In thinking about your next event....
You might be looking at this and thinking “The audio guy, he’s the one at production control behind the console and controls everything audio”. ?Yes, he or she does that, but are these folks responsible for what the console pushes to the amplifiers and speakers? ?An observation I’ve noticed in the last 35 years I think is worth noting.?When I was starting out in this world of live events as a production assistant, I remember sitting in a meeting the day before the event with the producer, stage manager and no less than two folks from the end client.?The hour was set aside confirming every piece of music with the A1 who had a small system set up. (Laptop??What’s that?) ?Be it walk in music, play ons, awards beds or sound effects, if it was going to be played during the show, it was going to be listened to beforehand.?I sat there in amazement how various selections were dissected for their emotional value and musical appropriateness.?There wasn’t going to be any surprises coming out of those speakers.??
That was then. Now, if an A1 doesn’t come with several terabytes of everything recorded since Edison started turning the cylinder on his newly invented sound machine he called a phonograph, and a subscription to a couple of audio streaming services, you begin to wonder how we ever survived this far.?For the most part a client isn’t going to sit down with a production company and their A1 and go through every sound cue. ?At least on site.?There just isn’t time.?Today, the client may ask for specific walk in music, or a genre. ?They might even request specific play ons for certain executives but it’s rare an entire event is musically scripted.?Awards presentations are typically the most guilty of last minute shuffling and importing new material. ?They are their own special breed of musical chairs. ??More about that in a minute.?The bottom line with regards to most of the music you hear is that it depends on what the front of house audio engineer brings with him or her.?Most of the time you’re in good hands because most of the time this is what is expected of them, and most of the time a seasoned A1 knows what works so to that end his ‘greatest hits’ of play ons and beds are already lined up in the Instant Replay or some equivalent software program on the laptop.?That said, if you are hiring a staging company that will include the A1, or contracting with an A1 directly, you should not assume that just because your last six events went on without a hitch, that the next one will also have an A1 that brings everything to your liking. ?
In the old days, the production company was expected to provide all the media for playback.?The FOH engineer wasn’t responsible for any of the music cuts.?Their job was to make sure that whatever is going into that mix console is coming out clean when you hear it.?As load ins and tech rehearsals have become increasingly tighter on time to accommodate even crazier production schedules, we have learned to rely on these folks to bring enough music in their repertoire to get us through just about any event.?As well as this generally works out, you are still taking a bit of a risk. ?This is not a put down or criticism of front of house audio engineers but rather an observation about how something so important to the success of a national sales meeting doesn’t include any (or very little) preparation in this area.
I can name all the producers I work with on one hand who actually make it a point to have a conversation with the A1 before everyone arrives on site.?Even then there are tweaks but at least the A1 knows the flavors of music the producer is looking for.?I experienced the exception to what we have all taken for granted recently when I was stage managing an event. ?Our FOH engineer had little to work with. ?I threw some beds and play ons I keep on my laptop onto a thumb drive and the general session and awards evening went on as usual.
There are circumstances when it’s appropriate to find specific music on short notice.?If Ringo Starr is the key note and his agency didn’t send his play on, then finding “With a little help from my friends” and laying down the chorus on a hot button takes priority. ?This scenario should be the exception.?More often than not, I can’t tell you how many times I have watched a very diligent A1 acquire, record, edit and then assign a spot for 12 play ons in the afternoon with doors at 7:00, and he still has to be a part of rehearsals.?
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Scenarios like these could have been taken care of a week before, but the sad reality is no doubt the client was barely thinking about their presentation for the general session, much less an awards banquet. ?
An email to the A1 a week out giving him or her some idea of what you’re looking for can save literally hours on site.?The more specific you are, the happier everyone will be, and free up valuable time once everyone is onsite!
Have a great show!
Miles Kapper
Creative director. Writer. Executive speaker coach.
2 年Yes, yes, yes! When I first started creative directing, a producer turned to me in a meeting and said, 'don't forget to get the walk in music together.' And ever since that day, I loved doing that! And spent hours editing songs to the chorus or key words for speaker walk on's. I took it as part of my job... And when I didn't have the time, I tried to make sure the A1 at least knew the vibe... But these days, there's no time for any kind of decent pre-pro. Speakers show up with half written presentations, and we spend hours rewriting on our feet during what should be a 'client walk through.' Luckily, most of the A1's I know are very well prepared for the craziness. But as you know I know one A1 very well...;) and when I hear he's been onsite and some client or producer has handed him a list that he's expected to find/purchase/edit and cue up at the end of a 12 hr day... it makes me mad and sad. To me, it's part of the creative... But then again, CD's are often not included onsite unless there's another role they can fill. For me, it often is CD/speaker coach.
Producer, Multi-camera Director, Show Director, TD, Talent Coach
2 年Great article Miles. I always try to get the client's thoughts about music prior to arriving on site. I have been very lucky with the A1s I have worked with most of my career. They all seem come with a large selection of music, SFX or anything I may need for the show. If not, I carry a hard drive with walk in music, stingers of almost every genre and a SFX file. A few years ago I had a client tell a bad joke on stage and nobody laughed. He commented, "Listen to those crickets?" and we did. My A1 had that SFX on a hot key and played it. The look of surprise on my client's face was priceless.
Stage Manager & Show Caller—Theater & Live Events
2 年Grest article, Miles. Thanks for sending a well deserved kudo to the A1’s out there. I sure depend on them. I’m no sort of musical encyclopedia myself. Try to do my best to help them out, get answers/directions from clients & producers, but so often it comes down to guesswork & some sort of magic intuition on their part. Stressful, in a role & business that is already stressful enough, thank you.
Veteran Audio Engineer and Systems Designer
2 年So accurate, and brilliantly said. Thanks Miles.
FOH Mixer / Corporate Event A1
2 年Hear, hear Miles! Well said! Many producers apparently don’t realize (or don’t care enough) about how the music that’s played actually sets a tone for the moment, whether it’s walk in music or playons or awards beds, it really matters!