Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Richmond, VA – Women and Audio Open House

WRIR and SoundGirls Presents –

Women and Audio

About RVA Women in Audio Open House: On Saturday, August 12th from 11am – 3pm, at the studios of WRIR-LP 97.3 FM, RVA Women in Audio is hosting a Career in Audio day in conjunction with SoundGirls.org. We will have workshops and networking. Come and meet WRIR’s awesome group of audio engineers, show hosts and producers, board operators and technicians. Women are rocking audio in Richmond! Come learn, meet and network.

About WRIR FM: WRIR LP 97.3 FM, a nonprofit, listener-supported radio station, is operated by the Virginia Center for Public Press, a 501(c)(3) Virginia corporation, and has been on the air since January 1, 2005. A true community radio station, WRIR is committed to presenting underrepresented news, views, and music. The station is operated solely by volunteers, and by charter, can never be purchased by any non-local entity. To learn more about WRIR programming, operations, and volunteer opportunities, visit www.wrir.org.​

 

Why We Don’t Use Buss Compression

Buss compression (or mix buss compression) is a hot topic. It’s taught in audio schools, videos and tutorials, mentioned in textbooks, blogs, forums, and podcasts. For such a covered topic we rarely hear about why or when it SHOULDN’T be used.

Film/tv mixer April’s philosophy

I quit doing mix buss compression years ago for a single logistical reason: Most film and television work requires delivery of mixes and stems (dialog, music, fx, voice-over). If someone needs to edit between the mix and stems for whatever reason, it has to be seamless (other than needing a limiter on the master and maybe a small crossfade). These stems go on to have a lot of uses – foreign versions, promos, advertising, conforms/changes like airline or television versions.

Most of the music I mix is for film or tv which is a similar scenario. Music is delivered (to the mix stage) as a mix and stems of similar tracks summed together (such as vocals, strings, piano, guitars, percussion, pitched percussion, lead instruments, etc. ). Stems exist to repurpose music, also. For example, composed music may get reused in different episodes of a series but versions of different lengths. It’s easier to re-edit a music cue with stems because your reverb decays are clean, vocals are isolated from the mix, percussion is separated, etc.

I recommend anyone who mixes music to work with stems in mind. Even if a band is just making an album and not thinking about licensing or placement opportunities, it’s a simple step that will prevent major headaches and expenses down the road. If it’s time-sensitive and you can’t deliver what is needed it could mean the opportunity – and the money – goes to someone else. Twice I’ve had songwriters I recorded/mixed songs for ask for stems TEN years later because a song was placed in a film. In the digital world, there’s no guarantee your session will open, audio files won’t be missing, and plugins recalled correctly when that much time has passed (just look at .sd2 – a format that was standard at one time but won’t even open in Protools today). I now archive stems for everything I work on.

When do I use buss compression? When it has a clear purpose. Sometimes there’s a specific sound I’m looking for in a stem that can only be created with buss compression (compressing a drum kit is a good example). Sometimes I use it to help speed up dialog mixing (in instances with tight turnaround times). Buss compression can help with dialog intelligibility, too, so I might use it on an interview stem or for a news piece. In some cases, buss compression helps with DSP usage or simplifying plugins and automation – like bussing all your background vocals to an aux with processing versus a plugin on each individual channel.

On the occasions, I do use buss compression or processing I set it at the beginning of the mix, and once I’m working, I generally don’t tweak again. This is partly due to gain staging – when you make compressor adjustments it can affect the output level which triggers the buss compressor differently which means further adjusting. Compressors only get a sound in the ballpark – it takes volume automation/fader riding for nuance. It’s taken a lot of mixing with buss compression settings I don’t like to figure out what I do like.  It may seem counterintuitive to finish a mix with something that isn’t working but sometimes making a minor adjustment to a buss compressor causes as many problems as it solves. That’s one of the hardest parts of mixing – to know when to leave it be!

Music mixer Ryan Tucker shares this philosophy

After fighting with stereo buss compression for many years, I’ve mostly abandoned the practice altogether. Now, I tend to subgroup as much as possible so that my entire mix is limited to a handful of stereo faders. I often compress each with the most appropriate buss compressor and settings for that sound rather than leave all the heavy lifting to a final stereo buss compressor. This gives me more dynamic control and a more transparent compressed mix then would be achievable with only a stereo buss compressor.

Further complications with stereo buss compression present themselves when you decide to add the compressor to an already leveled mix. Compressing the stereo buss after getting the levels will completely change the mix you just spent so long tweaking thus requiring you to remix your levels into the buss compressor you just added. It is much harder to do a mix then compress it rather than to mix into the buss compressor from the beginning. Even then if you make an effort to begin buss compressing early on you may have to readjust the compressor settings to meet the requirements of any new tracks inserted. You may find that the rhythm section sounds great into the buss compressor until you’ve added all tracks and drastically increased your RMS level. And so it goes, on and on, a constant battle. Like a bowl of jello, push one end and the whole things moves around and jiggles. Better to do your dynamic reduction on individual musical parts than leave it all to the buss compressor.

On top of all the aforementioned complexities, one can’t just put any old compressor (hardware or plugin) on the mix buss! Most lack the necessary features to treat the stereo buss appropriately. For example, buss compression (or really any stereo compressor) must be very sensitive to the stereo image of the instrument or mix. Some stereo compressors reduce stereo image, create imaging unbalanced to one side or the other, or pump every time the kick or bass hits.

There are different ways designers address this. Many stereo compressor plugins implement stereo difference detection and MS techniques to avoid image steering. In addition, many implement filtering in the sidechain to reduce the low-end influence over the gain reduction circuit. This is what prevents your kick (center of the stereo field) from pumping the wide panned guitars, reverbs or whatever content is found in the sides of the stereo field. Shadow Hills Mastering compressor implements stereo difference detection along with providing a side chain high pass filter. Fairchild 670 is a little more blunt in giving the user control over center image and sides by implementing a mid-side matrix. Channel 1 becomes center image compressor while channel 2 compresses only the sides of the stereo image. This implementation requires a little more user understanding and responsibility to get things compressing correctly.

Either way, a stereo compressor may or may not call out that this implementation is taking place or how they are doing it – that it sums the side chain signals rather than just triggering off the L or R side, or the loudest side, or a sum of the sides; that gain reduction focuses on the peak or the average signal levels; that the rate of gain change is fast (ex: VCA style) or slow (ex: El-Op style); that non-user accessible filtering or EQ bumps are in the sidechain; that internally program dependant release switching is occurring, etc, etc. Just as one can’t judge a book by its cover, one shouldn’t judge a compressor by its interface.

Buss compressors exist because tracking compressors aren’t very good at compressing a mix. So, if you’re going to use buss compression, make sure it is specifically designed to be a buss compressor and to operate on stereo signals appropriately. Keep in mind, people selling compressors would rather sell two monos then just one stereo. Even though they say “Sure – side-chain two of our mono compressors on your buss”, you definitely need to take into consideration whether you should use it on your buss or whether you should do some research and find an appropriately designed unit to serve all your master buss needs.

In summary, after all of this discovery, I personally decided to move my dynamic reduction downstream, off the mix buss and onto my tracks and stems. If I use stereo buss compression at all it’s only musically reducing about 2-4 dB of gain at most, and is really just meant to glue the movement of the tracks together into a unified stereo program.

Ryan Tucker: Ryan is the owner of TuckerMix a custom music mixing service for independent artists, composers, producers, and labels. In addition to mixing music, he has served many world-class music-audio companies in software and hardware product development.

April Tucker: April is a Los Angeles-based re-recording mixer and sound editor who works in television, film, and new media. She holds both a Master’s Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music/Sound Recording. April enjoys doing educational outreach such as writing for industry blogs, giving lectures and presentations. April can be contacted through her website, www.proaudiogirl.com.

Denmark – Sound System Optimization Training Seminar

Sound System Optimization Training

Come learn best practices for tuning sound systems with measurement and operational concepts through a FFT-based (dual-channel) acoustical analysis software platform. The seminar will be taught by

2016 Seminar

Theis Romme – Freelance engineer for several companies with Meyer Sound Inventory. Theis is a most appreciated member of the Meyer Sound family and is also considered an expert on SIM3 as well as Smaart V7 & V8.

Rasmus Rosenberg – Freelance sound engineer and a super user on Smaart, as well as beta tester for Smaart products before they hit the market.

We recommend participants to download ‘Smaart V8 User Guide’ and read before attending the training. Please bring PC/notebooks for both dates. Participants will learn  to measure and analyze the frequency content of audio signals, study timing and frequency response of electro-acoustic systems, and perform basic room acoustics analysis. Everybody regardless of experience are welcome to participate! This includes students and newcomer’s in the industry

The maximum number of attendees will be 20. Be sure to sign up early as our events tend to sell out. If you require financial aid please contact us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org

  Register Here

How to get to the venue:

Airport: Take the metro to ‘Lergravsparken’, walk 100 meters south of Østrigsgade, take a right turn on Øresundsgade. The venue will come up on your left hand side after 500 metres.

Centrale station: Use the exit to Tivoli. Take bus no. 5A towards Sundbyvester Plads/Airport. Get off after 9 stops at Øresundsvej. Continue 50 metres. on Amagerbrogade. Take a left turn at the intersection and Amager Bio will come up after 50 metres.

Accommodation:

For any practical questions on logistic or accommodation, please send an email to either mallekaas@gmail.com or aiste.baltraityte@gmail.com

This is an exclusive offer to members of SoundGirls. If you are not already a member, please visit our website to sign up.

 

Radio Mics and Foley – UK SoundGirls Workshops with the ASD

On a warm day at the end of June, the UK chapter of SoundGirls had our first shared events with the Association of Sound Designers, in the form of two workshops about very different and equally fascinating sound skills.

First up “Pin the Radio Mic on the Actor,” given by sound engineer and expert “mic hider” Zoe Milton. A vital skill for anyone wanting to work in theatre sound, fitting radio mics is also important for film and TV location sound and in any situation where you want to conceal a body mic on a performer.

Zoe started by taking us through a brief history of the use of radio mics in the theatre. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bandwidth restrictions limited the number of RF channels which meant that even large West End shows had far fewer transmitter packs than cast members. Les Miserable shared sixteen packs between their cast, which resulted in upwards of 100 pack swaps per night!

Fortunately, advancements in radio mic technology and a reduction in the costs of RF licensing in the UK means this doesn’t happen as much these days. Of course, Sound No. 2 and No. 3’s are still expected to be able to swap mic packs within a matter of minutes if necessary, especially on large shows.

Next, we had a closer look at some of the various mic techniques used to accommodate different hair lengths – including no hair – and performance types. Zoe reminded us that that fitting a radio mic is as much about teamwork and communication as it is about technique. You work in very close proximity with the performer, and you have to make both the experience and the position of the mic and pack comfortable for them. You also have to make final decisions on the mic position that will provide the best and most consistent sound for your Sound No. 1 or sound operator. There can be a big difference in the sound of a mic fitted at someone’s hairline, and one fitted over an ear.

As well as the performer and the Sound No. 1/sound op, radio mic fitters also have to take potential costumes, hairstyles, wigs, and hats into consideration. Zoe emphasized the importance of speaking with costume and wig designers as early in the production process as possible so that you know where you might be able to hide a mic and mic pack. We looked in detail at positioning mics within hats and discussed solutions for performers with no hair (creating an ear “hanger” works well). Zoe also talked us through how to hide mics and mic packs under wigs. I was particularly impressed with one solution that Zoe and a colleague devised for an opera singer who shed his clothing after his entrance, which meant it wasn’t possible to put his mic pack in his costume. Instead, they had a half-wig created to blend in with his natural hair and give them enough volume to hide his mic pack on his head, within his hairstyle.

After giving us a rundown of the best accessories to use, including the benefits of using wig clips over the tape and how to effectively colour a mic cable, we had the chance to get up close and personal with fitting a mic ourselves.

I came away from the workshop with a much clearer idea of the solutions available when fitting radio mics, as well as feeling slightly guilty about how much I rely on tape (more wig clips, I promise, Zoe!).

In the afternoon, Tom Espiner introduced us to the fascinating world of Foley sound creation. Tom is an actor, puppeteer, theatre practitioner, and Foley artist, who has provided Foley for film and TV as well as live opera and theatre.

With the technical assistance of Gareth Fry, Tom demonstrated the process of recording Foley, using various objects and textures to build up multiple layers of created sound effects. It was fascinating to see Tom take everyday objects such as twine and rubber bands and turn them into snakes sliding across rocks and flicking their tongues.

After we’d seen the expert do it, it was time for us to have a go. We had a lot of fun adding horse hooves (a classic) and saddle noises to a scene from The Revenant and learning what might have gone into making the sound of a dinosaur hatching from Jurassic Park.

Later on in the workshop, we looked at adding live Foley to stage plays, and I learned how difficult it is to keep one hand making the sound of a babbling brook while the other creates splashes in sync with another actor, as they mime washing their hands. In one of the most enjoyable exercises of the day, all of us contributed to creating a Foley soundscape to illustrate a particularly descriptive piece of text, creating the sounds of a deep underground lake in a mysterious land.

As well as being very informative, both workshops reminded me how important it is to get out from behind your computer or console, try something new and get your hands wet literally, as it happens. I think all attendees left inspired to try new techniques and find new ways to make sound.

Many thanks to the Association of Sound Designers for offering the opportunity to our members.

 

The Songwriter’s Secret: The Circle of Fifths

The skills involved in producing and engineering music are different to the ones required to write and play it, but that does not say there is no overlap.  Even the simplest recording job requires you to be able to capture the feel of the music, and the vision of the musicians, on record.  All of the technical know-how in the world won’t matter if you have a tin-ear for the music, and so it’s helpful to make sure your knowledge of producing and engineering is backed up by an understanding of musical theory.

One of the most common examples of musical theory that is crucial to the creation of music is the circle of fifths.  You may have read, or heard, someone say of a song: ‘It uses the classic I-IV-V-I progression.’ Unless you are already familiar with intermediate musical theory, this may well have baffled you; after all, you know that the scale runs from ‘A’ to ‘G’, and you know that between the notes are ‘sharps’ and ‘flats’, but that’s it.  The answer to this is that ‘I-IV-V-I’ is a progression, not from one specific note or chord to another, but a pattern that repeats in terms of spacing, whatever the ‘root’ note or chord of the sequence. This progression can be explained by the concept of the circle of fifths, and in a recording situation, this could be vital knowledge.  The reason is that music is written to evoke or elicit certain feelings and emotions, and there are methods for doing so, compositionally speaking; an engineer’s job is to ensure that the recording matches the vision, and an understanding of how the music works makes that job easier.

I-IV-V-I

Music is basically maths- that’s the first thing to remember.  Notes sound pleasant, or consonant, together because of the mathematical ratios between them.  A ‘fifth’ is the term for a specific interval between notes.  To stay with the example of ‘I-IV-V-I’- mainly because it is the most common progression in popular western music, with literally thousands of songs based up in it- imagine that the starting chord of your song is a C-major; that is ‘I,’ your ‘root’ chord.  ‘IV,’ your next chord, is F-major and ‘V’ is G-major.  If however, the key of ‘C’ is not right for your voice, be it either too low or too high for you to sing comfortably, the ‘I-IV-V-I’ pattern can be easily transposed.  If you want to sing in the key of E-major (I), then the next chord will be A-major (IV), followed by B-major (V).  The progression will sound the same, only in a higher or lower key; this is because the intervals between the notes are the same.  The same goes for other common progressions, such as I-V-VI-IV; if it is denoted by Roman numerals, then it is all about the intervals and can be transposed into any key.

 

The circle of fifths is so called because the nature of the musical scale, running from A to G, means that you can start on one note and run through a sequence of ‘perfect fifths’ which will take you through each note and back to the beginning, in a circular motion, without experiencing any dissonance.  It is also because this relationship can place, visually, on a circle; this diagram makes it easy to locate both the relative minor chords as well as the ‘IV’ and ‘V’ of any root note or chord. A simple trick to remember is that, on the circle of fifths diagram, the ‘IV’ of any root note is one step anti-clockwise, and the ‘V’ is one step clockwise.

There’s a great deal more theory behind this, and it becomes increasingly complex and esoteric, but if you want to understand how songs have been put together,- an important part of the recording process- then a basic understanding of the circle of fifths will be beneficial.  The diagram, in particular, will show you consonant choices about chord progression, whilst also showing you the relative minor chord, which is always a favorite option for a middle-8 or B-section.  As you better understand how the music works, your abilities to successfully capture its spirit will also increase.

By Sally Perkins

Ableton Show Control

For a show not so long ago in RADA (Scuttlers, written by Rona Munro), it was my intention to use Ableton Live for the playback of a variety of songs, beats, and rhythms which the cast would create and interact with throughout the show.

As I have mentioned in my blog Choosing Software, I had decided to use Ableton Live in shows because it allows me the diversity to create my own sound palettes, add in effects, and take them away again easily. Crucially, I can control all of this via MIDI in Qlab, which adds important stability for the show, but still, retains a wide dynamic range of filters and features that can be blended and mixed.

*I’m using a Mac for all of the following features, coupled with Ableton Live 9 Suite, and Qlab 3 with a Pro Audio licence.

First things first, you’ll need to go into your computer’s Audio MIDI Setup, you’ll want to go to Window in the Finder bar, and select Show MIDI Studio.

Show MIDI Studio in the Audio MIDI Setup Window in the Mac Mini

 

Qlab Live will pop up as an IAC Driver, and you’ll need to double-click the Qlab Driver to show the Qlab Live Properties.

Qlab IAC Driver in the MIDI Studio

 

In this new window, you’ll need to add a second Port such as below:

Creating a second bus under the Ports pane

 

These buses will be used to trigger Ableton from Qlab, and Ableton to trigger itself internally.

This then brings us to setting up Ableton MIDI. You’ll need to open a new Ableton file and open up the Preferences pane, from here you’ll need to set up the internal MIDI ports to transmit and receive MIDI via the buses to Qlab that we previously set up in the Mac Mini’s own Audio MIDI Setup. It should look something like below:

Ableton’s MIDI Preferences

You can then open up Qlab and check the MIDI Port Routing in the MIDI preferences and ensure that MIDI is being sent to Ableton via one of the ports like so:

You’re probably going to want to leave at least one MIDI port before the Ableton bus free for a MIDI send to your sound desk, or even to Lighting or Video.

Once you’ve set up these initial steps, this is when it gets slightly more complicated. You’ll need to keep a strict record of the MIDI triggers that you’re sending, and indeed all of the values and channel numbers. These will eventually each do different commands so getting one value crossed with another could end up with not only a lot of confusion, but you could end up triggering cues before they’re supposed to Go!

In your Ableton session, look to the top right-hand corner, and you will see a small MIDI toggle button. This is your MIDI view button, and when clicked you’ll also be able to track your MIDI across your session and throughout the show. It will be generic Ableton colour until you click it, when it will become pale blue:

 

A portion of the rest of your Ableton session will also be highlighted in blue, and the highlighted sections are all of the features available for MIDI control. This can range from volume control on Ableton channels, changing the tempo, fading in/out effects, and starting ‘scenes’ on the Master channel bank.

So I’m now dragging in a sample to the first Audio channel in Ableton

This is the first Audio track that I’d like to MIDI, so I set up a new MIDI cue in Qlab, and make sure that it’s a simple Note On MIDI command – Qlab will always default to Channel 1, Note Number 60, Velocity 64, but this can be changed depending on how you plan on tracking your commands. I’ll set this to Channel 4 (leaving the first 3 Channels free for desk MIDI, LX and maybe Video or spare in case something needs re-working during tech). I’ve then set it to Note 1, with a Velocity of 104 (104 is a key number here, this roughly works out at 0db within Ableton, so is handy to remember if MIDI’ing any level changes). Because all I’ve done here is send a simple ‘Go’ command to the Audio track, however, the Velocity number is sort of irrelevant – because the track is at 0db anyway, it will simply play at 0db.

I’ll then ensure that MIDI output is enabled in Qlab, and open the MIDI window in Ableton, again, from the top right-hand corner, and select my track with my mouse (this might not necessarily be highlighted any more, but it will be selected). I’ll then jump back to Qlab, and fire off the MIDI cue. Ableton will recognise this, and not only will the programmed MIDI show up in the MIDI Mappings side of the session, but it will show up directly on top of the Audio cue, like thus:

So now that we have an audio track playing and the action is happening on stage, you might have even fired through several other generic Qlab cues, but you want to stop the music and start the scene. There is no escape in Qlab for Ableton, so Ableton is going to keep going until we programme some more MIDI cues; So I’m simply going to programme a fade down of the music, and then a stop.

What I’ve done it programme a MIDI fade, which as you can see in the picture, it starts at the 0db value of 104, and then fades down over 5 seconds to 0, or infinity. You can also control the curve shape of the fade as usual in Qlab, and of course, the fade time is completely adjustable.

Once I’ve programmed the fade and added in the stop, my MIDI window looks a bit like this:

Ableton has accepted what ‘notes,’ or for Qlab, what values I’ve added in that complete different commands, and also given me a description of what these are doing. Something to note here is that the value to change the volume, whether you’re adding in fades up or down, will always be the same – it is the volume value in Qlab that will see the change.

So now that I’ve stopped the music, I might want to start it again in a separate scene if it was a motif for a character, for example. This programming can be part of the same cue:

Again, you’ll notice that the Ableton fader is resetting back to 0db. Of course, this is just one channel, and just one track within Ableton, and the more you add, the more complicated the programming can get. I’ve also added in a channel stop to make sure that should we want to play something off a separate scene in Ableton; nothing else gets fired off with it (just in case).

In terms of MIDI’ing within Ableton, when in your MIDI pane, as a general rule, anything that shows up in blue is viable to receive and be altered by MIDI. This means that you can add in reverbs over a certain amount of time, take them away again, and alter any of the highlighted parameters completely to taste. You’ll then just need to go back and make sure that any fade ins have outs again and a reset.

This is a brief intro to having more control over Ableton during a show within Qlab, and of course the more effects and cues might get added, the more complicated the MIDI mapping becomes.

The great thing about using Ableton in a show is that there are certain parameters (also with MIDI control) that can be changed such as how long after receiving a stop should the track last (one bar, or half a bar, or a beat for example) to always ensure that music ends on beat and makes sense to the listeners. For me, Ableton allows you enough control over what it does, but enough flexibility.

Tour Manager Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet for Tour Managers

Feel Free to Post Your Tips and Advice and we will add them.

Venues:

Call or text the Production Manager and let them know when you’re 10min away. If you don’t get a response, no big deal. Load-in details should be advanced.

When you arrive, run in and tell them you’ve arrived. Ask them for some hands to help you unload. After getting all the gear in and locating the dressing rooms have them direct you to your parking spot.

Introduce yourself to everyone inside – find your key people – PM, house FOH, house MON, house LD, promoter rep, head of security, merch person and whoever is responsible for stocking the dressing rooms. Make best friends with this person! Merch person and promoter rep sometimes arrive at the venue later than everyone else. Attend the security meeting (if applicable.)

Once the band has a minute to get settled in the dressing room, have them get their gear pre-set off stage (ask the PM where to do this). This way they’ll be almost ready when (the headliner) finishes their check, and they can just move their gear into place. Otherwise, you’ll waste all your soundcheck time doing

Setup.

Ask them if soundcheck is running on time, and what time you should have your band ready to move onto the stage.

Check that the rider is in the dressing room, or on its way (everything you agreed during the advance). If you are an opener, you probably won’t get your full rider, but you should at least have what was agreed during the advance. At a bare minimum, make sure you have:

Show Schedule:

Make sure there is a schedule for the day printed and hung on the wall by the door in the dressing room. The venue or headlining act usually handles this, but in case they don’t – do it yourself. Just the basics: day, date, venue name, address, doors, set times and length, changeover times and length, curfew and wifi info. In big type that’s easy to read. If your band has a logo, include it at the top and keep a template going.

Set List:

Try to get a jump on the setlist right after soundcheck. Keep all setlists in an accessible and sharable place (Dropbox for example) saved under their dates. You will often get asked for them after-the-fact for press, and sometimes the band will say ‘we want to do the same setlist we did in Portland.’ Once you have it, type it up as big as possible on one page, and print needed copies. Possible positions that need setlists will be: (modify as needed)

Next up is the guest list:

Check with everyone (band, crew, press, management) and type it up, then give to contact that is handling the guest list (per advance.) If you need more than your allotted spots, charm the promoter. Make sure this is done before doors.

Merch:

Count-in, the merch with the merch person. Merch %s should be listed in the deal memos. If touring with a headline act see if their merch person is willing to take your remaining merch at the end of the night and bring it to the next city. (For example – If you are going to do this, get a large Tupperware container or something easy for them to travel with.)

Always give the band a heads up when:

Before you head to FOH or MON:

Make sure the stage is all ready, (lead vocals) knows where their mic is, and that each person has the following at their station on stage: (modify as needed)

After the show:

Help get the gear off the stage, packed up, and loaded out – the next band or headliner’s people will want you off their stage

Check in with the band backstage right after the gear is handled. See if they need anything, then tell them you’re going to settle, and what time they should be ready to leave. Only leave early if you have to leave to the next city. Otherwise, stick around to deal with merch.

Find the promoter rep and settle. Make sure they have the W9, and that you get a copy of the settlement.

Check in on merch:

When it’s getting time to leave:

Give the band a 15 min heads up before departure time.

Load any dressing room hospitality into the van/sprinter/bus (typically unopened only). Ask the venue for a box or bags for this.

Hotels

When you arrive:

Go to the front desk and give them your group name (or everyone’s names if it’s not registered as a group).

Offer to take band’s credit cards for incidentals (if required), so they can get their bags out of the vehicle while you get their keys.

Make sure there is a copy of your rooming list and hotel information sheet in each envelope. This can be advanced with the hotel, so it is ready on arrival.

On checkout:

Leave extra time to deal with the front desk. It always takes longer than you think. Make sure everyone has paid their incidentals and has a copy of their ‘zero balance receipt.’

Ask for a copy of the master folio, and make sure that nothing except Rooms, Tax, and Internet has been charged to the tour cc.

If for some reason it’s taking too long at the desk, and it’s going to make you late, just leave. It can be sorted it out later.

Helpful Resources

GeniusScan – A PDF scanner app

Square – Accept credit card payments:

Waze GPS app –

Master Tour is the premier software solution for tour management and logistics. With Master Tour, you can organize your itinerary, travel, production, accounting and more in one application. Work on or offline and share critical information with your crew in real-time. Master Tour will help keep your entire organization in sync.

Cudasign app – E-sign electronic documents

Foursquare – Find local businesses and attractions:

Yelp – Find businesses with reviews everywhere

Another TM with more experience on speed dial

Global Access – Visa and Immigration:  Global Access Immigration Services, Inc. has been providing worldwide entertainment visa services, consulate assistance and coordination for the Live Touring Industry for travel both inside and outside the United States.

Tour Supply  Tour Supply Inc is THE One Stop Shop for Touring Professionals Worldwide.

Smart and Savvy Travel Agency – Owner/Operator Molly Brickson Williams:

Lock Travel Management – Owner/Operator Amber Lock:

Plaza Travel – Production travel agents

Cube Passes – Laminates, wristbands, luggage tags:

Dropbox – Cloud-based file storage and management:

 

A SoundGirls Guide to the Middle East

In recent years a number of new performance venues have opened across the Middle East. This is paving the way for productions across the world to bring their performances to new audiences. Some of the top venues in the region include iconic Dubai Opera, the New York University Abu Dhabi Arts Centre, the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre in Kuwait, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture in Saudi Arabia, and of course our Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman.

Each venue attracts a variety of different productions, including a rich mixture of Western ballet, opera, and concerts, and more traditional and modern Arabic music. Interestingly, staff are also often an eclectic mixture of talent from around the world.

With this rapid expansion, production companies are starting to include these venues more and more on international touring circuits. Recently, discussions on the SoundGirls social media platforms have included members asking for advice on their upcoming tour dates. My advice is as follows!

Passports and visas

Most countries in the GCC will require at least six months on your passport when you enter the country. You are also likely to need a visa. This might be a work visa or a tourist visa for short term work. Depending on the country this will be organised when arrive. You may need to hand your documents over to a PRO (Public Relations Officer) for a few days. This is totally normal here as the process can be rather complicated.

Dress code

Contrary to popular belief in the West this does not just apply to women. Think modest! Shorts and vest tops are not acceptable work dress for anyone (male or female). Long sleeve t-shirts (not tight or low cut) are comfy, but a shirt is more appropriate for most situations. Smart jeans (not skinny fit) are OK, but a smart pair of chinos is better. Aircon is normally at a steady 21 degrees Celsius so if you indoors bring a cardi! Venues will advise you on any particular rules.

If you are working outside, the heat can be rather overwhelming. It sounds like common sense, but you will need lots of changes of clothes- including socks. A hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and copious amounts of water and all essential. Excellent rehydration drinks are available in supermarkets and chemists. It’s worth having a few sachets in your tool case.

Remember that during Ramadan drinking and eating in public is prohibited. There is often a room put aside for those not fasting so again… please do not panic! Be respectful to those around you who are fasting and try not to announce what you’ve got for lunch!

Culture

Respect is the keyword here. A friendly face speaks a thousand words when language barriers get in the way. It is useful to learn a few phrases to greet your hosts. ‘As-Salamu Alaykum’ means ‘peace be upon you and is used to say hello. This always gets things off to a good start. Even if you can’t speak any other Arabic, this will be greatly appreciated.

Raising your voice is not taken well in any circumstance, even if you are feeling extremely put out. Stay calm and if you keep talking you will often find a way to compromise.

Many of the discussions on SoundGirls platforms talk about safety for women. Generally speaking, the region is very safe. Obviously, take normal precautions as you would at home. Women may get ‘starred at’ whilst doing physical work. This is because it is unusual to see women in these roles. Do not take offence. Understanding different cultures is a two-way learning curve. Men may try and take heavy cases away from women. Firmly, politely and confidently say that you are fine. Don’t let go and SMILE! After a few attempts, the person will give up and leave you to it.

Food and drink

Fast food is extremely popular here. You will find most of the chains that you would at home. Of course, it is always fun to try the local delicacies. Try a Shwarma or Shuwa for a local-style lunch. Lemon and mint juice is also an absolute must-try! Increasingly more outlets are catering for vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Alcohol (in countries that are not totally dry) is available in some hotels or bars. It is more complicated to buy off the shelf unless you have a licence so if you are only passing through it is much easier to buy duty-free at the airport.

I hope that this clears up some of the misconceptions that make the rounds on social media. Sometimes it is better to take the risk and see for yourself. There are some incredible places to visit in the Middle East, and if someone is paying you for the privilege, it is an opportunity not to be missed.

I AM THAT GIRL Seeks Volunteer Sound Engineers for Los Angeles Event July 17 – 19

I AM THAT GIRL, is a 501(c)3 organization helping girls to transform self-doubt in to self-love by providing a safe space to connect and have honest conversations about things that matter. Every day, girls are bombarded with messages that attack what she is NOT and we work every day to help her love who SHE IS; to see that in herself and inspire that in others. They are shifting girl culture.

Raising the standards for how girls treat themselves, each other, and the world. By building a community for girls to be seen, be heard, and belong, we are giving them something bigger than themselves to stand for and creating a healthier, more powerful world.

The Los Angeles Chapter is holding a three day leadership summit on July 17 – 19th at Loyola Marymount University. They are seeking volunteers to run sound for three different portions of their event.

Musical performance (Rachel Platten) on 7/17 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Live Podcast recording (That’s So Retrograde) on 7/18 from 2:30pm – 4:30pm

Musical performance (The Sledge Grits) on 7/18 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm

If you are interested in volunteering please email soundgirls@soundgirls.org a cover letter and resume and indicate which portions you are able to assist.

X