If you want to tour or you want a career in this industry, you can and will make it happen. Dive in, work hard, prove you deserve every opportunity, and get the job you want. Then once you get there remember:
You don’t owe anyone a thing. You’ve gotten where you are with hard work, determination, and dedication. As women in these fields, we are often highly skilled and overly qualified for our jobs because we’ve had to prove it over and over again due to the bias in the industry. You do not owe anyone around you justification for your accomplishments; it was your hard work that got you where you are today. Do not let someone’s negative energy, jealousy, or anger get you down. You’ve achieved a lot! Carry yourself with confidence.
Set your ego aside
When other women see you in your role, they’ll likely envy you and want to reach the goals you’ve already achieved. Help them, talk with them, share your story, and, most of all, support them. At some point in your career, you likely met someone you looked up to who helped you reach your dreams. Be that person for someone else.
Invest
Invest in yourself and in others around you. Build the environment you wanted when you started so others can get even more of a jump start. As women continue to break the barrier, let’s leave an easier path for those to follow than we had. Invest in the next generation just as those before you did for you.
Be kind
Sometimes we can get jaded as we continue to fight our fight each day. Resulting in taking our frustrations out on the wrong people. Try to close the door of frustration and anger nightly to be able to start each day with a new perspective. Perspective is tremendous, try to see it from the other side before you act. Grace and forgiveness will get you so much farther than anger and hate. Some people may take advantage of your kindness along the way, but it will get you farther in the long run.
Bryony October – Tolerance, Patience & the Ability to Remain Calm
Bryony October is an independent live sound engineer who started touring when she 15. She has toured as a merch-seller, catering assistant, and backline tech before moving into live sound. She has been working in live sound for the last 20 years.
She got her foot in the touring world, by writing to her favorite band, The Levellers, and asked if she could do her work experience placement at their fan club. Bryony explains that this “was before the days of the internet/Facebook social media etc. so fan clubs were how bands and fans interacted. You would join your favourite band’s fan club, and they would send you special releases, a fanzine, and you could buy t-shirts from them directly.” The only problem was she did not post the letter, believing that The Levellers would think the proposition was ridiculous. Luckily for Bryony, her mother posted the letter, and to Bryony’s surprise, they wrote back and invited her to their recording studio in Brighton. Her Aunt and Uncle happened to live in Brighton, and she packed up her bags to spend the week mailing t-shirts and fanzines and making photocopies of the newsletter. The Levellers would invite Byrony back during the summer holiday at which time they brought her on tour for a few days. Bryony at the age 15, got a taste for what life on a tour bus was like, and was hooked. She would set her sights on tour managing, as she did not have technical skills.
From their Bryony, who always took an interest in music, took a module in music technology as A’level music (A’levels are the exams you take that get you into University when you’re 17/18.) This was the late 90’s, and Music technology was a very new thing to be taught at Universities. Bryony remembers that “there was not Pro Tools yet-we used Cubase, and it was the first year the UK had ever run such a module as part of a formal music qualification. Suffice to say I was the only girl in the course. Unfortunately, the teacher left after the first year as the course was in its infancy and not very structured or easy to teach, so it didn’t work out for me, and that knocked my technical confidence.”
She studied Philosophy & Critical Theory with Film/Television making and she joined the Student Union technical crew. This was when Bryony realized she had an aptitude for audio technology. “I think once I was in the live context that I was used to being around with the Levellers’ tours that the technical side of things began to make sense. The University Student’s Union had once been a gig on the old university touring circuit and had a Turbosound Floodlight Pa system, and Soundcraft analog consoles at both ends of the multi as well as a great selection of Shure mics. Unfortunately, the club scene had taken over as student’s preferred night out, so we didn’t get many bands through anymore, but I worked many an hour in the union with two channels of DJ which gave me a lot of facetime with the console just fiddling around. As soon as I told the Levellers’ FOH engineer that I knew the rudiments of how a Soundcraft console worked, he got me mixing any support act that came through on the Levellers’ tours. From there, I started to make contacts with all these young up-and-coming support acts who asked me back to mix and tour manage their smaller level tours.”
She also continued to tour The Levellers as a merch assistant. On the first day of the tour “ the main merch guy told me I needed to get up at 9 am to watch the merch boxes get loaded in and sit with them all day until he came in at 3 pm to make sure no one stole any t-shirts. There was no way I was going to just sit there with the hive of activity around me, so I asked the Levellers’ FOH engineer if I could help with the PA. My musical background pulled me more towards an interest in sound more than lighting, and I didn’t like the look of all the ladders and climbing in the lighting department!”
Bryony toured with the Levellers as backline tech/pa tech mixing any support acts that came through without an engineer until 2002 and then moved into just mixing foh with a bit of TM-Ing with smaller acts which she had met when mixing the support acts on the Levellers’ tours. Bryony says they were”the band’s no one would have heard of like Clearlake, the Crocketts, Captain and then a band that supported Clearlake called Delays started to take off and employed me just as foh.” Delays would take her on an international tour and helped to build Bryony’s reputation as a FOH engineer. She then went on to work the Noisettes a female-fronted pop act in the UK and then with Foxes another female-fronted UK pop act. Bryony has also worked with the acclaimed singer-songwriter Laura Marling, legendary 80s singer Billy Ocean, and her main artist Katie Melua whom she also does some production advances for. She is also the FOH/TM for Ward Thomas.
For the love of analog
I started mixing a few years before the advent of digital consoles, but by the time I had got to a level where I was touring my console, it was all digital. I always promised myself that when the right tour came up, I would take an analog desk and racks of lovely old outboard, but it didn’t happen until 2018. The tour was Katie Melua with the Gori Women’s choir. I have never been so excited or so proud to have been a part of such a tour and take out that package of gear. It was a brave and bold move as it simply isn’t the done thing anymore. Many venues don’t have space at FOH anymore, and local crews are not used to handling such a large and heavy console. It is also a completely different mixing experience, and some people would say much more limited, which it is in a way. I see it as ‘real mixing’ because there are no snapshots or recall and you have to really listen to what you are doing instead of pulling out frequencies on a visual display. I had the BEST time, and we had nothing but positive reviews and endless streams of people complimenting the sound both to me at foh, in social media feedback to Katie and the show reviews. Legendary producer William Orbit came to 2 of the shows and told Katie that it was in the top 10 sonic experiences of his life!
Live Sound Challenges
Probably one of the most challenging and yet rewarding experiences came about because of the familiar story of lack of time and money going into an extremely high-pressure situation. I’ve worked with the singer Foxes since 2012, and she got booked for the Coldplay US stadium tour as support with about three weeks’ notice back in 2016. The budget was extremely tight, and our monitor engineer wasn’t available for the tour. We had been touring Soundcraft consoles all year and were not set up in any way for the Digico SD7s that would present themselves for this tour. We only had one day’s rehearsal so it made (time and budgetary) sense that I should set up the band’s in-ears at the same time of building my FOH mix.
It was a significant risk, but I knew having been on stadium tours before that we would not get any soundcheck time for sure on the first day, if at all during the tour. So I had to make something meaningful to start us off in the space of a day’s rehearsal. We hired a Digico SD7 console, and I set about building and then rehearsing a combined FOH and monitor file for the band. They are all on in-ears, so it required some delicacy, but I knew the band very well at this stage. They had taken a long time to settle into having a separate monitor engineer when we reached that stage, having had me mix from FOH for such a long time they liked the very live sound they would get with me just setting their mixes and leaving it.
I went to the hire company to set up the desk file the day before which was a lifesaver time-wise and spent a good 12 hours swearing at the sd7, wondering how anyone with remotely chunky fingers ever got anywhere. Then I remembered I had a touch screen nib on the end of a pen in my bag …it’s the small things. It seemed crazy on the face of it, setting up such an unfamiliar console for both FOH and monitors when you are going into a hundred thousand capacity gig and handing the monitor file over to a stranger. But I was so determined, and it was incredibly important on a professional level that we go into that show looking up together. It was a case of just using everything I knew about the band and the way their sound works but also keeping things as simple as possible. I think that’s a good rule in all high-pressure situations. The fact that they all trusted me already was a huge bonus.
The rehearsal was going swimmingly for several hours until the SD7 dual-engine fell over and started doing some quite random things beyond my at that stage limited understanding of its brainpower. Alas, it was late on a Sunday by this point I couldn’t get a hold of anyone for tech support, so again after much swearing, I had no choice but to move on to the rehearsal room Avid console, so we could at least finish the rehearsal. Then it was a case of hoping for the best when we arrived on-site the next day at the first Coldplay show. Not ideal!
Thankfully on the day both files loaded and line checked no problem so when the band stepped out onto the stage at the Met Life Stadium with no more than a line check everything came together beautifully, and they had the gig of their lives. I also had one of the most awesome live mixing experiences of my life. It was akin to the old analog festival days where you weren’t quite sure until the band stepped out on stage. Hats off to the incredible systems engineers from Wigwam who looked after us on that tour and made all those stadiums sound amazing. All those years of having to mix monitors from foh finally paid off. I was born to mix in stadiums, though.
What do you like best about touring?
I love the escapism, the fact you get to run away with the circus for a living. This can be a double-edged sword as you can run away from anything difficult in your personal life and you can avoid committing to anything at home with the excuse that you will be taking off again soon which has long term implications on your personal life. But the camaraderie and feeling of being part of a team are unbeatable as well as the incredible places you get to travel to and the music and audiences you get to experience whilst being paid for it!
What do you like least?
The lack of job stability, structure or protection, particularly at the outset of your career, can make you feel very vulnerable at times, making you feel like you have to say yes to everything and work all of the time, which is a vicious circle. Sometimes it forces you to compromise or behave in a way that can be detrimental to your values or mental health to keep everyone around you happy because you think that’s how you will keep your job. It can take a long time to be confident enough to say no.
What is your favorite day off activity?
Getting a massage or finding a local yoga or pilates class, then finding a great local restaurant and using the hotel pool and Jacuzzi to reeeeelax
What are your long-term goals?
My current long-term goal is to fit having a family in without completely compromising my career, which I am not ashamed to admit, terrifies me. I feel a great responsibility to the women coming behind me to help normalize the idea that women can be mothers and also have a career in live music.
What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?
I have had it said to me on more than one occasion over the years that so and so big artists ‘just won’t have a girl’ mixing foh when I have been put forward, but I think this perception issue is dying thankfully. Alas, in my case, because I am a bit older, I certainly feel like my opportunities have been limited compared with some of my male contemporaries
How have you dealt with them?
I have completely ignored it, risen above it, kept going, driving forward, taking on bigger and better projects, being ambitious, and saying YES even when out of my comfort zone. At the same time, I have been vocal about women working in the industry and supportive of organizations like SoundGirls so that women mixing sound is normalised.
The advice you have for women who wish to enter the field?
Be clear about the career path you want to take. By all means, work in a few different roles at the very start, but make a decision about which department you want to work in and stick to it. I hear lots of people trying to multi task-do lights, sound, video, tour management, but I think that is a recipe for long term low end-work rather than high-end specialism and it has held me back working as a TM/FOH. Specialize and stick to your guns, getting as much experience as possible in your chosen field only. By all means, take on merch or something similar to get you on tour in the first place, but once you are getting paid work in your field, stick with that, and push forward. Don’t compromise.
Must have skills?
Tolerance, patience, and the ability to remain calm
Favorite gear?
I am an analog console junky; I love the MIDAS XL4 and Heritage series consoles. My outboard rack contains a BSS901 Dynamic Eq, Empirical Labs Distressor, and Roland SDE3000 delay.
Parting Advice
I guess the most important thing to me at the moment, having done nothing but tour for 20 years is to encourage the younger people coming up behind me to make sure they hold on to work-life balance and be super aware that doing this for a living is a MASSIVE compromise on your life. Despite what it might look like from the outside-especially for women when it comes to relationships and family. It’s so easy to run away with the circus and keep running, but it doesn’t do your mental health any favours later down the line. We are seeing a lot in the press and on social media about mental health these days and having tragically lost so many high profile artists to suicide and drug overdoses in recent years, people in live music circles people are finally beginning to talk and open up about the negatives of what is perceived as a very glamorous. So I think it’s really important that young people are made aware of the negatives, not just the positives, and given the tools to keep a balance. I think we must keep fighting for better conditions and more structured work arrangements as much as is possible.
Although the term “sound design” has been around for nearly four decades–and the practice has been pursued much longer–its use has only recently become nearly ubiquitous. A day cannot go by that I do not see #sounddesign appended onto the end of a multitude of tweets from around the world. We now have the invaluable website DesigningSound.org, which distributes information about our community’s adventures, musings, and technical inquiries. And our Boom Box Post blog often touts titles such as Creature Speech Sound Design Challenge or Smoke and Mirrors: Unexpected Sound Design Sources.
Why this sudden renaissance of the term “sound design”? This week, I decided to take a closer look at the history of the term, the differences in how it is used across the film and television, interactive and immersive media, and theater industries, and its use and abuse.
Sound Design: A History
The term “sound designer” was used for the first time in film in 1979. Francis Ford Coppola granted Walter Murch the title of Sound Designer for his work on Apocalypse Now, marking the first use of the term as a credit in film. Until that point in time, the usual credit, Supervising Sound Editor or Sound Editor, was generally accepted as a purely technical role on a film crew. Coppola felt that this new title encompassed his feeling that Murch had been a key creative team member who added to the artistry and overall creative intention of the film. It was also to be understood that Murch oversaw the overall sound concept of the film, including dialogue, sound effects, foley, and the final mix, just as a supervising sound editor would normally do.
Walter Murch’s creative storytelling through sound and his integration into the Apocalypse Now team as early as pre-production surely earned him this extra accolade. I would love to wax poetic about the sound of Apocalypse Now, but that certainly deserves its very own blog post. Instead, please read this interview with Murch himself regarding the sound of the film.
Surely, the sound design on Apocalypse Now was of the highest quality and extremely innovative for its time. However, it is important to note that this was not the first time that an inventive sound editor played a critical role in a film’s sound. Instead, this was the first time that the title Sound Designer was used to describe that work, thereby expressing the beginning of a shift in the industry’s attitude toward sound editorial. The same job would have previously been listed as Supervising Sound Editor or Re-Recording Mixer. Case in point: we can all agree that Ben Burtt’s work in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, released in 1977, was sound design. Afterall, he designed the sound of the lightsaber! Yet, he was originally credited with Special Dialogue and Sound Effects. In the 1997 and 2004 re-released editions, his credit was changed to Sound Designer.
Sound Design Across Industries
One of the aspects that makes the title Sound Designer so interesting is that it is not controlled by any labor unions or industry organizations except in the arena of theater. So, unlike many other roles which have been established and then held to the same set of standards over the years, the idea of what makes someone a sound designer is free to evolve. Thus, every industry has taken this idea and slowly crafted a meaning that fits its own needs, resulting in a varied and sometimes confusing use of the term.
Film & Television
In the television and film industry, the Motion Picture Editor’s Guild, MPEG (local IATSE chapter 700) controls the titles which are used within union sound houses. Each particular role on a sound team is segmented into specific job titles such as supervising sound editor (the person who oversees all other members of the team and advances an overall creative concept for the project’s sound), dialogue editor, sound effects editor, foley editor, foley mixer, foley walker, recordist, etc. Ordinarily, a person’s film/TV credit will match his or her job title on a project. However, there are several reasons why the title Sound Designer may be used in credits in lieu of these standard union titles.
One reason may be the traditional use of the term as it was established by Coppola and Murch: the individual has overseen all sound team members and has had an active, creative role in concepts that contributed to the storytelling of the film. In this way, someone is given special commendation by the use of the title Sound Designer rather than Supervising Sound Editor. In essence, they mean the same thing in terms of responsibility. But, Sound Designer has a connotation of creative respect. Another reason would be that the individual played multiple roles in the project (such as supervising sound editor and mixer), and as the term sound designer is outside the purview of the union, this can a convenient way to credit such a person. Keep in mind that in any large studio or union house, an individual may be credited as Sound Designer, but his or her official job title will be one of the union-specified roles. Thus, sound designer is a colloquial term of respect and reverence toward the creative aspect of the work, but it is not an actual job.
Video Games
In interactive and immersive media (video games, VR, etc.), the title of Sound Designer is often used as a catch-all title for each member on the sound team. In general, there will be a bevy of sound designers on each project, who are lead by the Audio Lead. This person, in turn, is supervised by the Audio Director who works closely with the game design department. On large projects, sound designers may be specialized in different areas such as technical sound designers who work closely with programmers, or integrators who specialize in fitting sound into the pipeline of the game. They may also specialize in foley, dialogue, or sound effects. However, on small projects, a sound designer may be required to cover all sound jobs as well as understand its technical integration into the media. This use of the term as a broad descriptor of all sound personnel differs greatly from the use in television and film.
Theater
Theater sound design is a very different animal, indeed, and for that reason, I have left its history to this section. Sound design for theater refers to the choice of music and sounds for a stage production, and the subsequent choice, setup, and use of live audio technology to play those sounds during a performance. This implies an intimate familiarity with the work, and a close alliance with the director and possibly playwright to create an overall soundscape that enhances the work.
The first use of the term Sound Designer was in the 1968-1969 theatrical season of the American Conservatory Theater and was bestowed upon Dan Dugan who worked three stereo tape decks routed to ten loudspeakers. As technology has advanced over the years and directors have become more accustomed to lush sound design in film and television, this role has become increasingly complex, and in many ways is linked to the role of Sound Artist within the fine arts community.
Money, Money, Money…
Money & budgeting are two things people tend to avoid thinking about too much. Sure we all like to get paid, but actually sitting down and working with the numbers, that’s the least fun part of money. It is crucial to stay on top of your finances, whether it’s your personal finances or the company you work for.
So let’s break it down together, let’s get us off on to a good start. Let’s start with our personal/freelance finances.
Income vs. Outgoing
The two most crucial bits to financing is Income vs. Outgoing, so the money that you earn and the money that you spend.
Outgoing
So let’s look at our expenses which are crucial and that we all will have in common: To give you an example of what life in London can cost, here are some numbers.
Rent: £670
Bills: £100
Food:£150-£200
Transport:£180
Health & Wellbeing:£60
Insurances: £50
Miscellaneous: £40
Student loan: £50
= £1,350/month
Total: £16,200/year
So that is over £1k on the basics every month, not including things like going for dinner with your friends, birthday presents, etc.
So we need to earn at the very least £1,350 per month to cover our basic day-to-day living.
Income
So income is the most fun part of working and earning money, right? But it is also important that we spend our income wisely and go through our budget monthly to keep on top of things. So we know our expenses each month, so let’s look at what we can do with our profit if we haven’t been breaking even this month.
Say that we earned ourselves £2,000 this month. After having paid all of our expenses, we’re left with £650.
It would be lovely to think that we can spend that £650 on gear ( My guilty pleasure is synthesizers), but sadly we should probably not do that.
Taxes
If you are a freelancer and have your own company we need to think about taxes and putting money aside for that time of the year where you need to declare your earnings. In the UK at a basic rate, you pay 20% in taxes.
So if we earn £2k a month, that’s £24,000 a year. 20% of 24,000 is 4,800 (24,000 x 0.20). However, in the UK, the first £12,500 are tax-free, so we only need to pay tax on £11,500 (24,000 – 12,500). So 20% of £11,500 is £2,300 a year or £192 a month.
So out of those £650 in profit (after our expenses), we need to set aside £192 for tax which leaves us with £458.
I’d probably put £100 of that into a savings account, and the rest will likely cover some miscellaneous expenses.
If you feel like you cannot handle your finances on your own, it might be worth getting an accountant.
It is important to estimate what you will spend, that is why you forecast. It’s always good to be a bit generous when you forecast to make sure you have some wiggle room. The example above is all a forecast; expenses vary from month to month.
Actual Spend
At the end of the month, you compare your forecasting to your actual spending. Did the numbers add up? Where you spot on or way off? What can you do differently next month? Here we can analyse our forecasting, spendings, and savings.
Yearly Summary
Whether you are a freelancer or working for a company/client, it is always good to do an annual summary. Compare the months, recognize patterns, spot the quiet months, and the busy ones. There is a lot to learn from a year, and planning for the next one gives you a head start.
Miscellaneous
Always account for the miscellaneous bits, there is still something we spend money on that we do not account for. A cab ride here, servicing there, something broke, and you needed to replace it. There are always unforeseen costs that are impossible to avoid, so it is better to give yourself some slack and account for a little bit extra for those times you need it.
Invoices
Stay on top of your invoicing game. Make sure you chase your invoices and keep track of which ones have been paid and which ones are overdue. There is plenty of accounting software on the market that makes invoicing easier, keeps track of which invoices have been paid, and also makes declaring your tax easier.
Editors note: Wave Accounting is similar to Quick Books and free.
The Budget Given by a Client or Company
If you have been given a budget to work with by a company or client, it is crucial that you stick to the budget. No one likes an over-spender, and it can get you into real trouble if you do overspend.
The same way you budget for your personal or freelance finances, you can apply the same method when working with a budget that was given to you.
It is important to meet client expectations, but also to be honest and realistic with what you’ve got. If a client is asking for more than they are willing to pay for you, have to be open and honest about it. Look at different options or see if they are willing to increase their budget. Communication is key.
Money and budgeting can cause a lot of anxiety; it affects us all. But if you set yourself up and tackle it heads on, I can assure you it will be a lot easier to deal with. Set aside a day at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month where you sit down with a cup of coffee or a tea to go over your budget and finances.
If you find yourself in some financial difficulties, please seek advice from accountants and contact your bank. The sooner the better.
Troubleshooting (and Avoiding!) Common Problems in ProTools
We all have technical difficulties from time to time, especially when using software as intricate as ProTools. But, after years of making what seems like every mistake in the book, hanging out on Avid DUC, and stalking Gearslutz.com, I pride myself in my ability to overhear frantic technical freakouts and supply solid advice on the best course of action. Here are a few of the problems I see most often, and how to get through them while salvaging as much of your work and sanity as possible.
Problem: My Session Is Missing Audio Files
This happens all the time. And as a supervisor, nothing is more annoying to than sitting down to review work and then finding that not everything links up.
How to Solve It
When you open a session with this issue, a dialogue box will pop up tell you that you have missing files. Always choose “Manually Find & Relink.” Letting your computer automatically do so will take forever. Select the files you wish to relink (hopefully, all of them), and check out the path. This will tell you where the session believes that the files live. Most likely, this will be on another drive or another computer. Once you see where the files are, you have a few options:
Plug in the drive that contains the files, select that drive in the area to search, and choose find links and then commit links once the files have been found. At that point, any files which were missing will still be missing from your audio files folder. They will only be linked to the session when the drive is plugged in. So, you will then need to “Save Session Copy In” to save a session which does include all audio files.
If you know that the files also live somewhere else on your local computer (such as a library drive), relink to that drive. Again, you will need to Save Session Copy In if you would like the files to be saved into your audio files folder where they belong.
Find all of the missing files manually, and then drop them into your session’s audio files folder. Then, relink to that folder. You may need to choose to relink the file name only if it does not work to use file name and ID. There is no need to Save Session Copy In.
If the files ARE in fact in your audio files folder, but ProTools isn’t recognizing them, you may need to search your audio files folder and relink by file name only instead of file name and ID. Every once in a while, the file IDs become corrupt, and ProTools mistakenly can’t use them to locate your audio files.
How to Avoid It In the Future
When saving your work to give to another person or to take to another computer, always use either Save Session Copy In or Export Selected Tracks as New Session. Doing so gathers all audio files that are linked to your session from locations other than your audio files folder (like if you didn’t have “copy on import” selected or chose to import tracks by linking to files instead of copying) and copies them into the new session’s audio files folder so that they live in one place. If you simply click and drag your working session’s folder, any files which are linked from other locations will not be copied and will be missing once the session has been moved.
Problem: My Session Keeps Crashing While Saving
This is one of the most aggravating things that can happen and always seems to occur at the end of a really long day. But there’s hope!
How to Solve It
In my experience, the most likely culprit is that your drive is near capacity. Check the drive to which you are attempting to save, and make sure to clear off enough space. Even if you technically have just barely enough space, this can cause the bits to be written in every tiny nook and cranny on your drive, which makes it take forever to process the request.
If drive space isn’t the issue, then you’re probably dealing with a corrupt file. Here are your options:
Close your session, open the most recent backup in your Session File Backups folder and save it off with the correct name (if you can). Then, you’ll need to redo any work between that backup and where you ended.
If the above does not work, then there is probably a corrupt file somewhere in your session. The next thing to try is to close your session, create a whole new session (checking that all of your settings such as frame rate, sample rate, etc. are the same), and then import all of your tracks through the Import Session Data file menu. Make sure to copy all audio files instead of linking.
How to Avoid It In the Future
Keep track of your available drive space at all times. Have a system in place for archiving old work onto separate drives to make sure that your project drive always has space.
Problem: Whenever I try to use the function keys to change tools or modes, nothing happens, or another application opens.
If you’re working on a mac, you will need to disable the function key features in order to select your tools/modes with the keyboard function keys.
How to Solve It
Open System Preferences, and click on Keyboard. Then, check the box that says, “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.”
How to Avoid it in the Future
Once you check this setting, you won’t have to think about it again until you purchase a new computer or reinstall your operating system.
Problem: All of the waveforms appear to have the audio zoomed in to different degrees. Quiet-sounding files have waveforms that look huge and vice versa.
This is the result of using the audio zoom in function when you are not showing all tracks. Clicking on the audio zoom in/out button only affects clips which are visible in your current display of tracks. When you show all tracks, the newly displayed tracks will have non-zoomed waveforms. Yet, the audio which was visible when you zoomed in/out will continue to display the new size.
How to Solve It
To reset all waveforms to their actual size, use the quick key Control+Option+Command+[ on a mac.
How to Avoid It In the Future
If you want to avoid this issue altogether, only zoom your waveforms while all tracks are visible. Otherwise, the key command is a very quick fix.
Problem: I keep spotting my video into place, but when I re-open my session, the first frame of the video is off by a frame or more.
This is most likely the result of having your session set at an incorrect frame rate.
How to Solve It
Open your video in QuickTime and hit Command+i to get info. This will display the video’s frame rate.
In ProTools, open your Session Setup window and choose the corresponding frame rate.
Re-spot your video into place.
How to Avoid It in the Future
Always check the frame rate of your video in Quicktime before importing into ProTools. If you prefer not to do this, your video track in ProTools displays the frame rate below the track name. If your video’s frame rate does not match your session’s frame rate, the number will appear red. Change the frame rate in your Session Setup window to match the video.
Problem: I keep spotting my video into place, but the ProTools timecode display gets further and further away from the timecode burned into the video.
This issue is known as drift and is the result of having your session set to an incorrect frame rate.
How to Solve It
Open your video in QuickTime and hit Command+i to get info. This will display the video’s frame rate.
In ProTools, open your Session Setup window and choose the corresponding frame rate.
Re-spot your video into place.
How to Avoid It in the Future
Always check the frame rate of your video in Quicktime before importing into ProTools. If you prefer not to do this, your video track in ProTools displays the frame rate below the track name. If your video’s frame rate does not match your session’s frame rate, the number will appear red. Change the frame rate in your Session Setup window to match the video.
Problem: I accidentally worked on a project at the wrong frame rate. When I was done, I set the frame rate to the correct one in the Session Setup window, but now everything is out of sync.
If you have already begun working on a project with your session set to the wrong frame rate, you cannot fix the problem by simply setting your session to the correct frame rate. You must perform a sample rate conversion to re-sync your work.
How to Solve It
Open your video in QuickTime and hit Command+i to get info. Check the correct frame rate of the video.
Open a new ProTools session with the correct sample rate and bit depth.
Open the Session Setup window and choose the new (correct) frame rate to match your video.
Go to File > Import Session Data, and navigate to your project, which was done at the wrong frame rate.
Select all of your tracks, and make sure you are copying all audio (not linking). Click the Apply SRC checkbox, and choose the correct pull-up/pull down from the Source Sample Rate dropdown menu. To do this, choose your sample rate from the bottom of the list and then choose which direction you need to adjust.
Click OK.
Import your video, and re-sync it to your session.
Check that the timecode burn-in matches the ProTools timecode window. Your audio should be in sync.
How to Avoid It in the Future
Always check the frame rate of your video in Quicktime before importing into ProTools. If you prefer not to do this, your video track in ProTools displays the frame rate below the track name. If your video’s frame rate does not match your session’s frame rate, the number will appear red. Change the frame rate in your Session Setup window to match the video.
Problem: I was working in ProTools, and now my computer is displaying the “spinning beachball.” I can’t click on anything. What should I do?
Your session has crashed. You will need to force quit and open one of your backups (and pray that it was set to back up fairly recently).
How to Solve It
Use the key command Control+Option+Command+Esc to bring up the force quit window.
Force quit ProTools and any other applications that are listed as not responding. If you still cannot click on anything, you may want to force quit the Finder as well.
If that does not work, you will need to “hard restart” your computer by holding down the on/off button on the computer until you hear it restart.
Once you are able to use your mouse again, navigate to your Session File Backups folder and choose the most recent version. You will need to redo any work that was accomplished after that copy was saved.
Re-save this as your original file name and it will replace your previously saved session.
How to Avoid It in the Future
Crashes are unavoidable. But, you can usually get used to which actions in ProTools are most likely to bog down your system. Take note of what you were doing each time this happens, and try to avoid it in the future. If a particular file is causing the crash, try to save a new copy of the file, or revert to an old version which doesn’t cause the issue.
Dealing with Burnout as a Musician
Burnout can come in many different forms for musicians. It might manifest as writer’s block, or the feeling of being overworked, or perhaps financial stress has taken its toll. For whatever reason, burnout can be difficult to manage however, you don’t have to go through it alone.
Here are some tips to help battle burnout:
Take some time away from your work.
For a lot of musicians, it’s hard to draw the line between creating music as part of your job and writing music for yourself or for fun. Even if you do enjoy it, it’s important to have a life outside of music.
Financial Stress
Financial stress is not something new to musicians. Almost every week in the U.K there seems to be a new report about funding cuts or lack of work for people within the arts sector. It’s a difficult situation to be in and there is no easy answer to secure a financially stable future however, planning your jobs out in advance can certainly help ease your mind about where the gaps are and perhaps spark a few ideas on how to fill them.
Remember why you started
When you’re in the midst of burnout it’s often hard to see the positives. If you take five minutes out of your day, try to write down or at least think about why you decided to create a career in music. Hopefully, you’ll remember the positive reasons for wanting to be a musician.
Good luck and just remember you’re not alone: this too shall pass.
The other day I was on my way to work, and I always take the same route unless there are some disruptions on my tube line. There were, in fact, some disruptions this particular day so I had to take different trains, but luckily that route takes about the same amount of time for me to take me from my home to work.
I thought that I almost prefer this other route, it is mostly overground and you know, it is nice to change up your habits a bit. We tend to get stuck in the same routines. Mix a show in the same way you’ve always done, mic up a drum kit the same way as you always do, EQ monitors precisely the way you did yesterday. Sure it is tried and tested, but it gets a bit repetitive after a while.
Playing it safe:
In the live industry, you sort of have to play it safe most of the time, simply because there is no time to be adventurous. You got to make it sound good, and you have to do it fast.
However, if you are a venue engineer, you can easily get set in the same ways. But if you don’t challenge yourself, you’re not going to improve nor learn something new. It is like working out in the gym, if you work out a muscle the same way and not adding weight or variety to it you will not become stronger. You will simply just plateau.
The upside of being a venue engineer is that it is a safe environment. If you have been in a place for a little while, you probably feel relatively comfortable and will hopefully have a small bit of extra time to play around with things. This is a perfect environment to try and do things differently if you’ve got something that is tried and tested, you’ve always got that to fall back onto.
The ‘One-way’ route:
I work in a venue where the speakers are all hidden away and scattered around the building, surrounded by loads of marble. Not ideal for creating ‘the perfect sound.’ You just have to make it sound good with what you’ve got, and honestly, it is not that bad. However, anytime there is a visiting engineer they get entirely thrown off; because they are so set in the way they usually do things they can’t figure out a different route to get where they want to go..
The live sound industry is not a ‘one-way’ route. There are tons of roundabouts, disruptions, left turns, stops, and traffic lights. Some people work at 100mph and others are lingering around about 30mph. You have to adapt and treat every situation differently.
Very often you just have to work around it. With amazing gear nowadays, it is easy to forget the room and how critical it is for the overall sound of the show. Halls, venues, arenas, stadiums all sound different, there is not a ‘one-way route’ to mix a performance.
Challenge yourself:
We need to be thrown off in able to learn new things. Adapt the way you set up and tune to each venue, each artist. Work off the basics but work with space you are in vs. fighting it. Ask engineers that work in that venue regularly, how they go about tuning the room. Always be willing to adapt, change, and learn new things.
So whenever you have any disruptions on your line, embrace it. Approach it with the right attitude, and you will see that it will not set you back as much as you might have thought it would. See it as a new learning experience, and hey, you might even find yourself enjoying the alternative route!
Mix With the Masters Scholarships Available- Bob Power
SoundGirls Members have the chance to receive a 1000 euro scholarship provided to SoundGirls members from Mix With The Masters. There are three scholarships available for the week-long session with Grammy and Multi-platinum Producer/Mixer Bob Power.
This is a week-long seminar valued approximately at 4,000 euros and includes lectures and workshops, accommodation within the mansion, catering (breakfast, lunch, dinner) the fitness room, swimming pool and shuttles from Avignon to the studio.
You must have an advanced understanding of audio and work as producer/mixer/engineer to attend Mix with the Masters.
You are responsible for Travel to France and remainder of balance to Mix with the Masters.
Session Includes
private bedroom, on site within the mansion for 6 nights
Full-board accommodation with meals prepared by gourmet chefs on-site
Return shuttle services from Avignon to Studios La Fabrique
Unlimited drinks and snacks throughout the week
Approximately 50 hours in the studio with the guest speaker
One-on-one time between you and the master to assess and work on your own material
Professional photography done throughout the week, including portrait shots of you with the Master
Hundreds of full-resolution photos shared with you afterwards via download link, to keep and use as you please
A certificate of completion issued on behalf of Mix With the Masters and Studios La Fabrique, signed by the Master if you wish
Exclusive MWTM merchandise given only to seminar attendees: embossed Moleskine notepads, pens, mugs, t-shirts, USB keys and stickers.
Use of the La Fabrique swimming pool, garden, fitness centre, and scenic walks
Nearby access to the enchanting town of St. Rémy de Provence
About Bob Price:
Grammy and Multi-platinum Producer/Mixer Bob Power possesses a wide and diverse range of musical talents: producer, engineer, composer, arranger, performer, and educator. In the recording world, Power has produced, recorded, or mixed hundreds of pop and jazz recordings for such artists and groups as Erykah Badu (produced and mixed 1998 Grammy “Best Female R&B Vocal”, “Best Female R&B Album”), A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Chaka Khan, MeShell N’degeOcello, Ozomatli (produced and mixed 2002 Grammy “Best Alternative Latin Album”), De La Soul, Common, Jason Moran, Miles Davis, the Roots, Mos Def, Reggie Watts, Curtis Mayfield, David Byrne, Spike Lee, The Jungle Brothers, Quincy Jones (Remix), and Run DMC. A 1997 Grammy Award nominee himself for mixing, Bob Power has had over 40 charting records, and has received more than 20 gold or platinum records.
In the broadcast advertising world, Bob Power has written and produced music for Coca Cola, BMW, Philip Morris, Mercedes, Casio, the American Cancer Society (EMMY Award winner), and many others.
Holding two university music degrees, he began his studio career scoring for television in the late 1970s.
In addition to producing, mixing ,and mastering at his studio Chez Bob in New York, Power teaches at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
Program
The process of greatness fostering greatness has long been recognized and is the reason why master classes are organized. The Mix With The Master’s seminars is part of this tradition, offering an exchange of in-depth first-hand studio experience and knowledge that is unparalleled and not available anywhere else. Each seminar is conducted by one of the world’s top music mixers and producers, ready to share their professional secrets with a select group of a maximum of 14 carefully-screened, professional-level participants, who come from all over the world.
One factor that contributes to the enormous success of the seminars is that all tutors support the general MWTM ethos, which is about the love of music, music technology and wanting to help others. Participants also are in part selected on displaying similar, positive attitudes. The fact that the seminars last a full week is another major contributory factor because it offers tutors the time and space to go into real depth, and the participants the opportunity to spend a prolonged time watching a master at his peak, and to ask any question they can think of.
The tutors share exclusive, insider-information on any subject: detailed technical knowledge, how to run sessions, how to handle artists, how to manage a career, the right attitude, how to remain successful, and more. The tutors also assess the work of the participants, by listening to their mixes and mixing recording sessions that they bring, and providing extensive feedback to each participant on where they are at, and how they can get to where they want to be. This is invaluable and offers participants wanting to become world-class professionals in their own right a unique advantage.
Another primary factor in making the MWTM seminars exceptional is that they take place at La Fabrique, a large, comfortable, high-end recording studio located in a picturesque historic building, surrounded by huge, lush grounds, and set in the south-east for France in one of the world’s most beautiful environments. The secluded and idyllic location offers the participants and tutors a lot of space to relax and recharge, far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and the all-demanding intensity of their regular professional environments.
Because the courses are residential, the participants and tutor work, eat, socialize, and sleep in the same environment. While tutors, and participants, will at times opt to retire to their private quarters, there is ample opportunity for social interaction outside of the studio environment. Participants interact extensively with each other and the tutor, making it easier to assimilate the intangible qualities necessary to be successful at the highest level—presence, focus, social skills, intelligence, creativity, the right attitude, and so on.
In short, for seven days participants can experience mixing with a master in both senses of the phrase, mixing and interacting with them. Get more information about Studio La Fabrique
Mix With the Masters Scholarships Available- Bob Power
SoundGirls Members have the chance to receive a 1000 euro scholarship provided to SoundGirls members from Mix With The Masters. There are three scholarships available for the week-long session with Grammy and Multi-platinum Producer/Mixer Bob Power.
This is a week-long seminar valued approximately at 4,000 euros and includes lectures and workshops, accommodation within the mansion, catering (breakfast, lunch, dinner) the fitness room, swimming pool and shuttles from Avignon to the studio.
You must have an advanced understanding of audio and work as producer/mixer/engineer to attend Mix with the Masters.
You are responsible for Travel to France and remainder of balance to Mix with the Masters.
Session Includes
private bedroom, on site within the mansion for 6 nights
Full-board accommodation with meals prepared by gourmet chefs on-site
Return shuttle services from Avignon to Studios La Fabrique
Unlimited drinks and snacks throughout the week
Approximately 50 hours in the studio with the guest speaker
One-on-one time between you and the master to assess and work on your own material
Professional photography done throughout the week, including portrait shots of you with the Master
Hundreds of full-resolution photos shared with you afterwards via download link, to keep and use as you please
A certificate of completion issued on behalf of Mix With the Masters and Studios La Fabrique, signed by the Master if you wish
Exclusive MWTM merchandise given only to seminar attendees: embossed Moleskine notepads, pens, mugs, t-shirts, USB keys and stickers.
Use of the La Fabrique swimming pool, garden, fitness centre, and scenic walks
Nearby access to the enchanting town of St. Rémy de Provence
About Bob Price:
Grammy and Multi-platinum Producer/Mixer Bob Power possesses a wide and diverse range of musical talents: producer, engineer, composer, arranger, performer, and educator. In the recording world, Power has produced, recorded, or mixed hundreds of pop and jazz recordings for such artists and groups as Erykah Badu (produced and mixed 1998 Grammy “Best Female R&B Vocal”, “Best Female R&B Album”), A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Chaka Khan, MeShell N’degeOcello, Ozomatli (produced and mixed 2002 Grammy “Best Alternative Latin Album”), De La Soul, Common, Jason Moran, Miles Davis, the Roots, Mos Def, Reggie Watts, Curtis Mayfield, David Byrne, Spike Lee, The Jungle Brothers, Quincy Jones (Remix), and Run DMC. A 1997 Grammy Award nominee himself for mixing, Bob Power has had over 40 charting records, and has received more than 20 gold or platinum records.
In the broadcast advertising world, Bob Power has written and produced music for Coca Cola, BMW, Philip Morris, Mercedes, Casio, the American Cancer Society (EMMY Award winner), and many others.
Holding two university music degrees, he began his studio career scoring for television in the late 1970s.
In addition to producing, mixing ,and mastering at his studio Chez Bob in New York, Power teaches at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
Program
The process of greatness fostering greatness has long been recognized and is the reason why master classes are organized. The Mix With The Master’s seminars is part of this tradition, offering an exchange of in-depth first-hand studio experience and knowledge that is unparalleled and not available anywhere else. Each seminar is conducted by one of the world’s top music mixers and producers, ready to share their professional secrets with a select group of a maximum of 14 carefully-screened, professional-level participants, who come from all over the world.
One factor that contributes to the enormous success of the seminars is that all tutors support the general MWTM ethos, which is about the love of music, music technology and wanting to help others. Participants also are in part selected on displaying similar, positive attitudes. The fact that the seminars last a full week is another major contributory factor because it offers tutors the time and space to go into real depth, and the participants the opportunity to spend a prolonged time watching a master at his peak, and to ask any question they can think of.
The tutors share exclusive, insider-information on any subject: detailed technical knowledge, how to run sessions, how to handle artists, how to manage a career, the right attitude, how to remain successful, and more. The tutors also assess the work of the participants, by listening to their mixes and mixing recording sessions that they bring, and providing extensive feedback to each participant on where they are at, and how they can get to where they want to be. This is invaluable and offers participants wanting to become world-class professionals in their own right a unique advantage.
Another primary factor in making the MWTM seminars exceptional is that they take place at La Fabrique, a large, comfortable, high-end recording studio located in a picturesque historic building, surrounded by huge, lush grounds, and set in the south-east for France in one of the world’s most beautiful environments. The secluded and idyllic location offers the participants and tutors a lot of space to relax and recharge, far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and the all-demanding intensity of their regular professional environments.
Because the courses are residential, the participants and tutor work, eat, socialize, and sleep in the same environment. While tutors, and participants, will at times opt to retire to their private quarters, there is ample opportunity for social interaction outside of the studio environment. Participants interact extensively with each other and the tutor, making it easier to assimilate the intangible qualities necessary to be successful at the highest level—presence, focus, social skills, intelligence, creativity, the right attitude, and so on.
In short, for seven days participants can experience mixing with a master in both senses of the phrase, mixing and interacting with them. Get more information about Studio La Fabrique
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