Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Not Your (Grand)Parents’ Dream Job

Working toward a career goal in entertainment comes with a lot of baggage. Movies depict a certain sequence of events, ads promise a kind of instant gratification, and our elders say they were able to work their way up the ladder, buy a house, pay for college for the kids and retire. Never mind that movies aren’t real, that ads are intended to manipulate (at worst) and influence (at best) our spending habits, and that the jobs our elders had no longer exist. In spite of widespread understanding of these facts, our careers are still prodded and picked at by well-meaning friends, family, and even other creative professionals. The unspoken assumption is that there is a correct way to build a career and that if you do it that way then you will predictably meet a series of milestones on your course of upward growth.

Maybe there was a golden era of the American workplace in which upward growth was essentially frictionless. My grandfather started at IBM in the 1960s as a computer engineer and worked for 30 years, during which time he bought a house, supported a family of four, put two children through four-year college programs, saved for retirement, and had access to legitimate health benefits. It wasn’t easy, but his job did make it all possible.

My grandparents on my dad’s side, 1982, on the last day of their first international trip. Their oldest child (my dad) had just graduated from college, a state school which they were able to pay for, and their youngest was 15 and stayed with her grandmother. This was the first of many trips they have taken over the years since their kids have grown up.

The people I know whose careers fell on a similar timeline to his have similar experiences. But the years before this “gold era” were similar to how things are now: people with socio-economic advantages are able to move upward at a fairly rapid pace, and everyone without socio-economic advantages is able to exercise upward mobility only after figuring out how to catch up. The college student with a job that pays her rent does not have access to the same opportunities as her classmate whose rent is paid by his parents so he can attend an unpaid internship for a semester.

I mention this because we now live in a free labor economy. Companies and individuals in power positions have a bad habit of bullying workers for free labor, even when it’s technically illegal. Perhaps this fear mechanism was born out of the crash of 2008 (when many of the people in power positions were still in college), or perhaps we are becoming exponentially shameless in our power hunger, with each passing year putting greater distance between the richest and poorest among us and more attention is given to the loudest people with the greatest number of followers. It is money and popularity, not skills and experience, that are winning in the job market right now.

So what can we do to combat this?

Prioritize fair pay in your business. Even if you are relying on the generosity of a friend at the moment, make it a priority to pay them what their work is worth as soon as you are able to.

Name your price and back it up. I hope you never have to experience someone in the music business bullying you, but it can happen to anyone. Someone will tell you that they can get someone else to do it for free. Often this is just a negotiation tactic. You’re worth more than nothing, so make a case for you over this imaginary free laborer. (One exception to this rule is when you are being generous to a friend!)

When money is tight, consider an exchange of skills instead. Are you an audio engineer who wants production experience? The more that you develop your skills the more bartering power you will have when you want to acquire new ones.

Jordan Cantor engineering and I producing at Killphonic Studios in Los Angeles last year. We are in our second year of her engineering me in exchange for me engineering her.

Communicate. This is very important. Your communication style will be different from other peoples’, and will likely evolve over time. You want to be as clear as possible. With experience, you’ll be able to read situations quickly and avoid problems before they become too big to solve.

Decide what your values as a business owner (and/or colleague) are, and resolve to never be lazy about upholding them. If someone you work with is not meeting those standards, don’t be afraid to talk about it and challenge them to do better. (The flip side of this is, obviously, that you must live by these standards as well!)

It is my hope that through the shifting tides of our current economy, we develop new and effective ways to uphold fair business practices. I’m always curious to hear from others about their experiences doing this (positive and negative), so please feel free to leave comments or email your stories to me at elanabellecarroll@gmail.com!

Killphonic Studios

Bitch Boss vs Boss Bitch

Bitch Boss

The first time I was responsible for a big project, I messed up. Big time. I was tired and working two full-time jobs. The crew were volunteers; it was film school. I was a graduate supporting the production as a producer, production manager, catering, transportation, landlord, and a million other things. There was a lot of pressure to make it work. I completely lost it with the cast & crew one day when the mother of a child actor found a fresh roach (not the bug common to Florida) on set. Things were very tense after that, and no one had a positive experience on that shoot. I learned the hard way how to handle situations on set, but the damage was done.

Being called a bitch is hard. I’ve been called that name many times by my mother, by crew members, by supervisors, students, boyfriends, etc. Notable versions include: “stupid white bitch” and “low key bitch,” the latter is still a joke at work. It’s a default (read: lazy) response when a woman behaves in a way that makes someone else uncomfortable.

Self-reflection has led me to better understand my reactions and behavior. Was I making the other person uncomfortable purposefully? Was that comment snarky or rude? Yes, that person might have been a raging dick, but does that mean I need to match that behavior to make a point? The answer is no. Sometimes we lose our cool, I have been there, I will probably be there again. I’m a redhead; I’m feisty, I’m not nice. Does that make me a good supervisor? Absolutely not. We all need to be held accountable for our behavior, especially on the job. We are all pieces of a puzzle; we work together to make a bigger picture. There is not a situation where it is acceptable to be demeaning, patronizing, or harmful to another person. That’s not who we are, and it’s not what we would allow others to behave toward us.

“All people should be treated equitably and respectfully, regardless of their various identities. No matter how acclaimed, revered, or supported one’s art or one’s level of authority is, no one is above being held accountable.” -We Have Voice Collective 

Boss Bitch

I look up to women who take no shit with grace. Confidence and respect are key. A Boss Bitch is confident, respectful, and assertive. This is the crucial difference between bitch boss and boss bitch: respecting others. We do not need to put others down to reach our ambitions. Remember there is a difference between being nice and being respectful. I’m not suggesting that we need to be nice to not be called names. Respect and positivity are the paths to success, empowering yourself and those around you. Easier said than done. This is my personal struggle every day, the choice to use my voice for positivity, to have a goal to be better. As an educator, I strive to be a role model for my students, to show them rather than just tell them what’s right or wrong.

Some people find confident, independent women intimidating. Good. Often women in male-dominated industries have to work harder to get to the same place as their counterparts. Many of my friends are Boss Bitches. They worked hard in their education and career, and they have confidence that I envy.  Their career satisfaction is based on their achievements, not the perception of others.

“Bitch is a derogatory term; we shouldn’t use it at all.” Of course, it is, of course, it is inappropriate. I’m not suggesting that it is acceptable to refer to anyone in such a way. Bullies who patronize and demean others are out there; we may be guilty of it ourselves at times. Feelings of positivity and community are not often part of our industry, as we always seem to be competing against each other. This is detrimental to us as workers, as teammates, and as humans. It’s our responsibility as role models, leaders, educators, to be the better person. To demonstrate how we expect others to behave on the job. We can be tough, knowledgeable, experienced, snarky, and still be great leaders.

“It appears that where #BitchBoss is clearly an indication of frustration #BossBitch is a term of endearment. Isn’t language fun?

It’s like racquetball! For your mouth!” – Chris Traeger, Parks and Recreation

 

Interview with Engineer & Producer Missy Thangs

Missy Thangs is an engineer, producer, songwriter, and keyboardist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thangs is currently a house engineer and producer at The Fidelitorium, an amazing and unique studio (complete with guest house!) located in Kernersville, NC, about 90 miles west of Raleigh. Throughout her career, Missy has had the opportunity to work with bands like The Avett Brothers, Ex Hex, Ian McLagan (Small Faces), The Tills, Las Rosas, and Skemäta. Thangs has been a prominent member of the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill (aka The Triangle) music community since the early 2000s, having performed with The Love Language, Toddlers, No One Mind, and Birds of Avalon. Missy has helped shape the sound coming out of the region not only through her songwriting and musicianship abilities but also from the sound she has crafted in production roles.

What first opened you up to the idea of becoming a recording engineer?

I grew up around pop music; my dad is a pop music freak. He had thousands of CDs and records and was way into MTV when it first came out. There was always music on, and my dad’s happiness was sort of funneled through music, so it was such a part of growing up. He was my informer. He was playing everything from Weird Al Yankovic, to DEVO, to Bowie, to Melissa Etheridge — non-discriminating. If it was a good song, had a good melody, and sounded good, he was all about it, and I think I got a lot of that from him.

I think on a real deep psychological level I’m trying to recreate that feeling. Hearing and making sounds that are exciting and make you feel really good. Often those sounds are big and colorful or raw; those are the things that stand out in my memory. So, it wasn’t listening to music from the perspective of how it was recorded; it was more the way music made me feel that got me into the recording aspect of it.

I hadn’t considered recording as a career until I was in college. I was studying meteorology and French at UNC Asheville and looking for something more. I came across the Recording Arts Program, and I remember looking at the course catalog and feeling like it resonated with me. I was like, “What have I been doing?” I want to be in music, and I want to record music, and so I just jumped into that program.

What was your program like at school at that time? Were you learning ProTools at all?

The program was really small; I was the only woman in my graduating class of 25. We started out on an old Tascam 24-track tape machine and an ADAT machine; then we got the first ProTools in maybe 2000 or 2001, which was the start of working on DAWs for me. As soon as we got ProTools, I was like, “Great!” I didn’t use tape or ADAT at all after that. I instantly felt familiar with and comfortable on the computer.

At that point, had you recorded at all as a musician in the studio, or did you just dive in once you started school?

No, it wasn’t until after I was in the program that I started meeting a lot of other musicians. I started playing in a band called Piedmont Charisma, and that was when I had my first recording experience as a musician. We recorded at a super small space in downtown Asheville. It wasn’t around for very much longer after we recorded there. This was before Echo Mountain was in town and there wasn’t much in terms of recording studios. In school we went to a CD processing plant, we got to visit Bob Moog before he passed away, and we went to a voice-over recording studio, but I hadn’t seen a real sexy recording environment ever, and I was like, “What am I going to do?”

It makes sense that you decided to pursue music for a while if you didn’t quite have the resources to jump into something immediately.

That’s right. I was self-taught in recording up until college, and I didn’t have a really strong relationship with any of my professors, so I was kind of on my own, trying to figure out how to get good sounds and how to run a session. I had some friends and colleagues I had made along the way to bounce ideas off of, but I wish I had sought a mentor or someone to talk to. The idea never really crossed my mind.

You moved to the Triangle after school and gradually started playing in more and more bands, and as your career took off, you had the opportunity to record in bigger studios. Was there anything that you took away from your time as a musician in the studio at that time that you think about now when you’re engineering?

Definitely. My abilities to empathize with how the musicians feel and how to anticipate their needs are tuned in, and I think that is everything. For example, I can understand the feeling of having a bad headphone mix, an inner-band conflict, or not being able to get the right take. My past experiences inform the way I handle all those things.

I think it’s so important to be a recording engineer and also be on the other side of the glass. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to get that nervous feeling while in the band; everyone’s staring at you from the other room, waiting for you to get the right take. It’s a good reminder of how to be while you’re leading a session and how to treat the people you’re working with.

Making a record with people is such a vulnerable experience. It’s so essential for the vibe to be dialed in and everyone to be as close to the same page as possible.

Yeah, everything about this job is about people and vibe. When you are working with a group of people or one artist you are constantly picking up cues on their mood and working with that information and trying to get the best out of them. That’s so much of our job! From bringing people a cup of tea or telling everybody to take a break. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but the musicians don’t need to know that; it’s not what they’re there for.

You work with a lot of bands at the Fidelitorium doing live-tracking sessions, do you think this is due to your experience of the music you listened to growing up or the bands you’ve played in, is it the nature of the studio, or a combination?

The community that I live in and play in is so intermingled. Everyone is in everyone else’s bands and supports each other, and a lot of people in this community are just here playing music because it’s our lives and it’s what we want to do. My network has sort of facilitated my sound in a way. A lot of people that I’m working with I know personally, and we’ve only got three days, and it’s a five-piece band, and they have a small budget, so we have to make it work. What’s happened as a result of it is that I’ve sort of cultivated this sound for fast-moving sessions. It’s like; you’ve got to track live because we don’t have time to do it any other way!

Then again, the studio does play into that because The Fidelitorium has a large, wonderful sounding room and you can get easily full band in there. There are also a ton of opportunities for isolation so you can get everybody in the space comfortably. It allows me to work quickly when I need to.

What’s happening to me is that my friends, or friends of friends, are hearing a record I did and are reaching out and saying, “Hey I like what you did with this band, we want that sound.” And the way I got that sound was with a quick turnaround live-tracking session. I’ve dabbled in lots of different genres and recording styles, but that’s sort of what I’m doing right now.

It seems like work has been consistently finding you then, which is a positive thing! Do you ever find yourself having to look for work or grow your network in that way? What is that process like for you?

I’m pretty shy; it’s really a lot of word of mouth. There have been one or two bands that I’ve gone up to and been like, “I want to record your band!” But, word of mouth is really everything. A lot of my clients come to me because they’ve heard really great things about other friends’ experiences, and their friends come to me and take a chance with me. It’s really humbling, and a lot of times I can’t believe it. I’ve been really lucky so far, at some point I think I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone and figure out how to reach new people!

You are now a house engineer at the Fidelitorium, owned by musician and engineer Mitch Easter (REM, Game Theory, Let’s Active). Are you alone a lot in the studio or do you have opportunities where you’re learning directly from Mitch?     

Mitch has been my one true mentor. He took me in when I was really down on the industry and taught me what he knows and let me go. I go to him often with questions, and he usually Mr. Miyagi’s me, but every once in a while he offers me some direct advice. I want him to tell me all his deepest mixing secrets, but he’s like, “Who cares? Do your thing!”

I like that idea a lot. I read another article with you where you mention something along the lines of, “the bolder the color, the bolder stroke, the better… there’s no rule in the book.” Can you talk about how this philosophy informs your approach in the studio?

I’m always game for chance or making decisions based on how I feel, versus what’s technically correct. I try not to overthink things, and I’m not afraid to mess up. I think that’s the foundation of where I sit. Being fearless. I want to turn a head. I want people to hear the music from these bands I’m working with and be like “WHAT is that?!” And I think part of that is making bold sounds and being dangerous. It’s not always easy to do, but that’s what I’m striving for.

What should we be paying attention to that you’ve just finished working on? What are your goals for the year?

Well, my main goal for this year is to get back into the studio after having a baby!

A pretty big deal, haha.

I’ve got a lot of cool projects on the horizon! There’s a really talented woman named Reese McHenry I’ve been working with; her record will be out in April. I’ve also been working with this band called Pie Face Girls for a few years that are getting ready to return to the studio to finish a record. And another band I’m going to be recording in May. I’m really excited about – just stay tuned for that, haha.

I’ve worked with many groups with all guys over the years, and I’m finally working with more and more women, and I love it; it’s a nice change of pace. I love everybody I’ve worked with, and I try not to think about it either way, but I have noticed this year that I’m working with more women in the studio and it’s been a really good corner to turn!

What advice do you have for any new or up-and-coming engineers?

Get out there, play in bands, go to shows, and immerse yourself in your musical community! Collect as much gear as you can. Get inside of getting sounds, being experimental, and not being afraid to mess up. Hit up your friends and start asking to record people. I feel like that’s basic knowledge, but it’s an important reminder!

Connect with Missy:

 

Knowing your Limitations

As we are still at the beginning of the new year, it is now we should look at those new year’s resolutions that we made, our dreams that we want to become real and the goals we would like to achieve.

It is the time to evaluate what we need to get on with, to achieve our dreams and our goals. It is time to take a good hard look at yourself and your knowledge, time management, and work-life to see what can be improved.

Knowing your limitations is a good start for example; what is limiting your chances to achieve your goals? What does it take to get from point A to point B?

What do you lack to get to where you want to be?

Say you want to become the most celebrated pianist in the world, what does it take to get there? Take a look at your practising routine, are you putting in enough hours to become the greatest pianist in the world? Are you utilising your own time in the best way possible to be the most effective when practising? Are you already the greatest pianist in the world but no one knows it? Well perhaps then less time needs to be spent in front of the piano and more time in front of people networking.

This applies to any industry; if we want to improve we need to face the hard fact that we have limitations and flaws. We will always have weaknesses but that does not mean that we can not work on them and improve.

Give yourself some honest and constructive feedback, but do not talk down to yourself. Do not be upset with yourself because you are not getting something straight away. It is hard to admit your weaknesses to yourself, but we have to do it if we want to improve.

Do you know where point B is?

It is easier to follow a route if you know your destination. It is easy to get sidetracked if you do not have a north star to guide you and to keep you motivated. Want to work on a big festival stage? Absolutely, but maybe that big festival is point C.

So you start working at your local one-day festival. You can not get to point C if you have not been going through point A and B first.

The ability to achieve something is only limited by a lack of knowledge. You need to study to improve your understanding, but then you need to put that study into practice.

There is only so much you can learn in a safe and comfortable environment. You have to put yourself outside your comfort zone to improve and to learn from real life experiences. It is so important to be able to work under pressure and to find opportunities to fine-tune your skills.

As well as knowing your limitations, you will need to learn and respect your strengths. For some, not acknowledging your strengths is a weakness. You have got to be confident in your knowledge, you have to tell yourself ‘You know what, this is what I am good at’ and use that to your advantage and balance it out with your weaknesses.

If you struggle to see your weaknesses and strengths then ask a good friend; what are my strengths? In what areas do I need to improve? Be open to feedback from others as they see you in a different light than you do. Being open to critique can be incredibly difficult for some, but it will help you to be able to improve your skills.

Now is the perfect time to sit down and write it all down. Aim high but be realistic, some goals might not happen this year, but that does not mean it will not happen in the future. However, getting to know your limitations will put you on the right path towards your dreams and goals.

 

Editing SoundGirls into Wikipedia

Why is editing a Wikipedia article so important?

First of all, Wikipedia is the modern equivalent of an encyclopedia; it is the first stop in finding an answer. With over 5.6 million articles in the English language, it is one of the most comprehensive collections of knowledge available. Currently, there are very few female Wikipedia editors and a very small percentage of female-related articles. Art+Feminism is looking to change that by training new Wikipedia editors (it could be you or me or anyone). They are not the only ones either. Wikipedia has its own group of Wikiprojects dedicated to providing female-related articles.

Editing an Article

While I had not formally edited a Wikipedia article before, I was vaguely familiar with their style and guidelines, so I thought I would try my hand in becoming a Wikipedia editor and share my experiences with SoundGirls. I had some knowledge of formatting and citing in the Wikipedia style, but I also made sure to keep several tabs open of Wikipedia’s helpful tutorials.

Wikipedia requires strict standards in sources, citations, and sentence structure. There is a lot to keep in mind when writing an article, and so Wikipedia has tutorials and templates to copy from. Self-promotion is not permitted when creating an article. Therefore, sources cannot be a personal website or an IMDB page. Bias is also frowned upon, which means many controversial articles are locked from the fledgling editor.

Often new editors are guided to almost complete topics, ones that only need cleanup in citations or a couple of extra facts.  Many niche articles are plagued with improper citation and writing flags. From there, an editor can build up their chops before turning to a completely new article. Focusing on pre-existing articles also helps with the moderating backlog that is a constant problem for Wikipedia.

Creating an Article

Even knowing all of this, I still decided to create a completely new article.  I wrote about Karen Lam, a female film director, and producer, known for her horror short films and for promoting other women in film.  While I did meet her briefly, I have no professional association with her, and therefore I had no conflict of interest with which to color the tone of my article.  She had been interviewed several times in local and national magazines, and her films had won several awards. This meant that she was relevant and documented enough to have an article based on her. I, the lowly blog writer, still early in my career, do not have the right credentials to have a Wikipedia article, and so it goes. As an added bonus, a film directed by Karen had its own article already and therefore referenced my subject. An article that is not referenced by anything else is an orphan, which often suggests the irrelevance of the topic.

Not including the time it took to research her, I was able to write my article and submit it for the first time during the Art+Feminism event, and within minutes I received my first error flag. I had cited IMDB for awards won by my subject, and so I updated the article, took out a few awards that were only listed on IMDB, and put a new award mentioned in a reputable press release. I did not hear back for a month and a half. My article was then finally approved.

Wikipedia Advice

  • When first delving into the land of editing, start with a pre-existing article or your “personal sandbox.”
  • Take your time, and learn the ropes of syntax and citation.
  • If you do desire to write a new topic, then find several print sources as well as reliable internet sources.
  • An image is nice, but not necessary.
  • Conflicting facts between reliable interviews do happen, if you are unsure of a fact, then do not include it.
  • Avoid topics that you are connected to, either with heavy emotional bias or professionally.
  • Know that errors get noticed quickly, but positive responses are slow.
  • Errors are not permanent but instead are a learning experience.
  • Finally, your article is always open to change and grow, so if you want to update anything, give it a shot.

Wikipedia was made to be edited by the public, and it can be another tool to grow the influence of women in media and to break the glass fader.

Where to Start

In my prior article on Wikipedia editing, I focused on the basics of choosing a Wikipedia article topic and the reason for writing them.  Through this article, my goal is to give you a few definitions and resources in other ways to make women more present in the online encyclopedia.  For further tips and ideas, you can view my Wikipedia profile (Lyrelyrebird), which I formatted as a hub for SoundGirls looking to start their Wikipedia journey.

Green Articles and Red Articles

When a Wikipedia article already exists, any link to the article is blue in color while any link to a non-existent article is red.

Wikipedia red link

It is tempting to search for these “red” articles and start a page from scratch, and many people do, but Wikipedia is littered with pages that have only the bare minimum of word count and are lacking in proper sources.  Internally, Wikipedia rates articles based on their quality with green designating a “good” article. It takes time and effort to turn an article “green.” New articles and major edits must be approved by veteran editors, and any mistakes or errors are flagged for fixing.  Once everything is finally up to snuff, then the article is slated for a final review and approval before the green designation is assigned. Even then, if the article is about a living person, the article might need babysitting for updates as time passes.

Green articles are great examples for templates and guides in editing articles needing TLC. One cannot feasibly memorize every code trick that Wikipedia has available, so use others’ insight to your advantage. For example, when working on an article about a sound designer, find a page of a more well-known designer or even a cinematographer and see how that article formatted things like filmography and career highlights. I use copy and paste frequently, and Wikipedia encourages it. Consistency is part of why Wikipedia is a respected first stop in researching any topic.

This is also a good approach when working on a “stub” article (one that is too short or needs more verified information) or working on a poorly written articles.

What will you see on a pre-existing article?

Once you are logged in, the top of every Wikipedia article will show several tabs such as “Edit” (where the magic happens), “View History” (an edit log), and on the other side is “Talk.”

Wikipedia top bar

Talk Pages

The talk page is a mini-forum where collaborating editors can communicate page plans and goals. This is also where error flags are discussed in more detail. More established articles often have many notes on edit histories and unverified content.  If one is not respectful of the talk page, then an edit war may occur. An edit war happens when a segment of an article is repeatedly changed by two or more editors. If changes to the article are malicious, the article gets locked. Many of the most popular articles in Wikipedia are locked to prevent these occurrences.  The best way out of an edit war is to step back from the article and reevaluate it again through the talk page at a later date, but there are ways to request dispute resolutions if one of the feuding editors is acting in bad faith.

Categories

Articles are grouped by way of Categories. A page is assigned to categories and you’ll see an article’s assigned categories at the bottom of it’s page.

Wikipedia categories

Categories with enough articles have subsections called Subcategories:

Wikipedia subcategories

An article will reside in an appropriate subcategory whenever possible before populating the main Category.  As with articles, it is better to start with existing Categories before creating new ones. Parent Categories (more general groupings) with too many children can make a topic more confusing than it has to be, and articles can be overloaded with related topics.  In my opinion, because adding Categories is a simple task, it is better to save it for future edits when the main Category becomes too unwieldy.

Lists

Wikipedia list example

Lists can be confused for Categories, but they have one large difference. Categories apply to every article they can be used for, but Lists are reserved for the best examples of a subject matter.  Another difference is that Lists are a type of article (it can be edited like a page), while a Category is not an article.

I would also caution that due to their formating, Lists inherently cannot be “good” articles, and should be deemed as a lower priority.  I have mentioned both Lists and Categories in my user page as edit ideas, but please prioritize the existing ones before making new ones, and use my talk page if you have any questions or ideas.

User Page

A user page is your personal page, similar to a profile page (but functions like an article where you have to build it yourself). Not every user page look the same, and some users ignore their pages altogether.  There are a few rules on what should and should not go on a user page:

If you are unsure about having a user page, then ignore it, you are not required to edit it.

Sandbox

After you create your Wikipedia account, you get space for both a user page and a sandbox page.  Like a sandbox in real life, the sandbox is where you can play/practice using Wikipedia and get familiar with how it works.  Wikipedia encourages you to create and test your new article ideas in the sandbox before adding it to the main encyclopedia.

A note on languages

While I and the majority of the rest of Wikipedia editors are English speakers, Wikipedia is an international encyclopedia. Nearly every language is represented, and many popular articles are written in all languages. That means there are editors for those languages, and resources for those editors to follow language-specific styles. If you are comfortable in a language and want to edit in that language, go for it. Be aware that some articles may not exist in English, and your sources should be in the language you are editing in.

WikiProjects

WikiProjects are groups of like-minded editors who have a passion for a particular subject matter.  The broader a subject matter, the more editors working together and the more resources the project has to work on specific articles.  Often the WikiProject pages are full of templates and tips for turning articles green and are great places to frequent as a new editor. My favorite resource is their list of high-priority articles, or articles that are either close to completion or are of more prominent subjects.  I suggest Women in Red and Women in Green but have links to other WikiProjects on my user page.

Behind the Board

Hey there SoundGirls! This month I chose a topic that I feel is super important to dive into, but before we dig into that let me tell you about the months following. For March, April, and May I’ll be writing about the process of recording a simple four-piece band. Each month I’ll break it down by instrument (March/drums, April/guitars/bass, May/vocals), but we’ll get to that more next month. This month I would like to touch on the importance of being an artist with a knowledge of what’s going on behind the board.

So you love music, you play music, you write music, music is what fuels you. Maybe you’re a tad interested in learning about the audio engineering world- but what are the benefits, you ask? Some positives to having audio engineering skills:

Since I started audio engineering four years ago, I think one of the most valuable things I’ve taken away is networking. I’ve had consistent internships at multiple studios in Austin, and because of that nearly every session I assist on, there is at least one person I have met before, that is playing in the band.

Why is that valuable you say? When an artist sees you multiple times at different studios or the same studio- you might not realize it, but you are building trust with them. Since music is such a personal and sensitive thing, it’s essential for an artist to trust you. If an artist trusts you with their music, their next project might be going to you instead of the person next to you. This is an opportunity to grow as an engineer, as well as build your client list.

As an artist, networking, building friendships, and professional relationships with people in the industry could help you with growing your network with bands you’re meeting in studios. You could become friends, and they may even want to play a show together if they like your music. You never know. Example: My band is very new to the Austin music scene, but for our first show we got to play with two amazing, established bands, at a great venue. I met both of these bands multiple times in and out of recording studios, went to their shows, and became acquaintances with them. It was full circle to share a bill with these bands, four years ago when I assisted on their sessions, who knew we’d be sharing a bill?

So that’s just ONE benefit to being an audio engineer as well as being an artist. I’m going to touch on two more reasons why I think it’s important to dive into audio engineering (even if it’s just a little bit of research or a couple of months of an internship). I’ll pose a question. Is being a jack of all trades a bad thing? I don’t think so; in this day and age- it’s important to be skilled in multiple areas of the industry.

One thing that I think deserves its own paragraph is the importance of being comfortable in a studio. Studios can be intimidating; I know this from my personal experience, (cue, storytime). I remember the first time I ever walked into a recording studio. I was taking a tour of my soon-to-be school for audio engineering and music production in Austin, Texas. I remember seeing all of the gear, and not knowing a single thing. I had never even messed around in GarageBand. I was so intimidated, but also had this hint of excitement the moment I walked into the studio. I was excited to learn; I was excited to be challenged, I was excited to grow, and be an artist that also has valuable knowledge of audio engineering.

Now that it’s been four years, I can speak from experience. Whenever my band is in the studio, or I’m recording vocals for my songs, I’m comfortable. I’m in my element. If you told me four years ago that I wouldn’t be completely nervous singing in a recording studio, I might not have believed you. I couldn’t even sing in front of my friends without turning around! Having that experience in the studio on the other side of the glass gave me confidence in myself, and gave me a sense of purpose. It also gave me a sense of trust in the person who is engineering my vocals, because I know exactly what is going on. I want every other girl/woman that steps into a studio to eventually work their way towards feeling that confidence too, and that’s why I think having audio engineering knowledge is so important.

Last, but not least. The importance of knowing how to record, mix, and master. By having these skills, you are taking the time to learn what is going to be the icing on the cake for your songs. Learning what microphones are going to best capture the way your guitar or vocals sound, and knowing how to mic up a drum kit. Understanding what mixing is, and creating your own mixing style — learning basic mastering skills. All of these things are incredibly beneficial. Not only that, but it’s honestly very exhilarating (and a struggle at times) to work on all aspects of your own music as an artist.

Also, I think I’ve learned more through mixing my own music than I have when mixing others. This might be because of how critical my own mind is towards my work. Not only that, but I believe I have become a better musician from learning audio engineering because my ears are trained, I know what to listen for, and for the simple fact that I am around music all the time. If you’re around something almost every day, you’re going to become good at it. Whether it be, audio engineering, guitar, drums, or singing. You’re going to become better. As an engineer, you will never stop learning. In this craft, you learn something new every time you step foot into a studio. That type of consistency keeps your mind flowing, as well as your creativity. That’s why I believe being an artist as well as having valuable knowledge of engineering is important. Your creativity will never stop.

 

 

Designing Signature Sounds

The Project

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

The Process

Step 1: Brainstorm about an Overall Aesthetic

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

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Create a Custom Recording List

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

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

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

Step 4: Browse for Items to Record

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

Step 5: Record new sounds

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

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

Step 7: Collaborate with your clients.

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

The Sounds

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

 

The Importance of Critical Listening as an Audio Engineer

For my first blog post, I wanted to talk about a fairly obvious but incredibly important topic the skill and practice of critical listening.

When much of our time and energy as audio engineers is spent zoomed in on developing sounds, it can be tiring to come home and want to really listen to music again. Sometimes I find myself wanting to sort of shut off to the experience; to put music on as background noise when I’m at home cooking, lounging, or even on my drive to or from work. It’s always good to have a balance, but I find when I can take time to listen to music mindfully, it provides an endless source of inspiration and helps me remember why I wanted to be an engineer in the first place!

Critical listening was one of the first ideas taught during my Recording Arts degree program at Indiana University, and I’m thankful my educators had the thoughtfulness to include this in our education. Going into the recording program at IU I was an avid music fan, musician, and music consumer, but I hadn’t quite grasped or even understood the value of critical listening practices until those first lessons. I remember searching for songs purely based on their sonic qualities – drum sounds, vocal reverbs, use of stereo field, dynamics, etc. We would be tasked with finding examples and then presenting them to the class to discuss our observations. It started to open my world in a way that made the idea of becoming an audio engineer much more tangible. It also helped me appreciate music in a different way, and, at the same time, develop a language to talk with others about what I was hearing.

As audio engineers, it is often our job to chase a sound. One of the first things that drew me to the field of was the idea that it could be a path of lifelong learning. Sometimes I’ll hear a guitar tone, a drum sound, the balance of vocals against a band in a mix, and it really captures me in a way that makes me want to learn how to recreate it. It’s a different kind of sonic earworm, one that brings me to a curious headspace saying to myself, “how did they do that?” I think this is extremely fun.

I try to ask every artist I work with about what they are listening to at the time we begin a project; what inspired them while they were writing, what reference albums they may have of sounds they’re seeking, and what they grew up listening to. It’s so helpful to have these as learning tools and reference points for my work throughout the process of making a record. I can research and go into a project feeling like I have a better grasp of what sounds we’re trying to make while in the studio. It’s also helpful at an interpersonal level – the more I can relate to and understand where the musician is coming from, the more confident I can be in making decisions, suggesting ideas, and building common ground with them. Creating music is such a vulnerable and personal experience.

There’s a certain language people use when discussing music that’s relatively consistent across the board, and it translates to practical applications. For instance, when someone tells me, “I want my kick to sound boxy,” or “I want my acoustic guitar to be less tinny” – although it sounds rather generic, those are particular and helpful requests.  When a musician knows what they want, it becomes my job to find and capture the ideal sound in their head.

Think about your favorite songs, how would you sonically describe the guitars, bass, or the drums? Maybe you use words like “deep” or “round” or “smooth.” Maybe even “glossy” or “warm” or “rich.” The more you listen critically, the easier those words will come to you, and the easier it becomes to interpret and act on those requests.

I started a project last year where I collected a monthly playlist of songs to share publicly on Spotify. The platform is not perfect, but I enjoy the social aspect of sharing music with friends. I was a big mix-tape maker back in the day. My friends and I swapped CDs regularly and it was a big part of my musical discovery, Spotify is a little bit like that for me as an adult.

My playlist-making experiment started out as a way to collect and track some personal data on how my musical tastes were changing. I wanted to be able to highlight artists and songs I was listening to (or re-listening to), as markers on my musical timeline – some data to look back on in a few years. It became an exercise I really started to love doing, and it gave me an excuse to work on my critical listening skills. Each song selected is purposeful, the sequence of the songs is purposeful, and all the songs have a unique and special memory attached to them. By sheer accident, I created a soundtrack for my year, and a whole catalogue of songs I knew really, really well.

Critical listening skills are so invaluable to all audio professionals. Feel free to follow along to my monthly playlist or start your own, whatever works for you! Remember the importance of mindful listening, and why we’re engineers in the first place: to make great music people can connect with!

 

Silence as Sound

The Power of Silence in Music Creation

In a world occupied by sound, it can often be challenging to find a moment of silence in everyday life. In the realm of sound design, however, silence can be a very powerful tool.

The use of silence in film isn’t a new technique, but it is indeed one that makes a bold statement. For example, films like Saving Private Ryan and 2001: A Space Odyssey make great use of silence as a compositional tool. More recently Star Wars: The Last Jedi used the technique to emphasize a colossal explosion of a dreadnaught ship.

So why is silence so powerful?

Well, I believe it comes from the premise that silence is supposed to be uncomfortable. The phrase ‘awkward silence’ for example is used frequently to describe situations when the conversation runs out, or you’ve just run out of phone battery and need to look up at other people in a crowded train – to name a few examples. We are almost programmed to believe that silence is something to feel uncomfortable about.

In the context of cinema, silence makes the audience hyper-aware of their surroundings. Especially if the entire film up until that point was beautifully orchestrated and every second was underscored by lush sound design and Foley work. To hear silence is almost unnatural.

To quote Mary Shelley “nothing is more painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change,” and silence is almost always used as a dramatic modification to the score. If done correctly, the use of silence can be an excellent way of eliciting an emotional response from an audience. Whether that be to shock, anger or to create a break in the sonic narrative, silence can be a straightforward yet powerful tool to add to any sound designers’ project.

If you’re interested in film scoring or just even want to jazz up the track that you’re working on, perhaps find inspiration in silence. I have tried it a few times when I have been struggling with ideas. On one particular occasion, I added a bit of silence to a track that was getting too repetitive, and I think it worked. The sudden silence definitely makes you re-engage with what you were listening to in the first place.

If silence is a bit too absurd to add to a track though, you could always try the less is more approach. By stripping away some of the unnecessary tracks in your session, you could be left with a sound that differs just enough so that it offers something new to the listener.

Overall I think adding silence to a project is often overlooked. It’s a great creative tool to use and is also extremely simple to incorporate into any project. Even if you don’t always like the outcome of adding in silence, the main benefit is that it makes you re-engage with what you’re listening to and often adds a different texture and layer to your project.

 

 

X