EOC WK 9: Executive Decisions

This image depicts me in a studio situation mixing on a SSL console in Studio A. The band was a local Hip Hop act that performed with an actual 5-piece band. After the sound check was successful, we went ahead and recorded a rough cut of a track that was later to be mixed. The recording went well, so I made sure that each track had the sufficient levels for the mixing process. I properly set all the microphones phases in the correct order so that each track had the potential to be heard with the utmost quality. The vocalist needed to hear what was recorded during the playback process; this was the last process in the recording procedure. So a basic mix was prepared for the vocalist, this is to insure that the vocalist can hear the notes and sing in key. I believe that the proper steps were in made for this session, the vocalist performed beautifully, which is a confidence builder when working in a professional studio environment.

EOC WK 8: The Producers Most Important Role

The producer has many tasks when it comes to completing a project, but what does a producer actually do to get anything done? Well that depends on what role he / she actually plays in the production. There are mainly four roles or titles that producers play, and depending on the title they have specific duties. The executive producer is the big dog on top of the hill. This person finds the financial backing needed to make the production. The executive producer also makes the big decisions, like which actors are going to play the part or what production team to hire for the film. This person also ends up with a position of ownership in the film. The producer is more like a task manager, supervising and controlling the film project. From the beginning of the film until the film is wrapped, hiring the cast and crew to overseeing all the logistics in making the film. A line producer is the day-to-day manager of the film production. This person will hire the crew, and do all the organizing and coordination between the production office and the set. A line producer will also manage the money and the costs during production. This position normally doesn’t offer a position of ownership, so they usually drum up a crew services agreement for a method of payment. An associate producer is a title that is made up in a way, often called a “give away title”. This is usually used to persuade financiers and named actors to sweeten up a deal. No ownership of any part of the film is offered in this deal, so an associate producer will usually be under a crew services agreement for a method of payment. If this doesn’t help the filmmaker make his / her film, they have an option to partner up with an outside production company to get it done.

EOC WK 7: Keeping it Real

I like that an office space has an open entryway, it gives my clients a feeling that they can relax a bit before an important meeting. That’s why I chose this location just off of E Sahara ave. I never thought of leasing an office space just for meetings before, but I can get used to the fact that it’s all part of being professional. This space costs only $200.00 a day. For that money, I get a professional phone line with an answering service, and a secretary for the 24-hour day. Free domestic long distance with a VIOP telephone set. Voicemail box with a remote access. The furniture in the office space looks very professional. The client’s looks like that they can have a productive meeting and be comfortable at the same time. There is a free concierge service; this is beneficial for the clients who don’t know the area. Free Wi-Fi Internet access. This office space also comes with a kitchen, with complimentary coffee and water service. Leasing this office also comes with shipping and handling services, along with a copy and fax machine. I also like the fact that there is a free on site notary service, just in case if there are any contracts signed they can be completely legal at the end of the meeting. If I can impress a client that has the money for a project, and that client is going to fund it completely I would like it if the client had a feeling of reassurance for giving me the opportunity. This office space offers a lot of impressive amenities that can woo any clientele, giving the impression that I at least have it together on my end to handle any production with a considerable budget. This is a good strategy that will be considered if the opportunity presents itself in the near future.

EOC WK 6: How Do I See My Role Starting In The Industry?

My role in the industry as of now, I’m an audio technician for the Local I.A.T.S.E here in Las Vegas, but I don’t see myself working in the Union for the rest of my career. After receiving my degree, I definitely will research my options so that I will have control of what I can do for the audio industry. I see myself in two primary positions in the industry; I would love to be a recording engineer for several purposes. Primarily working with musicians, producers and A&R reps recording music for mainstream distribution. Recording a music compilation can be an incredible experience. I can visualize my self in this position, because as a musician I worked on albums and it was enjoyable. I couldn’t be happier making music in a studio. The process can be gruesome, but it is all about the end result. Music is an extension of emotion, and when you listen to the end result, it is an experience that one realizes that my performance is recorded and anyone can listen to this for ages to come. I also would like to work on music scoring and sound design for major motion pictures. I like the fact that in certain situations in a movie scene the music enhances the action in the movie. When I was a kid, seeing Star Wars for the first time took me to a different planet. I never seen a light saber before, but the sound of the light saber made it realistic. Ben Burtt became a figure of admiration, somewhat of a hero in my mind. He was more like a magician, creating sounds that were out of this world. I would love to become that magician, change the way people hear things that are happening around them.

Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s photo challenge was to take a separate photo and place it so that it looks like we are sitting in a director’s chair using Photoshop. After taking the photo of me sitting down in my friend’s chair, I opened up a new Photoshop file, and then imported my photo onto a new layer. Then I found stock footage of a director’s chair that I liked, and then I imported that photo onto a separate layer. By using the lasso tool in Photoshop I began taking out what I didn’t need in my first photo, basically I separated what was surrounding my physical body. After that mission was accomplished, I just placed that image on the same layer as the director’s chair. Mad the proper adjustments and that mission was accomplished. I added the safari background to state a simple fact, that the creative environment is a hostile one, especially sitting in the director’s chair. Some people may have a horrific experience sitting in that seat, but I like to think that no matter what situation that I’m in I attempt to see the positive side of things. Optimism is a powerful word and it can change one’s perspective. Even if there are lions in your midst, try and stay calm and collective until the craziness passes.

EOC WK 5:

I recently had a PA production job working with Nike on a photo shoot for their men’s apparel line of clothing. During a break, one of the models mentioned that he attended UCLA and had a degree in finance. The economic turmoil became part of the discussion as well, but he mentioned that he is a consultant for Wells Fargo, and that how I got his business card. My fiancé works for a real estate firm, and we attended a little get together at one of her friend’s house. Real estate agents work with lawyers all the time, especially when it comes to foreclosures. She introduced me to one of the lawyers she works with, and I mentioned I’m not in the foreclosure business but I’m in the entertainment industry and was curious if he could recommend an entertainment lawyer. He handed me his business card, I said, “Thank you, you don’t know how much this will help me.” The other business cards that I need are from people I already know, but more time is needed for me to market myself effectively. I’m looking forward for the Audioversity Expo at the Hilton coming up at the end of this month. Yamaha is showcasing their new products, various control surfaces and software that are going to be released this year. They will also have workshops that will have demonstrations on how each product will work, and this will give me a better understanding how each product operates. This will be a good place to market my abilities to other audio related companies that will be attending this event. These events are great when it comes to expanding your network because people will remember the face behind the name rather than an email.

WK 3 Photo Challenge: Storyboard

This week’s photo challenge was to storyboard a commercial, and it so happens that I had an earlier project within the last year scripting a commercial for the T-Shirt Diner located in the Galleria Mall. This series of photos depicts the each camera shot for the T-Shirt diner commercial. Keep in mind that there are motion graphics that are going to be incorporated within the commercial to coincide with each camera shot. The commercial as a whole was shot with a 7-D camera, and was edited in AVID and Premier Pro. We wanted to start off with the store marquee, as an introduction so that the viewer would be able to recognize the store upon first entry. The second and third shots were more like pans, giving the viewer a broader feel of the entrance to the store. The following shots were shots of the stores products and layout. These photos helped us with camera positions that would be beneficial to the commercial shoot. The storyboard was helpful with coming questions from the cameraman about lighting, product placement within the shots. Pre prepping for all this made it efficient during the shoot because we had answered most of our questions during pre production, and the storyboard helped us marinate on each and every thought during this process. The only problems we had during this shoot was the scheduling with all the crew, and when we had a definite schedule, it was during store hours. So while shooting, we had to wait patiently for paying customers to handle their business, and when they were finished we took advantage of the opportunity to finish the shot we needed. Fortunately closing time had come around, and we were able to complete the project.

Week 4 EOC: Executive Summary

The concept of the nature of my business that I envision will consist two departments, but these departments are relative. The audio department will be dealing with sound design, Foley art, ADR / voice talent, music scoring for TV and movies. The video-editing department will consist of cleaning up footage by color correction and mixing and mastering the audio to video media. All the work will be done in an acoustically treated environment so that the engineer will be able to mix and master in a 7.1 stereo setting correctly.
The plan on attracting the clientele I need by the means of networking and marketing. I’m a member of the AES (Audio Engineering Society), and I have a base of contacts on Linkedin. AES provides web services for it’s members, enabling them to make contacts all around the world. Other websites that I’m affiliated with have my work of previous projects on them that people can hear and judge my work. I have several sound bites on Soundcloud, this website also allows you to track how many people listen to your tracks. In the marketing department, I plan on purchasing add space on these websites: Musicians Friend, Sound Space, Pro Sound. This will allow me to attract possible clientele through each one of their subscribers who visits each individual web site.
Odds On Recording, Digital Site and Sound will be my competitors in the local market, they offer recording in HD and their equipment is state of the art. My system will be an HD native Pro Tools 9 set up, and I can offer the same services cheaper. Due to the fact that my facility is smaller and I won’t need a major return on the initial investment on equipment that I purchased for this adventure.

EOC WK 3: Where Are You At And Where Are You Going To Be

I’m currently attending the Art Institute of Las Vegas and I’m scheduled to graduate this September 2011 with a bachelors of science in audio production. The sole reason of attending this school is for the simple fact of being a musician for many years and having the inspiration of producing music. Living in Seattle for a decade gave me the opportunity to work with very talented musicians and going on the road and performing in interesting places. Economic strife after 9/11 made me decide to move to Las Vegas, and I applied at the Local 720 I.A.T.S.E and became a member of this union. I currently hold cards in these departments: high rigger, AV Tech, A1 and A2 in the audio department. There are very talented people who are hired on as freelancers for this local, and it’s a great network if you want to get into the stage craft industry. Working for this local is great because no two gigs are the same, and neither are the locations. This is true if you don’t have a steady house gig in any of the casinos. The experience has expanded my skills, but I believe that there are other opportunities out there that I would like to experience in this lifetime. Working for this local for the past 6 years I’ve been able to develop contacts to branch out and do other things in the audio industry. I can see myself traveling on tours as front house or monitor engineer for various acts. I also have a chance to go to California in the near future to check out a studio being developed, and if everything goes well I’ll have a chance to be a recording engineer at Santoshia Studios based out of San Clemente.

EOC WK 1 : Xtranormal Film Short

by: elsol777

I wrote this script about a quarrelsome couple who each have their own personal issues to deal with, and in the process of dealing with their own issues, they happen to develop issues between themselves. I wanted to end it on a positive note because I wanted to display that no matter how bad it gets between your significant other, it can always be worked out if your honest with how you feel about your partner. These times can be trying, the economic woes and crime and just attempting to make an honest living on a day-to-day basis. With all this said, relationships between two people can be vehement, and I believe that times are getting harder and this reflects on family life. The divorce rate has spiked, single family homes on the rise and nobody takes into consideration how this will effect our future generations to come. How can we make this a better place to live? What is it that we can do to embitter our society? Individualism is the main philosophy, everybody out for themselves with out no consequence of the others around them. Are we going to live in a world where tragedies like the massacre in Norway will take place daily, constant chaos are in our daily environment. Humanity does need to stress the importance of we are all members of an extended family and we can’t survive without each other. Well, in the end the answer to it all can be answered in just a few words. I appreciate every individual who sees this short, and I hope that the message can be reached to those who are observant enough to care about others.

EOC WK 2

This photo was taken at the Cheyenne Saloon in Las Vegas in preparation of the local band The Marquees, which happen to be a three piece band and this worked out to my favor. There is always a time crunch during set ups, but when a basic rock trio comes along you find yourself taking your time when it comes to mic placements. I can recall the drummer setting up his rig first, he was the first one to show up out of the band to the gig. He unloaded his gear quickly and placed it where I had told him to without asking any questions (you’ll be surprised). This showed me that he has been around, that he was a seasoned drummer. He prepped his kit so that we can easily set it up on stage when the time was right. Using a Beta 52 for the kick, 57 for the snare and for the Hi-Hat, and I honestly can’t remember what I put on the toms right now. I wasn’t overly impressed with the gear that they had at the Cheyenne Saloon at the time because it all looked runned down. By that I mean that those mics had to have had 10 years of experience being in a bar atmosphere getting trashed, and of the mains horns was totally blown. Keep in mind that I had to mix this live, and make it all sound like butter the best way that I possibly can. I consider myself lucky to believe in a higher power, I needed all the help that I could get on a night like this. What I used for the drum overheads was a pair of Shure 81’s, and for the bass guitar it was just a D.I. box. The guitar was just as simple, a Shure 57 for the amp and I called it quits for a moment.