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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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SoundGirls Mentoring Session at AES – Oct. 20th

SoundGirls.Org Presents Mentoring Session at AES

Sponsored by DiGiCo

Join us for a Mentoring Session with Women Leaders in Professional Audio

Please join us at the AES Diversity and Inclusion Social 6:00 pm, followed at 7 pm for SoundGirls Mentoring Session in studio 4.

You must be a member of SoundGirls.Org. (membership is free and open to all genders and non-binary people. You can sign up on our website). You must register for this event as space is limited.

Register Here

This event is a casual mentoring session (not a panel) and you will be able to get advice and answers to your questions from industry leaders.

Industry Leaders Include (more tba)

Fela Davis is a graduate of Full Sail University and has over 15 years of experience in audio engineering. Her experience includes working for industry powerhouses Clair Broadcast and House of Blues.  She’s front of house for Christian McBride and co-owner of 23dB Productions.

 

 

Gil Eva Craig is an Audio Engineer and Sound Designer from New Zealand, primarily working in live sound. She is part of Western Audio Engineering, a live sound company based in Wellington New Zealand. Gil started as a studio engineer and sound designer for theatre. She has recorded and mixed numerous albums, three of these winning Tui (NZ Music) awards. Gil has also received several Chapman Tripp theatre award nominations, winning best sound design in 2010.

 

Caroline Sanchez is a freelance musician, audio technician, and technology specialist who regularly works for ABC, NBC, MTV, and Music Mix Mobile on production, music, and remote audio crews. Her experience includes working a number of positions in the broadcast field, ranging between stage A2, recording op, monitor mix, and RF tech on productions such as Good Morning America, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Caroline is a local to the New York area and holds a Bachelor of Music in Sound Engineering Arts from William Paterson University.

Karen Anderson Chief Operating Officer and Den Mother at Rational Acoustics. Karen Anderson is one of the founding partners of Rational Acoustics, the developers of the Smaart Acoustic Test & Measurement software platform.  Prior to founding Rational Acoustics in 2008, Karen held a variety of sales & marketing positions within the professional audio industry including Marketing Manager at Meyer Sound and Director of Marketing for Eastern Acoustics Works (EAW) and Loud Technologies.

During her tenure in the professional audio industry, Karen has done pretty much everything from answering phones and coiling cable to managing multi-million dollar advertising budgets and running worldwide training programs.  She’s also managed to learn a fair bit about sound systems in the process. Karen holds a BFA in Theatrical Costume & Makeup design from U.C. Berkeley, which was hopeless for getting a job, but makes her a lot of fun to have around at Halloween.

Michelle Desachy is a music producer, recording and mixing engineer and musician based in Mexico City. She works as an independent contractor at different record studios in Mexico and USA. Her Academic Training includes” Music composition, audio engineering and production” at Fermatta Music Academy (Mexico City). Management and business affairs” by Harvard University. Music Cognition” and “Music Business” by Berklee College of Music.

 

Karrie Keyes – Monitor Engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder Executive Director of SoundGirls.Org. Karrie has spent the last 25 plus years as the monitor engineer for Pearl Jam. Karrie started out doing sound for punk bands in Los Angeles in 1986 under the tutelage of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, where she spent twenty years helping to establish the company. She was able to gain an immense amount of hands-on experience and technical knowledge at Rat, which eventually led to her becoming the monitor engineer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1990-2000. She first met and started working with Pearl Jam who opened for RHCP on their 1991-1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magic Tour. She has worked with Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Neil Young.

Mike Bangs is a veteran in the touring world with an all-encompassing sound engineering and production management experience from many national and international tours, such as Katy Perry, Eric Clapton, and Aerosmith. Mike is now in charge of growing the Allen & Heath business in the touring market and supporting high-profile events, artists, engineers and sound companies as the new Live Sound/Touring expert.

A Special thanks to DiGiCo for sponsoring our AES Mentoring Session

What I Know Now

As a non-male* songwriter, performer, and producer, I am always grappling with the concept of ability and credibility. In press on artists that I admire and follow, I see unconscious sexism. Figures like Grimes base their entire brand and music around “doing it all” themselves, while powerhouses like Kendrick Lamar call their producer-artist relationships “collaborations” in spite of the fact that Lamar is decidedly unfamiliar with music technology, i.e., while he never touches a computer making a record.

Where is the line? When can non-male take ownership of what they have created? When can a non-male artist become a figure like Kendrick Lamar without being criticized for not doing everything, from writing to engineering to playing to producing to performing? It makes me angry. It makes me feel like I have a lot of teaching and showing to do. In an effort to do that, I have given some thought to what I know that I didn’t know before I was producing. Here are some of the most important things I have learned thus far that I would like to pass on to anyone who is just starting or needs a pick me up.

Your ears have to practice too

When I first started recording and producing myself, I thought that what I was making was sounding pretty good. I was always reading up on engineering and different production techniques. I even went against the wishes of my pride and would show other producers my sessions so they could give me feedback. Since I was aware of how to make something sound pretty good, I thought that I was already doing it. But there is no substitute for time and practice. Your ears will get better at their job the more that you use them. Engage with the sounds and arrangements you are working with. Ask other producers how they are hearing something. Get a perspective. Make decisions. Play. Wear earplugs for loud shows! You will find that your ears get better with practice.

Vocal production is extremely critical.

This point is related to the first one in some ways. I think that when I first started, I was so enamored with my voice just being recorded and effected that I didn’t think about all the ways to produce it even further. Eventually, I will do a whole post about vocal production, but beyond your chain (mic, preamp, compressor, etc.) being as good as your budget can afford, there is the physicality of vocal production as well. You have to ask yourself, what kind of record are we making? What kind of performance are we aiming to capture here from this vocalist? What are they capable of? Now how can I get that to come out of them and into the mic? Are they excited or turned off by the idea of being in a vocal booth?

Once the performance is done, then you get to work comping—the best bits of each take in a composite—though there are exceptions. Beyond the main vocal comp, you can also make use of doubles, harmonies, ad libs to create the perfect vocal for your record. The possibilities are endless. But it’s your job to make the decisions about how to get the best vocal audio into your DAW so you can continue to make it into an incredible record.

Silverlake kitchen studio – one of my many makeshift home studios

The more you make stuff, the more stuff you will make.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you haven’t experienced this firsthand, it may seem like an oxymoron. But it’s not. Trust me.

Working in groups can make you better, but isn’t the end all be all.

If you have the opportunity to write with other writers/producers, especially if they are more experienced than you, take it. If you don’t have that opportunity, seek it out. You will learn something, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the moment. Sometimes co-writing sessions can be tedious. Sometimes they feel like all you are learning is what you don’t like. But that’s very good to know! On the flip side, sometimes you make great new friends that blossom into much bigger relationships.

Co-writes are big in the music business right now. It’s an easy way for publishers, labels, and managers to make their clients feel like they are doing something for them, with minimal commitment and cost. At a certain point, it can start to feel like if you don’t do it a lot, then you’re doing something wrong. But that’s just the status quo that the big businesses created to have more control over their creative people. At the end of the day, YOU are the creator of the music, and it’s up to YOU to figure out how YOU make the best music YOU can make. If that means lots of co-writes and co-productions, then that’s awesome! If that means producing your friend’s bands out of your bedroom studio, alone, then that’s awesome! If that means making beats all day long in your friend’s studio that they let you use, then awesome! Your talent is your business, and you need to constantly be thinking about the things that affect your talent and business.

You are strongly affected by the company you keep.

This statement is made so often I think we have stopped listening. But try listening to yourself say this out loud: You are strongly affected by the company you keep. If you are not genuinely challenged—creatively and professionally and personally—by the people around you, then go somewhere else.

I was surrounded by lifelong friends and some great musicians when I lived in New York City a few years ago. But when I wanted to take my music to the next level, I felt like there was nowhere for me to go. My immediate circle was too comfortable for me to feel like I could take chances, and as a result, I wasn’t meeting new people or trying new things. Eventually, I met ONE professional songwriter, and I decided to move to Los Angeles when they moved out there. I left all of my closest friends and collaborators on the east coast and hoped for the best out west. I almost immediately found myself surrounded by people who were similar to me, but 10, 20, 30 years into their careers. I had found the challenge I had been missing. This new perspective motivated me to try new things and start putting together my skillset in ways I’d never imagined. I also started to take better care of my mind and body, another essential habit to have.

Everything happens for a reason.

No matter where you are on your path, there are always going to be ups and downs. Always. And sometimes your path can feel especially winding and long. But if you keep your heart and your mind open, you will see that everything happens for a reason. Every dumb day job, every bad partnership, every mistake, every ditch you dig for yourself, every delay—there is something to be learned and built upon from each of these, and that is a beautiful thing. You will never stop having ups and downs. Ever. Get used to it. Learn from it. Build on it. See the beauty in it.

Don’t stop doing what got you started in the first place.

Unless you are extremely lucky, are going to be points in your career where you are limited on time and resources. During these times you might find yourself compromising and eliminating things that you maybe shouldn’t. For me, those things were producing and guitar playing.

When I first moved to Los Angeles to pursue music professionally, at some point along the way I stopped producing and playing guitar. Mostly it was because the settings I was in just didn’t call for it. I’d go into a session with a producer and another writer, and I would be the person to write and sing the demo. I had a day job as well, so with everything going on I wasn’t playing or producing much when I got home at night. I felt like maybe I was never really going to be that good anyway, and this negativity toward things I had previously loved made me feel very disconnected from myself. At the same time, I was gaining writing and singing chops. By putting down my guitar and taking a break from the computer, I was definitely opening my mind up to new techniques and genres that I had not previously delved into.

But boy did it feel good to pick them back up again!

Beatz By Girlz – some students in a Beats by Girlz class I subbed last year

I encourage you to find a way to keep in touch with yourself and the things that inspire you, no matter what seems to get in the way.

In conclusion: as my good friend Rob Caldwell always says to his guitar students when they ask him how much they should practice: you get good at what you do.

So let’s go and do it.

*I use the term “non-male” to include anyone that does not identify as male.  Gender is a social construct, and supported by science, and backed up in legal rulings. I believe sexism frequently oppresses people who identify as non-male, especially in tech-oriented industries.

 Gender Laws Are at Odds With Science

What’s the Difference Between Sex and Gender?

Too Queer for Your Binary: Everything You Need to Know and More About Non-Binary Identities

Audio Guides and Creating Intimate Audio Outdoors

I’ve been approached to work on audio guides in the past, but for one reason or another, never actually got to work on one. So when a director at the Arcola Theatre got in touch with me about sound designing an audio guide for their summer outdoor theatre project, I said yes, please!

The project was a community performance-based outdoor installation in East London, UK. Supported by the local council, the experience focused on personal and social responses to mental health and well-being. One area would have pop-up performances and participatory activities like group yoga and dancing. The other was a sixty-minute audio guide that would take audience members through a constructed “labyrinth” that explored the process of “getting better.”

In theory, sound design for audio guides is quite straightforward when compared to standard theatre sound. As you’re designing for headphones or earphones, you don’t have to worry about speaker placement, so everything can be done in the studio and delivered ready to go. Of course, you can always have added layers of complexity such as multiple delivery systems and infrared or RF triggers, but ours was a much simpler setup.

We had hired a single wireless Sennheiser 2020-D tour guide system, which would play a single continuous file from five iPods connected to five different transmitters on separate channels for our five audience groups. Each group would be guided by silent performers through a series of different spaces, including a family birthday dinner, doctor’s surgery, surreal interactive WebMD bingo game, and calm centre.

With any audio guide, the most important element is the voiceover, as the audience relies on this for context, explanation, instructions, and in the case of this project, the narrative thread. Recording clear, high-quality voiceovers was, therefore, my main priority.

In an ideal world, I would always record all voiceovers for a show in a professional studio with a voice booth – usually my own. In the real world, budgets and actor availability often don’t allow for this, which is why I had to record the majority of the voiceovers for this project in a rehearsal space in the theatre. I have a portable voice recording booth for situations such as this, but without time to treat the room further, there wasn’t much I could do about the reflections, nor about the level of external noise. At one point, we were competing with a swing dance lesson in the next room – not the best accompaniment to an emotional narrative about mental health!

I know that it’s often possible (though never preferable) to get away with less high-quality recordings in a theatre because when played out through speakers, the acoustics of the venue will mask a lot of the recording faults. Headphones are a lot less forgiving, however, and I was concerned that the less-than-professional recording set up, not to mention the increased noise floor, would lower the overall quality of the guide.

At this point, I turned to what I knew about the technology that we’d be using – or at least, what I could find out about the technology, as I wouldn’t be able to hear the sound through it until the dress rehearsal.

The HDE 2020-D receivers are known as “stethoset” receivers, presumably because they have a stethoscope design where the earphones are attached directly to the receiver by fixed curved handles. The design has practical merit – without headphones, there was no danger of the audience tangling wires or disconnecting the headphones from the receiver pack – but from a sound perspective, it isn’t the best method to deliver a subtle soundtrack. The earphones don’t block out much external sound as headphones would, and the weight of the receiver pack limited how snugly you could secure the earphones into ears. They also had a frequency response of 100Hz – 7kHz.  This range is pretty limited, but it worked in my favour for this particular project. Given that the frequency range used for speech transmission (telephones in particular) is around 300Hz – 3.4kHz, I could filter off most of the noise from my recordings and still have an intelligible recording. Filtering, plus the use of background music, masked most of the room sound in the voice-over recordings.

After the recording sessions, my main task was creating two sixty-minute versions of the guide – one with a female narrator, one with a male. After clean-up and editing the voiceovers were all fine, but I was conflicted about how loud to make the background soundscapes. Without being able to hear my audio through the receivers in advance, in the performance environment, it was hard to judge how present they needed to be. I did know that the audio guide would be competing with a live sound system in another area of the installation – but without knowing how loud or how far away this would be, it was tricky to know how much this would affect the audibility of my guide.

The dress rehearsal was our only chance to test the audio through the delivery system, in a performance scenario, while music was playing in other areas of the installation. I quickly discovered that for the audio guide narration to be clearly audible through the receivers, the gain had to be set to maximum at each level – iPods, transmitters, and the receivers themselves. Not ideal, but at least the audience could hear their guides!

Unfortunately, the ambient noise of the performance environment (a public square), plus the loose fit of the earphones meant that my more subtle soundscapes were often inaudible. While this didn’t seem to hamper any understanding the audience had of the performance, some of the more immersive moments lost their impact. Although maybe it was unrealistic of me to expect this with an urban outdoor performance!

If I have the chance to design another outdoor audio guide, I know that I’ll push for a more powerful playout system (for more volume!) and to have access to the delivery system earlier. I’ll also agree on a production schedule that allows for testing the finished audio in the performance space ahead of the dress rehearsal. Finally, I’ll have a more realistic idea of how much subtlety you can realistically achieve in a design delivered through a tour guide headphone system, and how much is actually necessary. After all, as long as the audience can follow the story, you’ve achieved your key goal.

 

The Best Response

This week I was once more asked a question that has been a recurring theme during my career. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked to comment on why there aren’t more women in the music business, and my answer has always been the same – I’m the wrong person to ask because I am a woman in the music business. I can’t comment on why someone wouldn’t want to be a part of this, for the very reason that I wanted it more than anything. I’m fortunate to be able to say that after 23 years in the industry I’ve done everything I set out to do and quite a few things that I didn’t. I’ve toured with numerous theatre, arena and stadium productions; mixed monitors for bands whose albums I had as a kid; run sound for the Queen at Buckingham Palace; been paid to travel the world; and been in charge of monitors at the world’s biggest greenfield festival. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but neither has it been the sexism-infused nightmare that some people seem to imagine. Indeed, some people seem almost disappointed when I tell them it really hasn’t been that bad, and it has me wondering: is it this idea of victimisation that puts some women off?

Now it’s possible that I walk around with my head in the clouds and don’t notice sexist behaviour, but I think it’s more likely that I’ve simply learnt to pick my battles. If I called a tribunal every time someone made a sexist crack I’d be in court for the rest of my life; but there’s a world of difference between sexist cracks and true misogyny. Tribes of people (i.e. a crew) naturally seek out what is different about a newcomer and zero in on that to test them. A smart newcomer will give as good as they get in return, show themselves to be a valuable commodity to the existing tribe, and in doing so establish common ground and become accepted. It would be a mistake to think that cracks are made simply because I’m a woman; anyone who’s heard crew banter will know that it can be brutal between guys, and the only reason gender is raised is because it’s the most obvious difference.

I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve encountered true misogyny. Whilst I did speak up for myself at the time, in every case, I also found that the best possible response is simply to prove them wrong.

One odious production manager told me I’d never make it unless I learnt to open my legs. My satisfaction upon seeing him at an industry event many years later, wearing a badge stating my position at the PA company I worked for and having very much made it without doing any such thing, was immense. I didn’t need to say anything – the look that passed between us said it all.

Not long ago I ran into someone who bullied me for a period of time in my early days. Back then he was senior to me (though not by much) and was fond of telling me how useless I was. But now, many years later, the status quo was reversed, and I was in a very much senior position to him. It made me realise just how far I’d come, and that bullies are, as we all know, just fearful cowards. I considered taking him to task in defence of my younger self but decided against it. He now cut such a pathetic figure that I felt no need to make explicit who was the winner here – it was obvious.

And the sorry behaviour from a couple of local crew whom I encountered in the States just seems laughable now, as it did then – how sad, to have to get your fun by trying to tear others down. I’ll bet their lives aren’t a barrel of laughs – after all, people who are secure in their own talents just don’t do that. How small they must feel, in their quieter moments. Not to mention having the entire visiting crew now think you’re a complete idiot. (Wait, you didn’t think I’d keep their nonsense to myself did you? Oh, their cracks were far too amusing not to share them with my compatriates – and the guys on a tour soon become like brothers who are very much on their sister’s side!)

So my point is this: if a young woman likes the idea of a career in live music, she shouldn’t worry too much about being in the gender minority, because she’ll quickly get used to it, and most guys are decent folk. The things for her to concern herself with are working hard; learning all she can about her chosen field; forging alliances; and yes, building resilience and comebacks to wisecracks. Learning to tell the difference between crew banter and abusive behaviour is important because the former is far more common than the latter. On the (hopefully) rare occasion that she does experience abusive or inappropriate behaviour she should always call it out, whilst also knowing this: that the best response she can ever give to her detractors is simply to prove them wrong.

Empirical Labs Offer Wage-Gap Discount

Empirical Labs Inc. (ELI), designs and manufactures professional audio signal processing equipment used in recording studios, live sound, broadcast studios and other audio production facilities all over the world. They also produce plug-ins for digital audio workstations (DAWS) and software for digital signal processors.

Empirical Labs would like to address the intersectional wage-gap by offering a 33% discount on their Arousor plug-in to all SoundGirls members.

To take advantage of this offer, email soundgirls@soundgirls.org  and enter ELISoundGirl in the subject line.

SoundGirls Note:

About Those 79 Cents

The most frequently cited pay-gap statistic obscures the even wider gaps faced by people of color. Often, this argument is accompanied by the now-famous statistic that women earn about 79 cents for every dollar men make at work. This is an important data point, but focusing on that figure alone masks the role race can play in perpetuating these disparities.

For instance, it is important to ask: Which women? The 79-cents statistic is an average that includes all women, but it obscures the even wider gaps faced by women of color. For black women, the number is closer to 65 cents, while for Latinas it is even lower, at 54 cents. This data draws attention to the fact that while women as a group aren’t paid as much as men, women of color see even more pronounced earnings gaps. Read more

A Sound Education

Last week the GCSE results were published in England. These qualifications mark the end of key stage 4 and are increasingly feeling like a relic left behind from old-style O-levels which, in the past, marked the end of formal secondary education. In the future, England is looking to working towards a ‘Baccalaureate’ system that aims to draw together three features:

What should assessment look like in 2025’ AQA 2015?

By including ‘personal development’ it is recognised that this is a key element in the needs of future employment.

Why is this important to those of us working in the sound industry?

A hot topic on the SoundGirls Facebook page is the need (or not) for formal qualifications in our industry. Putting student debt aside, a large majority of those against formal qualifications would cite on-the-job training as a far more effective means of achievement. In fact, this is a well-researched area. Carr (1999) says,

‘It is possible for someone to have a mental grasp of procedural knowledge, but no ability to perform the given task’.

I’m sure many of us can recall a course or training programme we’ve attended whereby at the end of the day we have understood all of the procedures being demonstrated but have very little idea of how to apply it in a real-life situation.

The issue that we recognise here is that we are being assessed on one topic and being expected to perform another. Therefore the assessment needs to reflect the practical nature of our industry.

When looking for a course it goes without saying that you need to be as thorough as possible when checking out the credentials. Importantly, check that the assessment opportunities being offered are intrinsically linked to the teaching.

Choose a course where the outcomes fit with your future plans. Even if these plans change, a good course will allow you to develop the skills to continue lifelong learning.

Student Debt

Going back to the issue of student debt, if you speak to any teacher about their students they will without fail at some point speak of inclusion.

Affordability of undergraduate courses in the UK ( and elsewhere) has shot through the roof in recent years. This has naturally increased the doubt surrounding if a course in sound is actually needed or not.

There is no straightforward answer to this other than to say that you need to seriously consider the opportunities that you will be afforded. Would you have the same networking opportunities if you didn’t do the course? Will you receive a rich and rounded mentorship away from the structure of an institution? You are quite likely to find that there are as many professional sound engineers that followed an academic route as followed an amazing mentor or mentors within the industry. The decision of which route to take can only be decided by you.

Community Support

Living in a country that has seen an enormous leap in the availability of public education, highlights the importance of grassroots support and encouragement for young people joining the workplace. Music is one area where traditionally, Oman is rich in heritage.

Whichever path you decide to take, ensure that you have taken every opportunity around you. The number one piece of advice I’ve always given to students wanting to get into sound is… get into sound! Find your local amateur dramatic society/ a band/ music venue/ recording studio and get involved as much as possible. If a group doesn’t exist then create one.

In Muscat, there is a huge variety of musicians from different backgrounds and cultures. They are often brought together on my ‘open mic’ nights. This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to showcase their skills but also to learn new insights. Look hard enough and there will always be a way forward and it doesn’t have to involve spending any money.

Huddleston, Prue. “Http://Www.aqa.org.uk/about-Us/What-We-Do/Policy/the-Future-of-Assessment-2025-and-beyond/How-Should-We-Assess-Vocational-and-Practical-Learning.” Http://Www.aqa.org.uk/, filestore.aqa.org.uk/content/about-us/AQA-THE-FUTURE-OF-ASSESSMENT.PDF.

The Future of Assessment

U.K. Intern at Loud Women Fest – Sept. 2

LOUD WOMEN FEST 2017

SoundGirls that need work experience this is a great opportunity to work at the Loud Women Fest 2017. This is an unpaid internship, but you will gain valuable hands on experience and be fed. We have spots for three interns to assist across two stages. Please send your CV and Cover Letter to soundgirls@soundgirls.org. Please indicate which stage you wish to work.

You must apply by Thursday 6PM GMT time.  We will notify you Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Bar Stage 12:00 to 9:00 pm

Main Stage two shifts 12 pm to 6 pm and 6 pm to 2 am

“LOUD WOMEN will undoubtedly be the beacon for all the best new female talent” – The Morning Star

 

“championing women in music through putting on great gigs with great people” – Parallel Magazine

 

“Fans of women-centric punk, rock and riot grrrl will heart this UK-based promoter.” – DIVA magazine

 

Some Great Gear

Over the last year, with a brand-new facility, I’ve been able to purchase a lot. Here are some of what I would consider being the best small to medium-sized purchases of the year.

First, the most lifesaving (ok, more time and ease saving) items would be road cases! Going from a building where everything was within 30ft to a building where everything is two floors away is a change. I purchased road cases and created packs to go to each area. This made everything much simpler, and likely shaves off more setup time then when everything was stored closer. There are hundreds of case companies out there. My recommendation is to check out the case companies closest to you. This can save you time and money in shipping, plus you are also supporting a local or regional business. Just make sure the cases will hold up to abuse and fit your need for size and height.

Second, functional clothing, which is needed all the time but worth highlighting here. For me, there are two key items for functional clothing: pants with pockets and well-supporting shoes. Another SoundGirl posted some leggings with pockets a while back. Now, I’m not a legging person myself but it shows that someone is finally getting it: Pockets are needed! I usually get jeans that are a little cheaper and have well-built pockets. This way I can carry essential tools and then, if something happens to the jeans, they aren’t expensive to replace. For shoes, I prefer closed-toed with good support. Generally, I pick a hiking shoe for long days and keep some steel-toed shoes around for load-ins/outs. I find that hiking shoes provide support for longer than a general tennis shoe.

Third, a fun piece of equipment to get to know: a Shure ULXD wireless mic setup. (Just in time for the bandwidth chaos too!) We went the digital route and I couldn’t be happier with them for our meeting rooms. They work great with a lot of the other wireless mic setups throughout the campus and building. Batteries seem to last long enough and the pickup is awesome, even for those who don’t hold the mic properly. I’m hoping to add more of these to the inventory soon.

Finally, fourth, a hand-held little tool that is easy to take everywhere: The Gerber Shard keychain. This tool has been great to keep attached to my keys as I have encountered different power panels and boxes that needed opening. It’s lightweight and sturdy making it much nicer to carry all the time than a full multi-tool. It will never replace a good multi-tool, but it’s great to always have around.

What are some of the best purchases you’ve made this year?

 

The “Game” of Finding Work in Los Angeles

When I moved to Los Angeles, I knew three people including a friend from home named Dustin. On my first night in town, I went for dinner with him and a few of his friends. One asked the waiter about something on the menu. The waiter replied, “Well, as long as I’ve been here – which is five years now – this has been the most popular item on the menu. But the only reason I’ve been here five years is because I’m still trying to get my screenplay published.”  The waiter then took our order as nothing had happened.

After he left, I asked if the waiter’s comment struck anyone as odd. “Nah,” Dustin said, “you get used to it after a while. Everyone wants to be doing something else in this town.” His friend shared a story about a colleague who recently landed a job. The colleague was at Starbucks venting about how she couldn’t find work. The guy at the next table overheard her and said he needed to hire someone to do exactly what she was talking about. They exchanged information and she was hired a few days later.

Since I didn’t move to LA with a job, my first couple months were spent taking “meetings” (aka lunch, coffee, or a drink) with “connections” (aka friends of friends or people I met through an ad on Craigslist). I tried the regular job channels like applying to job listings or sending my resume to studios but got no response. It was so bizarre that all of this was the reality of starting a career. It felt more like a game making friends using code words versus job seeking.

Instead of seeking work, I started seeking information. I wanted to know how others got their start or what their career paths were like. How did they get interviews or job offers? What could I do to find more opportunities? What path should I be taking? It was those questions that lead to more meetings and more connections and eventually to work and more opportunities. The more I got to know people the more they offered to help.

I also met up with a college friend (one of the three I knew when I moved out). She worked at a post-production studio. She said the studio received at least 30 resumes a week and if they have an opening (even for receptionist) the owner would give an interview to someone an employee knew over a no-name resume from the pile. She showed me the cabinet full of resumes – all people who never got an interview.

I got a great piece of advice during one of those first meetings: “It’ll take six months just to make the connections to start looking for work in Los Angeles.” Once you start seeing the web of connections and how it works you realize opportunity could be anywhere – even from a stranger at Starbucks or a friend from college. The hard part is getting used to selling yourself in unexpected situations. There’s a balance, though, in knowing when it’s appropriate to talk about your skills or work. The waiter, for example, may have been too forward bringing up his screenplay while he was working another job. It takes some practice but if you’re comfortable sharing about yourself (and knowing how much or when to share) a stranger can turn into a connection or even lead to a great job.

 

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