Assisting

[ProgNerd]

I'm with Chris. A bad day at the studio is better than a good day just about anywhere else. I work in mostly a production studio environment. Try a 8hr session with writers, producers, clients, account execs and talent all with differing opinions all for a 30sec radio spot. That'll make you think about a job in retail. Then you think about it, have a beer and wonder what the hell you were thinking.

[JGriffin]

Amen. Remember also that said 8 hour session includes "lunch" --which translates to "keep editing with left hand while holding ham sandwich in right hand."

Still better than a good day selling blue jeans at the mall.

[soundguy]

I really think Dave nailed it...

What did Dave say?

CG

I say, fuck you fucko.

those are the people skills that got me ahead.

heh.

dave

[snuffinthepunk]

interesting post.

can I ask of anyone who posts in this thread: Who here has actually been an asshole to someone working for you and will admit it? And did you feel bad afterwards?

Reading this post sent me into a short daydream of being shit on by asshole producers or engineers and it brought up some interesting thoughts. What exactly turns someone into being an asshole by being in this business? Are they getting obsessed with the money and business? Since when does that make it right to be a jerk? Also, do these jerks belittle their assistants in front of clients? I'd sure as hell hope not. If I were an artist in a studio and saw someone being treated like a week old piece of shit, I'd just leave and never ask to work with that person again. I never see an excuse to act like that. I don't have experiences like this yet, but, I imagine I'll be just as confused when I do as I am now. Anger and hate themselves are very destructive, so why would any rational person allow them into their work? If you're a producer, you've got a great job that millions of people would LOVE to have...so why get so upset?

I could probably write for days on my thoughts about all this, but I'll stop now, those are just a few of my questions/problems with assholes in the business.

J

[JGriffin]

I've snapped at people, both assistants and clients, in rare moments when I am not handling stress as well as I might. Not too terribly often though. With clients it usually takes the form of a moment of ill-considered sarcasm. I have never gotten snappy with an assistant in front of people. It's not cool. Take them aside and sort it out.

[Brandon Schexnayder]

My motto has always been: "Do whatever you've got to do to keep the engineer doing what hes supposed to do and making the money...then they'll be happy."

With that in mind I have never really gotten into any trouble or treated poorly. After all, a happy engineer/producer is one that gets to bring home the bacon. Of course this motto entails everything from keeping your mouth shut to scrubbing the toilets!

[soundguy]

Ive been an outrageous asshole to boom op's that both deserved it and completely didnt. In regards to the ones who fucked me up, I honestly regret being nice to them at all. In regards to the ones who completely didnt, I went well well well out of my way to make it up to them and those guys that I was probably the biggest jerk to because of my own shortcomings under stress have at this point worked with me longer than anyone else. Loyalty goes a long way. Ive never held a grudge at someone who flew off the handle with me when I caught them at the wrong time and then made it up to me shortly after. Getting yelled at an apologized to is a fairly common thing if you work in the movies, even the strongest of personalities has a breaking point if you are awake, at work for 26 hours outside in the winter in the rain after weeks of shooting nights. Its all nice to say righteous things like "theres no excuse for being a jerk" and maybe thats true, but I can excuse a long list of line items that qualify people for being jerks at work if you work in a high stress/low sleep/no social life environment.

[joel hamilton]

I have worked really, really hard creating an atmosphere where "yelling at people" and all the mythological intern abuse and all that frat boy type of crap simply doesnt exist. I have managed to insulate myself from this sort of thing for the most part, just by trying to keep an eye firmly planted on why I do this (record stuff) at all.

If there has been an intern that acted REALLY wrong in some situation, i have had a real talk with them AFTER the session, and possibly asked them if recording is really what they want to do, or if they are just in a band and since recording is the new guitar, they just want to "be a part of the process more."

With the whole "recording is the new guitar" concept, things have gotten insane with the number of people that really just want to feel out being an engineer/producer and so just kind of want to hang around at sessions, with no actual intention of doing any kind of work... again, i would just have a real friendly conversation about whether this is really what they want to do. I am never "mean" to people in the studio. I must have felt enough of a good thing from them in the first place to invite them into my working life.... why would i all of a sudden freak out on them... what gives ME the right? because I am the one mixing? Whatever. That kind of passive aggressive shit is lame in life and the studio and forever....

Utopian? Yep.... But I am enjoying almost every second of it....

[JGriffin]

Its all nice to say righteous things like "theres no excuse for being a jerk" and maybe thats true, but I can excuse a long list of line items that qualify people for being jerks at work if you work in a high stress/low sleep/no social life environment.

Well, since that slightly patronizing comment was in response to something I said, I'll respond: I also work in an environment like the one you've described. And while there's no need to get into a one-upsmanship contest about shitty working conditions, let me just mention I'm no stranger to 24+hour days, constantly changing project parameters, overnight shoots on rooftops during ice storms, no social life and incredibly high stress. In my experience, grace under pressure also goes a long way and is a major indicator of character.

[soundguy]

Well, since that slightly patronizing comment was in response to something I said

not at all, honestly.

there's definitely a big difference also between chewing somone out when your out on location vs. in a tiny room with clients, and this isnt even just confined to the arts or anything- I was at the doctors last week and the surgeons assistant was all complaining under her breath trying to be discrete about it but loud enough for all the patients to hear, totally uncomfortable situation.

If you are in a commercial rock session where a label has bought out the studio and everyone in there is on the same team so to speak, thats more of the breeding ground for "unprofessional" ass reaming incidents. If you are in a session where the engineers and assistants work for a recording company and the clients in there are just joe's coming in for an online or something you definitley get more of that office decor kind of respectability.

there kinda is no excuse for being a jerk but I think there are a lot of situations we can get into as engineers where its easy to cut folks some slack.

dave

[Mr. Dipity]

I've been in engineering situations where doing dishes would have been preferable. Situations where the chronic lack of sleep, stress and complete lack of respect or understanding of the situation from multiple bosses caused me to start having aural hallucinations from overwork, fear and stress. Why was I sticking it out? Becuase putting up this kind of situation was what I had been led to beleive was what it took to survive in the recording world.

The situation collapsed, I found a job doing something else and I've never had anything remotely similar happen to me since.

To suggest that bad situations don't exist in the recording studio is to suggest that bad situations don't exist. To suggest that 'the master engineer knows all, and is to be respected at all times' is a mistake. Audio engineering is shaky profession, to be sure, and consequently requires a level of dedication that most cannot bring to bear. However, that does not give anyone the carte blanche to test that dedication in others.

[JGriffin]

Well, since that slightly patronizing comment was in response to something I said

not at all, honestly.

Cool, then.

there kinda is no excuse for being a jerk but I think there are a lot of situations we can get into as engineers where its easy to cut folks some slack.

Certainly this is the case, but I would like to think I'm the guy cutting the slack instead of the guy everyone looks at and tries to figure out how much slack they have to cut me before they just can't take my behavior anymore.


Dipity--you're right. there are really bad times in the studio, just like anywhere else. I'll not deny that. I just try not to be the guy who makes the bad situation happen, or makes the bad situation worse. Sometimes I fail (hell, most folks here have seen me lose my cool on a messageboard!), but that's the goal anyway.

[Brian Brock]

Is it really a good idea to perpetuate this "never contradict the engineer" business? Maybe I just have a problem with hierarchy in general, but I would never want to record in a studio where everyone was not free to express themselves (politely and/or humorously) whenever and on whatever subjects they want.

B

[JGriffin]

Brian, I understand what you're saying, but remember that most clients in a recording studio have no idea how any of it's done--to them it's voodoo, or magic, or sorcery or what have you. And there's a fair amount of trust that has to be established between the engineer and the client...having an assistant questioning the engineer's decisions can weaken the client's confidence in the engineer.

[joelpatterson]

It surprises me when people say, "you are so patient," because I don't look at it that way. I look at it: I'm waiting for someone to create some musical wizardry and I'll be so glad when that happens. I'm doing everything I can think of to help it along.