SoundGirls.org: You usually have between two and three weeks (16-24 shows) to get from watching the show to mixing it and your training is live, during performances with a paying audience. I got approved about a week before I actually started (it took time to finalize a schedule), so I was able to get the script and an audio archive recording of the show to start. It’s a much shorter process than I’ve talked about in a previous blog, but I still retyped the script, added in my own annotations (all the while listening to the recording of the show so I could get familiar with it), and practiced mixing it all the way through at least once a day, going through my script, adjusting or adding notes or figuring out how to make page turns easier.
2 comments:
Having always been interested in the touring industry, it is enlightening to know that when you finally get out of the touring industry it is hard to find a paying job that is as stable as touring allows you to be. I never really thought about this idea, and now it’ll help me create a more cohesive plan for my jobs in the future. Also, I believe that sound technicians, designers and mixers don’t get enough credit for all the work they do. People only hear bad sound, never good sound, so when a sound mixer is really good at their job they aren’t often recognized for their accomplishments. When this article described the process for just being able to sub in for a mixer it is insane to think about how seamless they make this process. I never realized how intense mixer’s jobs were, but it makes sense because of how challenging and demanding of a job it is for every show. Not only that, but being able to sub in and out of different performances on Broadway is a superpower indeed because of how different each show is in all different technical elements.
One of my goals as of now is to tour in the entertainment and mix shows - so this is a very interesting article for me. The scripts at the top of the article were one of the first things that jumped out at me - I find her notes to be really clear, and easy to follow, even from someone who doesn’t know a ton about audio mixing in a venue like a Broadway house. I really appreciated all of the graphics, showing different learning styles for songs in a show (I agree with first to last making sense) and the acknowledgement that everyone learns differently, and in a situation as challenging as mixing a show live that the level of comfort you have with the show and the way you mix it is really important. Subbing is such a challenging job as well - people who sub and swing onstage and offstage are so focused on their track, and this article really highlights the challenges of this, as well as learning the track itself.
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