What would you do.....

Dick Rees

Dick Rees

Curmudgeonly Scandihoovian
Jan 11, 2011
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St Paul, MN
I've been hired to provide a remote feed for broadcast next Tuesday. Venue is the top concert/theater spot in my city.
I'm employed by the show host but paid by the theater. There are two live acts: a duo who use two guitars, ukelele and piano in various combinations and a 3-4 piece Caribbean band with several vocals, congas, el piano, el bass and perhaps drums or el guitar. In addition there is a show host who will do interviews with various program folks and the artists.

The venue has NO live sound capability and is expecting to be able to present the program in the (very spacious) lobby of the theater during the opening day of a childrens festival, ambient noise level fairly robust. I explained that at the least they owe it to the artists to provide live tech support for their performance and that my job is to get it on the radio.

I have several options, none of which are very satisfying (if you discount the use of torture).

What would you do?
 
Re: What would you do.....

Are they trying to do a live show in the building or is it just for the broadcast? If it's just for the broadcast get them some wedges and call it a day. If not they need to hire production so everyone can hear. The show is only as good as it cheapest link.
 
Re: What would you do.....

Chris Gruber said:
Are they trying to do a live show in the building or is it just for the broadcast? If it's just for the broadcast get them some wedges and call it a day. If not they need to hire production so everyone can hear. The show is only as good as it cheapest link.
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This is option #1. I do want to bill them for the wedges, though, as they are responsible for filling the role of support for the artists.

The thing that bugs me is that they have a tech department there which could do this, but would charge them for hours. I don't want to be in the position of scabbing on the house guys just to be a "good guy" because I'm there. There are some nice Meyer powered speakers in the space, but they belong to the tech department (who should be providing for this) and I am not allowed (and don't feel comfortable) using "someone else's" gear. It would be so simple if they just paid one of their house tech guys to be there for the program and hook a feed into the Meyers.

I'll put 3-4 powered wedges in the van and when the artists demand them they'll be fetched in by the house crew at $50/wedge. That's about as fair as I can be.

Other opinions?
 
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Re: What would you do.....

Dick Rees said:
This is option #1. I do want to bill them for the wedges, though, as they are responsible for filling the role of support for the artists.

The thing that bugs me is that they have a tech department there which could do this, but would charge them for hours. I don't want to be in the position of scabbing on the house guys just to be a "good guy" because I'm there. There are some nice Meyer powered speakers in the space, but they belong to the tech department (who should be providing for this) and I am not allowed (and don't feel comfortable) using "someone else's" gear. It would be so simple if they just paid one of their house tech guys to be there for the program and hook a feed into the Meyers.

I'll put 3-4 powered wedges in the van and when the artists demand them they'll be fetched in by the house crew at $50/wedge. That's about as fair as I can be.

Other opinions?
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Dick, have they ever done a live performance in that area before? Is everyone just playing acapella? It seems as though they are trying to get out on the cheap. (As always) We ran into the same situation about a month ago and politely explained that there was no way the performance could happen without FOH reinforcement. After a little wrangling back and forth, they budged. You know as well as I do if they don't have a tech and FOH support it's going to be a long day with lots of complaints from the patrons and performers.

They need those Meyers working that day! Two on sticks should work fine. I'd be steadfast about that.

Your idea of the wedges in the van is a smart one. They will ask for them.

Pat
 
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Re: What would you do.....

Pat....

I did explain to them that some gear/tech was essential to their being able to perform so that I could put them on the radio. I also explained that they owed it to the artist(s) to give them the support required for their performance. I was engaged to get the performance on the radio, not to make it happen.

I'm fine with making the event happen. I'm not fine with them cutting their in-house (union) people out of the loop to get off cheap.
 
Re: What would you do.....

Dick Rees said:
Pat....

I did explain to them that some gear/tech was essential to their being able to perform so that I could put them on the radio. I also explained that they owed it to the artist(s) to give them the support required for their performance. I was engaged to get the performance on the radio, not to make it happen.

I'm fine with making the event happen. I'm not fine with them cutting their in-house (union) people out of the loop to get off cheap.
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Ohhh... I see now Ole' Wise One. Are you just going to be capturing the performance on some condensors (or something different) and a small mixer, then sending that signal for the radio feed? It's been a long day and freaking hot down here. Gearing up for the Spoleto Festival. My brain is fried right now.

Pat
 
Re: What would you do.....

If they lack the budget to make the show happen properly in the live environment, they lack the budget... Simple as that. If you don't want to undercut the union (smart move!) then I'd leave anything they are not paying for you to provide back at the shop. Explain to the musicians when they demand wedges that it is between themselves and the client and you are simply there for the broadcast and nothing more. Your client is the one who is writing you the check, not the musicians... This may not be the most fun gig for them to get through, but that is what your client has decided after you have forwarned them of the potential pitfalls.

I would do the gig to the absolute best of my ability, close mic what I want, room mics if applicable, mix a great feed to send to the broadcast guys, make sure to be there early and have a clean, isolated feed, with tone on it when they arrive to set levels with, and otherwise be a professional while doing the job I as hired to do.

I Hope your broadcast turns out to be a success...
 
Re: What would you do.....

Thanks for all the replies.

I've managed to contact one act directly (we have worked together last August) and have a tech rider from the manager of the other act. The fellow I contacted directly was ready to arrive at 10AM per instructions from the theater guy. Unfortunately, the show goes off the air at 10, having started at 9.

See what I'm up against? I want to bill them for exactly the amount that it would have cost them to do it in house to be fair to the house techs. Over and above that I'd like to bill them for the hours it is taking to contact the performers and get everybody to show up with the proper equipment in time to set up for the show, hopefully with 15 minutes to spare to catch our breath.

As it says under my handle, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

DR
 
Re: What would you do.....

Dick Rees said:
Thanks for all the replies.

As it says under my handle, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

DR
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To me that is the key. Many times these types of things are made even more difficult with too many bosses. I would simply point out to whoever is in charge of the show as well as the acts, that there are some important technical and scheduling details to be worked out. Then I would go wait behind the curtain. While my instinct is to offer solutions all too often (especially in education) the person in charge makes a different decision from the unsoliciated one just to make a different decisions. Now I try to wait for them to solicate my input.

Once the details are worked out, if the scope of the work exceeds the original deal, then I would worry about repricing for time and equipment.
 
Re: What would you do.....

Steve et al.........

The broadcast went off just fine. One monitor for vocal foldback and so the musicians could hear questions from the host. Three vocal mics and a VP88 out front along with my regular four mics on a Shure SM410 at the hosts table. The odd thing was that the house guy from IATSE had a bad back and couldn't lift anything. Good thing all my stuff is on wheels.......

DR
 
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