OIART Podcast Episode 2: What Audio Students Learn the Hard Wa

Andy: Sweet. I guess we're going in clockwise order. So, let's do it.

Introductions

Marcelo: So, hello. Uh, I am Marcelo and I'm in crew 12

Andy: My name is Andy and I'm in crew 8. 

Roman: My name is Roman and I'm in crew 2.

Aiden: My name is Aiden and I'm in crew 8. 

Andy: And welcome to the OIART podcast.

How the year has been so far

Marcelo: How has the year been so far? Um, for me personally, uh, I think I would say busy, but a really good kind of busy. Um, I know like it's the common experience for a lot of people here, but I find that it's hard to keep on top of things uh, sometimes, but overall like I'm learning so much in such a short time span because of that. Uh, and I think there's really no other way you could do it and be this efficient. 

Andy: For me, it's definitely been an amazing experience. Like just getting to kind of finally realize that dream of getting your hands on some pretty serious audio equipment and like actually understanding it. Like it's definitely super cool to be like, I know how to use this console now. I know how to use all these microphones, like how they work, what they do. And it's just been a really good experience to kind of and a good building block to hopefully for what our future careers will be. 

Roman: Mainly my experience in OIART has been amazing. I originally came to the school just to learn Pro Tools cuz like I knew nothing about it and now it's like everything's just gone by so quick and now it's just like damn I know this I know this. Not to get egotistical or anything but like it feels like everything has just been smooth sailing but while still being busy but like having to manage everything and learning to like how to live by yourself on it has just been amazing. OIART has taught us so much in such a short amount of time. 

Aiden: I would say the best word I could use is like stressful, but like a good stress. Like it teaches you to get outside of your comfort zone just being at OIART and trying to um to figure things out on your own. Especially like with myself, I I moved across the country to come here and so it's just been this whole experience meeting new people from all different places around the country. It's been a great experience. Again, it's pushed me way further out of my comfort zone than I would have ever thought and like I'm all the greater for it. 

How everything ties together

Roman: Not only that, but like it's just like I always thought it was just going to be like one part of audio which is like music, but then we learned like film and like sound design and stuff and then live sound. It's just been so much but like so good and everything's just like tied together and I just that's the amazing part about it. 

Marcelo: Yeah. All all the courses work in tandem and you kind of just get everything built upon each other and build and then all of a sudden you're like, "Wow, it's only been so many months and I know all this stuff." Yeah. Yeah. 

What's the biggest mistake that each of you have made this year? 

Marcelo: Ooh.

Aiden: Ooh. Honestly, yeah. 

Roman:  I'd have to say fold bag for our first term project was like a pretty big deal of mine because like we never like we figured it out at the end, but like just the beginning of like having that like on our own while an artist is like there and like waiting on us to do it while we're still setting up for them. It's just the stress that like you have to do it in a certain amount of time otherwise they're going to be impatient has been like kind of a big deal breaker in some cases. 

Marcelo: Mhm. I think the worst one uh I had personally was actually this term and there was specifically a time where we had our artists coming in uh there's the band leader and the drummer and they were coming in and it was also a foldback problem. But this is like long enough in where we know so much about foldback. But what ended up happening was like a weird issue with not getting enough output coming out of the actual master fader in the session. And so we literally had Simon come in. and he wasn't like here at the school. We had him uh just come in and be like, "Oh, this is what it is." And he showed us. And it was so weird because we were like, "Never have we had to have an instructor come in to show us what was wrong." Uh but that was stressful because we only had I think an hour left to record in the session. There was a time crunch already. Oh dear. And we had that on top of things. It was like probably the most stressful moment I've had in a lab yet. Uh but I think it was good because now every single time I'm in the session I am checking that first thing because it's just so important. 

Roman: What was that first thing? 

Marcelo: Uh yeah basically it's like the inside the foldback unit especially if it was in studio one we have kind of a master like main menu outside of like the 78 foldback menu and we only ever knew about the 78 menu because that's like what we had just been using. And at some point, for whatever reason, they had been reset and normalized all the way down, which they never usually are. And so, we just didn't know to look in that menu and just turn it up. That's literally as simple as it was. But, uh, it was like every single time now, I'm always checking because it makes a big difference. And like, if it's just all the way down, your artist can't hear anything even if they turn up their volume. 

Aiden: So, for myself at least, I would probably say like making sure to like communicate with people, not just even your crew members, but also your artist cuz it's not fun when your artist is coming in and like you just need to communicate with them like, "Hey, what are we doing today? Who's going to come in and record today?" And then they send you something like 30 minutes before you're supposed to start and they're like, "Oh, I want to do this and this and this." It's like we don't have the time to do that. We don't have the time to mic up a bass, an extra bass, and a whole bunch of extra stuff. 

Andy: I'd say mine was probably during our term one project for our artist. We had our first session with our artist and it was so exciting because we had had him like not come in for a few sessions. So to have him finally come in and lay down the songs was awesome. And we got in there, we're so excited. Set up. We're recording. It's going great. And we're like, "Yes, this day cannot get any better." And when we finish, we clean up, and we're like, "All right, I'm done." And we're walking out and we're just like And I'm go, "Wait a minute. I didn't take any pictures of the setup at all." And this was our old and we did three different setups. We did a setup for his mandolin, did a setup for his guitar, and for his vocals. So that's like it was like three quarters of the elements of the song that we didn't take a picture of. So I was like no. So that was probably my biggest mistake. But now after that I was always like we are taking pictures all the time and like making sure that we have those for our prod report and making sure that those are all in there and all neat and tidy. So if anyone needs to replicate our sessions for whatever reason they're there. 

Learning to study and show up

Marcelo: I think for me a big difference was admittedly like I came from a background of I didn't feel particularly challenged in like high school and stuff and the biggest change was doing something that actually challenges me. It's not like I'm coasting and the work is easy. Uh and it's nothing like that. Like I have to put in the work. I had to learn to study. I didn't ever have to study before. But for some of this stuff, it's like you learn so much and it's all in such a short amount of time that if you don't get to studying and you don't get to just learning and making sure you know your stuff, you're going to struggle because of it. And so I had to learn quickly that I'm like, "Okay, I got to build some habits that I've uh and flex some muscles I've never had to use before." 

Aiden: So I feel kind of the same way where it's like you go through high school and it's like this isn't so bad. It's pretty easy. And then you get here and it's like even something as simple as showing up right on time or even early is so important. I definitely had to learn quickly that being on time and being accountable, like if I need to miss something for an important reason that I'm communicating that with the instructors, with everyone who needs to know cuz it is a huge deal to miss stuff. And you don't want to be that person who's always 5 minutes late cuz then you're going to take that into your working career which doesn't play out well for anybody. 

Roman: I agree with that. I'd say like the beginning of the year during high school like I would be like not really focused on deadlines. And now like getting into this part of the semester, it's like all it is is about deadlines. That's all I'm thinking about. And like planning ahead was like something I never used to do. And now it's something like I'm always checking the schedule every single time. Even for the week like next week, I always like planning out what I'm doing, you know? 

Andy :Yeah. I mean, I think I might have a little bit of a different perspective than uh some of you guys because it sounds like all you guys came pretty much straight out of high school. Marcelo had a year of university.

Marcelo: Yeah. And then a gap year. So, I would be a 30-year-old university student. Yeah. 

Andy : So, I've graduated from university, so I have my degree in music performance. And I think coming into that, university is definitely a different beast than high school. Like they in the sense that OIART is kind of on you for missing things. they are not on you. Like if you're at university and you're missing like it's you and you're it's like this is on you. You did not like helping you. And I think I was on time for a lot of things at university because like with music like if you're not if you're late to an ensemble or you don't show up without any reason like you're the one suffering. You're not only the one suffering but the whole group is suffering with you cuz you're missing your part. You're missing all these different things. And so I think that kind of prepared me for the life at OIART where it's like if you're missing things like it's not just you who's kind of suffering like the group is suffering without you. So I think that university kind of prepped me but I think that also the same with Marcelo the studying thing too like for me like I didn't have to study a lot cuz I was a performance major cuz I would just be playing my trombone. But um I think yeah, I've had to, I've had to start working out some muscles of studying that I did not have to study for the last four years of university. So I think that's been probably the biggest change for me as well. Like just making sure that I keep up on my knowledge with things even from the beginning of the year, like even those first six weeks, like just making sure those are fresh and in the brain. 

Marcelo - Yeah. No, it's really bad when you're like, "Oh man, I should know this key command cuz I learned it week two or whatever." And it's just like sometimes you learn so much, right? Like I mean at this point we probably know over 150 key commands.

Roman: So it's like ProTools demons right now. 

Marcelo: Exactly. So when you go back there's like always going to be something you miss and it's just important to keep going back to it because you know the more you do it the less you forget those things. 

When it got real

Andy: Exactly. When did I realize that this year would be a challenge? Uh probably somewhere in that first limbo like in the first two limbo labs like I was like oh my I'm in for it now. Like I feel like OIART they ease you into it very much. Like we're kind they kind of like like oh you're you need your water wings to go swimming like you need your life jacket. You can't just like they can't just throw you in like those videos where they throw the babies in the water and they just they just like hope that they swim. like they definitely set you up to be like to make sure you're very safe like getting your toes wet. But then as soon as the limbo project came up I was like oh my goodness. Like I remember editing like footsteps for the first time and I was thinking this is never going to get done. And I was like you know what this is going to be a lot of hard work. I can't just coast along and put in minimal effort and be like yeah things are going to go well. like I had to put in effort and now I can do footstep editing like nobody's business. But that first footstep edit was tough. So that's kind of the moment I realized that it would definitely be a challenge and not just a coast. 

Marcelo: First comp class, okay, cuz cuz I come from, you know, comp class, it's a lot about uh at first it's a lot about like, you know, synthesis and you get into the basics of kind of how that works and how it works in ProTools. Um, but as it moves on, you get into the nitty-gritty of computers and how they work and what pieces make them up. And look, I knew a bit about computers before coming here. But I very quickly realized I was like, "Okay, we're alerting it to a whole another death that I haven't had to deal with before." And it was just crazy because I remember like the first time just looking at some of those slides, I was like, "How am I going to learn all of this?" like it's a it's such and I think in the audio world that no one thinks about because when you're thinking about music production, when you're thinking about live sound, um and even film, I mean like most of us didn't even know it was that kind of field that we could do here. Um you kind of realize that it's important in every single one and you just have to know this stuff because it's just foundational knowledge. So yeah, it definitely surprised me. 

Aiden: Honestly, the first um Ava's spotting session that we did, like that was like the first or second Ava's lab we ever did. And it was like you have a whole bunch of game trailers or stuff from like short films and you have to be able to pull out like what's wrong with them? What are little issues that are not right? And so you like you try and pick everything out and then the intern comes by, looks at the notes you've made, is like, "Yeah, you're missing three things. Um, do it again." And so by the sixth time they tell you to do it again, you're pretty frustrated. And it's like, oh, I can't just like, you know, like you said, I can't just coast through it and be like, oh, I know this, this, and this. And they're like, that's good. It's like it really puts into perspective how quickly. It's like you have to be able to adapt. 

Roman:  I think it's definitely something that we probably would have now. Like if we went back to those spotting sessions, we would probably like to pick them out a lot. It would be immediate. 

Aiden: It'd be like that's wrong, that's wrong.

Marcelo : Yeah. you build an ear for it. It's just naturally like as you go things start to click more and more. And that's the thing, things that we wouldn't have picked up on in any of the fields like at the beginning of the year I find just come so naturally now like I like I couldn't count the amount of times where it's just like oh why is the artist not hearing you? And I like to point out to someone like oh your talkback level isn't up. Something as simple as that. It's like at the beginning of the year I would have been looking at the console and being like I don't know what I'm doing. So, it's just I don't know. You don't realize how quickly everything kind of builds into each other. 

Balancing projects and deadlines

Aiden: Balancing projects and time management has definitely been something that I think we've all had to like. You have to adapt in the moment. There is no like, oh, I'll just take a session to figure things out slowly and kind of get my feet wet. No, it's like you have to jump right into the deep end and you have to just be able to do it. And if something doesn't sound right or why can't I hear this or hey, the artist wants to communicate something with you and you're not quite sure how to do it. It's like there's no time to be like we'll figure it out. It's like no, I'm figuring it out. I'm done. So definitely balancing projects and balancing everything you have to do within those projects has been a huge um like a huge mental task. But by the time we've really gone to it, it's like we are prepared. We are like they everyone lets us know that's like hey you're this project was difficult now the next project is going to be that and more from session one. 

Marcelo : Absolutely. Yeah. I like this term too. Once again I come back to this term because in my opinion I don't know I I can't speak for you guys this has been the hardest term for me to get through. Um and part of it comes down to just the balancing of things because we're doing our short film right now. Uh it's like 4 minutes of sound design on top of our prod projects where we have to record two artists or like or two two songs from an artist. Uh, and that is difficult because you just get into this kind of mode where it's like, okay, well, the deadline's coming up in 2 weeks and it's like, what's more important? Do I need to touch up this fully for this film or do I need to melodine my vocals? Right? And you all of a sudden have to make a decision because not everything can get done unless you really go for it. And usually that's what you just have to end up doing. 

Andy : Yeah. And I think too to add on to that like like what should I should I melody my vocals or should I edit this fully like I think that's what's so important about your crew and your crew pairings like and how you can rely on each other to kind of get all those things done and be like and delegate like that is such a big thing about OIART that's like that's definitely helped is it's not just you're doing everything by yourself right you've got your crew you've got your crew pairing like split in half for a short film and it's it's just that is probably the most important thing like just making sure that everyone's organized, staying on top like that makes it so much easier if you're on top of it and organized and communicating too. Like obviously communication with that as well. Yeah, it's invaluable the amount of like that how much that means to the completion of both projects and managing it at the same time. 

Roman: Yeah. So, you just have to like trust in yourself and trust the people who you're with. That's what it comes down to. Like honestly the organization and like using your lab time as best as you can has been like life-saving for us.

Andy: Yeah. I agree. 

Marcelo: Yeah. And it comes down to uh one of the things like MV always talks about with film is it's like you don't know where your project's going to end up until you're 80% of the way done. And it's like yeah it feels like that. You feel like you're totally lost and you just don't know. And now that we're getting to the last submission week it's finally at least starting to feel like I'm like okay this might be possible. 

Finding your people

Aiden: Yeah. Um I would definitely say even within our class this year, it's like we are very much like a community and it's really interesting to always talk um to everybody about like what you're working on, what do you think of this? Hey, during this lab, what did you guys do instead and to see just how passionate everybody is about even like small things that's like someone's really passionate about this one thing? It's like I didn't even think about I didn't even think about that. I'm like, it's cool, but it's like to see how much passion goes in to every little thing. And being able to share that and experience the same things with so many other people who feel the same way is like a really special thing.

Marcelo: Like for me, it's been it's been a kind of mind-blowing experience because especially for me, like back home, I'm like I live in that weird state where everyone knows that like I do music and they're like, "Wo, it's so crazy what you do." And I'm like, I know that it's not that crazy what I do cuz I know I suck at it. But like I get to finally like it, it was this moment where when I first came here, I remember like on the first day talking to Kim. Uh and it was hilarious because I was like, "Oh yeah, you know, I've released music and you know, I've I've done this work." And I like to listen. I'm like, "You've done the same thing as me. Like I did two albums before I came here. Were they good? They could be better, especially after a year like this." Um, but it's hilarious because you just all of a sudden realize you meet people that have done the exact same thing as you. You're meeting the people that have those same thoughts, that have had a passion for this thing since they were kids. Like so many of us, that's the story, right? Like I started working in DAWs when I was in grade five and I was just hooked. Uh, and I just know that that is such a universal thing here. Everyone's like, you know, I had a big passion for this or a passion for music and this is like the way that I've come out of it. like it's a cool experience and it's just not that ordinary and I tell you what like even after this program um you know there will be the working world but never when I go home am I able to be like let me talk to you about never preamps or this acoustic phenomenon like it just doesn't happen. So there is something special about that I think.

Roman: I think it's just cool to like to talk about stuff and like everyone can like know what you're talking about like if I talk about like oh check out this EQ I put on and like everyone just gets it. 

Andy: It's definitely nice to have a group of people who love doing what you also love doing. Like it's just so cool to be like, "Hey, check out what I did on my project or check out what I just recorded for prod." And people are like, "That sounds awesome." Like, "What?" And then they go into specifics like, "What plugins did you use or your mic setup?" Instead of just being like, "That sounds cool." Yeah. How was that? and you're just like and you can actually dive deep and like give them the information that they want to hear and that you're like yeah I can talk about this as well. It's definitely been super cool.

Aiden:  Yeah 100%. It's definitely also like it's so nice to be in and around people who are so uplifting to one another like we like no one here would ever like to wish upon the downfall of another person or anything like that. It's like you'll show your project in class and someone will come up after and be like, "Hey, what did you do with this? This is really cool." And like you said, it's like you talk about it. You can get into the nitty-gritty of it. And then it's like they they want to like know what you did because they think it's really cool and you're really happy to show like to show it because you're so proud of it because it's something that you like that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into doing. 

So, what would you guys say was the best lab so far? 

Aiden: Ooh

Marcelo: I remember there was the start of the semester this term uh and we did the live off the floor session and that was it was so crazy fun and it was so hilarious cuz I remember them talking about it. They're like you're going to set up video and you're going to set up the audio and you're going to have to record it and you're going to be doing all these moving pieces and I was like how are we going to get this all done? like it sounded so stressful going into it, but then we did it and it just went smoothly and it's like wow, we're at a point where we can run something like this and even though like some of that stuff we hadn't done before in that lab, uh we just did it for the first time and it ran well and I just had a blast doing it. It's like you get to watch the live performance and you get to do all the audio stuff and whatever and video mixing like it's cool. It's stuff that I wouldn't have expected to enjoy. 

Aiden: So, the live off the Fuller lab was was and probably is still going to be like my favorite lab cuz it was very like it was very like nerve-wracking cuz it's like, oh, we have to set up for people who are going to play literally live some of these people for like the first time that they're going to be playing live. And we were very fortunate to have people like form a little band and within the hour between getting out of class and us doing this lab, they had put a whole set together which was like shout out to them. Shout out to Beat Crew. They put the work in and it was so much fun. And it's like again getting to use stuff that's like getting to like start working with video which we hadn't really done and like getting to um like work as a team but everyone's doing their own different thing. One person's on the Digi Co console working the levels, one person's on all the time code stuff. Um, two people are on cameras and it's like one person's just kind of like panning, the other person's running around the whole room, zooming in on all the people. That was personally my favorite thing was just getting to run around and be like and like getting their attention being like, "Look at the camera. Look at the camera." So, that was a really fun thing. That's definitely so far been my favorite lab. 

Roman: Yeah, probably for me is the six-hour session to be honest. Like having that much time with an artist and like starting off from something new and fresh is kind of insane. Like I remember like only having like 3 hours during that period and it's just like damn we have another 3 hours after that. It's kind of insane like how much work you can get done but also like how fast it goes by for me as well. 

Andy: The six-hour session is definitely like just the the amount of time you have to like be in the studio like at the console and just to like hear great music being recorded for like 6 hours is just a privilege and I'm so glad that I got to do that and it was awesome to hear our artist lay down two tracks and like I was just like wow this sounds great. Um, I think my non-copout answer is it was a live sound lab, but it was not the live off the floor one. We did it in the first term, second semester, but it's like the one at the end where we had guided meditation at the end. That was probably my favorite lab cuz they were like, "Oh, you got to go and do this like you got to set up everything and like and be ready for like an hour later you'll come back." And we were like, "Wo, like we were kind of scared of it." And then I remember me and my partner Carter got in there and we were like, "All right, we got this. Let's do this." And we just crunched everything and did everything. And they came in, gave us a lovely guided meditation. May, thank you, Charlie and Cararissa. It was super relaxing and I think it just felt rewarding to know that we can set all this stuff up in a crunch. Like I think that was kind of like, "Yeah, this makes me feel good right now." 

Aiden: Yeah. I'm going to be honest. I completely forgot not only about the meditation one, but also the six-hour session that's also up there. 

Marcelo: I forgot about the meditation one.

Andy: A lot of good labs here at OIART. 

Roman: Every lab is my favorite lab.

Aiden: Yeah, every lab is the best lab. 

What kind of work do you guys want to do after you graduate now that you've seen more of the paths? 

Marcelo: Um, I came here really wanting to do music production specifically. But the one thing that has changed is as I saw more of the film world, I was like, "Oh, I really like post-production. I like sitting behind the computer doing the edits. Uh, I it's something I can do for hours and I just get in it." Uh, and I just kind of get in the zone. And so, what I kind of realized is that, you know, a lot of studios have that time. you know, it's something we've all learned, but they have that time where if they don't have clients coming in, a lot of studios will do post-production work in their studio. And I was like, what a perfect opportunity. I get to do the music production that I love. And then on the off days where that stuff isn't happening, I get to do the post-production work that I love. So, more and more that's been kind of the direction I'm heading. And I have enough liberty with where I'm going to be able to live that I'll be able to probably move out to somewhere like Toronto or somewhere where I can, you know, get a cool studio gig. And so, uh, as long as that pans out, that's kind of the direction I'm going in. 

Andy: Sweet. Yeah. Sounds exciting. Um, as I feel like coming here, I had the idea of either doing music production or the post-production world. And I think as I've come here, I've realized that I can actually kind of blend those together more than I thought I would. It's not me choosing, oh, I have to do music or I have to do post-production. Like I think coming out of here like maybe like a 20 year goal would be like doing music supervisors for films because obviously  I grew up doing music. I have a formal education in music like I love music. It's been my life but I also like that part of my life like film. I think that that is also really exciting and something I also really love. I think kind of like getting out of here and working on music, editing music for films would be kind of like my dream goal, maybe a starting point as a junior or something. Editing some music.

Roman: Yeah. Honestly, I love everything here. Like I would honestly do anything coming out of school, but I've always had a certain feeling like just being behind the board and just like either mixing or recording anything. Like I loved that feeling just having like taking an artist's vision and just like bringing it to like something better than what they thought it would turn out to be. And like Avis has been amazing for me as well. Like having like completely blank and just a video and then like having following a director's words and like having his vision turning turning that vision into something is like honestly is something like I wish I did sooner even though this the soonest I can do it. I wish I could do it ever since I started. 

Aiden: I am definitely going to continue the trend by being like music. Um I would love to be like long-term goal a recording engineer or something along those lines. However, since coming here, even though I came here for music, Avis has slowly been creeping its way into everything that I think about cuz I am passionate about film. I think it's really cool. And then I found out that boom mopping was a thing that you can just do. And so if I want to take it in a different direction, I might consider a long-term goal being a boom op. I think that would be a lot of fun. Also, from what I've heard it is like you work out a lot, so you get pretty buff and that would be like a secondary goal. Like that's a big plus. Yeah, exactly. Two birds, one stone. 

Marcelo: So, it's also nice to know that there is some flexibility in those worlds. Uh they put a lot of emphasis on, you know, they teach you a lot about what you're going to do career-wise, which is very helpful. You know, how to like throw out a price of what, you know, starting pay and things like that. And so, I've found that really helpful for me personally because those are things that's more abstract and hard to kind of come to terms on just alone. It's nice to know that it's not, you know, you're not so stuck in one lane. 

Roman: Yeah. It's not all for nothing. It's like you learn everything and you can have that versatility of like no matter where you're at, you can just have that skill to like to do anything. 

Marcelo : Yeah. Versatility, good word. 

Roman: I study the dictionary

Giving up control in a crew

Andy: And I think the most frustrating thing about school or challenging perhaps is the feeling of kind of giving up control a little bit. So, we work in groups here and sometimes when you're working in a group, you have to like either like people are going to give you other ideas that are not your own and and sometimes you're thinking that idea I don't like at all and you're like that's not a good idea. We're not doing that. This is my project. I'm And it's while it is your project, it's also their project. And I think being open to all the different ideas that your group brings you is huge. and eventually will pay off in the long run hopefully because obviously like you don't like you want it some of these projects to me like I'm thinking about our prod project right now I'm like this feels like my my baby like I love this thing so much and I I want it to be the best it can so that like I can give the final mix to our artists and they'll just be like yeah this is great like I should put this out and then I can be like look at look at us like we have a song we that's out on streaming and like we engineered this and we recorded it. But I think it's also not just my song that I engineered and recorded. It's our song we engineered and recorded. And it's like I think giving up that control has been the most challenging thing for those group projects because not everything that you say is going to be the cream of the crop. Some of their thoughts and ideas are awesome. And I think that's what 's been frustrating me. I think a little bit is kind of giving up some control and just letting other people be kind of bringing their own ideas into the thing which has been a huge growing thing for me outside of just audio school. 

Marcelo: Yeah. Yeah. I mean I totally relate to that. I won't like harp on it because I know I don't want to just keep uh keep going at that point, but it's true, right? you know, you're used to, especially for a lot of us, as we've said, coming from a background where you're not surrounded by people who also do this, you kind of get in your workflow of I work alone, uh, and you get used to that. And so, I think it's good that we were trained to do it, but it is a hard adjustment to make. 

Aiden: Definitely being able to keep everybody accountable and yeah, just making sure no one's getting left behind because it like that would I'm going to that would just that would just like it would just 

Roman: frustrating part about it like having to like want to do something but like realizing that maybe you've had enough time already on it. It's just something to be honest. It has taught me a lot about self-awareness and being like oh maybe it's time for me to like not to cut in and like to have other people give a chance to like work with me. Yeah. Yeah.

One last question before we move on. What's your favorite piece of gear at the school and why? 

Marcelo: My favorite mic, I said this like I think week two and it is it is still the case is the RE20. And so specifically because I've done a lot of at home recordings and one of the main things I always am wondering is I'm like man I can never get my acoustic guitar tone the way I want it to sound. I'm like there's too much lowend. I don't like the sound of it and every time I try to EQ it, you know, it just doesn't get the sound I want. Like I have a condenser mic at home and it's just it's just not quite right. But the RA20 gets the perfect level of brightness and low end that I like in an acoustic guitar tone. It's totally a preference thing, but it's the thing that I love. And every time we do an acoustic like session with an artist, unless they have like something they specifically want, uh I'm always like advocating for for it to be there because I'm like I just think it sounds beautiful on the recordings.

Roman: R20 

Aiden: R20 is definitely up there. 

Roman: I haven't used that mic that much. I think I've only used it for like the studio camp and that was it. That was like the only time I've used it. 

Aiden: Honestly, it's definitely up there for one of my favorite mics, especially after I realized it is the solo vocal mic in Bo Burnham's Inside. If you watch it, you'll see the RE20 in there quite a bit. So, that definitely gave me a lot more appreciation for it. But um my favorite piece of gear, I'm going to probably have to say um the DigiCo Quantum 225. That one is the best fidget toy I've ever seen. It's also a great piece of audio gear if not for just best for fidgeting. 

Andy: It's like an iPad for audio audio people.

Aiden: Exactly. It's like my fidget cube fidget spinner but audio. It's so good. And it's like it's super like obviously as any console is it's going to look complicated but once you like get your hands on it it's like it's super intuitive. It like everything that you could need is just on it and also it has a fire button which is pretty cool. 

Roman: Yo, the cannon. 

Aiden: Yeah, the cannon button. 

Andy: Fire. 

Marcelo: They don't tell you what that does.

Aiden: They don't tell you what that you don't you got to figure that out. You got to figure that one out for yourself. 

Roman: May or may not blow up the console.

Andy: Saying that, I have my favorite piece of gear. I think it's a toss up cuz I really like the Royer R122. Like that's my favorite mic at the school. I love the figure eight mic. I love that it's a ribbon mic. Like that's got some aura to it. Like that is a ribbon mic. And I just like the sound it makes. We used it for our piano on our prod song and we used it on our saxophone for our second song. And I just love the tone that it brings into the instrument. But I think to kind of like to bring something else, my favorite piece of gear is probably it's in this room. I don't know if we can get a camera on it. Probably not. I think Aiden is very like he's on it. But I think just based on looks and the sound I get whenever I hear it, it's definitely the distressor compressor. Oh yeah. I don't know if you can if there's like a side angle on the camera, but um it is just the way I think the compression it gives is nice. I don't know how to explain it. Like I just heard it, I'm nice and it looks cool. Like it has the dials. It's more user friendly than a lot of other compressors. Like some of them are just like input output and I'm like what does that mean? But the Distressor has the threshold, the makeup gate, like it has all the stuff. And I'm like, I understand how this works. And yeah, I think that I like it so much that I bought the plugin version of it. So that was my first plug. 

Aiden: High praise. 

Andy: Oh yeah, there you go. 

Aiden: Dedicated. Jump on what you said with the distresser. Um the nuke ratio. If you know, you know. British nuke mode.

Roman: What was that? My favorite piece of gear is that one live sound console that we used one time and they have it in the back. Yeah. Is it Allen Heath? Alen Heath. Yeah. 

Aiden: Oh, the Allen Heath. 

Roman: I loved that concept. I still love it. We only used it once and I'm in love with it. 

Aiden: I want it back. 

Roman: Yes. Please bring it back. Oh, I love it so much. Like I like I don't know. Just the look and the feel of just like I love analog pieces of gear. It's just my favorite thing ever. So that's why just seeing like you know the needle just the the sound just like moving back and it was great to look at honestly I love it and just figuring it out with the signal flow sheet and like doing everything like learning everything and just putting it to work like to use was just amazing and that's why I love it so much.