Phantom Power and more importantly… Girl Power!

Stepping into NIAVAC on my first day, I believe I underestimated the extent of the experience and knowledge I was about to embark and expand upon. Although my Music and Audio Production degree has equipped me with a fundamental basis of theory relating to all things sound production; practically applying this theory while under pressure at events and on set in the NIAVAC studio, presented itself with more challenges than I had first imagined…

Within my first few days of placement, I was faced with an overwhelming amount of new terminology of which I was to become familiar with, and fast! The names of the seemingly endless types of wire and cable, sound desks, power sources, preamps, phantom power, monitors, computer software, microphones and speakers, to name a few! In addition, being presented with the task of contributing to various other aspects of production, such as lighting and video, of which I hadn’t any prior experience within my degree. It felt like a whole new world!

In order to overcome these challenges, I decided to draw upon Borton’s Model of reflection (1970) in order to best deal with the situation. The self-awareness of my lack of experience and knowledge of equipment was the first step. On further analysis I concluded that my situation would limit my contributions during production, and my evaluation of this was that alternatively I wanted to make as big of a contribution to all aspects of production, as often as possible, in order to develop efficiently as a sound engineer. I understood that this would take time, but after 5 months of working with NIAVAC I am now reaping the benefits! But how did I achieve this outcome?

The synthesis of the situation was my immediate action of making notes to recall upon while at events and during the set-up, not being afraid to be inquisitive and ask colleagues questions when struggling in order learn quickly on the job, testing myself on the names of equipment whenever possible and of course, expanding my own understanding by reading relevant live sound, video and lighting production books and blogs. An important book which has aided my development has been, ‘Handbook for Sound Engineers’ by Glen Ballou. The chapters on transmission techniques, electroacoustic devices and electronic audio circuits and equipment in particular have helped bring about an enormous expansion of my knowledge within all 3 areas, that I am able to apply each working day. The result has been that I am continually able to prove my growing independence and initiative during the set-up of live events.

‘You lift with your mind, not with your muscles’

Kim Watson, Sound Engineer

Another challenge I have faced, which I had not fore seen was the fact that, being a sound engineer can involve a large amount of very heavy lifting, during load ins and outs, to and from venues. Being the only girl within the NIAVAC team and a mighty height of 5’3, at times I would feel outnumbered in terms of strength, height and in being able to lend a significant hand- quite literally! Although, by applying Boud et al’s model of reflection (1985), I was inspired to remove these obstructive feelings, and to replace them with positives. But how did I do this and what has been the outcome?

I decided to research women within the sound production industry, with the hopes of uncovering some inspiring and motivating content. The websites, podcasts and blog posts’ I have come across have been incredibly inspiring and uplifting, in particular an article titled, ‘You lift with your mind, not with your muscles: female sound engineers on working in audio’ (Larsson, 2019), of which I felt the title was relevant to me. The article delves into the experiences of two women sound engineers, and how their passion became their driving force within the sound production world, despite likewise, feeling outnumbered. This influenced a complete re-evaluation of my experiences, and in turn created the best outcome. My thoughts shifted from, is live sound production really for me? To, this is my passion, and I am capable, despite my strengths. This new perspective created an amazing outcome of change in behaviour, as I now have a continual readiness to apply this inspiration while working, where previously I would have felt inadequate or that I may get in the way during load ins and outs. My contribution during the transport of equipment may not be as huge as the others but my re-evaluation has given me a new sense of drive and passion to help in the very best way I can. My efforts to help have become invaluable to the team, as I now seriously get stuck in!

On a particular load out at an awards night event at the Culloden Hotel, it was expected to take approximately 2 hours or more, to remove all the equipment to the vans. I wanted to prove my strength and capability to help as much as physically possible during the load out, and I recall a colleague saying, ‘we’re going so fast I feel like we could go back in time!’ as we disassembled the huge video wall. We completed the load out in less than 1 hour; what they have recalled as ‘record time’ and I was credited for my efforts, of which I will continue to carry out in my proud role as a female sound engineer.

References

Borton, T. (1970) ‘Reach, Touch and Teach.’ London: Hutchinson.

Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (1985) ‘Promoting Reflection in Learning. Reflection: Turning Reflection into Learning.’ London: Routledge.

G, Ballou. (2008) ‘Handbook for Sound Engineers’. Fourth Edition. Oxford: Focal Press.

N, Larsson (2019) ‘You lift with your mind, not with your muscles’: female sound engineers on working in audio’ [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2019/jun/24/you-lift-with-your-mind-not-with-your-muscles-female-sound-engineers-on-working-in-audio  (Accessed 23/03/22)

Production Room, 2021, ‘Women in Production, Documentary’ May 28^th, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEaOF1Ksq50  (Accessed, 23/02/22)