Sound Design Live

Build Your Career As A Sound Engineer

Position Yourself for Non-stop Touring as a Stage Manager and Lighting Technician

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sound-design-live-non-stop-touring-stage-manager-lighting-technician-heatherlyn-egan-workIn this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast, I talk with Heatherlyn Eagan about how she has managed to book back-to-back tours since university by positioning herself as a stage manager and lighting technician. We discuss electricity, lighting fundamentals, and non-stop life on the road. Plus, these questions:

  • How did you get your first job in lighting?
  • Can you make more money as a designer or a technician?
  • How do you stay busy in the touring world?
  • How do you stay happy and sain on the road?
  • How does cruise work compare to bus and truck touring?
  • What are the basics I need to know to start working in lighting?
  • How do you feel being a woman in the lighting design industry?
  • What are some lighting horror stories?

Show notes:

  1. All music in this episode by Stockholm Vodou Orchestra.
  2. Heatherlyn’s book is The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Nat Nelson: Vaudevillian Extraordinaire
  3. Template = gobo = pattern = pie tin
  4. Quotes
    1. I have more work more often [as a tech] than I would as a designer.
    2. I have my little niche in the touring world. I am a stage management lighting split. Which has, on the small and medium scale tours, become a necessity.
    3. Most of these tours go out with a 25′ box truck, which doesn’t require a CDL.
    4. I’m a stage management lighting split. The minute they would see that…Ok, come here.
    5. When it came down to it, I had my pick of what show I wanted to do.
    6. If you are touring with 10-15 people, it’s important to have some alone time because you are seeing the same people day in and day out.
    7. It’s very important to understand what you need out of the day and make sure you get it.
    8. Generally whoever is asking will tell you want they want. If they don’t, ask.
    9. Generally once I dock the truck in front of a bunch of stage hands my level of respect goes up.
    10. I have a very specific genre of books that I like to read. It is historical fiction that takes place in NYC 1880-1912.

Mixing the most difficult musical on Broadway: Rock of Ages

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In this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast, I talk with Daryl Bornstein about Rock of Ages, the most difficult play he has ever mixed. We discuss:

  • How he first got work on Broadway.
  • How he got the gig with Rock of Ages.
  • The complicated setup procedure before every show.
  • The sound system design and tuning.
  • How to visualize sound in a room.
  • What it takes to learn an intense Broadway musical.
  • The moment of panic on every show.

People want to work with somebody who is a team player, who is going to do what they need to do to make sure their work isn’t compromised, but understands the big picture and approaches problems as a challenge as opposed to an annoyance.

Show notes:

  1. All music in this episode from Rock Of Ages (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  2. Hardware/software: Avid Profile, LCS, Galileo, Sennheiser 5212 and HSP2 and MKE1, Ultimate Ears
  3. Quotes
    1. Think of it as light. How is it going to reflect off of walls and other surfaces?
    2. Rock of Ages is the most difficult show I’ve ever had to mix.
    3. It’s unlike any other show I’ve ever done, because you cannot make a mistake.
    4. The single most important decision I ever made was to approach a producer and lobby to be the production sound engineer on a musical…
    5. The only criteria [for hiring crew] was, “Is this somebody that you want to sit across from at dinner and have a fun time?” You want to be around people that you enjoy being around. And that’s probably what makes for success, aside from skills.
    6. This particular [Digidesign Profile] has more plugins on it than any other Profile in the world.

sound-design-live-podcast-mixing-musical-broadway-rock-of-ages-daryl-bornstein-set

Sound System Design And Optimization with Bob McCarthy

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In this episode of Sound Design Live I speak with Bob McCarthy, author of Sound System Design & Optimization and Director of System Optimization at Meyer Sound. We talk about variable acoustic architecture, why we must optimize before we mix, and how to prioritize our system check list. We also discuss why graphic EQs are useless, common misconceptions about stereo, the pitfalls of L/R stacked subs, why sound is so difficult to teach, tips for finding on-axis points and relative splay angles between speakers, wireless microphones for measurement, hardware and software measurement systems, and how to get what you want without humiliating the client. Hold on to your hats and bring a snack, we have a lot of ground to cover.

sound-design-live-bob-mccarthy-headshotSystem optimization is dedicated to a very simple scientific concept: Not to make it sound good, but to make it sound the same. We are a waveform delivery service.

sound-design-live-sound-system-design-optimization-bob-mccarthy-melodieDetails from the podcast:

  1. All music in this episode by Gala Drop
  2. Bob’s website and his seminars at Meyer Sound
  3. Bob’s forward to my eBook, Sound Design Live
  4. Jazz At Lincoln Center, The Alan Room, Julliard
  5. Constellation Electroacoustic Architecture
  6. The musical Wicked, with sound design by Tony Meola assisted by Kai Harada
  7. AES 50th conference on education: There is currently no audio or video of the conference to share, but I did get some a nice photo and Bob’s presentation slides. See below.
    1. Why is sound so difficult?
      1. It’s invisible.
      2. It’s almost inaudible. [You can only experience it at the location you are right now, unlike light which can be seen at many different locations at once.]
      3. We experience it logarithmically, but talk about it linearly. You cannot ignore the science or the art.
  8. Sound system check list:
    1. Basic signal flow: Correct sound out of the correct speakers. Is the cabinet wired right? Are all drivers functioning?
    2. Speaker position: Aim, relative splay, relative spacing. Is it pointed at the right place? Is it splayed correctly compared to its neighbor? Is anything obstructing the sound?
  9. Measurement systems: SIM, Smaart, SATLive
  10. Sound & Video Contractor magazine
  11. Quotes:
    1. “The reason you can’t just go to your artistic place & start mixing is that your canvas might have a giant rip in it.”
    2. “If you want to get your artistic message delivered, you have to go through the science to get there.”
    3. “Never humiliate a client.”
sound-design-live-sound-system-design-optimization-bob-mccarthy-aes-education-conference

Photo by Kelly Ford and used with permission courtesy of the AES 50th International Conference.

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Sound Design for the Pulitzer Prize Winning Play “Ruined”

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In this sixth episode of Sound Design Live I talk with Aaron Meicht and Daniel Baker, the sound design and music production collective known as Broken Chord. We talk about their sound design for Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “Ruined.” Topics include researching Congolese music, cooperative design, and experimental theatre. At 52 minutes, this is the longest podcast to date, but they had a lot of good things to say plus Daniel’s accent is entertainment in itself.

Details from the podcast:Aaron Meicht and Daniel Baker

  1. Theatre: Ruined, Berkeley Rep, La Joia, Huntington, Bertolt Brecht, meta theatrical
  2. Music: Congolese Soukous, Justin Beiber -800%, Konono No.1, OZET
  3. Software: Logic Studio and Flex Time, Finale, Spectrafoo
  4. Hardware: M-Audio Axiom 25, AT3035, MOTU Traveler, Yamaha DM2K, UPA-1P, 650-P

Ruined at Berkeley Rep