HOW TO START A RUMOUR AND WHY

It would seem that the entertainment industry as a whole thrives on rumours and gossip. We all so love to hear how so-and-so screwed up and that such-and-such is in financial trouble.

So why not start a rumour of your own? It is the easiest way to deflect attention from yourself and your own woes and the best of all, it is entirely safe. Nobody is going to check the facts or bother to trace the source of the rumour.

The point of a rumour is to be able to say, “Did you hear that Joe Soap couldn’t pay for the kit he bought? Don’t quote me on this, but I heard it from someone who knows.”  Even if you have nothing against poor Joe Soap, it is a great conversation starter, the other person is bound to say, “Yes, I heard it too and also that Joe’s company is on the verge of bankruptcy…” and off the conversation goes… with each participant trying to top the other. It shows that you are in the know, a person to be reckoned with.

The best time to start a rumour is when you’ve just lost out to a competitor, you can then anonymously accuse them of financial irregularities and sit back and watch the fun, knowing full-well that whistle blowers are a protected species. Anyway, who is going to check?

If you happen to be on the wrong end of a rumour, the last thing you should do is deny it – nobody is going to believe you, so why bother? Start your very own counter-rumour, after all, attack is the best form of defence, isn’t it?

The sad fact is that the above really happens and the maligned has very little recourse. Yes, you could hire a very expensive attorney, go to court and have your name officially cleared. You can write letters to everyone you know stating the facts. You can put ads in the trade press.

The problem is, the brown stuff tends to stick and it is way easier for people to say “…where there’s smoke…” than to actually get off their butts and find out for themselves.

Please, our industry is small, next time you hear a rumour, pick up the phone and find out the facts before spreading the lies. And please tell the person where you heard it – give them a chance to prepare a defence.

INTEROPERABILITY IN AUDIO

Lighting has managed to do it since 1992 – pick your flavour of lighting control console, get the dimmers from another manufacturer and you know that they will talk to each other. It is called DMX - it works.

When is sound going to get their act together? I love the features on Console A, but hate their pre-amps, I want B’s stage rack and I want them to talk to each other. How difficult is that?

Is it really a technology thing, or are audio manufacturers scared of the competition? Do they really have to lock us into their product range to maintain market share?

Why can’t I specify A’s console at Front of House, B’s at Monitors and use C’s pre-amps? Let’s not even mention hooking in a Broadcast console…

I, and I suspect many others, don’t really care which protocol you settle on, MADI, AES-50, Dante or whatever, just decide and let us choose our equipment based on our needs, not on what you, as manufacturer, decides is best.

I only ask that you choose wisely, not like the SpeakOn, the only connector that does not have a male and female inline…really, what were you thinking?

HOW TO SUCCEED AS A THEATRE TECHNICIAN

There are a few rules you should learn if you want to become a successful theatre technician. 

Rule #1:

This is the most important rule - Remember, IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT! Nothing that goes wrong around you is ever your fault, it is always someone else's fault. 

Rule #2:

Once you have identified the guilty party (obviously not yourself), shout at them. Shout loudly and keep on shouting, making sure that the guilty one cannot get a word in. If they can't say anything, they can't prove you wrong (See Rule #3).

Rule #3:

You are never wrong. No matter what, you are right and everyone around you is wrong.

If you adhere to these three basic rules, you will gain the respect of all around you and succeed as a theatre technician. You will have a long and prosperous career and will be rewarded with many friends and lots of money.

All of the above are wrong.

We all make mistakes - own up to yours, apologise and move on, making sure that you never make the same one again. Honesty, in the theatre, as everywhere else, remains the best policy.

Remember the little boy who cried wolf? Keep on blaming those around you and shouting at them, you will be seen the same way. The day that it really is not your fault, nobody is going to believe you.

THE EASY ANSWER

As a consultant I have to advise clients on their options in respect of equipment purchases and they rely on me to recommend the right solution.

This, in itself, can seem easy – after all, during the initial needs assessment and request for quotations/bids, it should have become fairly clear what the client wants.

Let’s face it, between the top end products in the professional sound and lighting industry, there is not that much too choose – they all do pretty much the same and cost about the same. So where is the problem?

Before I get attacked for saying they are the same, I know that one console sounds “warmer,” the next line array sounds better on vocals and the red is not quite the same shade on all moving lights, but look at the specifications on paper… not that much difference. Nowadays the orders are signed by the finance people and they chew hard on esoteric terms like “warmer”, “brittle” and so forth – they want the facts, on paper. If you want the more expensive solution, you are going to have to justify it – the more expensive, the more difficult the justification.

Again, you ask, so what is the problem? Let the clients have what they want.

Unfortunately it is not that easy. We are talking about capital expenditure, a lot of money and the gear is expected to last a long time and deliver for years to come. 

Herein lies the rub - support, service and experience in the industry.

Our industry consists of many different parts, each with its own unique set of demands – Theatre, Live Concerts, Corporate Events, Conferences, etc. The same console is not going to work as well for Theatre as it does for Live Concerts and the supplier is not necessarily going to understand every aspect of your part of the industry, or what constitutes and emergency for you.

Increasingly I find that clients are asking details about the support and service that is going to be provided and what experience the supplier has in the industry, and which segment.

The equipment we use today is complex and getting into the nitty gritty of operating takes a lot of training and experience and when supporting it, you have to understand the questions and what the operator is trying to achieve. “That is an interesting question, I’ll get back to you tomorrow” just does not cut it when it is thirty minutes before the performance and the operator has a problem – a lot of unprintable words will be used… The right answer is “Ah, I get it, you want all the parcans to come on at the same time. Here is what you do, delay the slow one by…”

You get my drift by now, I hope, the crucial aspect has become good, experienced support. If you have no idea how far that goes towards making your product the logical choice, I suggest you find out – fast.

It is not just about price and what you like, it is also about who you are buying from and their pedigree.