Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

The Modern Working Parent

the boysI recently spoke with someone who piped my interest in a concept, mother’s who work. Seems there is always someone with an opinion about that subject. However, it’s not something that is much discussed in the audio engineering world. There simply aren’t too many of us. I thought I could give some insight into how I’ve seen myself in this mother/audio engineer role and how that relates to society and how you can form your feelings and thoughts on the matter.

I have two children under ten, I graduated college with a bachelor’s and now I’ve been working as a freelancing audio engineer for over eight years. With these experiences, I think you can look on the subject of motherhood in this industry in a couple of different lights. One thing I hear from folks who have children, “how can it be done?” I like to respond with the question, “how do nurses and ER doctors function and have kids?” I was also a single mother for five years of my audio career. Can you have kids and be in this industry? Absolutely. Can you be single and have kids in this industry? Absolutely.

I hear folks say, aren’t you away from home too much? There is a yes and no answer here. This can vary in how you feel as a parent and how you’ve conditioned your kids to function. I grew up respecting that my father had to work, I respected that was his duty. When I was younger he was in the military, there was duty. He got out and that idea stuck. In the same way, if I am off work for a week I can’t just keep my kids home from school. It’s their duty to go to school. It’s my responsibility to let them go. Just as it’s a child’s responsibility to grow with an understanding and respect that you are not “leaving” them.

Something I want to really stick with fellow parents in this industry is, yes, you will miss events. You aren’t alone. If you left this industry, you will still miss events. There is no magic wand where if you wave it you won’t miss things. You’re job as a parent is to lead your children to understand they are important regardless of events or activities in their life.

Recently I gave a parent advice that if they couldn’t find support within our industry that they could try to find it outside of it. This business tends to lend itself to the idea that we are rare and so unique a regular person couldn’t relate to us. I disagree, there are working parents in all sorts of fields who are gone frequently (IT, Medical, PR, Service Industry, etc.).

“But, how do you do it?” I like to agree with what several other mother audio engineers say, “you just do.” How do you get chaotic festival stage going? By doing it. There is no magic answer. It’s like freelancing. I get asked a lot “how do you find your gigs?” I don’t know, I just do.    

Another light I like to look at this in is, entrepreneurship. We are our own business. There are small business owners out there who also face all of the same problems we as audio engineers do. You have to learn how to adapt and how to plan. Maybe one day they have to close up because their kids are sick and they have no one able to come in. Maybe one day you have to stop doing your gig because your kid is sick, disabled, in trouble. Maybe that happens. But maybe you don’t have any kids and you one day get disabled, in trouble, or sick? These variables exist already in our life. The difference is once you have children you plan, you think through the day, the week, your year. You think through as many what-ifs as you can.

I had someone else recently who also said to me, “young people in the music business aren’t planning to have kids.” What they thought that meant was, you can’t have kids and be motivated, career-oriented, and successful in audio engineering. Statistically more and more young professionals are waiting to have children. This isn’t only in our industry. This is throughout society. A parent’s life in this industry may follow a different curve than a single person’s. But, as is said, “a gig is a gig.” If you’re spending too much time worrying about what you won’t have as a parent, you won’t be as successful as a parent or an audio engineer. We are all unique, but as a parent you bring an edge that no none person can. You learn how to be professional on a show and still continue to juggle all the balls.

When the show is over and a happy attendee comes up to you, “Wow! How did you get all those complex things to happen?!” You will stand there and think of all the crazy complex interpersonal and technical things you just made happen. Then you’ll just say, “It’s my job, I just did it. I made it happen with hard work.” That is exactly how motherhood is.

Aubrey Caudill

Aubrey Caudill lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area and works as a freelance audio engineer. She currently works for several area wedding bands and runs monitors at The Potter’s House North Dallas. She is also a mother to two boys.

   

Norway – SoundGirls Presents Sound Reinforcement of Acoustic Instruments

SoundGirls Presents Sound Reinforcement of Acoustic Instruments

With Asle Karstad – Oslo – Norway

Description:

Asle Karstad is a well know sound designer and engineer having worked with The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and the Norwegian Jazz and Folk Music. Through his work, Karstad has found different ways of micing various acoustic instruments. Karstad will demonstrate different techniques and the results that can be achieved. Karstad will be joined by well-respected musicians (providing an all women string quartet) from The Norwegian Radio Orchestra,  to help demonstrate the techniques.

The workshop will be both theory and hands on.

Program:

10 am – 12 pm

Introduction to the work of Asle Karstad

Karstad will discuss resonance issues on the acoustic guitar and how to deal with these.

12:00 to 1:00 PM: Lunch (can be purchased at the venue)

1 pm – 5 pm –  Run-though of reinforcement of the brass, cello, violin and the contrabass.

Following the Workshop: Please join us for a woman in tech networking session with KRETS.

Billede1-e1484670716164-1000x600

What I Learned This Week

Four things I learned about sound design this week

This week I took a bit of a break from sitting in a dark theatre (or studio) to go off and learn more about sound design at the Association of Sound Designer’s Winter School. From Foley to speaker system optimisation, the seminars covered a wide range of topics in and around sound for theatre, and there were several social events as well, so we could meet fellow soundies. Of the many interesting and useful pieces of information I’ve encountered this week, I’ve picked out a few to share:

There’s a lot of Foley in nature documentaries

When you think about it, it’s not that surprising that nature documentaries require extensive Foley work. It’d be a bit tricky to get a boom operator close enough to record polar bear footsteps across the snow, for example. I was impressed by the layers of Foley required to create complex sounds, like the sound of an active volcano. Top tip: shampoo rubbed over your hands can be used to create a whole world of sounds, from a large animal licking its young to liquid lava flow (when pitched down).

Recording sound effects will always require more time and more preparation than you think – especially when recording outdoors

There are many variables to consider when recording sound effects in nature, most of which you can’t control – including the weather and external noise. Thorough preparation and patience are attributes to develop if you ever want to invest time and money in recording sound effects. Sound design guru John Leonard told us several entertaining stories which highlighted the need for research before you embark on a location recording session, especially checking if it’s the right time/season/weather to capture the sound you need. He learned this the hard way after standing for several hours late at night (when it would be quiet) waiting for a clock to chime, only to find out the next day that they turned it off every night at 10 pm.

You don’t have to invest in a pricey mic to experiment with surround sound

I investigated using ambisonic (surround) microphones last year as part of my explorations into surround sound formats but was a bit put off by the price. A Sennheiser Ambeo will set you back around £1500GBP or $1650USD, and a DPA 5100 Mobile Surround mic is even more. So I was delighted to learn (thanks again to John Leonard) that there’s a cheaper alternative if you want to experiment with surround before investing. The Zoom H2N (a much more affordable £120GBP/$160USD) has a firmware upgrade that allows for four channel surround sound, combining the X/Y and MS in “Spatial Audio” mode. Also worth keeping an ear out for are Sennheiser’s AMBEO Smart Surround compact earphones (yes, consumer-level) with binaural recording capabilities.

Adding an audience won’t affect the overall level as much as you might have thought

I’ve always considered audience size when setting my levels for a theatre show, in particular, the absorptive effect of a large number of human bodies. It turns out that I don’t need to worry as much for those venues which already contain a high amount of absorbent materials. Bodies sitting on soft seats, for example, won’t increase the amount of absorption. Of course, it’s still important to consider venues with a lot of reflective surfaces and hard seats.

There’s always something new to learn

It’s not just about new gear and technical know-how. More than anything, this week has reminded me how important it is to get out and expose my ears to the world outside my studio. This week was the perfect opportunity to not only learn about techniques and software that have been on my list for a while but also meet and learn from my fellow peers. As well as discovering more about Max DSP and DMEs (Digital Mixing Engines), I also increased my list of preferred theatre sound hire companies,  got a great recommendation for a film composition course and learned more about why and how colleagues choose a particular system.

If you have the opportunity to get out of your particular box this month, I would recommend it. You never know what useful tips you might pick up.

Norway – Join SoundGirls at KRETS Networking

Join SoundGirls for a meeting with KRETS

KRETS is a side project that the Norwegian music organization ‘Musikkutstyrsordningen.no (MUO) launched in connection with the hundred-year anniversary in 2013 for women’s right to vote in Norway. This project is a platform for female technicians in the Norwegian music industry to meet and interact with each other.

Link: www.musikkutstyrsordningen.no

More info contact SoundGirls Representative Malle Kaas @ mallekaas@gmail.com

A Life in Insurance Diverted – Holly Ann “Boots” Latcham

linecheckHolly Ann Latcham (Boots) is a touring FOH engineer and Production Manager. She also works as a system tech and monitor engineer for venues such as First Avenue 7th Street Entry, Mill City Nights, the Turf Club, and the Fine Line. She also runs her own company Holly Ann Audio, offering gear rental for small to medium-sized events and tours, FOH and monitor engineers and occasional tour management. She recently has started doing some corporate work with Damron Production Services.

Boots was introduced to the world of live sound at the age of 19. Growing up in a small town of 800 in the heart of Minnesota, she never met anyone that played in a band or even played an instrument other than in the school band. The music she was exposed to was limited to church hymns and her mom’s favorite country artist Shania Twain. That all changed when her brother came home with a Blink 182 album and she was blown away, listening to them every day on the way to school. That would eventually spill over to other artists including Linkin Park and Creed.

As Boots got older, her obsession for music increased and she dreamed of writing her own tunes. That is when she discovered there was an arts high school in the Twin Cities that had a music program “I begged my parents for weeks to at least take me to the open house. I recorded and submitted an application to audition for a spot for my senior year. When I got the letter of acceptance, my teenage-rock-emo-punk self could hardly contain the excitement I felt about being able to finally see more than the cornfields surrounding my tiny town. I packed my bags and cried as my parents convinced me that I had to sell my horse to be able to attend Perpich, and I moved to the Big City”.

She started her senior year at Perpich with enough credits to graduate from her previous high school and opted for no class until after lunch when the arts portion of the day started. Perpich had a world-class recording studio in the music department, and Boots practically lived in one of the iso booths. Here she learned what microphones were and how to connect them, what mixing was, what compression and reverb were. “I spent every day in that studio from the second it opened until the lunch bell rang”. Here she learned that she could do this for other people in the studio and it was called audio engineering. When it came time to pick a college she searched all over to get as far from Minnesota as she could and still study the art of recording. Boots would end up at the University of Montana in Missoula.

It was while attending UM, she finally met her friend’s non-existent roommate. Non-existent because he was “always out on tour”. “Finally, he was home for a month. Between shots of tequila and smoking cigarettes, I got him to tell me stories from the road. He showed me pictures of him and a crew traveling overseas and taking days off in places like Barcelona. He told me stories of my favorite artists at the bar after their shows. Finally, he started talking about the Clair Brothers PA system and his role on these massive arena tours as a systems tech. “I was fascinated. Starstruck, Obsessed, even. How do I do that? How do I get to be a roadie for a living?” He told Boots that he had attended Full Sail University. 

tour-life-3

Within a day of learning this, Boots was applying to private schools across the country with a greater focus on recording and live sound. Believing she would get her start in the studio, she found a program dedicated to teaching studio engineering and landed back in St. Paul, Minnesota at McNally Smith College. Boots was determined to finish college as fast as possible and move out of state. She finished her studies at McNally in a year and a half and while there discovered she did not have the patience to become a studio engineer. She decided to focus on live sound and getting out on tour. “Before I graduated, I started running sound at a local bar with original acts for $50/ night. I worked my way in with stagehand crews around the city and was as friendly as I could be with anyone I met in the industry. For the first five years after college, I worked round the clock to move towards being strictly FOH or monitors at the venues around town, trying to get the locals to take me seriously, even though I lacked experience”.

No one ever said this industry was easy, and after five years Boots had almost given up, she was working seven days a week, working FOH for almost every venue in town, but the pay was so horrible that she could hardly pay bills and still by groceries. She had signed up for classes with the Farmer’s Insurance Company and told everyone she was quitting sound. She was one test away from becoming a licensed insurance agent when she got an email from Bobnet.org. It was a call looking for a Minneapolis-based engineer to work with an up-and-coming band. “Thinking I had nothing left to lose, I wrote a witty cover letter and sent in my resume – two pages of five years in audio. Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. Hippo Campus was looking for an engineer, and no one knew who they were yet. I was asked to meet them at an upcoming gig for free and run sound, just to see if we all clicked and would get along. Thank god we did, because four months later, I was in a van on my way to SXSW 2015 with these boys and tearing up my insurance license”.

roland_m5000_websterhall

Two years later, Boots is still on the road with Hippo Campus. She says some days are really hard, but she has never gone to bed mad after a show. She thrives on being able to help an artist create that moment for people’s live and new equipment. As Hippo Campus moves on to bigger and bigger stages, the larger and larger PA’s are starting to look more like the ones in her college friend’s roommate’s photographs.

Boots longer terms are goals are to work on arena tours as a FOH/ PM and would also love to tour as the system/ PA tech. We know whatever she decides to do she will be successful with her work ethic and attitude.

What do you like best about touring?

The tour families that are created. Hippo Campus and JR JR recently finished a run with Saint Motel, and that whole band and crew feel like a new family to me! I miss them every day!

What do you like least?

Post-tour depression. Use the Saint Motel tour for example This industry will cross our paths again, but we all know it won’t be the same as this last tour. There will be more tours with a different family like it, but it is always going to be hard to share so many memories with a close group of people, see them every day for weeks, and then suddenly only see them once in a while (if you’re lucky!).

What is your favorite day off activity?

I love getting out of whatever city we are in and finding the biggest green space. Hike, bike, rock climb, just anything physical that can get us outside!

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

Typical tour barriers – There was a tour where I came into sub for the usual engineer, only the band had just gotten a new monitor rig and wireless set-up. With a flight out DOS on the first day of the tour, the flight was late and the gear was in complete disarray as the usual FOH was on tour already when the band acquired the new gear. I had 2 hours to set it up properly and do soundcheck. Doors ended up ½ hour late, and not everything was working the way it should’ve. By show #3 on that tour, I got all the bugs worked out though! The hard part is when artists are staring at you like “Why isn’t this figured out yet?” but you know it would be unprofessional to try and explain it.

How have you dealt with them?

Just keep smiling and stay calm and get it done! If you’re working hard and have a can-do attitude, people will trust it’s not your fault when things go wrong, and either way, you’re going to fix it for them.

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

There is a lot of talk about sexism in this industry. I’m not going to deny its existence, but I think we have to stop thinking that it’s the music industry’s only problem. Sexism is all over our society, no matter what field you choose to work in. Just know that how you handle it will be the difference between you going where you want to be and you being stuck in the spot you are fighting so hard against.

My general rule is to pick your battles. What I mean is, if it is not in danger of disrupting the show, try to put your best foot forward and keep working. It’s not going to help anyone or set the proper vibe for the artist if I hold up all of soundcheck just because I want to teach the local hand that calling me sound ‘guy’ is offensive. If I tell them with a smile “Hey man, I prefer to be called Boots,” or “sound madam”, I usually get a chuckle out of them, and as the day goes on, they see my work ethic and hear the room sounding great and have nothing but respect for me from then on out. My guess is that my male counterparts also have issues with this particular fellow, so it really I really won’t be doing the world any good by giving in to his pessimistic habits.

Don’t get me wrong – there might be some instances where you need to put an end to obvious and uncomfortable situations. Just don’t be afraid to speak up to whoever else is in charge that they can help you so you can focus on what really matters: the show. Also, know that most people working with you want you to feel comfortable in your work zone too. I’ve honestly had my artists and peers come to me to acknowledge that they saw the moment in question too and want to make sure I’m comfortable. If your tour family doesn’t have your back, then you need a new tour family.

Must have skills?

Staying cool, calm, and collected. ALWAYS

mym32vstheirql5Know your gear in and out. Traveling with a console? Don’t rely on others to tech it for you. With today’s internet and offline editors, you should know your desk inside and out. This way, when it comes to a moment in need of troubleshooting, you aren’t in the dark. Not touring with a console? Contact your local production companies to get some face time behind the most commonly seen boards and gear on the road: Avid consoles, Midas Pro 1’s and 2’s, and Yamaha M7’s.

Favorite gear?

roland_m5000_930clubCurrent favorite is the Roland M5000 console. It is perfect for the size of bands I am touring with from many angles: price, functionality, and tone. The timbre of the board is easy and more transparent than many in its immediate competitive range. The processing gear offered on each channel sounds beautiful and transparent in ideal ways, and the number of options they give without having to have an expansion pack or dongle is amazing. Want D-essers on every channel next to your comp? No problem! Want 10 band parametric EQ’s and 32 band graphic eq’s on all your outputs? EASY! I was able to run monitors from FOH for Hippo Campus by running a double input list so they couldn’t hear my FOH changes in their ears. The board has enough processing power to handle all 32 channels twice no problem, and the functionality shortcuts they built in made it so easy to run my shows this way.

The Nativity

The Nativity is one of three plays adapted by Tony Harrison. The plays are a version of the medieval English Mystery Plays. The play is set in the north of England and uses a northern English dialect. As the play was being performed in London and not in the North, I thought intelligibility might be an issue.

Here is a link to an earlier version of the play performed at the National Theatre you can hear the dialect used. An added complication for intelligibility was the venue. A church, you can hear the acoustics here in the welcome to the church from Fr Paul. The performance space was also in the round, in front of the altar, in the aisles, and more importantly for sound often in front of the speakers.

As you can see, we had some challenges to overcome. We visited the church before rehearsals to get an idea of how voices would carry without amplification and assess if the band area would be suitable. It was an actor/musician show meaning the entire cast played instruments and there would not a separate band. The musical director (MD) came with us so he could hear the space before he started the arrangements. The music was arranged with mainly acoustic instruments, though they would be amplified and there was also an electric guitar and bass.  

I chose Meyer UPJ’s as the speakers, knowing I could achieve a tight coverage pattern if I needed it and would help with limiting the natural reverb of the space. We utilized six UPJ s, subs and a few SFX speakers as well. I set up multiple groups for the vocal system one that went to front left and right, one that went to the side left and front left and one that went to side right and front right. This allowed us to facilitate the cast moving around the space and create vocal zones. Jenn Goodheart-Smithe, the operator, faded between vocal groups that corresponded with the zones as the cast moved around. It worked quite well as long as the cast didn’t stand directly in front of a speaker when they were delivering dialogue.  

EFX

I pre-recorded the voice of God announcing to Mary the virgin birth so that the angel could mouth the words and we would hear the voice of God. It was played through a small speaker hidden very close to the actor to give the illusion of God speaking through the angel.

The play starts with the book of Genesis before the world was complete and everyone that spoke had a reverb to emphasize their other-worldliness. There was also a sound effects bed to help with the setting of that space.

Death is a character in the play, and I gave her a bit of a pitch shift on her mic. Obviously, you could still hear her acoustic voice, but there was an underscore of something a lot deeper as well.  

The band lineup was mostly mic’d acoustic instruments. There was a large brass section, strings, organ, reeds, woodwind, and electric bass and guitar. We decided to divide the musical numbers into two parts; one would numbers performed in the band area and numbers performed in a surround mode. In the gentler moments, it worked well to have the acoustic instruments in amongst the audience, giving an immersive feel to the show. It also allowed us to control the natural acoustics of the church.

Actor-musician shows can be a challenge there is little parallel rehearsing, the band can rehearse in one room and the overall rehearsal time is effectively less. Often, the band is large and some instruments will be played for only half of one song there can be a lot of double use of microphones. This can be trickier to be accurate with the mix but Jenn our operator did a good job with that.

This was a working church, so that meant every evening we had to be out of the building for two hours so that they could perform evening mass. We also had to be out of view entirely for the Sunday service. We took everything down and had to rebuild it for the Monday evening show. That took a huge chunk out of our rehearsal time. It meant we had to label and photograph everything. I chose a digital snake and a Rio rather than a copper multicore and stage box as this would make for a quicker setup. The speakers were powered, so no amps, and the radio receivers were by the sound desk, so hopefully, there would be minimal unplugging for the turnaround.

Remember a successful show run is in the details and the preparation that starts well before rehearsals.

Never Take No for Answer – Yuna Qian

IMG_7359__1Yuna Qian’s  journey into audio engineering started when she was given a piano by her parents at the age of five. This first instrument planted within Qian a love of music that would grow into a career eventually leading her to work on film scores  for movies such as “Captain America: Civil War” along with other famous titles in Hollywood.

Qian grew up in China as an only child. Her parents wanted to give her an instrument to fill her time and help develop her skills. Qian filled her somewhat lonely childhood with playing piano, and though she didn’t play much after college, it marked the beginning of her interest in music.

“When [I was] about to go to college, I didn’t have hesitation to choose my major as Sound Design,” she said. “Since then my career has always been around music.”

This interest would drive  her to study it all through college, eventually receiving a bachelor’s degree in Sound Design and Recording Arts from the Communication University of China, and continuing on to receive her master’s degree in Audio Sciences from John Hopkins University.IMG_9398

Since then she’s moved to Los Angeles where she has thrived in the Hollywood film industry. She now works with film score production and post production.

Qian, a member of Audio Engineering Society, works as a studio assistant engineer primarily with the film industry, working with composers in the post production studio. Since early 2016, she has worked at Sacred Tiger Music and Remote Control Productions, both out of Santa Monica, California.

Qian has assisted with movies such as “Captain America: Civil War,” “The Angry Birds Movie,” and “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.”

Along with her background in Hollywood, Qian also has experience with mixing a range of music projects, from hip-hop and indie to classical full orchestra and jazz ensemble. She has worked as recording and mixing engineer on the “Sanctuary” EP by “Super City,” and “If Ever” EP, by “W4Y1 Collective,” along with other work at Peabody Institute of Musicians.

IMG_7367_1Though China half-a-world away from the United States, Qian said the work environments aren’t so different. It is much more difficult for women to get hired into technical jobs, citing that employers think men are more capable.

“Female sound engineers are so rare that I could barely recall any,” she said.

But she also says that the norm has already been changed a lot, and that more and more women are making an effort to be “independent” in her generation.

“I am very proud of being one of them,” she said.

She acknowledges how difficult it can be working as a woman in audio, and described her experience as “frightening,” and “overwhelming” at first because of the fast-paced workplace, and the lack of women in similar roles. In her experience Women  have to put in more work just to be viewed as competent. She urges women in the industry to focus on their work and to never take no for an answer.

Her favorite console to work on is the Neve 88RS Console, and says that having an in-depth knowledge of Pro-Tools, along with various sound editing software, is necessary skill. The job of sound engineer is synonymous with problem solver, she said and troubleshooting skills are a must.IMG_9397 Qian plans to move forward in her career, and said she looks forward to continuing her work on film score projects. She is excited to learn more from film composers by assisting in their work, she said.

“It’s all about music,” she said. “I am passionate about anything related to music and I’m excited for my music career ahead of me.”

By: Sammy Keyes-Levine

 

New York – SoundGirls hosts Sennheiser Academy RF Wireless Seminar

New York City – Sennheiser Academy RF Wireless Seminar

Come join us for a day of wireless microphone fun! The Sennheiser RF Seminar teaches how to plan for trouble-free operation in the toughest environments. Learn how to use multi-channel wireless microphones and wireless monitoring systems, or enhance your existing knowledge of these complex RF systems.  The latest wireless technology from Sennheiser will be on hand to demonstrate the theory and best practices of RF implementation.

Wednesday, February 15, 9:00-4:00,

Location is Sennheiser Soho Store, 134 Prince Street (cross street: Wooster or W. Broadway)

Free – You Must Reserve a Space

RSVP: EventBrite You Must have a confirmed space to attend

Here is some of what you will learn:

WAVES & FREQUENCIES

MODULATION

New Digital Wireless Technology

FREQUENCY SELECTION & FREQUENCY COORDINATION

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

ANTENNAS

WIRELESS IN-EAR MONITORING (IEM)

Eric Reese

Customer Development and Applications Engineering: Americas

Eric Reese has been immersed in the audio industry for over 16 years. Prior to joining Sennheiser’s global Customer Development and Applications Engineering team for the Americas, he has served as a Market Development Manager and as an Area Sales Manager at Sennheiser, held project/design engineering positions with two national integrators, and served as a Reliability Engineer for another manufacturer. Reese has been responsible for the design and integration of a variety of high profile audio system installations, providing RF support to the national touring artists, as well as the development and hosting of countless Sound Academy and Focused Training seminars. In addition to holding Sennheiser’s “Global RF Expert” Certification, Reese holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University, and an Executive Master of Business Administration from Marquette University.  In his “spare” time, he owns and operates a live-sound production company and serves as a staff front-of-house engineer and audio consultant at his church near Milwaukee, WI.

Vanessa Jensen

Customer Development and Applications Engineering: Americas

Vanessa is an audio specialist with over 12 years of experience in the professional and system integration industries. Prior to her current role as a member of Sennheiser’s Customer Development and Application Engineering team, she served as Senior Product Specialist and successfully managed product lines ranging from loudspeakers to IR and RF analog/digital wireless. Jensen has designed and supported multi-channel wireless projects in educational facilities, corporate boardrooms, houses of worship, theatres and more. Jensen hold a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Brandstage_with_Brand_Line_top

All I Ever Wanted

 When Your Passion Becomes Your Work

I was just 12 years old when the thunderbolt struck. Standing behind the FOH guy, watching him mix my favourite band, I suddenly knew what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t know at that point what monitors were – that refinement would come later – but I was going to be a sound engineer, and that was all there was to it. I had no clue how to make this auspicious event actually come about, but the spark was lit – a sound engineer I would be, and no one and nothing was going to stop me. Stand back, world, here I come!

It helped that I was (ok, am) extremely stubborn when I know what I want.

It helped that I was (and still am) passionate about music, and was hugely inspired by the behind-the-scenes video footage of my beloved rockumentaries. (I still think speeded-up time-lapse photography of arena and stadium load-ins is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.)

It helped that I was being educated by teachers who told us that we could be whatever we wanted, as long as we played to our strengths and were prepared to put in the hard yards – although admittedly they were somewhat perplexed by my epiphany. (A lawyer, an astronaut, a pilot they could understand. A sound engineer, not so much. The moral of that story is be careful what you tell a stubborn young girl because she’ll very likely take it literally!)

It’s now almost 30 years since that thunderbolt struck, and for all my adult life I’ve been a professional sound engineer. I love my job, and whilst there are most certainly a few bands that I would still give my right arm to mix, I’m incredibly fortunate to have reached the upper echelons of the industry. I did what I set out to do. I made my passion, my work.

And therein lies a thorny little issue that never even occurred to 12-year-old me. When your passion becomes your work, you can never again experience it with the wonder and innocence of the outsider. It’s a lot like moving in with your dreamy partner; you still think they’re gorgeous, and your love deepens with time, but you become aware of all their little foibles and less-than-glamorous habits, and it inevitably changes the relationship. Very often for something wonderful, and often it makes you even prouder of them when you know what their private struggles are, but it’s a paradigm shift from which there is no return.

Consequently, it’s decades since I’ve been able to go a gig without privately critiquing the sound. It’s even worse if it’s a festival, where I can compare different bands and weigh up whether it’s the tone of the PA, the mix, or what’s going into the desk, that I’m picking apart! I’m not as hyper-critical as some engineers I know – I can usually just about get over it if the sound’s simply a bit average – but I’ve witnessed at least three very big rock bands who I was excited to see, sounding absolutely shocking. I’m afraid I spoilt it for myself so much that I had to leave! Seriously, this stuff can leave me feeling disgruntled for days – I really do hate it when bands who ought to sound awesome, don’t. Of course, everyone has off-days, but when it’s persistently bad… anyway, I won’t get into that particular rant right here. (You see what I mean?!) That said, it’s an unrivaled joy when a band I’ve been waiting years to see sounds stunning – Def Leppard has sounded fabulous on a number of occasions, and Don Henley at Hyde Park made my 2016 – hats off to the noise boys and girls on those gigs!

Over the years I’ve made two other passions – yoga and writing – into my work as well (I never learn!), and it’s the same with them. I’m enormously fussy about which yoga teachers I enjoy going to these days, and even when they’re great I’ll often be taking mental notes of excellent ideas which I might echo in my own teaching. Likewise, some writing styles can drive me to distraction, no matter how interesting the content. The next time I fall in love with something, I really must try to remain an enthusiastic amateur…

But for all that turning my passion into my work has made me Ms Fussy-Pants, I wouldn’t change it. Sure, my great expectations have made the probability of disappointment higher, and it takes something truly outstanding to lose me in the music these days. But that’s because I’ve trained myself to listen intently; to analyse; to discern what makes a sound more pleasing. In doing that, I’ve got under the skin of my passion, and become intimate with something that still has the power to excite and inspire me, albeit with a little more awareness of the magic. Because of that intimacy, I get to spend my life doing something that I love; something that very rarely feels like actual work.

Just like a good marriage, even though the exciting becomes the familiar and you know what goes on behind the scenes, the pay-off is that you share your life with someone you love deeply, someone you understand – and who still has the power to occasionally take your breath away. If that happens less frequently than in the early days of romance, it’s because your life has been so enriched by your love that your bar for ‘breathtaking’ is set very high.

So I’m glad that 12-year-old me was ambitious and stubborn, and that 20-something me worked so damn hard to get to where I now find myself. Now, my passion is my work, and my work is my passion – and truly, when you do what you love, you never work another day in your life. And that, ultimately, is all I ever wanted.

X