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GETTING A FOOT IN
THE DOOR
How to make your way in the Live Sound Industry
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Prologue
Before we start
This is not a very nice book. Its not a very long
book. But, it is a truthful one.
Be likeable
Name it; be it
Attitude is everything
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Be punctual
Be reliable
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DO:
DONT:
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I Am Not ur M8
One thing which young people seem to forget is
that people who have jobs to give out are
usually older than them. So, is the way youre
approaching and contacting a potential
employer appropriate?
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Hi Darryn,
PA companies;
Production Hire, Capital Sound & a few other smaller
companies.
Over the years I have looked after FOH on the following
festival stages;
Bestival Main & stage 2, Rockness Main & stage 2,
Jersey live Main, Glastonbury Avalon, Electric Picnic
Crawdaddy & dance tent. Creamfields main & D&B tent,
All Tomorrows Parties stage 3, Nass & too many raves
including One Nation D&B, Hardcore Heaven, Slinky etc
at venues like Birmingham NEC, Shepton Mallet
showground & Crystal Palace.
I'm a studio owner & I've installed a few over the years.
Phew, that must have been hard work to trawl through
so I thank you if you made it this far & please except my
apologies if I've wasted your time. I'm sure I've missed a
whole load out & I'm sure that's just as well.
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Writing your CV
Your CV should make you stand out from the
crowd. It should be neat; legible; and well
written, and a maximum of two pages long
(except in special circumstances).
A CV should ALWAYS be written in the first
person; if you write in the third person, you are
selling someone else, not yourself, which just
doesnt work. The whole idea of the covering
letter and CV combination is to give the
recipient an insight into who you are, and to
make them like you from the start. You need to
make that all-important connection; so,
speaking of him or her, instead of I,
disconnects the reader immediately.
In the same breath, try not to start every
sentence with I, either! Find other words to
start sentences with. During my time at A
Sound Company, I mixed monitors at A, B, & C
Festival and looked after FOH regularly at A
Venue is much more pleasant to read than: I
did this; I did that; I did the next thing. Its good
to show humility whilst, at the same time,
presenting your skills well. Too many Is
sounds boastful.
Your CV should have the following sections:
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Approaching Employers
gender right too. I suffer endless letters
addressed Dear Mr de la Soul, even though I
am clearly a woman from my website theres
a picture and everything!
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Persevere
in human interactions comes through the eyes.
Show respect for their superior knowledge, and
dont show off; they really do know more than
you do!
Just say no
Never say no
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Warehousing
pecking
order,
probably
depping
(filling in) for several
shows at the same
time
before,
hopefully, getting onto
the staff of one. It
helps
to
know
someone who can
introduce you; but,
theatre
work
is
sometimes
advertised, and can
be got by applying.
Look out for ads in Fig. 17: Heels of Glory at the
Vauxhall Tavern, London.
The Stage.
House Engineer
Touring
Theatre
conferences
is
speech
intelligibility;
consequently, you shouldn't just fob these jobs
off as easy. With this sort of work, there is also
a lot of money involved, and your part as the
Sound Guy is critical; the client is unlikely to
have any technical knowledge, so will not have
any patience with poor sound.
Freelancing in general
Corporate
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messages
and
emails
Keep a diary
Respond to
promptly
Fig. 21: Hands in the air is what makes the job all
worthwhile!
Invoice regularly
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Vehicle insurance
Hard hats are cheap and may be required; keep
one at home so you can accept work that needs
one.
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Audio Skills
No matter your qualification, youve only just
started learning. I mean that. Even the old boys
who have been doing it for 30 years are still
learning. The technology changes all the time
even if the physics doesn't and you can never
know enough.
Peripheral Skills
Manufacturer
training.
Most
manufacturers of audio equipment, and
most PA manufacturers, provide free
training on their equipment. Check their
websites for upcoming training events.
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Internet Presence
some stage; Hotmail is NOT a
professional address. The best thing is to
buy your own domain name, using either
your business name if you have one
or your own name; this looks much more
professional. If you arent up for that,
Gmail is the most grown-up, professionallooking email address.
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Conclusion
you keep at it and persevere and always do your
best at every single show, you will be noticed
and those around you will help you.
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