Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

The Sound of Cinematic Femininity

What do feminine films sound like?

Masculinity is well established in the sonic world:  baritone voices boom, while the steady pacing of drums interplay with fists or bullets landing their mark.  Femininity, in contrast, seems to be developed only as far as to say “not manly,” or in characteristics that attract the leading man.  Just as scripts provide women with roles that exist solely in relation to the men of the film, sounds that are feminine often act as an antithesis to the masculine and nothing more.  I want to explore what films get right and wrong aurally about femininity, and create an argument for diversity in how a character design is approached (and by extension diversity in the field of sound design).  Full disclaimer, this is not an exhaustive list, but a journey to see past shallow stereotypes.

Let’s start with the baseline of what is masculine.  In skimming the top “manly” or “masculine” titles from popular men’s magazines and film review sites, I see recurring themes of sports, war, and fighting action.  The lead is usually a man with muscles, a confident catch-phrase, and he is usually armed. Building up the sonic world we have guns with their loud and jarring accessories of bullets, ricochets, and death screams (The Godfather, 1972).  Any sport, including martial arts, require grunts and intensive body movements that might include collisions and punches (Bloodsport, 1988).  With the intensity of the action, these films are often loud; there might be explosions, helicopters, police sirens, and even robots (Transformers, 2007).  The leading man’s voice is steady, and according to The Pudding’s 2016 article on film dialog by Hanah Anderson and Matt Daniels, the leading man (and his male co-stars) dominate the conversations.  Musical themes, when orchestral, are full and will give a nod to Gustav Holst’s Mars when war is included (Gladiator, 2000).  80’s action films, which relish the masculine tag, often benefited from hair metal title tracks (Rocky, 1976).

I do not have to search long to find examples of masculinity, and even with gross generalizations, there are many genres and lists that support these stereotyped characteristics.  There is variation, but the archetype is well established. The initial films cited are from the United States, but I could also use Machete (2010, Mexico) and Oldboy (2003, South Korea) as examples.  I feel I almost do not have to mention the low percentage of women in the crew of these films, Django Unchained (2012) for example has one woman on the sound team, Renee Tondelli as ADR mixer.  That is not to say that women are incapable of being sound crew members, Paula Fairfield (Emmy Award winner) shows, along with the other names I drop in this article, the skill does exist from an underrepresented pool of talents.

With masculinity established, I want to look at femininity from a male context.  What I mean by this is femininity created by and for men: male directors, male crew, and possibly male protagonists.  This is not always coming from an uninformed mindset and can be perfectly nuanced for the LGBTQ community. First, however, I will look at what does come off as cliché and expected.

As soon as sound was introduced into film there was an expectation of what starlets should sound like. A notable example is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) with Snow White’s delicate soprano voice singing opera with the birds.  The voice actress was even kept hidden from the public eye to keep the perfect illusion of the character.  Her frail voice, like its main character, was an object for the masculine to acquire and was not any more developed than pure and frail.  The transition to talkies with the focus on voice timbre was parodied too with Singin’ in the Rain (1952) when the blonde bombshell’s voice was too shrill, nasally, and contained the edge of city life.  Debbie Reynolds’ warm alto was more “leading lady” material, although her own voice was overdubbed by soprano Marni Nixon for “You Are My Lucky Star.”  Nixon is the invisible songbird of many classic performances, and her voice is a great example of the feminine stereotype, clean and sweet. Synonyms like dainty, modest, careful, nice, and pure could also describe her voice.  Often leading ladies are cast as “vulnerable,” “fragile,” “frail,” and “passionate.”

Soundtracks latch onto these words for love themes, embodied by the string section of the orchestra, for example, Dr. Zhivago (1965), and Once Upon A Time In The West (1968).  Xochimilco (1944) is another film that focuses on the fragility of women and uses the set of the lead’s solitary home on calm waters with rain and nature to contrast the bustling town that antagonizes her.  The silence does not overcome noise, and like the main character, it exists in a brief moment only as a spectacle. In the world of male directors, composers, and sound designers, femininity is an object to be won in love or tossed aside in favor of strength.  Where it finds its footing is when it is embraced by LGBTQ stories like Moonlight (2016).  In this battle of masculinity and femininity, the most intimate moments are quiet, soothing, and peaceful.  Ocean waves complement a refreshing breeze, tiny bell chimes, and meal-lovingly prepared sizzles. This is tenderness and vulnerability intertwined with hope.  Femininity becomes a character that is part of the journey and exists as both positive and negative. The strength is subtle, breaking silence with a tiptoe and not a roar.  Hedwig And The Angry Inch (2001) roars, but it too has vulnerability and anguish woven into the soundtrack.  As Hedwig is trying to figure herself out, her songs explore many emotions while fading in and out of diegetic context.  For Hedwig femininity is a spectrum, and not an end goal and so it cannot be as static as films of old would have it.

Femininity can be portrayed properly and improperly in the hands of men, but what about from us?  While there is still a ways to go in representation, there is a surge of female-driven films across a variety of genres.  The Little Hours (2017), yes the raunchy nun romp is directed by a man, but there is no doubt Aubrey Plaza (whose boyfriend directed the film) has a lot of control.  Profanity, dry sarcasm, and deadpan absurdity fill the mostly improvised dialog, and it contrasts with the saccharine purity of choir music. Hildegard von Bingen is vital to the period comedy’s soundtrack, and that choice is deliberate as she is a keystone in medieval sacred music.  As with any comedy, sound effects and their timing are essential to the jokes. The setting is isolated, nature surrounds the scenes, and many jokes are about keeping silent or listening for little sounds. Andrea Gard, the foley artist, had many punchlines riding on her shoulders. Patience was rewarded, in a way that some films, like Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and The Hangover (2009) do not have time for.  In fact, the whole opening sequence with the women’s choir is a lesson in waiting.  Even with the extremity of the comedy, this feels more naturally feminine than Bridesmaids (2011), another female ensemble comedy.  For all of the pink dresses and drunken karaoke, explosive diarrhea and vicious catfights do not have the same nuance as an old crone’s whistling breath.

An example of femininity in the thriller category is Into the Forest (2015), a tale of two sisters’ survival directed by Patricia Rozema.  The foley artist in this film was Sandra Fox, the sound effects editor was Katie Halliday, and they are joined by several other women on the sound team.  This film was full of intimate moments and loneliness. This was not an apocalypse of explosions and running, but of impending isolation and staying still.  Even with the amount of quiet and the lack of volume of this film, there were moments like rhythmic diegetic sounds to portray perseverance and intensity. The two sisters face two ends of the femininity spectrum, and while they falter at times, in the end, there is balance.  Neither sister could survive without the other, and their tenacity is woven into the soundtrack, both ambient and musical. Meek’s Cutoff (2010), directed by Kelly Reichardt, is similar in many ways to Into the Forest, with its survival elements and solitude in nature, but it is set on the Oregon Trail.  The time period, location, and thematic elements would normally call for raucous gunfights and shouted threats, but instead, the families are slowly lead to their fate.  The prairie wind dominates the design, and the desolation is matched by the scarcity of animal sounds. Leslie Shatz, the sound designer, gives us the subtle and claustrophobic silence that gnaws away at the confidence of the guide and builds the despair of the group’s situation.  Silence should not be confused for passivity. Another big thing to note is that in the world these women are from, they are homemakers and not survivalists, but they are determined to endure. I found it important for Shirley Henderson to get serious screen time and dialog with a voice as iconic as it is.  She is not an exaggerated parody, like her turn as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter franchise, but a real human lost in the expansive West.  With a focus on the female pioneers, the sounds of the West morphed and provided a refreshing take on a cliched genre.

Femininity is not treated the same across genres with the variety of films I listed with proactive female crew members, and that is important.  John McClane in Die Hard (1988) does not have the same masculinity as John Wayne, so why should femininity get the cookie-cutter treatment?  There are complaints of Hollywood remaking the same films for box office draws instead of risking on original screenplays.  With the all-women reboots, instead of just changing the cast and calling it a day, there are capable women behind the scenes that can provide nuanced direction to revitalize the industry.  Thanks to the many organizations and celebrities who are using their power to bring up the nontraditional film crew, there are many outstanding choices. For those truly original scripts that happen to feature femininity, instead of resorting to tired tropes of damsels, why not branch out to a multifaceted embodiment with resilient, subtle, conniving, elegant, deliberate? Why not let them exist for themselves, and center a world around them? There is a sonic world out there ready to be explored that is not just weak or anti-masculine.  Femininity is an underrepresented frontier, and the world is ready for it.

 

A Chance to Build Each Other Up

Yorkshire Sound Women Networks Meetup, March 2018

On March 25 I had the pleasure of attending the Yorkshire Sound Women Networks meetup at Yorkshire Dance in Leeds.

The Yorkshire Sound Women Networks were founded in Huddersfield on July 14, 2015, with the aim of bringing women together to “share knowledge and skills in music and sound technology, sonic arts, production, and audio electronics.” They describe their “glorious mission” as “to inspire and enable more women and girls to explore sound and music technology.”

Since 2015 they have seen the network expanded to encompass regional groups in Sheffield, Hebden Bridge/Todmorden, York, Oxford, and as far afield as Malta. As well as regular member meetups, the network offers workshops in synthesis, Ableton Live, Arduino, live coding, production sound, and sound design.

March 25 was the first joint meetup for all groups, and the first time the network has offered a full day of workshops, talks, and performances. The day was open to all women who were interested in attending, from within the Yorkshire region and beyond.

Sharing knowledge was one of the key themes of the day – the programme handed to me as I registered included the statement “Today is our chance to build each other up by sharing ourselves, our knowledge, our resources, our networks.”

I appreciated that these resources and knowledge included talks on more administrative and educational topics, as well as electronics and music. Andie Brown’s practical and informative presentation focussed on finance management for the self-employed, while Michelle Myrie’s talk provided insight into her experience of changing lives through music through her work with NEET young people – young people “not in education, employment or training.” It was clear that YWSN had thought carefully about what topics would be pertinent and valuable to the attendees, who included students and women who were interested in electronic music and sound, as well as professional performers, musicians, and educators.

Collaboration was also a welcome theme. In the section of the day dedicated to showcasing work from YWSN’s regional groups, it was exciting to see how musicians and sound artists were inspired by each other’s work, which resulted in unusual and unexpected collaborations. The Hebden Bridge/Todmorden group spoke about a sound walk they’d designed which incorporated location sound recording and electronic sound art. The Huddersfield group performed live (their first live performance as a group), using a mixture of synthesizers, vocal manipulations, and found instruments.

The highlights of the day for me were an immersive electronic music performance from University of Huddersfield student Ching Wu, and Vicky Clarke’s hands-on DIY electronics workshop, where we had the chance to breadboard a noisemaker. As someone who hasn’t fiddled with electrical components since sound school, it was a fun and somewhat challenging reminder that there’s more to sound-making than sitting behind a console or computer in a studio.

Finally, it was immensely encouraging to see lots of young women in attendance – from Ching’s performance using Ableton Live, to the Malta Sound Women Network’s report on their work and events (delivered by video). It was clear to me that providing this kind of supportive spaces and communities where collaboration and experimentation (both successes and failures) are encouraged is not only a good thing, it is vital to the continuation and growth of women working in music and sound.

To slightly paraphrase the quote from Laurie Spiegel, printed in the programme information for the day): Bravo to the Yorkshire Sound Women Network. I can’t wait to hear what you’ll create next.

Special thanks to Liz Dobson from YSWN for inviting me to attend the day.

You can find

The Yorkshire Women’s Network on Facebook Here

Malta Sound Women Network

Yorkshire Sound Women Network – Sheffield

YSWN Hebden Bridge

Leeds Sound Women

YSWN York

Heather Augustine – Patience, flexibility, and persistence

Heather Augustine’s introduction to theatre sound happened almost by accident.

Now Head of Sound for the US National Tour of Les Misérables, she recalls how in high school, it was initially acting that drew her to theatre, “I loved that idea that in theatre you can break the mold and push boundaries.” It was a surplus of female actors for the annual musical that led to an unexpected introduction to technical operations: “I actually wanted to do lights, but my sister was older, so she got to pick first, and she picked lights. Little did I know that running sound for that musical would set me up for the rest of my career!”

That initial step led to further sound and tech work at high school and at 16, she got a job as an audio operator at the San Antonio SeaWorld park. When it came time to consider college, it seemed a natural step to continue working in technical theatre.

Her “official” introduction to theatre sound design came after meeting Curtis Craig at a Texas Thespian Festival. Craig became her sound design professor at Penn State, where Heather studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design and Technology, with an emphasis on Sound Design and Costume Technology.

At college, she expanded on the skills she learned in high school and at SeaWorld. “[which] were more “this happens, you push this button” with a little bit of mixing,” and was introduced to all aspects of technical theatre. These aspects included scenic, lighting, costumes and technical direction, with higher-level classes and show assignments in her areas of emphasis.

Heather PSU Tailgate

After graduating, connections and recommendations from Penn State enabled her to get a job with NETworks Presentations. Following college, she started touring as an A2 (Assistant Audio, also called Sound No. 2 in the UK). Aside from some summer festivals and freelance design/mixing work for smaller theatres in Dallas, Texas (where her family is based), she’s toured for the past six years. Over this time she’s worked on six shows, moving up to the A1 (Head Audio, or Sound No. 1) position for the last two shows.

Early on in her career, she felt pressure to be more technically adept than her male counterparts. “I’m quick to pick up a mix, and I can organize and do split and cut tracks faster than most, but I have to get my hands on gear and spend time with it before I really understand it. I can’t rattle off hundreds of model numbers, and it took me a while to be okay with that. You need both sets of skills to make a show work.”

Even so, she says that her real challenge was her mindset, “It took me a bit longer than it should have to make the transition from A2 to A1 because I would let my insecurities get the better of me and convince me that I wasn’t ready to do it on my own. When I finally decided to make the shift, I found out I was fine. There’s always more to learn, and sometimes you have to force yourself to make that leap.”

Heather OZ FOH

In her current role as Head of Sound for the US National Tour of Les Misérables, Heather is responsible for mixing the show, maintaining the overall sound design and managing the logistics of getting the system in and out of the various venues.

Like any major touring production, the national tour of Les Mis travels with everything needed to walk into a bare stage and set up a show from scratch. Set, costumes, electrics, audio and everything else required fits into eleven 53-foot semi-trailers. With a show this size, planning is paramount, and long (and early) hours are part of the job.

Sound get-in at a new theatre starts with an advance rigger/swing tech who leaves the previous city on load-out day (usually Sunday) and works with the local crew in the new theatre on the next day (Monday) for five hours to rig the monitors. The rest of the crew finish the load out from the previous theatre around eight to ten hours after the last show goes down (usually Sunday evening into the early hours of Monday morning), jump on a bus and go to the next city. The full load-in starts at 2 pm on Monday and finishes around 11 pm, with a dinner break. The crew go back in at 8 am the next morning (Tuesday) for another eight hours, with a show on Tuesday night. The rest of the week runs with one evening show on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and two shows on Saturday and Sunday. For a week “sit,” load-out happens after the second show on Sunday, and the process repeats for the next city. Every couple of weeks the show might stay at a theatre for two to three weeks, and the crew will get Mondays off.

Heather PSU Truck Loading

Heather admits that her least favorite part of the job is working between 5 am – 7 am: “I don’t care if we’re loading out and it goes into the morning, or if we start the day with a 6 am call, I’m happiest when I never have to look at a clock during those hours.”

During load-in, as A1 (Head Audio) Heather is responsible for getting the system up and running and tuning and timing it. The current Les Mis system comprises a DiGiCo SD7 at Front of House (FOH), Meyer Leopard arrays, UPJ center cluster and delays truss, UPM front fills, 600HP and 500HP subs. D&B E5s are used for under-balcony delays and onstage monitoring. Meyer Galileo and Callisto systems are used for processing, with two redundant QLab machines for playback. They use a Sennheiser SK-5212 wireless system with DPA 4061 mics.

After the show is in, Heather will mix the majority of the shows, as well as being available for rehearsals (possibly one or two a week), particularly “put-in” rehearsals. These are essentially full runs of a show with full tech elements for swings, understudies or new members of the cast: “People will start leaving for various reasons (contracts end, other jobs come up, etc.), so the cycle continues as you continue to rehearse and put new people into the show.”

The second person in the sound department, the A2, will mix around two shows a week and runs the “stage sound” – the backstage aspects of the show. This includes managing all radio and onstage mics, troubleshooting and running a show track or teaching this to a local stagehand. Heather jokes that “the A2 is the PR rep for the department because [they are] the one around all the actors and crew while the A1 is out at FOH during the show.”

As well as the responsibility of getting the sound up and running at each new theatre, the A1 has to think ahead to the next stage on the tour.

The system is specified before the tour by the Sound Designer, whose job it is to work with the director and MD (musical director) to create and define the overall sound for the show. This will include choosing the speakers, mics, console, processors and everything else that’s required for the system, tuning it, and sourcing or creating sound effects and soundscapes. The job of the A1/Head Audio is to learn the sound and replicate this in each theatre on the tour. Part of the A1’s role is, therefore, to consider whether the tour has enough speakers to cover the next space and whether it can accommodate their rig.

Does the new venue have any quirks for which they need to plan?

It’s clear that as well as technical expertise, the job of an A1 requires solid organizational skills, flexibility, patience, and persistence. Heather emphasizes these last three as being key when touring: “Things are never going to work out quite the way you want them to, and mistakes are going to happen. [You have] to get right back up and try again.”

She encourages any women and young women who want to work in theatre sound to “Figure out what your thing is and go with it. I hear a lot of people trying to figure out the “right” way to deal with discriminatory situations, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Learn from others, but realize that it’s okay to have a different way of dealing with people, and find out what makes you comfortable.”

Heather Phantom FOH

From Heather’s perspective, theatre can be a supportive environment for women. “[There’s] a lot of support. Both from women who are already in the industry, and from a lot of guys who are happy to see more and more women in audio. I can’t count the number of times that someone has told me it’s great to see a woman or an all-female audio team (when my A2’s have been women) come into their theatre.”

As for the future of theatre sound, Heather believes there will be a shift towards using more digital technology. This is particularly in light of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission, the regulatory authority for wire and radio communications in the US) moving to auction off increasing amounts of the RF (radio frequency) spectrum. She also believes departments will become more integrated. Many shows, like Les Mis, already link sound and lighting cues through MIDI, and other elements such as automation and effects can also be linked together.

In terms of her own career, Heather would love to mix on Broadway. She’s also looking towards a time when she has the financial independence to be able to work on smaller or newer projects that feed her passion.

For the moment, Heather appreciates her job for two reasons.

First, the people: “It’s still mind-boggling to me how you can know someone for only a couple weeks, but after you tech, a show, do a couple grueling load-ins and outs, you form a bond, and it feels like you’ve known each other for years.”

And second, “there are times I watch as I’m mixing, and take a moment to appreciate what an amazing show it is, and how incredibly proud I am of it. Those moments make all the days of planning, the long hours working, and (sometimes) the lack of sleep worth it.”

Review of Daphne Oram’s An Individual Note

I discovered this book on a trip to Moog in Asheville, NC.  After the incredible tour, I was drooling in their gift shop with a small wallet.  It was this beautifully packaged book with a soft matte white hardcover that caught my attention.  Vaguely waveform-like shapes and a subtitle that paired music with electronics led me to skim the summary.  From there it checked the final box: a book written by an audio pioneer who just happened to be female.

Daphne Oram was an electronic musician and sound designer when these terms were in their infancy.  She co-founded and was the first director of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, famous for the ethereal sounds of the television show Dr. Who and the radio drama Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Through Oram’s vision, BBC Radiophonic Workshop was an incubator for musique concrete, experimental compositions that focus on sound manipulation.  Oram herself left BBC Radiophonic Workshop soon after its creation and pursued electronic sound synthesis in her facility and on her own terms.

There is a story behind the edition I acquired, and one can feel the love in its creation.  This publication was commissioned by the Daphne Oram Trust and funded through a Kickstarter campaign.  The manuscript was re-typed, the diagrams were digitally redrawn, and new photographs were added in addition to the originals.  The new outside cover is unique unfinished paper with abstract designs, and while reminiscent of a textbook it is smaller and gives a soothing feeling.  Inside the endpapers are dark green rastered photos. Daphne Oram’s portrait graces the front, and her studio is featured in the back. Each page is a thin cardstock that gives weight to the words printed.  Topic guidelines are added to each chapter heading and reflect the style of writing within. A preface has been added that offers a fitting tribute to Daphne Oram, as well as preparing the reader for the mind from which the main text was created.

An Individual Note of Music, Sound and Electronics is written as a guide to understanding the philosophy of sound and its creation.  Starting from the definition of sound, Oram leads the reader through the path of that note as an individual to overtones, chords, and various ways of creation.  The final result is her Oramics Machine, a synthesizer that uses pictorial waveforms as the control interface. And like her device, An Individual Note combines different academic disciplines to reach the sonic goal.

Admittedly when I picked up this text, I had thought it would be filled with formulas and circuit diagrams.  And while there is mention of Fourier and the basics of an oscillator, this is book favors humanities and art.  Even Oram’s writing style is almost more poetry than prose with her use of alliteration, repetition, and metaphors.  Nearly every single chapter had a reference to her coined term “cele” as a counterpoint to “elec” (electricity). These flourishes are interspersed in a stream of consciousness that does not reveal its goal until the last few chapters.  Complex formulas and jargon are set aside in favor of the nuances of emotion and thought experiments. And some of those thoughts stretch too far in the realm of speculative fiction. In comparing resonance to consciousness and manipulation of it as a form of signal processing drugs become white noise.  “You will be using white noise to overwhelm yourself…” Up until the end, I was impatiently waiting for the secrets to proficient analog sound synthesis and methods for tape manipulation. Instead, I found a succession of somewhat restrained nonsequiturs leading towards a creative thought process.

One cannot build the illustrious Oramics Machine from this book unless one has a background in Electrical Engineering, but An Individual Note can serve as a preface to experimentation with pre-made synthesizers.  Often she refers to Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, a text which feels anachronistic.  “Wee also have diverse Strange and Artificial Eccho’s…”  And Oram is not afraid to look into the past to find inspiration for the future.  Nothing is off limits to influence the creation of sound. Daphne Oram does not write a how-to book, but a why-to.  This is a text to inspire curiosity and to provoke new perspectives, as Daphne Oram did. And I guess I should co-opt a term from Oram herself and say that this book is a muse.

 

DISEÑO SONORO – Foley

 

Los efectos de sonido en la filmación comenzaron cuando las películas dejaron de ser mudas para pasar a transmitir sonidos y voces. En 1927, Jack Foley desarrolló múltiples y diferentes técnicas de sonidos para cine, gracias a su colaboración en la película “ShowBoat”, en donde realizó los efectos de sonido sincrónico en tiempo real y así comenzó el efecto sala, mejor conocido como efecto Foley.

El sonido tiene la capacidad de hacernos sentir parte de una historia; algunas veces pasa desapercibido, pero si no estuviera ahí, la película no generaría el mismo sentimiento.

El foley puede comprender desde el sonido más sutil y cotidiano, hasta efectos sonoros creados para dar más sentido a algo en concreto, por ejemplo:  la ropa, puertas crujiendo, vidrios rotos y el mar, entre otros.

Al inicio, puede ser confuso comenzar a recrear los efectos sonoros. ¿Qué sonido es el mejor? ¿qué pasa si no me gusta el Foley que estoy creando?

Con esto en mente, hay que centrarse en tres áreas principales: pasos, movimiento y accesorios específicos. A continuación, se muestran distintos escenarios de lo que podría suceder, así como algunas recomendaciones de lo que puedes hacer al respecto:

Experimentar hace al maestro: Crea tus propios sonidos, prueba varios materiales, fábricas, suelos, etcétera. Esto te ayudará a tener una idea de un sonido y decidir qué es lo que requieres, en la medida que te funcione. Muchas veces, el producto final termina siendo algo que no esperabas, también te ayudará a crear un flujo de trabajo y en proyectos futuros podrás tener tus técnicas de grabación listas.

Prepárate para ensuciarte: Sí, ser un artista de Foley es un trabajo sucio, es recomendable utilizar ropa que no te moleste manchar, ya que estarás en el estudio durante varias horas y además te proporcionará comodidad para poder realizarlos. Trata también de usar ropa que haga poco ruido, para evitar que se filtre algún sonido externo.

Crea plantillas: El orden en las sesiones optimizará tu tiempo; crea plantillas en tu software de grabación (DAW) con tiempo. Independientemente de cuál utilices, el trabajo será más rápido y esto también les hará más sencilla su labor a los ingenieros de edición, de mezcla , etcétera.

Tener un diario se convertirá en tu mejor amigo: En él deberás registrar cada movimiento que estás haciendo, con su fecha y hora respectiva, desde lo más sencillo, como: “Tuve un error de grabación” o “No logré el paso adecuado”, hasta lo más complejo: “Hoy aprendí una técnica de grabación”. Puede ser tedioso, pero a largo plazo será de gran ayuda si llegaste a olvidar a crear un sonido, o también, cuando realices proyectos similares, tendrás una idea de cómo trabajarlos, gracias a tu journal.

Ir al cine: Ya sea para referencia o inspiración, esto te abrirá la mente, no sólo para ver efectos especiales, escuchar pasos en diferentes tipo de relieve y demás; también podrás ver cómo los géneros en el cine varían en Foley, en su manera de ser creados, grabados y mezclados.

Habrá cambios de último momento: Es la ley de la vida y más en la producción de películas. Ten en cuenta que puede haber proyectos que te pidan entregar al día siguiente (yo he tenido que entregar desde una hora o hasta media hora antes de la proyección), por lo que tendrás que trabajar bajo presión, pero no te preocupes, no siempre será así y aprenderás mucho.

Guarda todo: La regla de oro. Graba todo y si no estás segura de que lo hiciste, vuelve a guardar.

Colocación de micrófonos

Los micrófonos sensibles son excelentes para captar matices sutiles en efectos de sonido. Dentro del estudio de Foleys, puedes utilizar los siguientes modelos de transductores:

Trata de que la dirección del micrófono no esté muy cerca de la fuente que quieras captar; aléjalo unos cuantos centímetros para tener un poco del sonido del cuarto.

Estos son algunos objetos y técnicas sugeridas por artistas de Foley en Hollywood:

TÉCNICAS

OBJETOS

Cada película es distinta; además, cada producción y dirección provocan procesos diferentes, por lo que siempre aprenderás cosas nuevas. Así que al final, en todo momento sigue intentando nuevas ideas y guárdalas, nunca sabes cuándo las podrías usar.

By Tania Moreno and Carolina Anton

Tania Moreno – Nació en Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, el 2 de abril de 1996. Estudió la preparatoria en el Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey en Monterrey, México, y actualmente es estudiante de Ingeniería de audio en el Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey en Monterrey, México.

Ha estudiado una segunda carrera en Francés y también ha estudiado y realizado prácticas en Helsinki, Finlandia.

Es locutora y artista de Foleys para proyectos de animación y actualmente acaba de fundar su productora de audio Happy Dog Productions, especialista en la creación de diseño sonoro, scoring, mezcla y masterización.

Carolina C. Antón – Originaria de la Ciudad de Mexico, con más de 9 años de constante crecimiento, amante de la música, su primer acercamiento fue tocar la batería, inmediatamente inició de manera autodidacta e independiente, comenzando a realizar grabaciones en vivo, diseños y optimización de refuerzo sonoro y Head de audio para festivales internacionales a nivel internacional. Actualmente es ingeniero de mezcla para en vivo (FOH / MON). Ha mezclado para varios artistas, participando en giras mundiales.

Desde el 2016 comenzó su representación de Soundgirls.Org en la Ciudad de Mexico

Agradecimientos a la comunidad de Artistas de Foley: Peggy Vázquez, Estefanía Monroy (BHD estudios) y Alexa Castillo (BHD estudios) por aportaciones de consejos.

 

 

SOUND DESIGN – Foley

Using sound effects in film began with the passing of silent films. In 1927, Jack Foley developed multiple techniques of sounds for cinema, thanks to his collaboration in the film “ShowBoat,” where he made the effects of synchronous sound in real time and thus began the room effect, better known as the Foley effect.

Sound has the ability to make us feel part of a story; sometimes it goes unnoticed, but if it were not there, the film would not generate the same feeling.

Foley can be the most subtle and daily sound, to sound effects created to give more meaning to something in particular, for example, clothes, doors creaking, broken glass and the sea, among others.

In the beginning, it can be confusing to begin to recreate the sound effects. What sound is the best? What happens if I do not like the Foley I’m creating?

With this in mind, you have to focus on three main areas: steps, movement, and specific accessories. Below are different scenarios of what might happen, as well as some recommendations of what you can do about it:

The experiment makes the teacher: Create your own sounds, try various materials, factories, floors, and so on. This will help you to have an idea of a sound and decide what you need, as long as it works for you. Many times the final product ends up being something you did not expect, but it will also help you to create a workflow, and in future projects, you will be able to have your recording techniques ready

Get ready to get dirty: Yes, being a Foley artist is a dirty job, it is advisable to use clothes that do not bother you because you will be in the studio for several hours and it will also provide you comfort to perform. Also try to wear clothes that make little noise, to prevent any external sound from leaking out.

Create templates: The order in the sessions will optimize your time; Create templates in your recording software (DAW) with time. Regardless of which one you use, the work will be faster, and this will also make it easier for editors, mixers, etcetera.

Having a diary will become your best friend: In it you will have to record every movement you are making, with its respective date and time, from the simplest, such as: “I had a recording error” or “I did not achieve the adequate step “, even the most complex:” Today I learned a recording technique “. It can be tedious, but in the long term it will be very helpful if you forget to create a sound, or also, when you do similar projects, you will have an idea of how to work them, thanks to your journal.

Go to the cinema: Whether for reference or inspiration, this will open your mind, not only see special effects, listen to steps in different types of relief and others; You can also see how the genres in the cinema vary in Foley, in their way of being created, recorded and mixed.

There will be changes at the last moment: It is the law of life and more in the production of films. Keep in mind that there may be projects that you ask to deliver the next day (I had to deliver from one hour or up to half an hour before the screening), so you’ll have to work under pressure, but do not worry, it will not always be the case, and you will learn a lot.

Save everything: The golden rule. Record everything and if you are not sure that you did it, save it again.

Placement of microphones

Sensitive microphones are excellent for capturing subtle nuances in sound effects. Within the Foleys study, you can use the following models of transducers:

Try that the direction of the microphone is not very close to the source you want to capture; move it a few inches to have a bit of the sound of the room.

These are some objects and techniques suggested by Foley artists in Hollywood:

TECHNICAL

OBJECTS

Each movie is different; In addition, each production and direction cause different processes, so you will always learn new things. So in the end, at all times keep trying new ideas and save them, you never know when you could use them.

By Tania Moreno and Carolina Anton

Tania Moreno – was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, on April 2, 1996. She finished high school and is currently a student of Audio Engineering at the ¨Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey¨, Mexico. She has studied a second career in French and has also studied and completed internships in Helsinki, Finland.

She is an announcer and artist of Foleys for animation projects and has just founded her audio production company Happy Dog Productions, a specialist in the creation of sound design, scoring, mixing and mastering.

 

Carolina C. Antón – Originaria de la Ciudad de Mexico, con más de 9 años de constante crecimiento, amante de la música, su primer acercamiento fue tocar la batería, inmediatamente inició de manera autodidacta e independiente, comenzando a realizar grabaciones en vivo, diseños y optimización de refuerzo sonoro y Head de audio para festivales internacionales a nivel internacional. Actualmente es ingeniero de mezcla para en vivo (FOH / MON). Ha mezclado para varios artistas, participando en giras mundiales.

Desde el 2016 comenzó su representación de Soundgirls.Org en la Ciudad de Mexico

Acknowledgments to the community of Artists of Foley: Peggy Vázquez, Estefanía Monroy (BHD studies) and Alexa Castillo (BHD studies) for contributions of advice.

 

Five Ways to Make your Freelance Applications Work for You

Happy 2018 Soundgirls! If you’re self-employed or considering becoming so, then you’re probably preparing for another year of hustling for new work opportunities. As someone who has experienced both sides of the freelance hiring process, I thought it was an appropriate time to offer some words of advice on applying for freelance jobs.

Freelance opportunities aren’t often formally advertised. They’re passed on by word-of-mouth, email, and posted on social media. A casual approach to hiring may seem to encourage a casual response, but don’t be fooled. Even the most laid-back “Hey we’re looking for awesome peeps to join us” company will still be looking for a professional response.

Here are a few tips for increasing your success when responding to opportunities for freelance work:

Read the job description

At the very least a freelance job posting or callout should include something along the lines of “we’re looking for [this kind of] person to join our team to do [this kind of work].” If it’s a useful job advert, it will also include a list of skills and experience required for the position, and any other specific requirements, e.g., location and language. Your very first step should be to thoroughly read the job description and consider if you meet the requirements before applying.

When I’ve posted call-outs for freelancers in the past, it always surprises me how many emails I receive where the applicant either hasn’t thoroughly read the application. Or they’ve forgotten to include any evidence that they have the skills and experience required for the role or they seem to think that working in any area of sound for a few years is enough to be considered for a job that requires specific expertise.

Responding quickly to a job posting may increase your chances of the hirer reading your application, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the content. Similarly, responding to every freelance job advert even if you’re not qualified, in the hope that someone might give you a chance, is not a winning technique. If a company is looking to expand their pool of freelance dialogue editors and your background is solely in music production, they’re probably not going to be interested. Freelance positions fulfill a professional requirement – the hiring company will want whoever they hire to be able to step in and do the job straight away. Avoid wasted effort on both sides, and make sure you understand what the hirer needs before you apply.

Do your research

Of course, not every freelance job advert has an explicit list of the job requirements, or the description might use more generic terms like “we’re looking for sound engineers” without expanding on the work involved. It pays to do a bit of research before applying. If the job posting is on a company’s website or social media account, it only takes a few clicks to get more information on what kind of work they do and for what they may be looking. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for – ask. I’m always happy to answer people’s queries about jobs I’ve posted, providing the answer isn’t already in the job post itself!

Have your portfolio and CV ready to go

If you’re applying to work for a company for which you’ve never worked, you’ll always be asked for your CV (at a minimum) and either a portfolio or details of your experience. Freelance positions often aren’t often advertised for long, and in the current climate, you can expect any job post to attract a lot of applicants, so it pays to be ready to apply as soon as you can.

Your CV should be a professionally formatted PDF – a maximum of two A4 sides, if you can get it nicely formatted on a single A4 sheet, even better. It also needs to be in the language applicable to the company or job for which you’re applying – worth considering if you’re looking to work in a different country. It can be worth having an online version as well, on a personal website, Linked In, or similar. Have your portfolio samples available both as audio/video files and online links – some companies ask for portfolios to be attached to emails or uploaded, others prefer a link to a website or media sharing site like Soundcloud or Vimeo.

Draft an excellent application email: what to include

Your application email (the modern-day cover letter), should be short (250 words maximum), contain the information requested in the job advert (skills and experience), any additional relevant information, and have the appropriate documents and work examples attached or linked, depending on what’s required. Remember: all a hirer wants to know on a first quick pass of your application is: do you have the professional skills and experience needed for this job? If they can’t see evidence that you could do the job, they’re unlikely to follow up.

From my experience as a hirer, I prefer a friendly, professional tone for application emails – not overly formal, also not quirky. I don’t need you to be creative in a cover letter to help you stand out – your portfolio or CV should do this for you. Plus, depending on the job, I might have upwards of fifty emails to go through, and if it takes me more than a couple of minutes to get the information I need, I’ll be inclined to delete and move on.

Regarding including additional relevant information: if you’ve worked with the hirer or hiring company in the past, met them in person, or have been recommended through personal contact, this is always worth mentioning. I am more interested in working with people who I know to be reliable professionals, or who come recommended by someone I trust.

Draft an excellent application email: what to leave out

Unless a job posting asks for it, the following has no place in a freelance application email (all of these come from real application emails that I’ve received)

You don’t have the exact skills and experience, but you still think you’d be great for the job

A freelancer fills a professional need for a company, and they need to trust that you can do the job straight away. Unless expressly stated, you can assume you’ll be expected to do the work as soon as it comes in, with no training. If you can’t provide evidence that you can do the job, then your application is likely to be discarded.

How much you love sound and want to work in the industry

I see this a lot from graduates and people new to the job market. If you’re a working or trained sound professional, I’ll take it as a given that you enjoy working with sound. You don’t need to spell it out in an application email.

How you can only do the job if certain conditions are met, e.g., you can only do certain days per week

Your application letter is not the place to negotiate the day-to-day details of a job (unless specifically requested). If a hiring company decides to take your application to the next stage, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss requirements on both sides. Applications that include a list of unasked-for stipulations can make you seem inflexible, which isn’t a desirable quality in a freelancer.

The best application is always one that’s prepared, relevant, and professionally written. Good luck with all of yours for this coming year.

Check out SoundGirls Resources for Career Development

10 Ways To Make the Most of the Quiet Season

The end of the year will be here before we know it. December-January is often a bit of a quiet season for the sound industry, so for my last blog for 2017, I’ve put together a list of ten highly recommended activities to make the most of it.

Step away from the faders.

Rest. It’s been a busy year; you need it. Start the next year refreshed, not exhausted.

Get some exercise

…that’s not just running cables. If it’s cold on your side of the planet, wrap up appropriately and remind yourself what weather feels like. If it’s warm, sit in the sun and take the fluorescent edge off your studio tan

Be an audience member

Watch a play, see your favourite band, take in a film without trying to analyse the convolution reverb. Take your sound ears off for a bit and remember what it feels like to just enjoy a great piece of art.

Do a career stocktake

Look back at the work you’ve done this year. Which projects took you closer to your career goals? Which ones took you further away from your goals? Which were a side-step? Use this to figure out what kind of work you want to do more and less. Maybe you’ll find it’s time for a brand new set of goals altogether.

Have a bit of a tidy-up

The quiet season is a perfect time to do the tedious but essential maintenance that you put off when you were busy with tours and projects. Software upgrades, backups and archiving, PAT tests, clean-ups, and clear-outs. Start the new year with something resembling a tidy studio/working space and a clean system.

Get educated

Dust off that online course, podcast series or webinar that you never quite got around to watching. Time spent investing in your skills is never time wasted.

Polish up your portfolio

If it’s been a while since you updated your CV or your showreel isn’t showcasing your very best work, you’ll need a refresh. If you’re planning to target a different area of the industry, or a different country, in the new year, make sure you have a portfolio that’s tailored accordingly. Resources for Resumes and Social Media

Say thank you

If you have a mentor, remarkable colleague or someone who’s given you a great opportunity this year, this is a perfect time to say thank you and tell them how much you value their support. It’s simple, it doesn’t have to cost much (or anything), and it will be appreciated.
Indulge in some celebrations

Reflect on your achievements and take a moment to acknowledge what you’ve learned and created. You’ve done good work, and you deserve to celebrate it. Glass of seasonal refreshment is recommended.

On behalf of the UK SoundGirls Chapter, thanks to all our members for being part of our SoundGirls community this year. Cheers to the year to come!

Recommended Reading

Surviving the Slow Season

Live Fast, Stay Young

 

How to be Lucky

“I’ve never had those kinds of well-paid opportunities happen, not everyone is lucky.”

“She’s so lucky she got that job, I’d kill to work there.”

“You’re so lucky to be doing what you love! I wish I could do that.”

Any of these sound familiar? I saw one of them on Facebook today. One of them is something a friend said to me a few days ago.

Up until recently, I got annoyed when someone described me as “lucky.” I would have said, that where I am in my career today has very little to do with the vagaries of fate, and everything do to with hard work. But recently I was reminded of the well-known quote attributed to Seneca the Younger: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” And I realised, I am pretty lucky.

I have spent the past twenty years preparing for my current career and creating opportunities. I invested in training and qualifications. I moved to the other side of the world on a one-way ticket where there were more chances for work. I learned how to run a business as well as configure a console. I joined organisations, I went to events, and talked to everyone I could. I learned from other people’s experiences and my mistakes. I built up my skills and my portfolio, and then when the opportunities arose, I took them. According to Seneca, I am lucky. And I know – at the risk of sounding like a motivational speaker – you can be too.

Be prepared

If your dream sound job came up tomorrow, would you have all the skills and experience you need to take it? What do you have to do to be ready for that job? You need to be prepared not just for when opportunity knocks, but for everything leading up to it – those smaller jobs which will gradually take you to a place where you feel capable of doing the more prestigious jobs.

Back in June 2004 I really wanted to be a radio sound engineer, ideally working in radio drama. I’d got as far as the practical test round of interviews for a trainee sound engineer position at the BBC in London. It was my third application for a trainee position, and the feedback from the previous one was to get more hands-on experience. A colleague in my department suggested trying a local arts radio station, as they were always looking for volunteers. I didn’t follow it up. On the day, the test went fine, but I didn’t get the job. The feedback they gave me was that they were looking for people with practical radio experience. I had the opportunity to get a job that would put me on the path to my chosen career – but when it came to it, I wasn’t prepared.

Create your own opportunities

If you’re relying on opportunities coming from one or only a few sources, you need to broaden your horizons. Think about the people who could recommend you for jobs, not just within sound people who work in adjacent fields. Venue owners, studio owners, production managers, tour managers, producers, directors, lighting designers, other sound engineers. Make connections offline and online and maintain those connections – relationships take time to develop. Make sure you’ve got a consistent, professional profile online, whether that’s a personal website, or an online professional directory like the Directory of Women in Professional Audio and Production (sign up if you haven’t already). The adage “you never know where your next job is coming from” is a persistent one for a good reason: it’s true. And the people who might be the ticket to your next step on the career ladder can’t give you anything if they don’t know you’re out there.

Take action and keep taking it

Getting up and doing it is the first real step – no one gets lucky by waiting for the world to come to them. But what if you’ve done all the preparation you feel you need, you’ve busted a gut creating opportunities, and you’ve yet to feel that magic “lucky” moment? Keep at it. Look at learning the kinds of skills that will attract not just the jobs you’re looking at now, but the ones in the future. Reconnect with contacts who’ve dropped off your radar and tell them about the latest brilliant show, album, or project on which you worked. The more prepared you can be, and the more opportunities you can make, the luckier you will become.

Whatever your goals for the future, in every possible way, I wish you good luck in achieving them.

 

 

X