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Post, Theatre, Foley, and SoundGirls

Working as a one woman sound recordist and boom op in a short film

As this is my first SoundGirls blog post, I thought it would be a good idea to make it a bit of an introductory one. So hi! My name is Iida Aino Viljanen, and I’m originally from Finland hence the difficult name. I’m a sound designer (and a composer but work mostly in sound design), and I work in both audio post-production for film/video and in theatre. I don’t know if many sound designers like to combine these two areas of work (at least I’ve not met anyone else but hi to all of you who also do this!), but I think it’s an excellent way to keep things exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with both, but it’s refreshing to being able to switch between the two as, even though the process is very similar, the work is also very, very different. Recently, however, I’ve been working more with post-production sound, so I’m hoping there will be some theatre projects ahead in the near future! I’ve also done a little bit of production sound recording/boom operating and that’s something I’m planning to do more in the future as I found it very interesting.

I wanted to become SoundGirls’ blogger as I think this is an amazing channel to find about other audio women’s work and support each other. I mostly work with men in my day-to-day life (however I’ve recently been working with more and more women directors yay! But most audio people I work with are still men, so it’s awesome and inspiring to read what other women are up to and what their experiences in this industry are. Weirdly enough I’ve been also really missing writing after graduating from university so writing this blog fills that gap nicely!

I used to work full-time as an Assistant Dubbing Mixer in broadcast in the UK but after recently relocating to Stockholm, Sweden, I’ve been working as a freelancer. I think both work situations have their pros and cons, but at the moment I am enjoying the possibility of working on very different projects which freelancing allows me to do. Although, it’s at times also very stressful as you need to find your own work and can get a bit lonely. I work mostly on my own devices, but luckily I also freelance at a local audio post-production studio a couple of days a week where I can meet other sound people and people in general. So I don’t become a complete hermit!

I’m still quite early in my career, learning something new almost every day, and I’d say working as an Assistant Dubbing Mixer in post-production house after graduating from university was a beneficial and educational experience that taught me a lot about the work itself but also about the industry we work in. So, to any students or new graduates, I’d recommend applying for runner or assistant level jobs and internships in post-production houses or even just asking if you could shadow someone. It makes a huge difference even in your confidence to see how more experienced persons do things. It’s great to learn from more experienced sound professionals and adapt their workflows to your own. Freelancing can be very lonely, leaving plenty of room for self-doubt, and it helps when you know what you’re doing. Even just seeing a senior-level Dubbing Mixer’s Pro Tools template can be very helpful for your own work. My university course at Glasgow School of Art was excellent (would highly recommend it!) and I learned a lot there but working as an assistant was an even bigger learning curve for me as the tv industry really can be hectic, and you must learn to work fast as well as know your Pro Tools.

I know I would find freelancing more complicated and I would doubt myself a great deal in my work had I not worked in post-production house after graduating. Though, I do realise getting these jobs or even an internship can be tough when there’s plenty of other students applying for the same positions. However, my hot tip is to email all the places you know and to research some more. I’ve noticed that runner and assistant level positions tend not to be advertised very often as annoying as that is, so sometimes they might have been thinking about hiring some help and then boom your email hits their inbox. Just remember to include a showreel or an example of your work to your email – even some university work is good or your final project if you don’t have a showreel yet. It’s much easier to get noticed when they already hear your work and skill level.

Recently I’ve been recording quite a lot of foley for short films, and I’ve enjoyed that! Foley is something I’ve only done a little bit previously, but after these films, I’d love to do it more often as it’s certainly fun. I’ve already noticed that I’m looking at items in grocery stores with Foley in my mind wondering what kind of sounds different things could make. One thing which is not fun though is footsteps and specifically cutting footsteps. After vocalising my frustration about this one of my friends told me about this fantastic invention called Edward Foley Instrument which is a Kontakt player compatible VST that allows you to create footsteps using a midi keyboard. To me, that sounds like a dream come true and according to my friend, it’s genuinely life-changing so this is going to be my next investment! At least a video of it looks great, check it out if you too want to cry while editing footsteps.

Oh and as I’ve found out during my foley experimenting if you ever need to record poop smearing sounds porridge works wonders!

Foley recording porridge aka cow poo

That’s about it for this time! As I previously mentioned I have recently relocated to Stockholm so if you’re a SoundGirl living in Stockholm, please get in touch via Twitter or you can find my email address on my website! I would love to meet other audio women here.

I thought it would be a fun idea to finish my posts with little recommendation lists of podcasts, videos, and articles about women in audio that I’ve found interesting. So here goes my first list of recommended content:

Tonebenders – Episode 099. Sound Design for VFX Round Table (Podcast)

(Can also be found on SoundCloud and Podcasts-app.)

Nia Hansen (Avengers films) and Paula Fairfield (Game of Thrones) discuss designing creature and superhero sounds, and honestly, this was one of the most interesting and inspiring discussions I’ve heard for a while.

Sisters of Sound – Episode 15. Sound Editor Claire Dobson (Podcast)

(Can also be found on Podcasts-app.)

To be honest this whole series is worth listening to as it’s all about women in audio – not just in audio post-production but also in music, sound art, engineering, etc. but I thought this episode was especially interesting as they interview sound editor Claire Dobson who’s worked for example on The Handmaid’s Tale, Vikings and Fargo.

LNA Does Audio Stuff (Youtube channel)

My dear friend LNA had enough of the male dominance of Youtube audio tutorials so she made her own channel. If you are wondering about which speakers to buy for your home studio, how to set up a home studio or how to get started with Ableton then check this channel out! LNA is also open for suggestions so if you have an audio question you’d like an answer for or if you want to know how something is done message her or comment on her videos and she’ll make a tutorial for it!

Find more Podcasts with Women in Audio here

If you want to follow me elsewhere here are the links to do so:

Iida Aino is a sound designer and composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. She’s originally from Finland but has spent most of her adult life living, studying and working in the UK and has only recently relocated to Stockholm. She graduated with a Master degree in Sound for the Moving Image from Glasgow School of Art in 2017. Even though she’s still early on in her career her work already includes short films, tv programmes, adverts, installations, and theatre shows. Currently, she works as a freelancer and won the Best Sound Design Award at the feminist Underwire Film Festival in London in 2018. Iida Aino enjoys all things audio (especially spatial audio is an area she’d like to experiment more with!) and loves the way women in this industry support each other. iidaainosound.wordpress.com

Read Iida’s Blog

 

An Interview With Rising Sound Technicians

I’ve been a part of the sound industry since 2000, and I have been working professionally since 2005.  The industry was different back then, at least for me. I didn’t have any women as role models. I didn’t even have many women as contemporaries, so my experience at the beginning was pretty daunting.  That’s not true. At first, I had no worries. I was confident in my chosen degree program in Commercial Music. I was learning how to combine my first true love, music, with my newly found interest, sound.

I remember my very first moment of recognition that being a woman in the sound industry was not the norm. I was working in the recital halls at my university as a sound technician and live recording technician.  It was my regular practice to discuss the logistics of the concert with the artist before we began so that I would know what to expect for the day. A particularly high profile artist was invited to give a concert at my college one year, and I was the lead technician on that show.  I approached his manager to ask my regular questions, and he just stared at me like I had nine heads. I thought to myself, ”I’m only 19 years old, he must be freaked out because I’m so young.” To break the awkward silence, I asked one more question, and his response was, “Who’s in charge here?”  As the lead technician, I was in charge, so I told him I would be leading this event. Again, we stood in silence, staring at each other, until he finally decided to respond. I will never forget his words. “Just go get your boss, sweetheart, and I’ll tell him everything he needs to know.” That’s when I knew that it wasn’t just my age that would make things difficult; it was my gender.  I was mortified. I honestly did not know how to respond. Everything after that is mostly a fury-fueled blur, but I think, in my agitation, I just quietly walked away and did my job the best way I knew how.

Women in this industry still struggle with situations like mine every single day.  The thing that is different now is the steadily growing show of support and representation.  I wanted to know how young women breaking into the sound industry were feeling about it all, so I went straight to the source.  For this month’s blog, I decided to interview my current 9-month intern, Kate Russell, and one of my two-year conservatory students, Lilly Martinez.  Here’s what they had to say:

What is your name, age, and employment/education status?

KR: Kate Russell, 20, Assistant Sound Design Intern at PCPA-Pacific Conservatory Theatre

LM: I am Lilly Martinez. I am an 18-year-old full-time student.

When did you first become interested in sound?

KR: We were doing a production of Annie at my middle school when I was in the 7th grade, and I wanted to be the one to play the music and work with the mics.

LM: That’s a tricky question… I suppose my first interest in sound sparked in high school theatre. My interest deepened toward the end of high school when I began dating a musician who was an involved member of my hometown’s local music community, however, my first serious interest in sound was more recent in my academic endeavors when I actually was able to get my hands on some of the tech used in sound.

What are your career goals?

KR: I want to be a post-production sound engineer for film and television.

LM: I think my career goals focus more on involvement.  I want to work in dynamic areas that challenge skill and set-up. In my career, I want most to help promote culture and diversity. As a Hispanic woman raised in Southern California, I grew up in a heavily diverse community that fostered much of my own culture. I also had the privilege of studying ASL and interacting with the Deaf community. They inspired me to look into Deaf theatre and performances.  I hope that I can help amplify the voices and experiences of those lesser heard or known, regardless of company or title.

What does it mean to you to be a woman in sound?

KR:  To me being a woman in sound means that I am helping to bring about a change in the demographic of an entire industry. Just as theatre is for everyone, the realms of production behind the scenes should not, and cannot be exclusive.

LM:  To be a woman in sound is to be an artist that perseveres in expression regardless of surrounding social stagnancy.

Who are your role models?

KR:  My teachers and mentors:  Elisabeth Weidner (PCPA Sound Director), Abby Hogan (PCPA Scenic Charge), Zoia Wiseman (PCPA Staff Stage Manager), as well as Marisha Ray (Creative Director of Critical Role).

LM:  My role models are the dedicated and passionate artists who constantly show me the limitations others and myself create, are false. This includes Sound Designer Elisabeth Weidner for all her inspiring work, and Sound Designer and Engineer Talitha G. Blackwell.

Do you feel the weight of being underrepresented as a woman in sound?  

KR:  I have been fortunate early in my career to have teachers and mentors who are women, so it hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m sure the more I travel and gain experience, that weight will become heavier.

LM:  In my experience, the majority of people I have had conversations about sound with have been white men. In high school, a male drama teacher and arts coordinator were the only people I had to rely on and ask questions regarding sound. Past students in my position were boys as well. It wasn’t until I began my studies at PCPA-Pacific Conservatory Theatre that I met women and people of color in sound. I never felt like I could connect or relate to the people around me who would get excited about sound until I met another woman in this field. This is probably the reason it took me so long to take a serious interest in it. There is a silent added pressure to be outstanding and firm as a woman in sound. Sound already tends to be swept aside in conversations about technical theatre. Voices of women have an added fight to be both heard and accepted.

How would you like to see the industry change?

KR:  I would like to see more women in leadership roles in sound, such as department director or producer.

LM:  I would like to see outreach to diverse groups in younger ages. I was swept into sound much like Dorothy and Toto once I left home. If I’d had that same exposure, if I’d had the conversations about sound in my youth that I have in my adult life, It would have been life-changing.

Describe your proudest sound moment.

KR:  My proudest theatrical sound moment was getting to run sound for a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

LM:  Surprisingly, my proudest sound moment happened outside of theatre. I had struck up a conversation with a more distant friend of mine who is a musician, and as we talked, I realized just how much my knowledge had grown. I felt well-armed for this conversation.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

KR: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  I grew up playing various sports, as well as involving myself in theatre, so this quote became very prevalent in my life at an early age.  It applies to almost every aspect of life and is a great motivator for me to just sit down and do the thing.

LM:  A smart person takes critique. A wise person knows when to listen to it.

What advice do you have for young women starting out in the sound industry?

KR:  Don’t be afraid to fail.  Failure is how we learn and grow, both as artists and people. Failure can be intimidating, especially if you are the minority entering into a field, but don’t let that stop you from pursuing your goals.  Let it fuel you to surpass those who would try to keep you down.

LM:  Believe in your capability to grow, and live for the moments when your work gives you goosebumps.

 

Let’s Talk About Mental Health

Recently the music industry has started talking about mental health. After many tragedies losing incredibly talented people in the music industry due to mental health issues, artists and the music industry people are finally talking about very stigmatized issues. I feel like you can never talk too much about mental health, and very often those of us who work hard behind the scenes are often forgotten, and I believe that we also need to start talking about our general and mental health.

Health in general:

In an ideal world, we would always sleep eight hours per night, eat nourishing food five times a day and exercise four times a week, but unfortunately, the world is not always ideal.

Sleep, food, and exercise are three critical factors when it comes to our mental health. It is easy to neglect all of these three things when working long hours when you have a tight schedule or if you need to meet a deadline.

Some periods in life will be busier the other, but you will be handling stress a lot better if you prioritise at least one of the three things.

Setting new habits can take some time, but if you start with one thing at least, the rest will follow eventually.

Unsocial working hours:

‘I’m sorry, but I can’t make it, I’m working’ – You hear yourself saying this often?

Having unsocial work hours can take an extreme toll on your mental health. Although a lot of our work can be incredibly social and we meet loads of fantastic people, nothing beats spending time with your absolute best friends and family.

The guilt you might feel when you are unable to attend family gatherings, birthdays, baby showers or drinks at the local pub can weigh you down. Often we have to choose work before friends and family because we all need to pay rent and feed ourselves. But hopefully, we also love what we do!

But don’t neglect your loved ones either. Set aside a day or two a month to catch up with your people. Make a phone call or send a message, reach out! Especially if your mental health is not tip-top or theirs for that matter — support one another.

Stress:

Someone described me as ‘Olive is 24/7’ and when I first heard it, I felt pride. I thought that makes me dependable and that I can sort out any situation at any time of the day at anywhere in the world.

But I quickly realised that no one should have to be available 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Not even Olive.

Setting boundaries are essential; if you’re not supposed to work, then don’t. Of course, there might be an emergency, and we have to step in, but how many times has an actual crisis occurred? I can count mine on one hand. Trust me; most things can wait.

Having some time off is crucial. Otherwise, it will lead you to be burned out. If you do not give yourself space, you won’t be able to evaluate what is going on in your life, and frankly, we all need to deal with what is going on, no matter how uncomfortable we are with it.

Alcohol:

Alcohol is a big part of the live entertainment industry.

As a musician or a sound engineer, it is not uncommon to receive free drinks, in a lot of cases sometimes that is the only payment that you get.

Sometimes after you worked a 15-hour shift, you feel like you deserve a drink, especially as it might have been a challenging day and all of your patience has just run out. Or you’ve had a fantastic show or completed a full tour, and you’d like to celebrate with a couple of drinks, of course, you deserve that!

However, when consumed several days a week we need to step back and look at our consumption.

If you did not already know, alcohol is a depressant. So if consumed too often it will affect your mental and physical health.

These are only a few aspects of one’s life that can affect your mental and physical health, but more importantly, most of the above are things we can control ourselves. Change starts within yourself.

Care about yourself as much as you care about your work.

If you are not doing well, then take a step back and take a day off if you can. There are also plenty of help to get, both online and through counselling.

10 Mindfulness Practices from Powerful Women

Mental Health America

Top 25 Best Mental Health Apps: An Effective Alternative for When You Can’t Afford Therapy

Tips for Staying Healthy on the Road

 

Kickstart Your Mentorship

Set Some Goals

Mentorship is a vital part of our industry in particular for the advancement of women. SoundGirls has a wonderful opportunity for mentorship relationships to develop and grow over time. A fulfilling mentorship can be challenging to get started:  Meeting someone new; trusting them with your problems and worries while seeking answers and support can be hard for anyone to do, it can be even more trying in the crazy, but fantastic industry of ours too!

An excellent way to start a mentorship relationship is to get to know each other a bit. Share where you’re at in life and career including what your hopes and dreams are for now and the future.  Don’t forget your mentor may be new at this as well. These conversations are opportunities for both of you to connect, share stories and opinions, to progress together. We will likely never know the full impact we have on people, so let’s live life together learning, sharing, and growing along the way!

Jumpstart this relationship by working together to create goals. As a mentor, I want to know what you want to achieve and help you get there. A great way to establish this is by setting goals together. Your goals help me understand where you are and where you’re headed. Back when I worked with student staff, I would always ask them to set 3-4 goals for their year — at least two work-oriented and one life-based goal. For me, life is part of work and work is part of life; it is essential to progress in both, and as a mentor, I want to see you achieve great things at work and home.

Setting these goals gives you something to strive for too. It doesn’t mean they can’t change or adapt, but it helps you move forward.  When setting your work-oriented goals consider setting a skills goal and a qualities goal. For example, a skills goal could be to master the new mixer your company just purchased.  A qualities goal could be learning to lead a team of 15 people confidently.

Each of these are large work-based goals that are achievable with time. They also can be broken down into smaller steps to help you achieve the larger overall goal. Your mentor can help you with this too! To break down the goal of learning a new mixer you can take steps such as reading the manual, shadowing someone who uses that mixer on a show, spending time practicing in the shop, and getting out on a show with the mixer yourself. Then before you know it you have conquered this goal, and it’s time to create a new one!

Your qualities goal can be broken down the same way. Have a conversation with your mentor and a leader you respect; ask questions about how they developed their style. Find resources to read and start putting it into practice with smaller groups, then work your way up to the larger group.  Breaking down your large goals into smaller steps can make any goal feel more achievable! It will help you see progress along the way as well.

Your life-based goal can be anything! This is the goal I like to have the most fun with. For example, I had a goal this year to take a trip to Ireland, and I did! It was a great trip. I broke down this goal by setting smaller goals like saving money each month to pay for the trip. I conserved vacation and comp time to be able to spend a good amount of time there, and I researched the places I wanted to go to make the best of the trip. It was a vacation of a lifetime for me, and I am so happy I achieved that goal! Other life-based goals can be things like trying every flavor of ice cream in the grocery store, developing your painting skills, crafting your own beer, or even starting a family.

Goals don’t always need to be serious; they just need to be things you want to achieve. Plus, in a mentorship relationship, you will have someone to discuss your ideas, trials, and triumphs with along the way! What are your work and life-based goals? Mine are to get better at rigging points and weight balances, to become more confident in my new position at work, and to purchase a townhouse

 

Sound More Than My Profession

MY EXPERIENCE OF LIFE

When I began my career I did not know with certainty in what area to specialize, the first few years I had the opportunity to dedicate myself to the live sound and a little to the recording studio, that was when one day I was presented with the opportunity to coordinate with the sound department for the filming of a fiction short film, and that’s where I discovered that this is definitely what I’m made for. I felt a total connection with the sound and that day transformed me completely.

Being a sound engineer is for me something more than just a profession. It is a whole life experience that has led me to face situations within the profession that make me improve myself, move all my emotions, excite me, intrigue me, challenge me to be better every day, it has taken me to unsuspected and inaccessible places to which I could only have come thanks to the filming of documentary films.

The sound of documentary film has given me great challenges; I never know what climatic and spatial conditions, etc. I’m going to face, and that’s precisely what makes me be well prepared (not only in the technical part) to capture the best possible sound.

Breaking the barriers of the professional fear, and listening every day with attention to every place I go. Knowing the sound of my house, an open or closed space, etc., helps me make better decisions at the time of filming. Sound is not isolated from our daily experience, at every moment we have audio/visual experiences that connect us to the outside world, all the time we can recognize people or places just by listening to a few notes and it is our task as sound engineers to capture it in a more clear, clean and transparent way.  To recreate those experiences in a realistic way.

The sound in an audio/visual project is as important as the image because through it we can communicate a series of messages that would not be possible to transmit in any other way and it is our responsibility as sound engineers to fight for this.  How? Give importance to each sound that we capture in location, always doing it with the conscience of how we can benefit or harm the subsequent chains, distinguishing from the source if it is a sound that helps us or not and always strive to have the best conditions to record.

One of my most recent experiences was the recording for a documentary about the Santa Martha Penitentiary Center at the CDMX. Here we had to work with basic sound equipment since you can’t enter with too much, so I had to choose the right equipment to achieve a good recording. I had the opportunity to record several testimonies which have led me to reflect on many things, to break taboos and realize that through sound I can also do social work and benefit people who are difficult situations and lack of opportunities. It was a very pleasant experience that made me grow personally and professionally and confirms my love for what I do.

So, I can tell you, if sound is your passion, you will commit with it. Do not give up, study it, know it and above all listen and enjoy having experiences beyond the visible that will make you realize how valuable, unique, and beautiful this physical phenomenon is.

Sound accompanies us day by day, so you can no longer feel it as something that is isolated from your life experience or as something that you only have to occupy when you are recording. Sound is with you all the time, it connects you with people and with surprising situations, and it is through the cinema that I (at least) can develop and grow not only professionally but also as a human being and I invite you to make the sound your life experience, discover yourself through it.  Strive for better results, because you can not transmit a message that is not known or is not understood.

Remember. The sound goes beyond the word,  sound transmits a message, and we are the sound engineers who must know how to interpret or translate it.

And as the engineer Joselito Rodríguez  said, in his book Image of sound:

“Express yourself without words, deliver your message, and fulfill its function, even when its meaning escapes the conscience … What transcendence then acquires the word said …?

So there is still much to be transmitted.

I love sound. Nina Guadarrama


Irina Guadarrama Olhovich

Sound designer and sound designer of several films, documentaries and short films such as “Todo por Amor” Kristof Rascinsky, “Penal Santa Martha,” “La Replica” among others. She works as a product specialist for Tascam Mexico, giving direct sound training workshops and recording various projects assigned by the brand. Lecturer at various film festivals such as Shorts Mexico, and Oaxaca Film Fest. Member of SoundGirls Mexico. Read SoundGirls en México’s Blog

Recording a Four Piece Band Part 1

Last month I wrote about the importance of being an artist with a knowledge of what’s going on Behind the Board. This month I am starting a three-month themed blog about the process of recording a four-piece band.

For the first blog, I will be sharing how to pick out mics for (my favorite thing to capture) drums, the second blog will be all about guitars/bass, and the third will be about getting the icing on the cake during a vocal session.

Drums. The base of every song.

The very instrument that I may go as far as to say- determines the vibe of your song. For that very reason, I recommend getting your drums feeling good first. How do you do that you say? There isn’t a “correct” way of doing anything in recording. It’s a creative endeavor. There are NO right or wrong answers. So let me be clear, I am by no means telling you HOW to mic drums. I’m just going through the steps I have taken to get good drum sounds in the past. Of course, over time you will find your own ways to get tones you like as well.

The first step is pre-production. So, let’s assume you have already heard a demo of what you’re client is recording. This way you know how to create a plan of attack for the drum sound in the song. After that, your second step is organization. I always print out a mic sheet with columns for wall inputs, mics, preamps, EQ/compression, and Pro-Tools inputs.

Organization is always crucial when recording, but I would have to say MOST important when recording drums. There are (most of the time) several mics on the kit, some of which may require phantom (48v), some may not. Either way, you don’t want to accidentally send phantom to a microphone that doesn’t need it (aka, ribbons). Now when it comes to picking out mics, you can get VERY creative, so to avoid writing a three-page blog- I’m just going to go over a pretty simple setup, basically my “go-to” for good drums tones.

 

Instrument Mic Wall Input Pre-amp Compressor Eq Pro-Tools Input
Kick In D112 1 API 1 DBX 1
Kick Out Fet47 2 API 2 2
Snare T Sm57 3 API 3 Chandler Little Devil 3
Snare B Km84 4 API 4 4
Rack Tom V421 5 Vintech 1 5
Floor Tom V421 6 Vintech 2 6
H.H SM7B 7 TubeTech 1 7
O.H Hat Coles 8 Gamma 1 (shadow hills) 8
O.H Ride Coles 9 Gamma 2 (shadow hills) 9
Room L Royer 121 10 UA 610 Distressor 10
Room R Royer 121 11 UA 610 Distressor 11

 

I’m going to go through this mic sheet, and explain why I picked what for each part of the kit:

Kick in: I almost always use a D112. It’s a dynamic microphone that (depending on where you place it) can give you a nice punchy sound on the high end for your kick drum tone

Kick out: I chose a Fet 47. I did this because I’ve found if you place it a few inches back from the kick, it will pick up an excellent fat tone of the drum that fills out the bottom end of the kick very well

Snare top: I’m using an SM57 because this microphone is good at focusing on precisely what it is directed at- the snare. I don’t want to pick up too much of the cymbals that are around this mic, so any kind of dynamic microphone is almost always a good choice. Some people use crash guards. I recommend messing around with one, so you can see the difference it makes in how your snare sounds, and the overall effect it takes on the sound of the kit. The snare top is the only piece of the kit I used an outboard EQ on. I used the Little Devil EQ because I always, ALWAYS want to have a great fundamental and crack on the snare from the very beginning of recording the drums.

Snare Bottom:  I like to keep it simple with an SM57

Toms: I am fortunate enough to work out of a studio that has a vintage 421. On this mic sheet, I chose to use the vintage 421s on the rack and the floor, because in a perfect world- that’s what I would do! I chose the Vintechs for the toms because I want them to have a nice, clean tone. I’m not looking to add any color to the toms during tracking

High-hat: I am using an SM7B with the filter off. I chose this mic because I want a nice crisp tone for the high-hat. I am running this through the TubeTech, so that crisp tone is smoothed out by the tubes in this preamp

Overheads: I chose to use Coles. I love the Coles. They have this beautiful, dark sound to them that tends to smooth everything out in the BEST way. I ran these mics through the Shadow Hills to continue getting a warm tone for the overall image of the kit

Rooms: I chose the Royer 121. These are fantastic ribbon microphones. Like the Coles, they can also be a tad dark, but as a room mic on a drum kit- it’s quite lovely.

The bullet points you just read were mostly about why I picked each mic. These next bullet points will be about placement for these mics.

Kick in: I aim the kick mic inside the sound hole (if there is one), and go about halfway inside of the drum

Kick out: I mentioned previously I like to put the kick out a couple of inches away from the kick, so I can get that nice fat kick tone I am looking for to fill the bottom end

Snare top/snare bottom: when mic-ing a snare, you have to use your ears to find the correct placement. I can’t tell you exactly what to do because it’ll always be different for that very reason. What I can say is when you find that perfect spot, make sure you have good phase between your two snare mics after you’ve finished picking their positions

Toms: basically what I said about positioning the snare mics.

High-hat: I usually position this mic a couple of inches away from the center of the bell. The middle of from where the bell starts and the edge of the cymbal is a good spot

Overheads: Overheads aren’t as tricky as they may seem! The trick with overheads is finding good phase. What I do to get good phase is first I place the mics. I place the left mic above the snare and point it down at the snare. Now with the other mic, I just aim it a little past the drummers ride cymbal and point it down. Once the mics are roughly placed, I like to grab a mic cable, place one end on the middle of the snare, stretch it to the middle of one mic and then to the other. This is to check and see if they are both equal distances from the snare drum (because, phase).

Rooms: Room mics are where you can get creative. Sometimes I do a mono room; sometimes I’ll do a stereo room. In this case, I chose to do a stereo pair for the room. I like to place my room mics relatively high and a hefty few feet back from the kit

Like I said before, all of this is just my version of the basics of mic-ing a kit. There are no right or wrong ways. You don’t always have to have good phase. You don’t always have to use a dynamic mic on the snare. If it sounds good, hey- IT SOUNDS GOOD. Always trust your ear. Follow where your creativity flows. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this month’s blog post. I had fun writing it. Feel free to use this mic setup or something similar next time you are recording drums, and if you want to send me your results- please do.

 

 

Women & The Grammy For “Producer of The Year, Classical”

The Grammy for Producer of the Year, Classical (originally Classical Producer of the Year) was introduced in 1979. This particular category distinguishes itself as the first technical award where a woman was nominated on the ground floor, during the category’s inaugural year.

That woman was Joanna Nickrenz.

Not only was Nickrenz the first woman to receive a nod in Production (Classical Producer of the Year – 1979), she’s also the first woman I’ve found on record to be nominated for a Grammy in Engineering (Best Engineered Recording, Classical for Edgard Varése’s “Percussion Music” – 1974).

A classically trained pianist, Ms. Nickrenz took a strong interest in the recording process during her first studio sessions. This led to her taking an assistant position at Elite Recordings, where she worked as an editor, producer, and eventually full partner to Elite founder, recording engineer Marc Aubort. Records made under the Aubort/Nickrenz umbrella carry a legacy among audiophiles as being some of the best orchestral recordings ever produced.

Affectionately dubbed “Miss Razor Ears,” Joanna was fiercely dedicated to preserving the integrity of the score. She was known to admonish musicians if they played any part of a work incorrectly or dared to improvise. When she passed away in 2002, her urn was humorously engraved with an oft-used corrective phrase: “What’s written is also nice.”

Ms. Nickrenz received 8 Producer of the Year, Classical nominations and won the award twice. In 1983, she shared the win with Aubort. In 1996, she was the sole recipient. She was additionally nominated in 1984, 1986, and 2001, but did not win during those years.

If she is indeed the first woman to break through the Grammy glass ceiling in both production and engineering, how is it that Joanna Nickrenz doesn’t even have her own Wikipedia page? Why can’t I find a single photograph of this pioneering lady?

(SoundGirls let’s get her a Wikipedia page – Editing SoundGirls into Wikipedia)


Women account for around 14% of those nominated for Producer of the Year, Classical. A total of eight Grammys have been handed to women in the category’s 39-year history.

Five of these trophies have gone to Judith Sherman.

Nominated a whopping 12 times, Judith is a major contributor to the catalog of recorded classical music. She got her start as a broadcast engineer at WBAI-FM in New York City, working up to positions as a producer and musical director. She started her own production company, Judith Sherman Productions, in 1976. She is the second woman to be nominated for a Grammy in Engineering, receiving a Best Engineered Recording, Classical nod in 1990.

Though she’s established a long and fruitful legacy, Ms. Sherman remains a force to be reckoned with to this day. She has been nominated for Producer of the Year, Classical for the past five years in a row.


Being prolific seems almost a prerequisite when you look at the women in this category, most of whom have been nominated multiple times.

Robina G. Young has received ten nominations for Producer of the Year, Classical. Marina A. Ledin has received eight. Young and Ledin have not yet crossed the stage to collect a trophy, but they show no signs of slowing down. 2006 winner Elaine Martone has managed over 1500 projects and offers a staggering biography. Nominee Elizabeth Ostrow is still going strong on a career spanning over 40 years. Anna Barry, who has over 500 recordings in her discography, was recently tasked to be the official recordist for the Royal Wedding. The late Patti Laursen was another important trailblazer, producing the first digital recordings made by Capitol Records in 1979.


Women in production have fared much better in the Classical division than in the category’s Non-Classical equivalent, with the percentage of wins landing at about 20%. The percentage of women who’ve won Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is still zero.

Though popular music will always have better PR, some of the most crucial and groundbreaking work has been done by women operating under the Classical umbrella. Seeing that the Recording Academy is pushing #WomenInTheMix and that March is Women’s History Month, the accomplishments of these producers should be loudly celebrated.

I invite you to dive deeper into the stories of the women nominated for Producer of the Year, Classical. Personally, I’ll be ensuring that Ms. Nickrenz finally gets her Wiki page. If anyone out there can find a picture of her, I sure would be glad to finally see it.

JOANNA NICKRENZ

1979 / 1983* (winner) / 1984 / 1986 / 1988 / 1996* (winner) / 2001

JUDITH SHERMAN

1990 / 1993* (winner) / 1994 / 1997 / 2007* (winner) / 2008 / 2011* (winner) / 2014* (winner) / 2015* (winner) / 2016 / 2017 / 2018

ELAINE MARTONE

2006* (winner) / 2014

ROBINA G. YOUNG

1993 / 1998 / 1999 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2007 / 2008 / 2016

MARINA A. LEDIN

1999 / 2003 / 2007 / 2010 / 2012 / 2013 / 2015 / 2016

ELIZABETH OSTROW

1989 / 2018

PATTI LAURSEN

1989

ANNA BARRY

1994

 

Aspectos básicos sobre una mezcla de sonido en vivo

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

Introducción a la mezcla.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cómo debería sonar?

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

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

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

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

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

Planos y frecuencias.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOS EFECTOS

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

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

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

Conclusiones

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

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

 

Basic Aspects of a Live Sound Mix

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

Introduction to the mix.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How should it sound?

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

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

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

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

Plans and frequencies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



The Effects

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

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

Conclusions

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

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

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