A Superbowl Reality Check, if you please...

[ClickTrackAudio]

Ok...

I may catch a bit of flack for this, but I'm a calls-em-as-I-sees-em kinda guy.
Ladies and Gent backseat A1's, can you all calm down about the superbowl audio?

Here are a few of the comments we've seen in the past few days since the superbowl:

Originally Posted by Goliath|Audio

CBS - fire the mixer for that atrocity.

Originally Posted by PhilE

Seemed like it was good- but damn the mix I got on Sky Sports (UK) was like someone had a console on demo mode! Things in and out all over the shop.
The sync has been out a few times I noticed earlier too.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

Yeah terrible mix!!! Anyone have any idea what kind of amp Prince plays? Guitar was way too loud, but at least it sounded phat.

This is only a small sampling of the comments for example, and I don't mean to single out any one poster in particular as there are MORE THAN A FEW of this style of comment.

From hereon out, I'll refer to commenters of this style as "backseat A-1's".

Have any of the backseat A-1's worked a show..any show...that's going to live broadcast?

Have you had to partake in the interface to a stage, other video trucks, uplink, etc?

And when fit-hits-the-shan, have you had to make a command decision to sacrifice one thing for the sake of another? For example, keeping the vox up front and sacrificing the drums out of the mix?

I wasn't there at the game attending to the mix. I don't know who was. One thing that crossed my mind was this: What if the guy doing the mix hangs out here? What would he/she say to all the dissenters?

DO YOU THINK THAT IT ISN'T OUTSIDE OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY THAT THEY HANG OUT HERE?

Until you've sat in that chair and do the best you absolutely can with very little to work with in terms of "ideal" conditions, I suggest some of the backseaters curtail their criticisms.

Its easy to sit back in your comfy armchair while stuffing your face with chilli and nachos and comment to your friends on what the dude wearing the red shirt should and should not have done. Until you DO wear the red shirt, and until you DO have a PSM yelling in com about time, and until you DO have something go not-quite right in the feed...in the rain...until you DO have to worry about what the others are doing to your audio downstream in the station...and until you DO have to work a gig like this where the A1 was probably in teh middle of a 20 hour production day...until you have done all of this...

I suggest you let the guys off the hook.

If they are pros, (and they *probably* are if they even GOT that gig) then they know what they did properly and what was left to chance. Nothing that any of you backseat A-1's say will really influence anything.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the be-all-to-end-all in this type of situation. But I have had large-scale productions under my belt. I have had things go bad and still produce a mix out of it. I have had times when I've been tired from a long string of production days and, in retrospect, wish I did other things in the final mix.
Being an owner, I have also had gigs where I've the pucker factor kick in knowing that I'm being judged on the final product, and my next job may or may not come as a result of the work I do today.

Criticism is part of the gig. Its natural for people to have an opinion. But some of the comments posted, IMHO, go a bit beyond. When I have one of those bad days the only criticism that makes a difference to me is that from the few who have been there. Even though I take all criticisms as diplomatically as the situation entails, everything else is chaff.


Now on the other hand,

Originally Posted by bjornson

Quit smokin crack n get a grip. Top notch playing and production. I've been A1-A2 on a couple of NFL halftime shows and it ain't pretty. And in the rain??? Kudos all the way around.

Originally Posted by laser

Tough, tough venue. Quick/mobile setup--outdoor stadium--rain (not to mention several million people watching you in real time).
Laser

Now THESE guys know what they are talking about. To get anything done in conditions like that is pretty phenominal. Kudos to you guys for recognizing and giving cred where its due. I offer you a cyber handshake for those comments.

Thanks for the rant time...and now back to your banter...

[PapillonIrl]

Agreed...well said.

[dave-G]

I've barely read the comments, but if I was the "A-1" (is that what they're called?), and I posted here I'd probably come in and sheepishly tell the story of the 'hit fitting the shan' for the edification and enjoyment of everyone. I don't think there's anyone here who wouldn't be empathetic to that.

Meanwhile, I remain firmly amazed at how frequently there are catastrophic audio problems, and/or bad-sounding balances in things like this, award shows, SNL, etc..

That is not a job I'd want. Hats' off to the courageous.

-dave

[paultools]

These points are well-taken.

I would however assume that in a show such as this, budget is not a primary factor, and that the best-of-breed is on the job (A-1, technicians, weather forecasters, designers, production assistants, artist).

Is what we experienced on Sunday the current state-of-the-art?

[laser]

No flack from me!

But, while we're on the subject of reality--let's not get too carried away with Prince's ability. He put on a great show under tough circumstances--major credit to him for being a top-notch pro and a helluva guitar player.

But for those saying that, because he sings, plays a great guitar, puts on a great performance and has good compositional abilities (this one could be argued, but it's too subjective: many love him, many don't), there is "no one" equal to him--I highly recommend buying tickets to see Rik Emmitt, Brian Setzer, Lindsey Buckingham or David Gilmour. Rik Emmitt, in particular, is an impressive showman and sings much better than Prince.

If you allow piano playing instead of guitar, IMNHO Freddy Mercury was an infinitely better singer, better showman and a better compositionalist.

Not to Purple rain on anyone's parade.

Laser

[code green]

Originally Posted by laser

No flack from me!

But, while we're on the subject of reality--let's not get too carried away with Prince's ability. He put on a great show under tough circumstances--major credit to him for being a top-notch pro and a helluva guitar player.

But for those saying that, because he sings, plays a great guitar, puts on a great performance and has good compositional abilities (this one could be argued, but it's too subjective: many love him, many don't), there is "no one" equal to him--I highly recommend buying tickets to see Rik Emmitt, Brian Setzer, Lindsey Buckingham or David Gilmour. Rik Emmitt, in particular, is an impressive showman and sings much better than Prince.

If you allow piano playing instead of guitar, IMNHO Freddy Mercury was an infinitely better singer, better showman and a better compositionalist.

Not to Purple rain on anyone's parade.

Laser

so you concede prince is great in all the departments you've listed above...then cite a bunch of guys who, as much as i may respect them, could in no way have put on the show prince delivered at half time...and then top it off by saying someone who's dead would best prince--on another instrument?!

and by the way, it's "composer"...not "compositionalist."

[laser]

Originally Posted by code green

so you concede prince is great in all the departments you've listed above...then cite a bunch of guys who, as much as i may respect them, could in no way have put on the show prince delivered at half time...and then top it off by saying someone who's dead would best prince--on another instrument?!

and by the way, it's "composer"...not "compositionalist."

It is composer, thanks.

Let me return the favor by correcting your poor comprehension skills.

I did not concede Prince is "great" in all the departments I've listed above. In fact, I did not concede anything. I said his guitar playing and ability to perform was great and he was a truly a professional by knocking off a "top-notch" production in poor conditions. I also said Prince sings, but he is average at best. When I wrote on his ability to compose, I used the word "good" and even that is debatable.

I've seen all of the above in concert and can easily say that each has the ability to match or exceed Prince in a live venue. Whether or not they could have performed as well in the rain and under half-time conditions simply can't be answered. Can you explain how you would know this?

And since your so good at taking things out of context, the point of my post is that Prince does have plenty of "equals". If you want to compare him to Aerosmith or Stones, fine. Prince is without peers. I've seen Aerosmith live twice and both times they were terrible. The Stones are 15 years past their prime and frankly, aren't that impressive as live musicians (great composers, though).

But, I've seen several great performers who are outstanding guitarists, sing as well if not better than Prince, and are excellent composers. Let me add George Benson to my list. He sings, plays and composes better than Prince. Oh, but he doesn't have a little symbol he's invented to strut on so I guess in your book he's not up to the chore either.

Laser

[paultools]

I always thought Benson performed other people's tunes for the most part.

His biggest hits were composed by others (Breexin', Masquerade, On Broadway and Gimmie the Night).

Given the choice, I'd rather publish Prince than Benson.

[Jim vanBergen]

Click,

Thanks, man, for your very intuitive, humane post.

While this was not my gig this year, I have several friends (mixers, suppliers, even a close buddy is a manufacturer) involved in the Superbowl halftime shows for several years.

Rain is a BITCH. Having your tested mults broken (disconnected) and dragged away for the first half, then quickly reconnected without a line check- SUCKS.

The live sound crew, the band crew, the broadcast audio mix crew, the broadcast music mixer- they are all surviving bombardment. Doing a show like this has SOOOO many problems, and the technical is just the beginning. The dozen "producers" who scream at you over every little element- the political BS is simply enourmous.

Sorry the mix sucked. Wear that guys' shoes, and see how you feel about rain, stadiums, hundred foot cable runs, not having your mults connected, and suddenly being told: GO!!!!!

This is a thankless task. I don't think a Superbowl Halftime show has EVER sounded great...passable, maybe. The goal is to survive, to get the elements out on the air, and to survive without catastrophic mistakes (like the costume malfunction, not a broken mic).

Cheers!

Jim

[GearBit]

Originally Posted by laser

No flack from me!

But, while we're on the subject of reality--let's not get too carried away with Prince's ability. He put on a great show under tough circumstances--major credit to him for being a top-notch pro and a helluva guitar player.

But for those saying that, because he sings, plays a great guitar, puts on a great performance and has good compositional abilities (this one could be argued, but it's too subjective: many love him, many don't), there is "no one" equal to him--I highly recommend buying tickets to see Rik Emmitt, Brian Setzer, Lindsey Buckingham or David Gilmour. Rik Emmitt, in particular, is an impressive showman and sings much better than Prince.

If you allow piano playing instead of guitar, IMNHO Freddy Mercury was an infinitely better singer, better showman and a better compositionalist.

Not to Purple rain on anyone's parade.

Laser

I will buy tickets to any one of those shows when I need a nice nap.

[PapillonIrl]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

Click,

Thanks, man, for your very intuitive, humane post.

While this was not my gig this year, I have several friends (mixers, suppliers, even a close buddy is a manufacturer) involved in the Superbowl halftime shows for several years.

Rain is a BITCH. Having your tested mults broken (disconnected) and dragged away for the first half, then quickly reconnected without a line check- SUCKS.

The live sound crew, the band crew, the broadcast audio mix crew, the broadcast music mixer- they are all surviving bombardment. Doing a show like this has SOOOO many problems, and the technical is just the beginning. The dozen "producers" who scream at you over every little element- the political BS is simply enourmous.

Sorry the mix sucked. Wear that guys' shoes, and see how you feel about rain, stadiums, hundred foot cable runs, not having your mults connected, and suddenly being told: GO!!!!!

This is a thankless task. I don't think a Superbowl Halftime show has EVER sounded great...passable, maybe. The goal is to survive, to get the elements out on the air, and to survive without catastrophic mistakes (like the costume malfunction, not a broken mic).

Cheers!

Jim

'Thankless task' is a huge understatement.

You guys take on mammoth tasks.

I worked under a FOH and occasional monitor engineer for headline acts for a couple of festival seasons in Europe/UK, nothing as big as discussed here.

I will happily plug away in my ghetto shop, and take on the occasional bigger project for a while after that.

And I wasn't even in the 'fall guy' position.

The politics you mention are the main turnoff for me.

My hat is off to whoever posseses the zen-like ability to smile when the impossible is demanded of them.

I used to get it in corporate IT work too, but it's not the same without the big money, egos, and audience.

Kudos.


Nathan

p.s. I still don't think the AT was that bad...curious as to the reason it was patched in...last minute problems with the monitor feed causing the artist pitch problems ?

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by laser

If you allow piano playing instead of guitar, IMNHO Freddy Mercury was an infinitely better singer, better showman and a better compositionalist.

Not to Purple rain on anyone's parade.

Laser

I don't think Freddy could put on a better show than Prince, after all, Mercury's quite dead.

Ed

[laser]

Originally Posted by Sharp11

I don't think Freddy could put on a better show than Prince, after all, Mercury's quite dead.

Ed

LOL! Quite dead, indeed (ummm...did use of the past tense "was").

Using this logic, though, I'm going to have to rethink all these comparisions of Prince with Hendrix.

Thanks for the laugh.

Laser

[2leod]

The little bit of live and remote work that I've done puts me firmly in the chorus behind ClickTrackAudio. Just getting through a SuperBowl half-time must vapourize a few months off of everyone involved's projected lifespan. Throw in the rain, with all the potential signal leakpaths - I can't even begin to imagine.

You could tell Prince was loving doing "Purple Rain" in it, though!

[laser]

Originally Posted by GearBit

I will buy tickets to any one of those shows when I need a nice nap.

Keep snoozin' my man.

I'll keep spinning my Pink Floyd, Triumph, and Fleetwood Mac albums and groovin on Setzer's R&B. I have little need for Prince's tinker toy tunes and limp wrist strut.

Laser

[EngineEars]

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

Ok...

I may catch a bit of flack for this, but I'm a calls-em-as-I-sees-em kinda guy.
Ladies and Gent backseat A1's, can you all calm down about the superbowl audio?

Dude! This is an audio forum about using great gear to get great sounds. This is the perfect place to bitch about it. That was the biggest show on earth. I think we are entitled to a few opinions about the work of (as Paultools puts it) the best of the best. The rest of the audio for the game sounded great despite the rain, but the music did not sound like it was handled by an experienced professional with a musical background. I'm glad there is a post and remote option to this forum. I think discussions like this such take place, even if what we've discussed will make no difference.

Just my opinion, no big deal, right? I also think at least someone like you could agree with some of the comments made, instead of making excuses for a job done poorly, despite the extreme circumstances. That only makes you as a professional sound like it's ok to fall short on a gig, and I'm sure that's not what you are saying.

Sincerely,
backseat A1 for hire.

[KingDaddyO]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

Click,

Thanks, man, for your very intuitive, humane post.

While this was not my gig this year, I have several friends (mixers, suppliers, even a close buddy is a manufacturer) involved in the Superbowl halftime shows for several years.

Rain is a BITCH. Having your tested mults broken (disconnected) and dragged away for the first half, then quickly reconnected without a line check- SUCKS.

The live sound crew, the band crew, the broadcast audio mix crew, the broadcast music mixer- they are all surviving bombardment. Doing a show like this has SOOOO many problems, and the technical is just the beginning. The dozen "producers" who scream at you over every little element- the political BS is simply enourmous.

Sorry the mix sucked. Wear that guys' shoes, and see how you feel about rain, stadiums, hundred foot cable runs, not having your mults connected, and suddenly being told: GO!!!!!

This is a thankless task. I don't think a Superbowl Halftime show has EVER sounded great...passable, maybe. The goal is to survive, to get the elements out on the air, and to survive without catastrophic mistakes (like the costume malfunction, not a broken mic).

Cheers!

Jim

I think this encapsulates the mission quite nicely ... anything beyond survival is pure gravy. And let's not forget the context: a few feeds from the referees & announcers and a coupla 'room' mics for the actual game, should be a lot easier to manage than the several dozen rain soaked live feeds from dynamic sources. Is it even fair to compare the two scenarios? Seems like night & day to me.

[ClickTrackAudio]

Oh, this is going to be fun.

As I said, every one is entitled to their opinion, and mobile work is wide open for criticism. Its part of the gig. However, comments like "CBS Should fire the mixer for that atrocity" and "Terrible mix" are annoying when the people making them haven't ever been near enough a production this large to know WHY a mix could fall apart.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

Dude! This is an audio forum about using great gear to get great sounds.

Maybe this is why I only hang out in the remote forum...most of GS is about Gear. I have strong opinions about where gear fits in the chain, and, granted, while remote work has a dependance on strong, capable gear, getting great sounds isn't wholly dependant on gear. And doing it in these circumstances?

Originally Posted by EngineEars

That was the biggest show on earth. I think we are entitled to a few opinions about the work of (as Paultools puts it) the best of the best.

Of course you are. Just have a leg to stand on when making said opinion.

At very least make it an educated one.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

The rest of the audio for the game sounded great despite the rain, but the music did not sound like it was handled by an experienced professional with a musical background.

Are you kidding me? Do you know the difference between mixing stadium sports and mixing music in a stadium? I think your comment right there explains a lot.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

I'm glad there is a post and remote option to this forum. I think discussions like this such take place, even if what we've discussed will make no difference.

This is a great forum and I'm glad its here. Remote work is a different beast. Completely different and a HUGE amount of people in the industry DON'T GET IT. I'm talking about people who spend a lot of time recording, in production, in theatres, in management. The vast majority don't get what remote work is all about, and this forum does a HUGE service in dispelling the myths. You are correct...discussions should happen. There is, however, a difference in saying "Terrible Mix" and "I wonder what happened to make it fall down so badly".
At least the latter gives the guy some credit.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

I also think at least someone like you could agree with some of the comments made, instead of making excuses for a job done poorly, despite the extreme circumstances. That only makes you as a professional sound like it's ok to fall short on a gig, and I'm sure that's not what you are saying.

I agree that the mix wasn't stellar. But none of us were in that chair that day. And I could wager a healthy bet that, had you, me or any of us been in that chair, the mix may not have sounded better. We don't know what conditions were in place, but I have a pretty damn good feeling that they weren't anywhere remotely close to being ideal. I wouldn't be surprised if dude was flying by his toenails.

I'm not making excuses for anyone. Its not ok to fall short on a gig. As a mobile guy, you are only as good as your last gig. Having said that, you, as a professional are judged also on what you are able to do in the circumstances. There are some you win, there are some you loose...and then some that Murphy is just sitting and waiting for you to step up to the plate to spin the wheel.

I think we can give the crew on this job a by. That was indeed a worst-case scenario and the people working this one had some big hairy cohones to get it done.

Seeing that you think that you should be entitled to bash the guy on the gig, I challenge you to find a remote company in your area, and ask them to just sit in on a production. A live production. You'll see what a clusterf**k pressure cooker it is.

Then come back and tell me what the superbowl mixer did wrong.

For some reason I think you won't have much to say.

Originally Posted by EngineEars

Sincerely,
backseat A1 for hire.

Sorry. No vacancies for that position. I could, however, use someone to lubricate the truck hydraulics after a muddy gig...

[PhilE]

There were some posts that slagged things a bit.

However- I don't take kindly to being labled anything by anyone who doesnt know me... and especially by those who clearly havent read a thread.
You have quoted me quite out of context as my comments about sync are in answer to the question- was anyone else noticing sync issues?

Quite appart from that, I feel I should now post my feelings about that event:

I am a pro. I have never done live audio feeds- thats not what I do... however, other people do- and they do better than this effort. I doubt it was down to the audio mixer alone (I was unimpressed by the quality of the mix but am well aware there are hundreds of reasons why this could happen, especially as it was so drastic.) However, an event like Superbowl I would expect to have been executed better. I think particularly of live feeds from FA Cup finals, Glastonbury Festival, 6 Nations Rugby matches, The Olympics.... these are all solid feeds 99 times out of 100.
If someone doesnt do a good job do you still congratulate and praise them?? Lets not forget this is not a matter of taste but of tollerence.

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

I'm a calls-em-as-I-sees-em kinda guy

Clearly you are not.

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

Ok...

I may catch a bit of flack for this, but I'm a calls-em-as-I-sees-em kinda guy.
Ladies and Gent backseat A1's, can you all calm down about the superbowl audio?

Here are a few of the comments we've seen in the past few days since the superbowl:






This is only a small sampling of the comments for example, and I don't mean to single out any one poster in particular as there are MORE THAN A FEW of this style of comment.

From hereon out, I'll refer to commenters of this style as "backseat A-1's".

Have any of the backseat A-1's worked a show..any show...that's going to live broadcast?

Have you had to partake in the interface to a stage, other video trucks, uplink, etc?

And when fit-hits-the-shan, have you had to make a command decision to sacrifice one thing for the sake of another? For example, keeping the vox up front and sacrificing the drums out of the mix?

I wasn't there at the game attending to the mix. I don't know who was. One thing that crossed my mind was this: What if the guy doing the mix hangs out here? What would he/she say to all the dissenters?

DO YOU THINK THAT IT ISN'T OUTSIDE OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY THAT THEY HANG OUT HERE?

Until you've sat in that chair and do the best you absolutely can with very little to work with in terms of "ideal" conditions, I suggest some of the backseaters curtail their criticisms.

Its easy to sit back in your comfy armchair while stuffing your face with chilli and nachos and comment to your friends on what the dude wearing the red shirt should and should not have done. Until you DO wear the red shirt, and until you DO have a PSM yelling in com about time, and until you DO have something go not-quite right in the feed...in the rain...until you DO have to worry about what the others are doing to your audio downstream in the station...and until you DO have to work a gig like this where the A1 was probably in teh middle of a 20 hour production day...until you have done all of this...

I suggest you let the guys off the hook.

If they are pros, (and they *probably* are if they even GOT that gig) then they know what they did properly and what was left to chance. Nothing that any of you backseat A-1's say will really influence anything.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the be-all-to-end-all in this type of situation. But I have had large-scale productions under my belt. I have had things go bad and still produce a mix out of it. I have had times when I've been tired from a long string of production days and, in retrospect, wish I did other things in the final mix.
Being an owner, I have also had gigs where I've the pucker factor kick in knowing that I'm being judged on the final product, and my next job may or may not come as a result of the work I do today.

Criticism is part of the gig. Its natural for people to have an opinion. But some of the comments posted, IMHO, go a bit beyond. When I have one of those bad days the only criticism that makes a difference to me is that from the few who have been there. Even though I take all criticisms as diplomatically as the situation entails, everything else is chaff.


Now on the other hand,





Now THESE guys know what they are talking about. To get anything done in conditions like that is pretty phenominal. Kudos to you guys for recognizing and giving cred where its due. I offer you a cyber handshake for those comments.

Thanks for the rant time...and now back to your banter...

[nd33]

Originally Posted by laser

Keep snoozin' my man.

I'll keep spinning my Pink Floyd, Triumph, and Fleetwood Mac albums and groovin on Setzer's R&B. I have little need for Prince's tinker toy tunes and limp wrist strut.

Laser

I think if you delve into some of Prince's 35 and counting albums you'll find more than tinker toy tunes. It's worth it, Miles Davis thought so!

_

[Sharp11]

Here's my take on Click Track's suggestion.

I compose and produce music for television and film, often under very, VERY tight deadlines and trying circumstances.

Yet, everything I hand in has to sound beautiful and professional, there's no room for excuses - I could never say "please don't mind that the kick drum's not loud enough, it was four o'clock in the morning and my ears were tired - I ran out of coffee, too".

Or "the ground hum you hear is because I didn't have time to suss it out, the deadline was looming, ya know" etc. al.......

The point is, it's a job that is supposed to achieve a certain level of professionalism, if the brains behind the tech couldn't figure it out, then perhaps the goals were too ambitious and should've been scaled back.

Even my buddies on the automotive boards I frequent have been commenting on the sound and picture quality - and they're far from professionals in the field - they're the "target market" and if they can tell something's gone wrong, that's cause for worry.

I know it's getting tougher these days with so many formats to fold down into (the sound was awful, imo) and even more over-the-top grandeur, but someone's got to take the blame when it all doesn't go right.

And it didn't go right - the music mix SUCKED, the commentary mix SUCKED, the camera's weren't properly shielded from the rain and on and on and on...., it was a disaster.

And here, at the slutz, we call 'em as we see 'em - err, "hear" 'em.

Ed

[EngineEars]

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

Oh, this is going to be fun.

Of course you are. Just have a leg to stand on when making said opinion.

At very least make it an educated one.

Click Track you are guilty of the very thing you are blaming me for. You should refrain judgement of others abilities without any education what they do. How lame of you to assume you know something about someone you know nothing about. I happen to do live audio mixdown for a broadcast several times a month. I have a 15 minute window to soundcheck a 40 input system that was setup from scratch just moments before and I am honored with the complements the band get from non-audio people on how great the sound was. I also get all the stares when there is the slightest bit of stray feedback, a performer's wireless RF goes bizerk or a wrong mic is handed off the the MC and you have to seek out one of 12 faders in a split second's time. That's pulling off setup, linecheck and mixing of monitors, FOH and a matrix for broadcast, balconies, a tech cue, making thousands happy and then a tearing down properly to be able to do all over again successfully (after being up til 4AM in the studio the night before.) It's not the Superbowl, but it's a leg and a rather large penis to stand on.

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

Are you kidding me? Do you know the difference between mixing stadium sports and mixing music in a stadium? I think your comment right there explains a lot.

I'm sorry, but all I hear from you are excuses. And I have mixed music in stadiums also. Yes it's a tough job, but come on Mr. A-team professional. You make it sound like the poor FOH guy sent his main mix outs to broadcast while monitoring flown clusters 70 yards away in the rain. That board mix would have sounded more balanced IMO. There are people in audio that capture sound for their daughter's birthday video and then there are those that can change lives with a few faders and no excuses, it's obvious which category you fall into. I wish that audio wasn't even associated with people that have the mentality of well as long as you heard something and nobody got shocked, it was a good day. Yeah while live remotes and location recording are an altogether different beast, it'd be nice if parts of the segment didn't think like you and strived for higher standards, despite budgets, poor weather conditions, stressed deadlines, etc.

[ClickTrackAudio]

Originally Posted by EngineEars

It's not the Superbowl, but it's a leg and a rather large penis to stand on.

Doth protest too loudly, methinks...





Hey, I'm glad that you are out there doing it. Good. In this day of written word I can only judge you on your writing and, until now, hadn't seen anything that suggested you were critiquing from anywhere but armchair perspective. So my apologies. Feel free to personally attack me as it were..I've got thick skin. Unfortunately in the midst of the attack you fail to see my point...So lets review.


Trust me...I strive for the best. I do ALOT of good work (more than you may realize). I own a business...I have to work hard at every job. My next job can come from how good or how bad I am on any given day. But its not financial reasons that drive me. I love what I do. I think most people in this business take personal pride in what they do...just like the guy on the spindle during the superbowl.


Listen, some of you guys may be pissed because I chose your specific quotes to use as an example. If I quoted out of context, then again, my apologies, however you can see fairly well that there are many..many comments made without foundation.

I hear what you say...YES We should expect quality. And Yes, there have been better productions done...no doubt about it. The olympics were massive and came of spankingly well. This should have as well and didn't. I am not arguing that it should have been better, and I don't make excuses for myself or anyone..especially a crew that I don't know.

Having said that, my POINT is that although we all have a right to criticize, keep in mind that there is someone out there who not only is already kicking themselves harder than any of you could possibly do, but one day, you may find yourself in that chair with darts being thrown in your direction. Its not a fun place to be. And it makes you work harder the next time.

Remember that the next time you're mixing something and the band doesn't think its so good.

Remember that the next time you are wearing the red shirt and conditions outside of your control are affecting the mix...a mix that has your name on it.


We strive for the best.


It doesn't mean we don't have to have a bit of humility while doing it.


Because none of us were there, have a minute bit of empathy and give the people on the job some credit that, maybe...just maybe...there are other factors that could be at play.


Thats all I'm saying, tripod.

[EngineEars]

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

Thats all I'm saying, tripod.

Nice post! You have my respect for that one. Cyberhandshake?

[ClickTrackAudio]

Originally Posted by EngineEars

Nice post! You have my respect for that one. Cyberhandshake?

lol.

Right back atcha, dude.

Definitely...no probs. <inserthandshakehere>

Cheers