media engineer working on staff at the University of Michigan’s Duderstadt Center as Technical Lead for Media & Studio Arts. She loves building complex integrations between analog and digital systems, primarily in studios, and talking about her experiences as a trans woman.

Kylie got her start in audio at age 13 participating in choir and band and by the time she got to college, it was the only path she wished to pursue. She received a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in Gender Studies, with minors in Digital media and English, and a nearly-complete degree in Music Engineering Technology from Ball State University, and a Master’s Degree in Science in Music Technology from Indiana University. She is also a classically trained vocalist.

Career Start

How did you get your start?

Primarily doing freelance work throughout the midwest. I managed to land a 9-5 not long after graduating college (luck) where I was helping run a major audio website at the time. So thankfully my writing experience came in super handy. After a number of years doing that while freelancing I decided to get my master’s degree, as I was very interested in working at a university (turns out it was for the safety :), and that eventually led me to where I am now.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

To not overreach with perceived knowledge. You’re not going to know everything, but despite how it may feel, you’re not supposed to. Not knowing something is wildly acceptable so long as you ask for help.

Career Now:

What is a typical day like?

These days they’re relatively chaotic, though nothing like my days of running shows, but in general, most days are relative chaos. I spend a handful of hours in various meetings depending on the day (production meetings, admin, IT, etc.) and completing various related tasks (expense reports, demographics data, purchasing, etc.). The best days are those where I’ve been pulled into the studios to help with a challenging issue (PSU blowing up, network abnormality, or even just QC that doesn’t make sense) as I feel most directly connected to the job. In essence,  I do my best to support my team through the various technical challenges they may face.

How do you stay organized and focused?

I promise to let you know when I figure it out 🙂 Realistically, for me, it’s my calendar which I live and die by. Over the years I’ve found that to be the best mechanism for coping with my ADHD as lists, etc. are wildly nebulous and don’t provide the accountability I need. For me, it’s all google calendar.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Learning new things and solving unusual problems. Once the technology is working I’m wildly disinterested and would prefer to hand the task off to staff. Finding the problem, however, is a supreme joy for me as my brain finds troubleshooting to be an endlessly fun game of logic puzzles.

What do you like least?

Meetings and paperwork. They’re absolutely terrible. However, the studios don’t keep running just through enjoyable gigs, so it’s helpful to remember that even the most mundane administrative task can have a material impact on facility operations.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

Relaxing with loved ones, hiking, and playing video games.

What are your long-term goals?

Oh, that’s a good one… I often toy with the notion of getting a Ph.D. but I also muse a lot about getting an MSW and trying to help people. What I’ll surely wind up doing, as it tends to be my pattern, is keep learning new things and expanding my skill set.

What obstacles or barriers have you faced?

We’ve reached a few challenging questions. My early career was spent as someone who presented as masculine and I didn’t have any issues. I’ve experienced some harassment at work now that I’m out, however, in general, I have a really safe workplace. The real barriers have been global – dealing with bigotry and the politicization of who I am as a human. That really sucks and wears thin some days but I try to be brave.

How have you dealt with them?

The issues I’ve experienced have occurred at 9-5 jobs so I followed the appropriate channels to address them through HR.

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

That’s a really difficult question as I only started transitioning in 2021 which was long after I had an established career. That said, I think the most universal advice I can give is to be authentically yourself. Not everyone is going to like that person, however, nothing good comes from being what another person wants. Also, stand up for yourself and others when things are wrong / feel bad even if it’s scary. Nothing changes if people aren’t told how they’ve misstepped.

Must have skills?

Knowledge of IP networking and the ability to troubleshoot

Favorite gear?

I have a handheld Sencore SP395 and a DSO Shell handheld oscilloscope that are still my first go-to’s for mobile testing. They aren’t terribly exciting but they’ve gotten me out of more jams than I can remember.

 

 

How to Use iPhone Synth Apps in Logic Pro X

 

Synths are one of my favourite things to use when creating a track or soundscape and they can help you experiment with different sounds. However, the downfalls are they’re not cheap and can often take up a lot of space in your studio. Luckily I have found a solution after experimenting with different synth apps designed for smartphones.

When I started playing around with the Minimoog Model D I loved the idea of a Moog Synth being able to fit in the palm of my hand. However, I wanted to record it into the tracks I was making but wasn’t sure how. But, I believe I have found the solution.

For this, I used my iPhone, the lightning to USB charging Cable, and my iMac running Logic.

To start off with I plugged my iPhone into the iMac using the lightning to USB charging cable. I then went into the Audio/Midi settings on the iMac and Enabled my iPhone to be recognised as a device.

I then opened the Minimoog app on the iPhone and configured the input and output settings to IDAM MIDI Host.

I then opened Logic and created an external MIDI track and made sure the Use External Instrument Plug-In was checked and the Audio Input device selected was ‘iPhone’. You also want the MIDI Destination to be the iPhone as well. Then hit Create.

You should now be able to hear and play your iPhone Synth app in Logic.

Using this is a great way to experiment with Synth sounds and is a fantastic solution if you want a portable Synth in your pocket. Happy creating.

 

 

The Positive Side of Negative Visualization

Stagehands often joke that we aren’t paid to run a show track. We’re really there to fix problems and (on tour) load the show in and out. With a little bit of direction, anyone can follow a track: page a curtain, swap a microphone or move something from one place to another. You hire a prop master because she has specialized knowledge and can rebuild or repair a prop that breaks or get an audio technician because she actually knows the components of the system and can suss out a problem.

Troubleshooting, especially mid-show, is mentally demanding. You have to run through all possible scenarios, eliminate them down to the most likely culprit, and execute the fix or workaround all within the space of moments. Backstage, this comes in the form of video, mics, or com malfunctioning, usually armed with all the information of, “This sounds weird, can you fix it?” as someone points to their beltpack.

When you’re out at FOH, your problems usually center around a glitch with the console, something making a noise that it’s not supposed to in the house, or trying to work around mic issue as the A2 works to fix things. As always, this is while mixing the show, because you’re a position that has a specialized track, so you actually are paid to run the show.

While fixing problems on the fly, even in non-catastrophic situations like switching from a sweat-out main mic to a clean backup, your reaction time matters. It’s the difference between missing a word or an entire line as you think through the process of which channel you have to go to or which page of user-assigned macros you need to be on.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our brains didn’t need quite as much time to work through problems? Well, (good news!) with a little mental exercise, it doesn’t.

Have you ever noticed it feels like it takes longer to walk to a new place than it does to walk back from it? You’re following the same route at the same pace, but something feels like it could be two completely different trips. What’s actually happening is that, on the way there, your brain is processing new information, which takes just the tiniest bit longer than when you’re walking back and now all your brain has to do is register a familiar sight.

The same thing can happen when you troubleshoot. If you’ve already worked through and fixed a kind of problem, you already know how to react and your brain can simply reference information instead of creating an entirely new plan from scratch. And it gets better: you don’t even have to physically experience a situation for your brain to pick up cues faster.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “Positive Visualization” as it’s a go-to in most guides to improve your happiness or your outlook on life. By all means, visualizing mixing a perfect show is wonderful, and can be a benefit all on its own, but we’re going to take a look at the opposite, but closely related, “Negative Visualization.”

I first heard the term in the podcast episode “Don’t Accentuate the Positive” of The Happiness Lab series. (I highly recommended the series, especially if you have any interest in psychology, plus that particular episode has a fascinating story about Michael Phelps.) While listening, I found I’d developed a habit of negative visualization over the past several years without realizing that that was what I was doing.

A few months into a run, I usually reach a point where I’m comfortable with the show and the company has settled into a routine, so everyone can relax just a bit. At this point, I’d start to play a “what if” game. If I noticed a cue would be easy to fire at the wrong time if I wasn’t paying attention, I’d walk through the process of what would happen if I did make that mistake. I’d make it my own mental exercise, going through what chain reaction that cue might set off and what specific process I’d have to use to recover from the mistake.

That’s what negative visualization is: mentally walking through a problem scenario. The benefit is that in a figurative world, you can also work through multiple solutions to that problem until you find the best one. So, in the event you find yourself in that situation, your mind reacts faster to decide on a course of action because it’s already done it, even if the trial run was just in your head.

I had an actress who occasionally sweated out her main mic, but always at the same point in the show. It became common enough that I made a point key up the macro page to the one with her backup shortcut if I knew the backstage area was warmer than usual, or it was just a hot day. In some instances, she would sweat out even in colder climates, and even for those, I was so used to the combination of buttons to switch to her back up, it was like I had my own cheat code which took the work of moments with minimal thought.

In another experience, I had the main fader bank on the console reset mid-show. I had a freeze of an “uh oh” moment, then switched to the backup engine. That same glitch has happened a couple of times over the course of a few years, but even with hundreds of shows between occurrences, the second time it happened, I didn’t even have that initial pause, my brain was able to recognize a similar situation and my hand immediately moved to switch engines. Now, if something happens on the console, I automatically default to the instinct to reach for the Engine A/B button. As my body is reacting, my mind can process if I should actually change or not so, if I need to, my hand’s already there, if not, I can pull back.

This kind of mental exercise is something that’s becoming more important given the current state of everything.

The news that Broadway and most large events won’t come back this year is demoralizing, and all of us face the hard reality of deciding on a course of action to either get us through the short term or consider changes on a grander scale. But the challenges won’t stop there. As the entertainment industry focuses on its eventual reopening, we’re looking to do it as we create a more inclusive, knowledgeable, and healthier environment, especially for the BIPOC and marginalized artists in our communities. For many white people, that requires us to be activists as well as advocates for our fellow technicians, musicians, and actors when we get back to work. For those of us not used to speaking up or purposely exposing ourselves to confrontational situations, we know it’s necessary if intimidating task. Especially so in workplaces where off-hand racist or sexist comments were previously considered “just kidding around” and bringing attention to them might have been met with “just ignore it,” “it’s too much of a hassle, and it’ll piss everyone off,” or “well, what did you expect?”

As we face all these problems and more, negative visualization can be a helpful tool to reevaluate and rearrange our future plans or make an effort, not only to step out of our comfort zones but to actively do the hard work of de-programming years and even decades of ingrained behaviors. If there’s a silver lining in all this, we’ll get plenty of opportunities this year to retrain our brains and mentally practice constructive reactions as we head towards getting back to work.

 

Language In Production

No, I don’t give a shit about cursing

Microaggression is a form of bias that can occur in everyday language, often subtle and said inadvertently. Language can be problematic when it’s a common phrase or saying and people avoid understanding its origins or implications. We use language to express ourselves, and even when we have the best intentions some phrases, wording, and terms, in general, are no longer applicable or widely accepted.

Just last week I overheard someone (a white thirty-something dude) say to one of our members of the production team (a 19-year-old black student) ask “how’s it going, Boy?” Racism is reprehensible and protests are happening across the world, and he had the balls to be casually racist. I doubt it even registered to that “southern boy” that what he said was horrible. The student took it well, I don’t even think he flinched, I’m guessing he is used to it. I didn’t ask him about it, maybe I should have, but I did give him a ride home since the city was under a curfew and we were working past it. I went to a protest last weekend as well. I took my dad’s advice and protested peacefully and kept my distance from the police. He lived through the civil rights movement as a young man in the south, recalling abundant racism and fellow students as KKK members. Although not surprised, my dad is concerned and worried about the future of our country. So am I. It feels like a dystopian society where we are repeating the same awful battles over and over.

“In many ways, overt racism has declined gradually since the civil rights movement, Kanter said, and white people often assume that because they do not utter racial slurs, or perhaps are well-versed in and value social justice, that they do not have to worry about engaging in racist behavior themselves” (Eckart, 2017).

We should avoid perpetuating stereotypes just because it’s always been done that way. Complacency is the root of many issues in our society. People get oddly protective over “the way it has always been done,” even if that way is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or generally just an asshole way to behave.

JK Rowling recently made a statement via Twitter that was trans-phobic where she attempted an awkward joke about people who menstruate. There are probably a lot of people who have never heard the terms cis-male/cis-female and have no idea what TERF stands for in this context (it means trans-exclusionary radical feminist). There are loads of new terms, phrases, and words to add to our vocabulary, and there’s plenty of old ones that we can let go to make room for them.

Handsome transgender teenager tearing the word Female into MALE in Gender identity, equality and human rights. Breaking silence about own gender identity transgender Pride and freedom concept.

Most of it comes down to simply respecting other people. Inclusive does not mean “people who are different, like how I am different.” The intention of inclusivity is not as meaningful as actually doing the work.

“People are tired of talking about diversity and inclusion, frustrated by talk not turning into impactful action, and overwhelmed by the number of issues to address and the scope of what must change” (Crayton, 2017).

It seems contradictory when we are working toward being “sound humans” rather than the “sound guy” when we are still using racist & sexist terminology. I’ve explained to more students than you’d expect why one end of a cable is male/female. There was a better way to explain connectors without invoking the birds and the bees. Maybe it doesn’t bother you because “that’s not what I meant by it” but the phrase “Master/Slave” when referencing control and communication is troubling as well.

Now I use plug/socket and hot (for voltage). I don’t want to be the person who singles someone out because I was ignorant, insensitive, or holding onto implicit biases. I want to be better than that, we all need to be better than that. Through teaching and education, we can reframe society into a transformative version.

Resources:

Crayton, Kim. (2017, June 19). “There’s a big difference between an intention to be inclusive and a strategy.” Retrieved from https://qz.com/work/1308410/theres-a-big-difference-between-an-intention-to-be-inclusive-and-a-strategy/

Eckart, Kim. (2017, September 13). “Offhand comments can expose underlying racism, UW study finds.” UW News. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/09/13/offhand-comments-can-expose-underlying-racism-uw-study-finds/

Im, Sinclair. (2020, June 12). Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/12/tech-industry-has-an-ugly-master-slave-problem/

Read more:

Avoiding Casual Racism

Harassment Training 

Avoiding Sexist Language

 

Pride Through Our Eyes

 

June has arrived! We are officially half-way through the year. June is also Pride Month. Pride is known in the LGBT Community as a month filled with celebration, joy, and parades. But this Pride Month is different. Pride parades and events across the globe are canceled. But this doesn’t have to stop the spirit of Pride. I couldn’t write this article without including others. I asked our SoundGirls Community that identify as LGBTQ+ to share experiences and insight. Here is what some have to say.

What does Pride mean to you? 

“Pride to me is just being true to yourself. Loving what makes you different from everyone else. Loving the parts of yourself that people will try to shame you for. Being you and loving it. That’s pride to me.” (Alexi Wright, She/Her)

“Pride means being able to bring your whole self to any situation and not feeling like you have to hide or amend any part of who you are” (Kacie Willis, She/Her)

“Pride means being unashamed of who I am and what I accomplish, or how I live.” (Samantha Potter, She/Her)

“Pride means not being afraid or ashamed of my own identity. (Luana Moreno, She/Her)

“To me, Pride is about being able to come together with my queer community and take up space in a way that we are not normally afforded.” (Audrey Martinovich, bi, she/her)

Have you ever experienced prejudice in a work environment because you are LGBTQ+? 

“I’ve experienced the typical misogynists that come with working in a very male-dominated industry. A lot of LGBTQ women do go through some form of bs, which is very unfortunate because these women are more than capable of doing their job. But, I personally don’t have any crazy horror stories when it comes to my experiences.”

“Not overtly, as in “we don’t hire lesbians”. But I have experienced being equated to “the guys” and being expected to be complacent with the objectification of other women because I’m attracted to them. I have been objectified because I am a bisexual woman. And heard that this orientation is “just an excuse to be slutty”.”

“I am very fortunate to have never had my sexuality be an issue at work but I recognize that this is not the case for many LGBTQ+ people.”

In what ways can the Entertainment Industry, particularly the Audio Industry be more inclusive? 

“The industry should make conscious and consistent efforts to provide educational/shadowing opportunities to students in under-represented demographics. It all starts with exposure.”

“Be more welcoming to women in general. Stop the boys club culture, because toxic masculinity and homophobia come in that same pack.”

“The audio industry can be more inclusive by marketing towards minority groups of all kinds and encourage participation. It’s becoming way more of a casual topic, gayness, and the like than it used to be. I think the Entertainment Industry probably has the highest ratio of LGBT-to-het/cis-gendered individuals. Audio is not a large group and by sheer numbers, there are just statistically more white straight men. It’d be nice if we could have a space for LGBT audio folk. It comes down to the question, “How do we get people who have no idea this industry exists involved in said industry?”

“The audio industry needs to make a conscious decision to be more open and include images of Queer, POC, and women in their advertising and media campaigns. Normalize the look of someone other than straight, white, men as a place to start. Hiring people with the intent to have a diverse staff. If Beyoncé can find 15 black women who can play the violin while being her tap-dancing backup dancers, it’s possible to find more queer engineers/producers for projects.”

What advice could you give to a SoundGirl that is struggling with their identity? 

“Best advice I can give you if you’re struggling with your identity is, trust yourself.

Nobody knows YOU better than YOU. Trust that you’re not crazy, and there’s NOTHING wrong with you. Most importantly, love yourself. You’re beautiful in every way.”

“Anyone struggling with their sexuality or identity should find a group of friends through which they can find a support system. SoundGirls is a great community to sort of shout “Hey, is there anyone else like me out there?” and find those other people who can relate or at the very least, are strong allies. We should never be afraid to live like how we want, but there are some real-life limitations and it’s a tough line to walk — that world between being true to yourself and a working professional. Sometimes those can be mutually exclusive but often are not. Like most things, there’s a huge land of gray where we can live as ourselves and be amazing professionals in pro audio.”

“Reach out to the community, in private if needs be. It’s incredibly inclusive and most people in this group are committed to being supportive.”

“I would tell a struggling SoundGirl to find a community. Whether that’s a friend they trust or to post in the SoundGirls Facebook page. We are here for each other from amateurs to pros, gay/straight/everything in between and beyond, and I know personally that older LGBT+ folks went through some stuff and love passing down advice and guidance to the younger generation. Whatever you’re experiencing, someone has been through it. Find them and ask how they dealt with it and how it turned out.”

“The struggle is real…but on the other side of the struggle, you will eventually find peace. Breathe. Live life day by day.”

As a Black Queer Muslim Woman working in the audio industry, I am thankful for my SoundGirl’s Community. I am grateful that I have a community that is empowering and uplifting. At times, when I felt like my voice wasn’t heard or I was discriminated against in a work environment, I am always able to count on SoundGirls for support and guidance.

Have a safe Pride Month, filled with love and self-love.

Thank you to all of the SoundGirls that have contributed.

Black Technicians Matter 

Before I get into this blog, let me say that I am writing this with very high emotions.  My heart is breaking for BIPOC.  I am horrified by the overwhelming lack of acknowledgment and responsibility in regards to the aggressive use of police brutality that has plagued this country for years, decades, even centuries.  I am utterly sickened by the blatantly flagrant display of racism that pours out of the White House every single day.  So, yes, it’s possible that you are reading a different, maybe more fiery tone from me today because I am fired up.

In an effort to provide some kind of tangible support, I want to use my small platform here to discuss some ideas for the future, when we’re able to live and work freely in the world again (remember, even through all of these recent atrocities, we’re also still in a pandemic).  One day, we will be healthy again.  One day, we will be able to work again.  One day, people will start forgetting the protests, the rallies, the news.  That’s the time that we need to remember that even when we’re not inundated daily by all of these disgusting displays of inhumanity pouring in through social media and other news outlets, it will still be happening and will continue happening until enough of us start using our fiery emotions as fuel to actually DO something about it.  It’s not just the inhumanity toward BIPOC that is a problem, it’s also white complacency, and, frankly, blindness.

A couple of summers ago, I hired a crew of seven sound technicians to support my theatre company’s summer season. Generally, most of my hires come from the USITT convention, KCACTF, and SETC.  A couple of weeks into the summer, one of my interns said to me,” I just wanted to let you know that I think it’s really great that this crew is mostly women and mostly people of color.  You’ve created a really inclusive department, and I wanted you to know that I appreciate it.”  Wow.  What a fantastic compliment that I, in no way, deserved.  What she said was true.  They were mostly women, and they were mostly people of color.  It’s just that I didn’t do that on purpose, and I didn’t even realize that’s what we had until she brought it up.

I was blind.  I have to imagine that, as a black woman, the person that said this to me probably enters almost every situation looking around the room to see how outnumbered she is in terms of race.  I didn’t think of that, because it’s something I never do.  I really don’t walk into a new situation and think, “Oh good, at least there are other white people.”  That summer’s beautiful blend of racial variety was a complete accident.  I learned from it, though.  I learned that as a person who regularly hires other people, I have an obligation to make sure that I am not just going through the same old motions and that I am using my privilege and my position to promote diversity and equity.

This is not to say that there is anything wrong with the organizations I listed above, in fact, it’s quite the contrary.  USITT, KCACTF, and SETC provide so many opportunities for so many young people throughout the year, and I would be lost without them.  They all have many subgroups within their organizations that are specifically geared toward marginalized communities such as BIPOC, Women+, and LGBTQ.  I just think we can all be taking another step.

Maybe we should recruit specifically within HBCUs.  In researching for this blog, I very easily came across this list of HBCU schools offering performing arts programs. I also came across this HBCU list which provides useful statistics related to the schools and their demographics.  It takes two minutes for that extra Google search, and then finding department faculty email addresses after that is easy!  As I’ve already mentioned, the theatre organizations and conferences I’ve encountered in the past are doing a good job of continuing to promote diversity and inclusion, but this thought led me to Google search “black theatre conferences,” and the first hit was for The Black Theatre Network.  What a fantastic recruitment opportunity that I have been missing out on.

My point is that I don’t want us all to relax when the heat is turned down.  Let’s keep moving forward.  Let’s take another step—push a little harder.  I want to challenge shop heads, recruiters, and managers to remember this blog during hiring season, and ask yourselves if there’s something else you can do.   It’s our responsibility as artists to never stop learning, and never stop growing.


Diversify You Crew

The EQUAL Directory is a global database of professionals that seeks to amplify the careers and achievements of women working behind the scenes in music and audio. Any person around the world can add their name and claim their space. And, any person looking to hire a more inclusive creative team can find professionals in their area.

POC in Audio Directory

The directory features over 500 people of color who work in audio around the world. You’ll find editors, hosts, writers, producers, sound designers, engineers, project managers, musicians, reporters, and content strategists with varied experience from within the industry and in related fields.

While recruiting diverse candidates is a great first step, it’s not going to be enough if we want the industry to look and sound meaningfully different in the future. Let us be clear: this isn’t about numbers alone. This is about getting the respect that people of color—and people of different faiths, abilities, ages, socioeconomic statuses, educational backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientation—deserve.

 

Alexandria Perryman – Audio Engineer for the Astronauts

Alexandria Perryman is a live broadcast engineer and Emmy winner working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where one of her jobs is to run audio for the astronauts on the International Space Station. Every “Mission” is different for her. One day she might be working a spacewalk, making sure the astronauts have a clear connection to mission control the next she might be mixing audio for a video that’s going up on the NASA YouTube channel.

Lately, she’s been working to provide Skype links between astronauts and students. The effort is part of NASA’s “Year of Education on Station” – a program where ISS crew members and teacher Ricky Arnold Skypes in via satellite and performs real-time experiments for kids in classrooms around the country.

Alexandria discovered audio when she was in her high school’s marching band and was put in charge of the on-field sound mixer. This is where she started to fall in love with the idea of live audio mixing. She always had a passion for music and sound and as she got older she became intrigued by how music and sound are created. She remembers seeing Blue Man Group perform when she was in elementary school and being in awe with how they used everyday items to create music.  Alexandria would enroll at Full Sail University and study audio engineering and graduate in 2015 with an Associates Degree of Science.  

She got her start in audio volunteering at her church, mixing their online broadcast and working part-time as an AV Tech. Early on she learned how important troubleshooting quickly is and learned how to work in fast-paced and high-stress situations. She says “I made many mistakes in those early gigs but I was in an environment where if I could troubleshoot my mistakes quickly then it was not harmful to my career.”

She has been at NASA working as an Audio Engineer and Chief Engineer and Producer of Podcast for the last 2 ½ years. Alexandria says there is no typical day at NASA.

The workday starts for me an hour before my first show which sometimes could be at 3 am. Then there is the podcast that I produce weekly and studio shoots. It is common for me to go day by day.”  Staying focused and organized is difficult Alexandria says “I may have a live event then an hour later I am recording a podcast, two different mindsets. Staying focused on the task I am doing at that time is super important.”

Some of Alexandria’s job duties are coordinating Skype signals in space and she is proud that during her time at NASA her team has never lost a Skype signal in space. Mission Planning and Operations works with her team to find optimal windows between satellites and schedule sessions accordingly.

Alexandria also works on archiving and preserving audio for the historical record and the U.S. National Archives. The crew of the ISS rotates every six months and NASA will use this audio for training new crew members and for reference on repeat problems. Alexandria with other engineers monitors the day to day operation recordings and are often the first line of communication between station and NASA. She often works with the astronauts before missions, she is the one mic-ing them up for interviews and trains them on using the audio equipment.

In addition to all of her official duties, Alexandria also serves as the producer of NASA’s official podcast Houston We Have a Podcast.  The podcast talks with and interviews astronauts, scientists, and engineers working on furthering space exploration.

Alexandria says she loves that her job allows her to be part of something bigger than herself, but is not a fan of how politics come into play with what she does as a creative. She is awaiting NASA’s return to the moon and hopes to be able to mix the audio. Her long term goals are to mix audio for the Grammys.

On Challenging Projects

One challenge that sticks out the most was the Space X Demo-1 mission. It was challenging because it was the first time we ever merged our NASA shows with SpaceX. Learning how to coordinate a show between multiple locations and have it flow easily was definitely difficult. The audio setup was new and extremely complicated but as a team, we managed to put out great shows for that mission. It’s also the same mission I won my first Emmy for.

On Failure

For me looking back the biggest failure, I had happened in college. I had become lazy with class and my grades quickly fell, to the point that I was put on academic probation. That was a big wake up call for me, because if I had failed another class I would have failed out of college. In the next couple of months, I kicked it in gear and studied more, went to my instructors during office hours for extra help, and surrounded myself with positive people. I learned from that experience to never slack off and always do my best. Most importantly I learned that even when the odds are against me that I can overcome anything as long as I never stop trying.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I have been fortunate to not have faced many obstacles or barriers in my career. The only thing that was an obstacle was having such an age gap between my coworkers and them being able to trust that I’m mentally capable of the job regardless of my age.

How have you dealt with them?

Earning trust takes time especially in this industry. I was able to do it by constantly giving them my best work and attitude and showing up in big situations.

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

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, that’s the only way you can really learn. Some of the biggest mistakes in my career offered me the most valuable lessons.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

While I work in live television and not the music industry, I still love creating music in my free time as a way to express my emotions.

Must have skills?

Must be able and willing to be teachable at any level. Also for anything-audio understanding signal flow is key.

Favorite gear?

My favorite gear would have to be my Zoom F8N recorder, it’s perfect for in the fieldwork.

Check out Alexandria on The SoundGirls Podcast

More Profiles on The Five Percent – Profiles of Women in Audio

 

Minimalist Mixing Techniques 

Hi SoundGirls! Back in January, I wrote about the recording process for a 16 song album I was working on at the time. Although I promised that my next blog would be about the mixing process, that took a pause because my last blog ended up being about my friend Tangela’s new podcast, “Women in Audio”. I was lucky enough to be her first guest, so for my March blog, I broke down some essential topics we talked about in the podcast, and provided links to it at the end. If you haven’t listened to the Women in Audio podcast yet- I suggest you do. She has multiple interviews streaming now, plus the conversations are fun and intriguing! You’ll definitely enjoy them.

With all that being said, we are circling back to the album I just wrapped and today’s blog will be about the mixing process, (YAY!).

You might’ve noticed the title for this month’s blog is called “Minimalist Mixing Techniques”, so you already know what I’m about to dive into…the art of NOT using 10,000 plug-ins on ONE song! Now, there is nothing wrong with that at all! If the song is calling for production, or if you want to just be creative with plug-ins…do it. There are certain artists or bands I work with that I like to get very creative with plug-ins, but in this instance- we didn’t go that route, and I wanted to talk about the steps I used to get the band their final product.

Here is the list of steps I would take from when I would first open up the session to when I sent them their first mix of the song:

Clean up your session

What I mean by “clean up your session” is- get rid of tracks you don’t need. Not using that DI track you captured? Hide and make inactive. If you have two tracks that could become 1 (ex. two mono overhead mic tracks)- create it as a stereo track. Make your starting base simple, so you can move through it seamlessly.

Set up your effects

Now that you’ve gotten rid of things you don’t need. Start adding in things you do need to create some depth in the mix. I would recommend only 2 (maybe 3) effects tracks since we are keeping this mix minimal. A reverb, delay, and a slap delay are pretty effective for any mix.

Start with the drums

The way I mix is I start with the drums soloed and then I move through the mix adding in each instrument at a time. For the drums, I would recommend bussing together the things that are the same (kick in/kick out, snare top/ snare bottom, etc), but don’t get too “bus” happy. One of the reasons I sometimes like to mix minimally is because it’s easy to have control over your mix when you don’t have too many things bussing into one another (aka phase issues, and your mix could get muddy if you lose control of the low end).

EQ

Eq is always incredibly important in any mixing process. I think it’s usually best to eq minimally, and if you’re capturing things well in the studio you shouldn’t have to do TOO much of it on the back end anyways. With this, I would recommend practicing using pro-tools stock eq so you can focus on using your ears instead of your eyes. You’ll question the eq moves you make more than you would vice versa (which results in minimalist eq techniques). That will also help you avoid phases that you may create yourself by eq-ing too much.

Compression

When mixing minimally, compression is key. You want to keep the dynamics of the song, but you don’t want things poking out of the mix when they shouldn’t be! I think the most prevalent two things to compress in a minimal mix are the snare and the bass. Obviously, compress the kick, guitars, vocals, as need be, but I’d say the snare and the bass you will want to focus on most. Since we are keeping it simple, keep a small ratio, set your attack/release (all dependent on the instrument), and slowly add in the threshold. Keep it on the lighter side though. Remember, we want those dynamics there!

Bussing

I kind of went over this in the “drums” paragraph, but to go into more detail, I will say- bus together with the things that make sense and make the mixing process easier for you. The reason I would bus the kick in/kick out together is that I have more control over the total sound of the kick through eq AND compression. It would be the same thought process for two guitar mics on the same amp, and so on.

That’s the gist of mixing minimally. I hope this blog helps you go outside of your comfort zone, and trust your ears a bit more. That’s what mixing this way has done for me!

I hope everyone is staying safe, healthy, and creative out there! No matter what, never stop making music or doing what you love.

Until next time SoundGirls, and as always- feel free to email me at virginia@backbeat365.com.

 

 

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