SoundGirls Online Mentoring for Recording Arts

SoundGirls.org: SoundGirls is excited to offer three online mentoring sessions with Jasmine Mills, to be held via Zoom as part of our mentoring program. These sessions will take place once per month over three months and will focus on recording arts with space for questions, discussion, and career guidance in a small-group setting.

Starting A Show

SoundGirls.org: In any normal year, early spring is when the staffing process begins for tours going out in the fall. You probably won’t have a contract in hand yet, but your resume has gone off to designers and production companies, or (if you’re currently on tour) you’ve had a conversation with your design team or production manager about the shows going into production, and what they might have in mind for you.

Headphones / Headphones - How to Choose the Ideal?

SoundGirls.org: Choosing our ideal headphones is usually a topic that binds us, and we tend to resort to the first direct recommendation that comes our way, whether it is from our friends, experts in the field, or the first thing that comes to us online, which is not that bad, but; how could they know exactly what we are looking for or, rather, what we are listening to?

It’s Who You Know” But It’s Not - It’s Who Knows You.

SoundGirls.org: I never really followed the “traditional” path to get to where I am today. The world of audio has led me in all kinds of different directions. And it made me a better engineer because of it. I didn’t start out knowing I wanted to be an audio engineer. In fact, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I went to college after high school because I have Dominican parents, and as the child of immigrants, there’s tons of pressure to do better and take full advantage of the opportunities this country has to offer.

Making Moves to Make Money

SoundGirls.org: The last year has brought unprecedented obstacles to how and where we work. The landscape has changed drastically, and the future can feel overwhelming. We are placing a higher value on resiliency and adaptability not just to survive but to pivot and thrive while throwing new information about the pandemic. Events are booking, canceling, rescheduling, postponing, and that is stressful. We reward people and companies that can look at their options and pivot quickly.

Getting Your Head In The Game – The Pre-Show Routine

SoundGirls.org: Have you ever watched athletes arrive at an arena hours before the game begins? Or read an entire article that is just about how an actor gets into character for a film shoot? Do you know someone who has a weird superstitious ritual that they do before giving a presentation, or taking an exam, or even just before leaving the house? These scenarios are alike because they show us that preparation is key.

Denk Studios is Womxn-Owned and Creates a Safe Space

SoundGirls.org: Jam Phelps, a recording and mixing engineer, is the owner of Denk Studios (North Carolina), a self-proclaimed safe space for all musicians regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. “I have made it my goal to serve my community by creating a welcoming environment for everyone who walks through my door. You will receive a quality product and a guaranteed great experience. I have pricing that supports most budgets and will work hard to make sure you are in love with your songs.”

Audrey Martinovich - Studio Owner, Recording Engineer, & Producer

SoundGirls.org: Audrey Martinovich is a recording engineer and producer that specializes in acoustic music such as classical, jazz, and folk. She co-owns & engineers at a recording studio in Madison, Wisconsin called Audio for the Arts and produces podcasts. She has been working in audio for eight years and has been a full-time studio owner & recording engineer for three years.

Lunch and Learn: Phasing

SoundGirls.org: The latest gear and hottest plugins are regularly trendy topics of discussion in the sound community. But for this week’s blog post, I’m going old-school and throwing it all the way back to good ol’ PHASING! (Hold for applause) Now, I bet you are thinking to yourself, “What is phasing exactly?” or perhaps “How does it apply in the real world?”, and most importantly “Do I even need to know this?!” Well, you’re about to find out…

Love of Learning - Carolina Anton - Sound Engineer

SoundGirls.org: Carolina Anton is a freelance sound engineer based in Mexico City. She works as a FOH and Monitor Engineer and specializes in sound design and optimization. She works with several sound companies such as 2hands production, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row, among others. She has done international tours with artists Zoé, Natalia Lafourcade, Leon Larregui, Mon Laferte. Carolina is also the owner of GoroGoro Studio – an audiovisual studio for immersive sound mixing experiences. She is the representative in Mexico of ISSP Immersive Sound software for live shows, a partner in 3BH an Integrative company that specializes in architectural, acoustic, and audiovisual technological design. In her spare time, she is the head of the SoundGirls Mexico City Chapter.

A Little Bit of Magic

SoundGirls.org: I miss mixing shows. That thought has snuck up on me every week or so for the past several months. It’s always a tiny bit surprising because I knew I liked my job, but I’d never stopped to take stock of exactly how happy it made me. I know I’m not alone in that; all of us want to get back to our usual, wonderfully irregular lives. One of my favorite things about mixing is that there is always something to do.

The Problem with Being Called Bossy

SoundGirls.org: I was recently listening to an episode of The Guilty Feminist podcast titled ‘Being Bossy with Carrie Quinlan.’ It is quite possible you are already rolling your eyes due to the use of that awful B-word. Every woman and young girl has been called bossy at some point in their life, and the connotation that comes with it is not a good one. I love this podcast and this particular episode piqued my interest. Being too emotional was also brought up, which might evoke a second eye roll from some readers.

The Lowdown On Mixing - Re-recording mixer Jacob Cook

SoundGirls.org: If you’re like me, then you think being a re-recording mixer sounds not only intimidating but also very confusing. I think of the giant mixing board with a ton of buttons and nobs on it. YIKES. I thought the best way to get my questions answered was to ask one of our re-recording mixers, Jacob! He has his hands in all of our shows so he definitely has the lowdown. Let’s jump right in!

Everything I Need To Know About Sound Design, I Learned From Ruth Bader Ginsburg

SoundGirls.org: Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING, but what I mean to say is that I can (and do) apply RBG’s wisdom anywhere. We lost a champion of the people, a defender of equality, and a warrior among women when we lost Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and it’s up to us to make sure that her legacy is carried out for ages to come. It sounds lofty, I know.

What is a Crossover?

SoundGirls.org: Crossovers are not the most glamorous or talked about gear in live sound, but they are an integral part of the signal chain. Also known as frequency divider networks, these devices filter and route the signal based on frequency. Without a crossover, the same signal gets fed to each driver in the system. Imagine the tweeter, mids, and sub all playing the same song reading the same balance of frequencies.

Building a Library From Home

SoundGirls.org: As a sound editor, having a well-rounded library is very important. Some of you might be lucky enough to have a library provided to you by your company and others might be wondering where the heck you even start. There are plenty of great libraries out there on the web that you can purchase or download for free with no effort of recording at all but there are also going to be things that you will need to record yourself. A good place to start is by recording small handheld props.

L-Acoustics Helps SoundGirls Educate and Empower Women in Audio

SoundGirls.org: Continuing to deepen its commitment to education, L-Acoustics recently announced a partnership with SoundGirls, kicking off an annual training grant program to support the organization’s mission to empower women in audio. Following a thorough panel review of numerous applications submitted by SoundGirls members, L-Acoustics is pleased to officially congratulate the three recipients of its 2020 SoundGirls Training Grants: Carolina Antón was awarded the L-ISA Grant, Kim Watson the Advanced Grant, and Eluned “El” Ashwood the Starter Grant.