FRONT OF HOUSE
BEYOND THE FEAR OF A CAREER ENDING MOVE | Kent Morris
Have you thought about the fact you can end any event with the push of one button ? You can mute the main mic , shut down the console or create horrible feedback and stop the proceedings instantly . Of course , no one would do such a thing intentionally , but it has happened unintentionally on occasion . In those instances , it might have been a career ending move for the audio engineer . On the other hand , it may have been a learning moment or a point of grace for the guilty tech to continue employment if leadership valued the relationship .
The fear of a career ending move is usually present in the back of every engineer ’ s mind before and during a major event . Missing a critical cue or experiencing an RF failure can be catastrophic in the moment with everything happening in real time and no do-over possible . Having your job hinge on every minute creates a chronically stressed environment . It is impossible to perform at a consistently professional level while living in constant fear of crashing your career . As a result , here are some steps to take to insure a long and prosperous life in the live audio arena .
First , realize as important as the event is , it does not change world history . Even things as grand as the Olympics , the Super Bowl and presidential inaugurations have mistakes imbedded for posterity to review over and over without changing the trajectory of the outcome . In light of this fact , how leadership spins the issue to build blame on audio does not change reality : things happen , and while sometimes disruptive , they are not catastrophic .
Second , consider how God knew of the mistake eons before it happened and had all of eternity to correct it , but chose to let it occur . Once all the preplanning and pre-show work are completed properly , if God isn ’ t concerned enough to fix a mistake , we shouldn ’ t let it ruin our day . Third , think through the implications of a situation where one audio mistake equals the loss of a job . Does that same high bar apply to the caterer who brings yeast rolls instead of sourdough ? Does it apply to the chair and table crew who set out off-white tablecloths instead of white ? Does it apply to the plenum speaker saying “ umm ” four times and then they are fired ? In other words , is the playing field level or
is there a stricter set of rules for audio than for other positions ? If the rules are not universally applied , perhaps another job beckons .
Fourth , do these crises appear more often than random chance would suggest ? If the AC power goes out once a month at a venue , the issue is not with the audio crew who are struggling to reset equipment , but with the power company or house electricians who allow this unacceptable situation to continue . Constant extinguishing of arson caused fires is exhausting and counterproductive . The problem needs to be resolved at its core .
Once you as an audio engineer mentally move beyond fear of reprisal , the elegant fluidity of art and science can merge in a live production . Instead of never taking a chance and playing it safe continually , being free to implement small exercises in creativity will reap deep dividends , with improved sonic experiences for both the performers and audience . Plus , mistakes make great war stories later .
Kent Morris Kent is a 44-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge all technology is in a temporal state .