The live intensive was very much an eye-opener. It definitely made me realise the differences it has when compared to the studio, especially in where decisions need to be made quickly without hesitation and problem-solving is a must have skill that is ready to use at any time.
Having now had some experience in running live sound, I most definitely would pursue a career path in live sound. I find the struggle of being always behind the artist but having to anticipate their next move and being on edge gives a level of stress that helps better my skill set.
For this intensive, we were set the task to pull together a live gig and in where the artists, set design and marketing was completely left up to us. Having this freedom amongst a group of nine was definitely stressful and challenging, but everyone or the was better for it as we all improved our communication and learns a lot about each other’s workflow. After sourcing our acts; Sarahj, Famous Will, Wardlaw Brown. We quickly gathered ideas on the theme and aesthetic of the gig. With the acts being in the rock genre, we style on a grunge, alternative style set having graffiti and local artists work on display with wooden pallets and old static tube television. As for the gig itself, being it most of the groups first time running sound I believe it was a success with no major issues a good reception of the acts themselves.
Reflecting on my individual performance, I think that I made a sound effort towards the production, having produced an art piece for the set and helping market the gig to other students around the campus. As for my performance in a group, I also think I did quite well for the group being so large. One thing I learnt was to trust people with their designated role and having confidence in other group members to pull their weight.
My two audio roles on the night were FOH for Wardlaw Brown and monitors for Sarahj. I believe that the quality of sound was great for Wardlaw Brown and our group filled the room nicely as a precursor for the next acts. One thing that caught me off guard was the act deciding to pull guitar cable out abruptly. Having to quickly kill the signal will he was tuning and then bringing it back as he started playing was a challenge being it something I wasn’t prepared for, but I think I handled it well. Having sound checked Sarahj the night before, monitors were quite simple, the only challenge was setting up the in-ears system for the vocalist which after breaking it down was very simple and didn’t cause any further delay or issues.
Comparing our work to a professional standard, I definitely think there is room for improvement, but being it my first live gig, it definitely has given me a great starting point to improve on my skills and knowledge in the future.
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