Will Club Sound Techs Become Obsolete? Will Digital Sound Systems Run Themselves?

Once a precedent is set, it may never go away. 

With the advent of digital mixing boards, users can clearly see the benefits - saving mixes for shows on a USB key, presets for front-of-house, monitors and effects, RTA, crossovers and even optimum 31 band EQ selections for typical performances; just don't tell the club owner too much about how easy it is!

As digital mixers come down in price, more clubs will be talked into owning them at the word of the house sound technician because the tech will want to learn digital mixing without buying their own board. This may also ensure that the house tech has guaranteed themselves a position, for a little while anyway, as they will know the system inside and out; and until other techs know specific mixers, there will be fewer choices of who to hire for a show.

By insisting on, or strongly suggesting digital mixers to a club owner, sound techs may be shooting themselves in the foot simply because situations will arise where the club hasn't got a sound person for the evening and will scramble to find someone who knows a particular digital mixer during the 'learning phase' of the digital club sound revolution (the phase we are beginning to enter). If the club owner doesn't find someone and the absent sound tech calls them and tells them to select 'Preset D' for a returning act, the club owner will now begin to see the potential of saving money at shows.

If an entire mix can be saved on a USB key for a particular act, and the mixers become more intelligent and are able to adjust the mix by sensing certain sound waveform information, then the club owner may only hire a house tech for 'certain shows', like new bands or high profile events, as they will no longer need to hire the sound tech for every show.

Think it can't happen? It is already happening in the analog world! Sound techs are sometimes asked to set up DJ's but not stick around to monitor the sound system. They are also asked to set up simple things such as workshops, panel discussions and other 'non-musical' events. Without proper monitoring, all hell can break loose during a show (I've been there many times).

So, how can sound techs protect their positions and get more work? Here are some suggestions in the dawn of the age of digital club systems:

1) Solidify your liaison skills - be a people person and demonstrate your importance as a sound tech. Be the 'go to' person in the club who communicates on behalf of musical talent, bar staff and management.

2)  Stress the importance of and be good at troubleshooting - when there is a problem, be sure to let everyone know about it and how you solved it. This can come up in a casual conversation after the show, when nobody had any idea there was a problem, or in the case of an obvious problem, be sure to solve it quickly! TIP - always ask "What if 'this' happened?" and have a plan B and a plan C! be proactive!

3) Raise your rates for emergency calls - create a rate sheet for certain services if they start using your services less.

4) Don't give away all of your secrets - every sound person or AV technician has tricks of the trade. Be careful of who you tell these to! Your secrets are partially what keep you valuable. I have solved many on-site problems with my bag of tricks. I let the people know what the problem was and that I had a solution. But, I was once asked by a meeting planner if I could make a list of my break-out kits so she could buy some and have them ready. I told her that every situation is different and it takes more than just a few cables and connectors to solve a problem, and that critical thinking is involved (something a digital console can't 'yet' do).

Summary - digital mixers are coming down in price. Whatever analog skills a sound tech has may not be good enough without learning the skills I suggest above. Mark my words - when a club owner sees potential for saving money, they will jump at the chance! Now it's time for us to play the game differently.

Buck Moore,
Owner, B4UShowit.com

How to Put Video Into a PowerPoint Presentation (Embedding Video)

In the earlier days of PowerPoint, almost every presentation I was given to prepare came to me via floppy disc. Now, we have the ubiquitous, hot-swappable USB key with tons of storage. We also have a stronger need for playing back videos from within the presentation, to make our presentations as seamless as possible. But, few presenters know how to fully prepare a video for their presentation.

Thankfully, the methods and software for downloading and editing video for presentations are simple and easy to use. One of the most popular sources of video for presentations is YouTube, who make it a pretty painless process. But, how do you get the video and how do you convert it to a useable format? It's easy! (and all the links are at the bottom)

Downloading the video from YouTube

My first choice for downloading and converting YouTube videos is YouTube Downloader, a free program that allows you to download and convert, in separate steps (the paid version does it in one, easy step, however). Here's how it's done:

1. find the video

2. open YouTube Downloader (after installing it on your computer - PC compatible)

3. copy the video's link from the address bar or from the 'share' bar below the video

4. paste the link into YouTube downloader (it actually does this automatically as you go back to the program)

5. select the 'save to' folder of your choice and click 'download'

6. go to the 'convert' tab and select the video from the folder you saved to, then use the drop-down menu to choose your desired format (hint - use .wmv for Windows PowerPoint)

Done!

Converting other video formats to be used with PowerPoint

If you download an .mp4 or Quicktime, you will need to convert it to .wmv. Simply go to Sony Media Software's site (link below) and try Vegas Movie Studio HD11 (or whatever the newest version is). Try it free for 30 days, but if you really want it, it only costs about $45.00!! Pretty awesome product for that price, trust me! Vegas Movie Studio HD will be able to read tons of formats and convert to just about any format you would ever need, but stick with .WMV (3Mbps Standard Definition, or 6Mbps HD), for a high quality, but small file.

1. drag the video onto the vegas timeline

2. highlight the file on the timeline

3. click on 'Project', then 'Render As...'

4. the pop-up window will show all the different options, but choose .WMV for Windows (as stated above)

5. click on 'Render Loop Region Only' below the render options, so that it only renders what is highlighted

 Done!

Embedding video into PowerPoint

1. create a file folder on your desktop and keep your presentation there  (this is best if you are using a host computer, so that the file is easy to find and has all of the videos in the same file)

2. open your presentation from the desktop folder and create a blank slide from which you want to show your video

3. click on 'insert video' to locate your video from the desktop folder

4. click the video file to highlight it (a big square will surround it on the new slide and a new control tab will appear at top right) click on 'play automatically' or 'on mouse click' (these controls change ever so slightly with every new version of PowerPoint).

5. try it out by getting into slide show mode, just a slide or two ahead of the video slide and advancing until you get to the video slide to see if it works

Tip - be sure your audio control is at least 75% up for seamless integration into sound systems.

Cheers! Buck Moore (info@b4ushowit.com)

Sony Movie Studio HD

Youtube Downloader

AV Horror Stories - Venue Equipment and Communication

So, if you've read any previous posts or my website at b4ushowit.com, you'll probably know that I have worked at over 4,000 live events, many hundreds of which have been corporate meetings at hotels and convention centres. I strive for perfection at every event, but it doesn't exactly work when I get little, if any, prompt co-operation from the banquet staff and on-site AV staff.

Lack of prompt co-operation from on-site staff is nothing new and certainly not limited to the event scene in Toronto, where I primarily work. From 2005 until 2009, I had the opportunity to travel around to many different US cities performing the same services as I do in Toronto, which was both an eye-opening experience in that the way things are done in various regions are not that different from what is done where I normally work.

In fact, one of the newest and most prestigious venues in Las Vegas (in 2006)  had the exact same audio issues as an older in Toronto (one built in 1981). It turns out that the sound systems in both hotels were not working as they should; the former had issues with the way it was set up, the latter simply because of age and neglect. Add to that the attitude of the staff members and one can easily see that these are typical problems that must be dealt with.

I will now share a list of AV problems I recently experienced at the older hotel in Toronto:

1) All lights are operated by one fader - this doesn't help with lights just above a screen and doesn't work very well with the new CFL light bulbs.

2) Despite a request to unscrew the lights just above a screen, we were told that it couldn't be done because they didn't unscrew. Later on, during the event, the banquet manager brought in a ladder so he could unscrew the lights above the screen, thereby improving the image quality.

3) The sound system was noisy with a ground hum or electrical interference - even when nothing was plugged in, it would randomly change levels. When the nearby electrical cords were lightly touched, the hum came and went; it became a matter of tapping the cables to find the quietest hum.

4) The ceiling sound system was not patched properly for our event, so the banquet staff took it upon themselves to re-patch when they discovered the error 'during' our event. Unfortunately for the audience, this resulted in a loud, sustained high pitch which was constant in one meeting room and intermittent in the other (we were doing two events at the same time). After a few moments, they were able to stop the annoying sound.

5) The service corridors were noisy - staff members shouting at each other, loud two-way radios and dishes clanging were a constant disruption which I had to deal with several times.

6) The doors to the service corridors were noisy when they closed - if anybody used them during the meeting, it was fairly loud and distracting.

Solutions:

First, bring a checklist with you when you do a site visit. Second, here are ways of preventing these situations:

1) Ask the hotel manager what the procedure is for unscrewing or dimming specific lights and request access and/or procedures for whatever lighting controls there may be. Any ladders or 'cherry pickers' must be used in an empty room after the screen location is decided. The floor plan supplied by the hotel must be walked through on site (and projector tables should also be demanded and placed before the general seating!).

2) An AV consultant will be able to test the house sound system right in front of you, so you can be sure it has no obvious problems. Plan for a set of powered PA speakers to be rented as back-up.Ask about EQ settings or external EQ availability, which will really clear up speech sounds.

3) If you are using two rooms for a large even, with 'air walls' removed, be sure to ask the venue to 'tie in' the audio for both rooms, so that all the ceiling speakers work and the signal is not accidentally being sent to another room. This must be done the night before or very first thing right before the event.

4) Noisy service corridors are actually pretty common, since there is nothing to absorb the sound in a service corridor. But, the venue could help the matter by ensuring radio silence during events, turning down loud ringing phones, post signage for staff to be as quiet as possible and be adamant about keeping noise levels down during shift changes (staff sometimes congregate in service corridors during shift changes).

Any of these situations can be corrected with proper communication, which is sorely lacking in even the finest venues.

Buck Moore

Speaking from the Podium

Should you speak from the podium or wander with a wireless lapel microphone?

Many presentation experts tell presenters to get away from the podium because it's too restricting and the presenter will be more casual with the audience by being on the floor rather than the stage (among other reasons). Those same presentation experts don't seem to understand about how open microphones work with different sound systems.

First off, when it comes to sound system configurations and room designs, there are many possible combinations and wireless lavalier mics don't work well with all combinations. Some systems are in the ceiling, some at the front left and right of the room, some in the middle of the stage, etc. Some rooms are dead-sounding, some lively and bright, some have low ceilings and some have flutter echoes (those repetitive echoes between hard, parallel surfaces - clap your hands in any room to find them).

Second, when it comes to presenters and public speakers, there are many different loudness levels, clarity and dynamic properties of the human voice. So, if a person doesn't speak loud enough or very clearly, wireless lapel microphones won't do much good. A presenter needs to be loud and clear, especially with wireless lapel microphones, because the microphone is under their chin and not directly in front of them.

A good podium microphone has the advantage of being directly in front of a speaker's mouth as well as being perfectly stationary, in an optimal, fixed position, away from loudspeakers; any roaming microphones will present problems if they are too close to a loudspeaker.

Let's look at the advantages of being behind a podium versus being on the floor in front of the audience:

Presenting from behind the podium

- you can hide your notes

- you can have a computer screen right in front of you

- the microphone is right in front of you

- there are no batteries to ever worry about

- a podium light can illuminate your face so you are visible from the back of the room

- you are a foot or so higher than the audience, so everybody can see you

- you can take your shoes off (okay, I threw that in just for a laugh!)

Presenting from the floor, in front of the stage

- wireless lapel mics may feed back when too close to a speaker

- you are not lit properly, sometimes (in larger rooms)

- if you don't project and enunciate, people at the back won't hear you well

- if you move your head to the side, you will be further away from the mic (because podium mics are right in front of you, you will never forget they are there; not so with lapel mics)

- if the batteries on the body pack die, well...

- if you make a point by hitting your chest, you will hit the mic

- your wardrobe or jewelry can hit the mic intermittently

- if you put it on your lapel, it is off centre, and therefore you are more likely to be 'off mic'

- if you forget you have it on, you might be in the bathroom with a live mic!!

 Anyway, hope this helps shed some light on the benefits of speaking from behind the podium. There is nothing wrong with speaking from behind the podium. If you must be wireless, a hand held microphone is a great option, because you are pretty much forced to keep it directly in front of you. Cheers!!

- Buck Moore

(Live Event AV Specialist with direct experience from over 4,000 events)