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Omani Women’s Day

Every year in October, Oman celebrates Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate all that women do. From working to support their families, to caring for their children. It has a strong emphasis on the achievements of the women of Oman and the positions they hold in the private and public sectors. Oman is very proud that they are one of the most progressive countries in the region in terms of encouraging women in the workplace. It is common to see women in Oman holding high positions and this includes in government.

The programme at the Royal Opera House aims to showcase some of the diverse musical talents of Omani women and those from further afield. In line with Omani Women’s Day, a group of sound girls took the opportunity to attend the first SoundGirls.org meet-up in the Middle East. We are a hugely diverse group (already) with attendees from as far afield as Cuba and Australia. All members are currently residing within the GCC and working in live music, performing arts, and theatre.

Currently, we are acting as a support group in a pretty hidden industry in this part of the world. Interestingly, female sound engineers are in demand here. During weddings, men and women celebrate separately so women sound engineers are required to mix bands for the women’s party! We are very keen to expand and hope to offer workshops for aspiring engineers in the future.

This year I was lucky enough to be rostered to work front of house on the live mix for our Omani Women’s Day concert. Of course, we still need to archive the performance so this also included a broadcast mix that was used in-house for our camera feed as well as the audio feed for Oman TV who often come to record performances here.

The interesting part of this concert for our department was the mixture of amplified and non-amplified sections. As the performance was in ‘concert mode’ rather than ‘theatre mode’ this creates some interesting issues. Arabic music has a very distinctive sound that relies upon amplification. The best way to describe this to an ear accustomed to ‘western music’ is to ride the vocals as hot as possible. At the same time, it is very important that every syllable of every word is heard. The band are generally held back somewhat with the exception of crucial melodic instruments such as the oud and qanoon.

The lineup this year included a female string quintet of members of the Royal Omani Symphony Orchestra. They played three moving pieces which we recorded via our UM69 stereo microphone. A Palestinian dance troupe then performed two pieces via playback on Q lab. This was followed by an absolutely incredible Irani folk group called the ‘Kaliveh Ensemble’. They played traditional Arabic instruments which included drums such as the ‘duf’, tars- which resemble small-bodied guitars, a santur- a stringed instrument which is laid out on the player’s lap or stand and hit with small mallets, the oud, which looks a bit like a lute and the distinctive sounding kamancheh. Two singers provided vocals with backing vocals produced by other musicians when required. The result was a hypnotic and exhilarating sound that was just brilliant fun to mix. An experience that will stay with me for a lifetime. Our headliner was a singer called Mohammad Assaf. A winner of ‘The Voice’ he was a big hit with the audience. His performance for Omani Women’s Day was followed the day after by his own concert. It was such a joy to be mixing for such an appreciated star.

In all a busy but rewarding month in Muscat. This week we are back into theatre mode for ‘Lohengrin’ the Wagnerian opera… nothing like diversity to awaken the soul!

 

Looking to move from music into post-production? Here’s some things to consider.

Post-production (working in film, television, or web/new media) can be a good option for someone looking to expand work opportunities. However, it can take just as much time/investment as music and may not be the right move for everyone considering it. It’s interesting how the music community recognizes the differences between a studio engineer and a front-of-house engineer – credits in one don’t guarantee a job (or even an interview) in the other. The skills of a re-recording mixer are equally different from a studio-based music mixer yet there are misconceptions like:

“If you have music experience, you can cross into post.”

“It’s easier to break into post than music.”

“It’s easier to find jobs in post-production than music.”

The reality of working in post-production today:

A less-experienced applicant who has some post-production experience may land a gig over a more experienced music professional. For example, when hiring for an ADR engineering job, a machine room operator or assistant may be promoted and trained versus hiring a Grammy-winning engineer little picture experience and no relationship with the studio. Someone in an entry-level job will gain experience through watching material for quality control or observing sessions. While sound quality is important, it’s equally crucial for an ADR or Foley engineer to quickly identify problems and make on-the-fly decisions about performance and sync. We’re talking about .03 second time differences working with picture – it’s a skill that takes time to hear and see that level of detail.

Some tips for getting into post-production:

Most importantly, if you’re looking to work in post as a way of supplementing income, ask yourself if you’re really interested (and driven) to learn post and put in the effort. You’re in the running against people with skills, credits, and passion for the job. Hiring managers (and those hiring for indie projects) can tell the difference between applicants who are truly passionate about post and looking for a long-term relationship/career versus someone in it for money or who just needs a gig.

Post-production can be a great fit and career move for someone with music skills and experience. While the skills are similar, there can be an expression of creativity and collaboration that is different from any experience in music. The hours are generally more favorable than music studio life and there’s a lot of opportunities to try new things (like ADR, Foley, dialog editing, sound design, mixing). Technology is always improving and creating more opportunities to learn (such as the current trend: immersive sound). After getting into post, you can earn a really good salary if you’re willing to put in the time/work. There can be a lot of variety and opportunities whether it’s working in film, episodic television, documentary or reality, promo/advertising, new media content (web videos) and for some, it can lead to opportunities in video games and other visual media

Audio on the 50 Yard Line

The Super Bowl is no doubt one of the biggest watched events across the nation. I’m not a fan of the sport but you betcha I’m there watching at someone’s Super Bowl party for three reasons. The food, spending time with friends and family and the halftime show. No matter who is playing and performing that night, I’ll be there to watch. As a child, I thought it would be the coolest thing ever to be a part of a major production like the Super Bowl. Doing audio, doing some cool stage designing, or calling the shots that go live to all the viewers out there watching.

Now I am working within a venue that gives me the opportunity to be a part of large productions (not as big as the Super Bowl) but each day is something new. One aspect of my job that was very new when I began working within this venue was heading audio in a stadium setting. High school football is a big deal to everyone here in Texas and at one of the biggest stadiums in the state, we like to do things big. College and professional leagues aren’t the only ones putting together big games and housing big crowds.

At Cy-Fair FCU stadium we can house 11,000 people at a time. All the district games and homecomings are showcased here along with the battle of the marching bands and activities like such. Being in the profession of audio can lead you many different ways. I want to share my experience heading audio on the field. There are a lot of challenges that are faced.

One being distance away from the source. We typically run everything audio-related from the 50th-yard line which is center field. In my case that leaves me even further away from the source which causes a very long delay. Our speakers are housed about 80 feet in the air, and about 240 feet away from the 50-yard line. So not only are you experiencing a long delay but depending on where a spectator is setting they can be experiencing an even longer delay.  

When mixing a choir down on the field for a national anthem or a production for homecoming, my best friends are my cans (headphones). This way I get a solid mix out to my house, I then set a proper mix for my choir monitor that lives right in front of them during the performance. This helps keep the focus off the delay that is accruing. Another thing that makes it extremely challenging is wind. If it’s a windy day I have sound flying every which way. Not only is sound being bounced around. I have wind hitting my microphones pretty hard which causes dropouts from time to time. On days like these, I use a gate to try and control when my mic’s open and close to catch the performance only with minimum dropouts and the loud howl of high winds.

Another major part of audio during the games is the Referee microphone. The red is equipped with a headset- countryman-styled mic with a bodypack each game. Connected to his headpiece and the bodypack is an in-line mute switch that allows the Ref to open and close his mic as needed, this takes some of the stress of your back by not having to mute the mic during actual playtime. You still have to pay attention and listen because sometimes a Ref will forget to cut their mic after a call and it’s on you to cut any unwanted chatter into the stadium.

Lastly, running audio from the press box is the most difficult for me. One, I can turn my monitoring system up in the booth, but I don’t know what it sounds like in the stands. Sometimes I have to rely on my camera ops to communicate with me and let me know if we need more or less volume in the house. The other option I have is to use an app to control my audio surface, which is most efficient when time allows.

I know Soundgirls are working in all areas involving audio. But if any of you specifically want to get into sporting events, or have experience within the sporting side of things. I would love to hear how you specifically deal with challenges. I’ve headed audio for the final four basketball events, slam dunk contest, and nothing has challenged me more than audio out on the field. Your challenges might be different than mine, maybe you’ve done gigs outside that weren’t sporting events. I would still love to hear how you deal with different weather conditions. The thing that drew me to this platform is the same thing that keeps me here. Being able to share experiences, learn and grow together. I can’t wait to hear from you all.

 

Brace Yourself

Starting out in the audio industry, whether in live or studio, is a wee bit tough. Even when I was in school during finals week, when I had three papers due, juries and ensemble shows to perform, and recordings to finish while also working a day job, I don’t think I was this stressed and worn out.

I wake up in the mornings with my teeth sore from clenching, my brain slipping though my ears from what feels like overuse. I pay my bills with a day job that is far removed from what I want to be doing, and on the few days and evenings I have off, I’m at the job that I do want to be doing.

It’s physically grueling. Many of you youngins may also be feeling the same way. But it’s all worth it, because the pride I feel when a session is going well, or when I successfully help rotate one live band’s setup to the next band’s setup in less than fifteen minutes is immeasurable.

Throughout all this stress, it’s important to remember to carve out even just a few little minutes a day for yourself. It can be anything; reading a favorite book in the break room, taking a few centering breaths before bed, stepping outside to stretch… Anything. Beyond that, make sure you’re surrounding yourself with a strong support network of people who “get it,” those that understand that you’re working towards something great.
Steeling yourself away is a tough thing to do, especially if you’re on a gig that’s lasted over nine hours, and you haven’t showered in two days. But it’s as necessary as a decent night’s sleep, and it’s what will keep you moving forward. After all, you can’t give from an empty basket.

SoundGirls.Org  Note – Keeping yourself sane and avoiding burnout is important. Some of our contributors have written about avoiding burnout and stress.  Here are a few

Finding Balance

The Grind

Hi! My Name is Samantha and I am Addicted to Work

Part Time Mixer —– and Part Time What?

A Perspective on Success

Taking Care of You on a Gig

Happy New Year! Goals Anyone

Their Rightful Place in History

As a woman in tech, it can sometimes feel like we are fighting for recognition and it is troubling when those who write history choose to ignore women and the tremendous achievements they made. Women were instrumental in both sound engineering and computing from the beginning. Here are just a few.

Ada Lovelace Computer Coder – 1815 – 1852

adaMost people who code have heard of Ada Lovelace. Ada was the daughter of Lord Byron. Lord Byron was considered mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Byron left England for good when Ada was four months old. Ada’s mother, Lady Wentworth wanted to ensure that Ada was nothing like her wayward father, so Ada received an education in Mathematics and Logic, very unusual for a woman at that time.

Ada was introduced to Charles Babbage by her tutor Mary Somerville. While Babbage may have built the first computer,  Ada wrote the programs for it. Ada and Babbage collaborated on the Analytical Engine. In 1843 Ada translated an article by Luigi Menabrea on the Analytical Engine and added her own extensive notes which included the first published description of a stepwise sequence of operations for solving certain mathematical problems. Ada is often referred to as ‘the first programmer.’

Ada speculated that the Engine ‘might act upon other things besides numbers, the Engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent’. The idea of a machine that could manipulate symbols by rules and that number could represent entities other than quantity mark the first transition from calculation to computation. Largely forgotten by the world until 1953 when her notes were published in Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines. Ada has received many posthumous honors for her work. The US Department of Defense named a computer language after her in the 1980s.

Cordell Jackson Record Producer – 1923 – 2004

cordell-jacksonCordell started her own record label in 1956, Moon Records. It’s still trading today and is the oldest continually running label in Memphis. In 1956 she was a sound engineer recording her songs in her home studio. A real pioneer of sound engineering she found it hard to break into the male-dominated studio industry although she did record demos at Sun records.  Cordell bought a cutting lathe in 1947 and started recording demos with local bands.

“I have done everything I have ever thought of as long as it wasn’t immoral, fattening, or illegal,” Jackson says. “That expresses what my life’s been. It’s got to be right-can’t be anything wrong with it. That follows me all the way through. A long time ago, I was told little girls don’t play guitars. And yet I would steal the show wherever I played. In the Bible, God says to conform not, and he doesn’t want you to conform but to one thing, and that’s his love. That’s it. I don’t conform to the world about anything.”

 

 

 

“Steve Shirley” Software start-up entrepreneur – 1933 –

young-dame-stephanie-300-x-400In 1939 at the age of five, Stephanie was a lone child refugee to Britain from Germany. Part of the Kinder Transport Child Rescue Program.  Although she attended a girls’ school in England she received permission to study Mathematics at the local Boys School, as Mathematics was still not something routinely taught to girls.

After School, Shirley chose not to study the limited range of degrees available to women, instead deciding to study mathematics for six years at night school. In the ’50s Stephanie worked for the Post Office Research Station, where the world’s first programmable electronic computer was built, The Colossus Mark 1.

In 1962, Stephanie founded the software company Freelance Programmers. She was ridiculed, as no one bought software as it was given away with hardware. Stephanie structured her business around working wives and mothers and recruited professional women who had quit working to care for the needs of the home. These women worked from home, job shared and had flexible working hours. To understand just how pioneering this was you need to appreciate the restrictions put on women just 50 years ago. A woman did not return to the workplace after having children, she did not have access to equal opportunities and pay and couldn’t even have a bank account without the permission of her husband.

Stephanie, who addressed herself as Steve in business letters to get her foot in the door, owned the company that wrote the code for Concord’s black box flight recorder. Code is written, “by a bunch of women, working in their homes”. The company also developed software standards that were later adopted by NATO.

You can see Stephanie Shirley’s Ted Talk here and here the history of her company from its start to becoming a multi-billion dollar company.

 

If women have been around in tech from the start, why is it still a mainly male-dominated field? Are women’s achievements always diluted when seen through the lens of their gender? How do we address this imbalance and give the women who fought just to have careers outside the home, let alone made tremendous achievements claim their proper place in history?

Erin Barra – Educator, Songwriter, Producer, Music Technology Consultant

erinErin Barra has a wide-ranging skill set educator, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and music technology consultant. Erin specializes in music technology integration; she works with artists/bands looking to integrate laptops and digital technologies into their writing, production and stage setups. She has developed, taught and executed several music technology curriculums at the open source Coursera, and ROLI, K-12 Beats By Girlz, and collegiate levels Berklee College of Music, Berklee Online.

Erin is an Associate Professor in the Songwriting Department at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and is one of the leading product specialists for Berlin-based music software company, Ableton.  She has worked with an array of artists, from Grammy-winning artists engineers and producers; John Oates, George Massenburg, Kathy Mattea, Elliot Scheiner to those at the front lines of the independent movement Res, Miles Robertson, Ari Raskin.

SoundGirls caught up with Erin for an interview.

What is your specialty in music production?

I specialize in helping people reach their goals, whether it’s through collaboration, education or consultation. I communicate with people really well and have the creative and technical skill set to make most things in the music and technology realms happen.

Are you independent or do you work for a company?

Berklee College of Music is my home base, but I have my own consulting company MAMMA BARRA LLC that I freelance under, and work for private clients and for different brands such as Ableton, ROLI and Beats By Girlz

How long have you worked there?

This is the beginning of my 3rd year at Berklee, and I’ve been working for myself for about ten years

What is your current position?

Associate Professor

Give us a little background on what led you to work in music production?

I was pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter and felt completely out of control of my own content so one day I decided I was going to figure out how to produce myself.

How long have you been working in music production?

I’ve been producing for about ten years

How did you get your start?

In my bedroom studio haha.  No, but seriously, it was the work that I did at home on my own time that led to most of the opportunities I’ve had. I don’t think there’s any one thing that was a beginning for me; it’s just been this one very long and nonlinear journey.

How did you get interested in music production?

My father is an audiophile and places speakers for a living, so I was always interested in how things sounded.

What is your educational or training background?

I was classically trained as a pianist from ages 4-18, got a piano performance and songwriting degree from Berklee right out of high school and then learned all the music tech stuff the hard-knock way by teaching myself and asking a lot of questions.

What are your long-term goals?

Hold on to my sanity – I used to worry more about my career, but now that things in that arena seem to be less of a concern, it’s really more about maintaining my happiness in the midst of all the work. My other main goal is to have children, which affects both my work and happiness. It should be a huge adventure.

What are your current projects?

I always have about five irons in the fire at any given time, but right now I’m focusing the majority of my efforts on developing new curriculum for Berklee and building the Beats By Girlz initiative.

What is the Beats By Girlz Initiative?

Beats By Girlz is a curriculum and initiative designed to empower females to engage with music technology and build communities. We provide young women with the guidance, access, tools, and role-support to develop their interest (and ultimately their ability to pursue career opportunities) in music production, composition, engineering, etc. We are working towards gender equity in a field where women are highly underrepresented and strive help other groups mobilize and create similar change in their own communitie

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I try to view obstacles as opportunities, so I’ve had many many opportunities. Working in the music industry is full of barriers, but I think the biggest one for me was coming up with my definition of ‘success.’

How have you dealt with them?

Work harder than everyone else – keep learning – be open to change

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

Find a good support system and communities to be a part of. It has so much to do with who you surround yourself with.

Must have skills?

Communication skills

Favorite gear?

I’m a laptop musician, so I’m more of a software gal – I’d have to say Ableton

You learn more about Erin thru her website – 

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Trevor Waite – On Monitor Teching and Mixing Monitors for The Who

20160919_211500Trevor Waite has been part of the monitor team for The Who since 2007. He has worked along side The Who’s two monitor engineers Simon Higgs and Bob Pridden. Trevor has recently taken over for Bob Pridden, who has recently retired from the road and has mixed monitors for The Who and Pete Townshend for 50 years.  Trevor has some big shoes to fill but with his experience working with The Who and his positive attitude he will step up to the occasion. Trevor was kind enough to share his experiences, advice and tips on teching with us.

What is your background and how did you get your start?

My career started out as a part time job in college.  Prior to college, I was an electronics technician in the US Navy, serving aboard USS John F Kennedy (CV-67).  After my 4 years (during Desert Storm), I left the Navy to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, which proved to difficult for my simple mind, and ended up dropping to Electrical Engineering Technology (essentially, an over-trained technician).  

The college had a small production company on campus that took care of stage, lights and sound for the smaller gigs, and provided labour for the larger acts that came through. Tech Crew, as it was called, was set up such that the boss taught the first batch of student employees, and they continued.  It was brilliant.  In order to advance, one had to get signed off on even the most basic of skills…cable coiling.  Probably the best way to learn. As I got better, I managed to start teching at a local club.  This helped hone my troubleshooting skills, as some of the gear needed attention.  

After college, I managed to get a couple of jobs in my field of study, but quickly got bored with it.  My final day of working a 9 to 5 happened after getting to run monitors for Ted Nugent at that same club.  I quit working in my field, and followed my passion.  I continued with a regional company, but still wanted more.  I sent out resumes to multiple sound companies, and only got one response.  But that response launched an amazing career.  Eighth Day Sound gave me a chance, sent me out on Prince with two really good engineers and another great technician, all of whom taught me the ropes of touring.  14 years later, here I am, loving every minute of my career and meeting some incredible people and the bands they work for.

Questions from SG Members:

When people ask what I do, I never know what to say because there are so many terms that can describe what abilities and knowledge I have. I didn’t even realize there were system techs. for Monitors and FOH until I read a blog on SoundGirls.org. I know that everything I have learned about sound and signal processing/electronics etc. would easily make me by definition a “system tech” already, but does that mean I should consider myself a sound engineer and technician?

There is a major difference between a sound technician and an engineer.  I consider myself a very good technician, but an average engineer.  I am fine with that, because a good engineer has a very unique gift…that of above average hearing. While I can hear well enough to EQ a monitor to get very loud without feeding back, a true engineer will make it sing. Sometimes a great engineer has no idea how the electronics work to create an amazing mix, and that is where a great technician is needed.  I am proud to have teched for some brilliant engineers, and have no regrets being “just” a tech.

What type of equipment do you use for room measurement? Mics, computer programs, audio interfaces, things of that nature.  

When I am teching FOH, room measurements are essential to put the PA in correctly. Half the battle is getting the PA hung right.  To do this, a Leica Disto capable of both distance and angle is essential for indoor venues, while an Opti-Logic range finder does very well in outdoor or amphitheater venues.  Once the measurements are taken, the manufacturer of the particular PA will have a program to design the building and PA to cover it.  

Once the PA is hung, I use Smaart, with a Focusrite Scarlett, to time align and get a general EQ going while running pink noise.  Once the curve is relatively flat (don’t over EQ using pink noise), listen to it with your favourite song.  It may irritate the lighting guys after the 20th show, but there is a point…consistency.  We need to hand our engineer a PA that sounds as close to yesterday as possible.  The engineer needs consistency, and that is the tech’s primary goal.  

What have you worked with in the past and how does it compare to what you use now and how you are able to do your job now? 

I got into the industry when there were no computer programs to design PAs.  We would stack and adjust chains on a trial by fire basis until the PA looked like it should cover the room.  Experience helped make fewer trips up and down as the PA was adjusted.  These days, you can accurately design a PA without stepping foot in the venue.  CAD drawings are available for most venues, and the prediction software for most major PAs can either directly import these drawings, or can easily be deciphered.  Then the PA can be simulated until the system tech is happy with the virtual coverage.

Then there’s the consoles.  The industry has come a long way in the time I’ve been in it.  If we knew we were going to work with a band again, we would have to manually chart every knob and fader position, which was painstakingly slow.  Now with digital consoles, simply throw your USB key in from the last show, and off you go.

What sort of ear training should be done to help in tuning monitors? 

The only way to learn your frequencies is to make a system feed back and listen.  I learned by rote.  After hearing a frequency enough times, you will know it the next time you hear it feeding back.  Once the feedback is done, learn the sound of your voice.  This may sound strange, but try this.  Record your voice, then play it back.  It is different than you perceive it to be.  Therefore, know what you should sound like, then make the monitor sound like you.  There you have it…safe then sound.

Have there been any helpful books or training courses that you would recommend? 

I got very lucky that my college had a production company that handled the smaller shows, and provided labor for the big acts that came through.  Essentially, The boss taught the first batch of students, then had them teach the new hires every year.  You start of with the very basics of coiling cables, taping cables down, proper lifting, etc. before moving on to bigger and better things.  To this day, he was the best boss I ever had.  Always there but never micromanaged.  He is still there today.  

The Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook was also a very good reference.

SoundGirls.Org Questions 

What are the job duties of a stage tech vs. a monitor tech? 

Stage tech and monitor tech can be one and the same in some instances.  When I tech for The Who, I was both, but as it was far too much for one person, I had to rely on the SL PA guy to cable up stage.  In that case, the PA tech became the stage tech.  This is what I believe to be the difference:

A stage tech patches the stage, gets power out to backline, and cables up the monitors. Once everything is verified to be correct, the stage tech is done until load out.

The monitor tech’s job starts long before the tour does.  Once an engineer informs the company what is required, the monitor tech designs the racks, amps, stage patching and cabling to be as efficient as possible.  Once on tour, the monitor tech works closely with the engineer to ensure they have what they need to keep the band happy.  A good tech will go the extra mile and stand by the engineer to offer a second set of eyes to make sure all members of the band can communicate their needs to the engineer.  The monitor tech is also responsible for repairs or replacements if gear goes down.

You currently tour with The Who, and have recently taken over mixing monitors for Pete Townshend, do you carry production? If so what company are you using? Do you have a dedicated tech?

Eighth Day Sound has provided control gear (monitor system and FOH console and racks) for almost all The Who shows since 2007.  I have been their monitor tech since then, helping monitor engineers Simon Higgs and Bob Pridden.  It has been a fantastic ride so far, and it is an amazing honour to be able to continue Bob Pridden’s work as Pete Townshend’s monitor engineer.   As such, a tech has been added to take my place. Unfortunately, because of flight costs, it will not be the same tech I just trained back in the UK.  And with no production day to start our next leg, I have my work cut out for me.

Before Bob left the tour the three of you had a unique system of working together, can you explain how job duties were divided up before Bob left? And how you are working now with the loss of Bob?

Bob traveled with the band.  After being with them for over 50 years, I would say he earned that.  Because of this, setting up and EQ’ing fell to Simon Higgs, who also had to frequency coordinate all of the rest of the bands’ in ears.  Once monitor world was built, and stage was patched, I would put on ears and help Simon verify ear mixes, then watch Bob’s console during line check.  

Once the band and Bob arrived, I would wear one ear to help Simon with the rest of the band, and listen to Bob’s cue wedges with the other ear to help Bob with Pete’s wedges. Doing this, I managed to learn key parts of songs that Pete needed adjustments during the show. I was able to help Bob keep up with Pete’s needs.  Also, my eyesight was better, so I could see Pete’s requests for changes when it was almost completely dark.  At the same time, while Simon was concentrating on Roger Daltrey, so I would also keep an eye out for the rest of the band and let Simon know if one of them needed something.  

What equipment are using?

Currently, Simon Higgs is mixing Roger Daltrey and the rest of the band on a Digico SD7. I have inherited Bob Pridden’s Midas XL3.  I have been given permission to change to a digital console, and will go with another SD7 to keep the integration simple.  We will wait to make the change until after the Desert Trip shows, as there is no production day to get it right.  

How do you prioritize your job duties and tech duties?

I still show up on an early call.  Although I have a dedicated tech, I have always known this to be a two man job, so in the morning and at load out, I am the monitor tech, which eases the burden on the stage tech.  Monitor world is huge, and therefore built on a rolling riser in the middle of the arena.  I set up both consoles, and get Simon Higgs temporary power so he can start frequency coordinating when he comes in.  Until monitor world is rolled into position, getting Simon started is the first priority.  Once in place, I change hats and become Pete’s monitor engineer.  At this point, the stage tech becomes the monitor tech, and helps Simon with verifying in ears and stands by on stage during line check to fix any mis-patches.  I start EQing Pete’s wedges (something Simon used to have to do on top of everything else), and line check what is now my own console.  

Teching for a FOH or Monitor Engineer requires a certain set of skills. What do you feel are important skills a monitor tech should possess?

Monitor techs should have a basic understanding of troubleshooting skills. Unfortunately, this is not taught in most sound company shops.  A tech needs to know how to meter power and why, how to half split a fault (make a logical starting point to find a problem), and to know the job is not done until the truck doors close at the end of the night.  

FOH and Monitor techs are often required to help the engineer achieve their vision and goals. How can tech help the engineer see their vision come to fruition?

Providing consistency under all but the most extreme conditions can go a long way to helping an engineer create their magic.  If the engineer walks up to a console and everything feels the same way it did the show before (assuming that was good), then the tech has done the job properly.

What can a tech do to become irreplaceable?

I always provided the candy in monitor world.  That went a long way.  Otherwise, I suppose going the extra mile, as in any job, to show you are there for more than just a paycheck.  I find that is easy when you like the crew and band, but it is also true if you don’t.  Give each client 100%.  It makes you invaluable to your company, so you will get more calls, and you can always say no once you’ve established yourself (don’t do that too often, though).

How  important is it for FOH and Stage to be working together?  

There’s a reason we keep them 100 feet away.  They are a strange lot, those FOH people, but  a necessary evil.  Kidding aside, it is essential FOH and Stage work together, because the sound from either one greatly affects the sound of the other.  

Some performers get distracted when there is too much low end coming from the PA, so the monitor engineer and the FOH engineer must work together to find a compromise that reduces the low end felt on stage while still giving the audience a good mix with a bit of punch.  The same is true if sidefills or drum fills get too loud, or are out of time with the FOH mix.  Sometimes playing with phase on certain channels can make it so the stage sound adds to the FOH sound, instead of detracting from it.  FOH and Stage are intertwined, and it is very important for them to work together.

As systems become more technically advanced, how necessary is it to have training or  to be certified on the different systems? 

It is essential to fully understand how and why you are putting up x amount of boxes to cover a certain area.  It is just as important to get the angles between the boxes set correctly, or the system as a whole reacts very differently than anticipated.  

Prediction software is necessary to get the most out of whatever PA you are using, and the software requires training to understand how to use it.  Manufacturers have been very good at providing training programs around the world to ensure any system tech that is flying their PA is doing it in a way consistent with the way the manufacturer intended their product to be used.  This is extremely helpful when a band uses different companies on different continents.  If everyone is being trained the same way, an engineer can expect a lot of consistency wherever he/she goes.

If so what training would you recommend on a large scale touring production? And for medium and small sized productions?

On all productions, training is the same.  If the company one works for doesn’t offer the training, go to the manufacturer.  The size of the PA doesn’t matter, as it is essential to set up a small PA properly as well as large PA.  To get to the point of becoming the system tech, start at the bottom and learn cable management, PA flying in general, amp patching and how to get along with the other departments that make up a production.   The best way to learn the basics is to do it (preferably with a seasoned crew to help you along).

Working in a festival situation what do you feel is important?

Speed and a proper prep.  If the monitor tech has laid out everything he/she needs on stage in a logical way, setting up and striking should be fairly quick.  Keep mindful of the other acts, even if they are on before you.  Give everyone as much space as you can so that all get a chance to do their gig to the best of their ability as well.

What equipment and tools do you feel that every monitor tech needs to know how to use? 

A multimeter.  Sometimes a cable checker is very handy, especially if it’s one that has a transmitter end and a receiver end for when the cable to be tested is stretched out. Whirlwind makes a Q Box that can serve as either a tone generator or a headphone amp. A pair of headphones.  And basic tools in case you need to pull gear out of a rack to troubleshoot.  It would be very useful if the tech could solder, but without real training in that, I’ve seen some very poor solder skills, so I don’t recommend it for everyone.

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Articles Published by SoundGirls.Org

Trevor Waite – On Monitor Teching and Mixing Monitors for The Who

Student Loans – Student Debt

On Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Suzy Mucciarone on FOH and System Teching

Kim Watson on Mixing and Teching Monitors

Monitor Team – Christina Moon and Eric McCallister

Claire Murphy – Back Line Tech

The Only Dude on Tour

Molly Brickson Williams – Founder of Smart and Savvy Travel

BackLine Tech – Kelly Macaulay

Jill Meniketti- Artist Manager

Daniella Peters-Initiative Creates a Job

Karen Anderson- Smaart Woman

LP Creating Music on her Terms

Tips on writing your resume

Britannia Row Training Program

Behind the Scenes at NPR West

The History of The English Brass Bands

Dave Rat on the new EAW Anya Rig

How to set yourself apart from the competition and get the gig

Power Struggles: Work and Physicality

Proving yourself

Jackie Green – VP of R&D/Engineering at Audio Technica

The Sound Girls of Brazil

The Art of Mastering

Mastering Q&A with Jett Galindo

Interview with Doug Sax of The Mastering Lab

Producing EDM

Intro to Sound Design for Theatre

The Sydney Opera House

Vivid Live 2014 at the Sydney Opera House

Working Coachella and Surviving Festival Season: How Two Monitor Engineers Approach Festival Season

Coachella Music and Arts Festival: Two Companies that Did!

Rat Sound Answers Your Questions about Coachella

Behind the Scenes with M83 at the Hollywood Bowl

The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Techniques for System and Wedge EQ

From Consoles to Surfaces

The Fender Rhodes

Kevin Glendinning on Mixing and Teching Monitors

Post -Production Basics Part 2

Post-production basics (part 2): Sound editing – Dialog

In part one, we covered file transfer between a video workstation and DAW and how to prep these materials for a sound editor. In this part, we will cover some of the basics of sound editorial.

Different types of sound editing

Sound editing for picture can be broken into different elements (and job titles):

These roles could be different people or it could be one person doing all of the above. In credits, if someone is listed as “Sound Editor” they likely worked on multiple elements.

Dialog Editing

As we saw in part one, the materials are brought into an audio workstation from a video workstation (through an AAF or OMF) and then “split” so that each element is placed on appropriate tracks. The dialog editor is responsible for going through all of the dialog tracks for the following:

The fundamentals of dialog editing

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Here’s an example of a very basic dialog edit; The above track is edited while the grey track (lower) is how it was delivered by the picture editor.

Production dialog naturally has an audible noise floor (from background noise). For an exterior shot, this could be distant traffic or light wind; interior might be an air conditioner running or a refrigerator hum. Most dialog clips will need a fade in/fade out to make the ambience come in (or shift to another mic) more naturally. In the above example, there’s a small spot where a mic is missing. The dialog editor would need to “fill” that – in this case, the original audio in that area was fine so the region was extended to fill in the hole.

Towards the end of the clip (the 5th region), an edit was moved slightly to clean up a bad dialog edit in the middle of a word. At the very end, the original audio had something going on (a noise or start of a new word). That had to be edited to add a clean fade out using audio from earlier in the track.

Removing mics

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This is a before and after look of two tracks of dialog. It’s two people with separate mics talking at close proximity. Even just looking at the regions (without listening) you can get a general idea of when one person (or both) are talking. Even though it looks obvious, it’s still a good idea to listen through each track to make sure you’re not removing anything important that’s hidden in the waveform (like a quiet word or laugh). In this example, the second region of dialog was fill added by a picture editor (or assistant) that came from another scene. That had to be replaced with fill that from this scene to match sonically. It may have sounded fine in the picture edit bay, but the ambience shift would have been really obvious to the mixer. Sometimes issues like that aren’t audible unless you’re listening with professional-quality headphones, studio monitors, or with a compressor on the dialog.

Dialog organization

There’s a lot of different ways to organize dialog and the style can change depending on a few factors (like the style of project or the mixer). For example, when working on reality tv shows (or documentary), I like working with two sets of tracks: interviews and in-scene dialog. A scene could switch many times between action (in-scene dialog) to an interview of someone talking about what’s happening. Here’s an example of that style:

Even though it’s the same person talking, it doesn’t make sense to have on the same track because it’s different locations, different mics (or mic placement), and the source mics probably have different levels.

That style of dialog editing may not work for a scripted film or tv show, though. It may make more sense to have 5-10 generic dialog tracks. Regardless of who’s mixing, you typically want to edit the same character/same mic on the same tracks through a scene. In this example, there’s 3 people (or three mics):

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It’s possible that the character on DIA B will be on the track DIA C in the next scene.

There’s a lot of small details to dialog editing that will be specific to the mixer you are editing for; Below is the same audio but edited to another mixer’s preferences (no straight fades, longer fade ins/outs, switching between tracks A-B and C-D between scenes):

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It’s always a good idea to speak with the mixer you’re editing for to get a sense for their preferences. Some mixers have 5 dialog tracks ready to go and others have 20. Some mixers only want a specific type of cross fade. It can help to see another project that was edited for that mixer, too. In essence, the dialog editor’s job is to make it easy and seamless for the mixer to import the dialog edit and start working as quickly as possible.

Removing sounds

It’s pretty much expected for a professional dialog editor to know how to do detailed audio clean up using corrective software or plugins (with functions like declick, decrackle, and hum removal). Detail work is the key; Broadband noise reduction (globally reducing noise) typically happens during the mix, not by the dialog editor.

Izotope RX is commonly used software that dialog editors use to remove problem sounds. In the example below, there’s wind on the mic that’s causing rumble and clicks. The left side is the original audio; the right side is after it’s been treated by RX 5 (to remove low pops, de-plosives and declick):

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The biggest change is in the low frequencies (seen as bright yellow in the left photo). What’s impressive is that it’s done without compromising the quality of the dialog. A mixer could achieve a similar result with a high pass filter but they would be completely losing low end information – which can cause a shift in ambience or negatively affect the sound of the voice.

Izotope can also repair mic dropouts, as seen in this before and after:

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Tips for dialog editing

One trick that I use when dialog editing is to add EQ and compression (for my own reference) – basically to listen similarly to how the mixer will be.  It may take some adjusting between scenes but the idea is to hear things that you may not catch otherwise. For example, some lavs sound very dull or boxy (especially if poorly placed). A lav might need 6 dB or more of a high end boost – significant enough to hear issues that went totally unnoticed before.

Sometimes it’s up to the dialog editor whether to cut a scene with lavs or booms (this is another discussion to have with your mixer; some people prefer one or to have both options in the cut). It can be hard to gauge which sounds better when one of the EQs is totally off (or levels are totally off). In addition to adding a temp EQ, it can help to adjust clip gain as you’re working. Ultimately this could help your mixer too (if they are using clip gain data when it comes time to mix).

Unused mics: There’s a couple ways to handle mics that aren’t needed. If there’s two mics on the same person and both sound pretty good, it’s ok to edit both and leave one unmuted and the other one muted. You could also make “X” tracks; “X1, X2, etc” and place any unused tracks on there. Your mixer may want these tracks or not (that’s another question to ask). It’s good to hang onto as much as possible in your own work session, either way. If a mixer later asks, “were there any other mics for this spot?” you can easily see how many mic options there were and can listen to the alts (so you can explain why you chose the way you did).

If you’re doing any processing (declicking, etc), it’s really important to keep a copy of the original somewhere accessible. Sometimes it’s muted on the track below or you can make a track labelled “unprocessed” (or something similar) so anyone can get back to the original, if needed. If it’s only a small portion of a region it may not be necessary to separate out. In general, you want to make it as quick and easy as possible for someone to hear the original (whether it’s on another track or pulling out a handle).

Headphones versus studio monitors: This is a personal preference, but I typically prefer headphones unless I’m working in a decent sounding room with monitors that I know and trust. It’s hard to hear rumble on a speaker that only has a 6 inch woofer, for example. If I’m working at a studio, I would rather edit on a mix stage than an edit bay (it’s not always possible but it’s really helpful if you have an option). Even better is to work in the mix room that the final mix will take place. The mic choices that you make in one room may sound very different in another – especially between a small edit room and a mix bay.

Advanced dialog editing

This has been a basic overview of dialog editing. There’s more advanced skills that come up such as:

Who makes a good dialog editor?

Dialog editing is a good fit for people who like to work alone and is generally more independent and less stressful than mixing. You have to be detail-oriented and like problem-solving. It’s rewarding because it’s often a drastic change between where you started and what it sounds like when you’re done. It can be really challenging at times, too. As far as sound editing goes, it’s probably the most important job (because dialog is up front and center – literally).

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