My guest on CapeTalk for the last two weeks was Patrick Alexander Dudgeon with over 20 years in events industry.
PLEASE do listen to the 2 podcasts – lots to take out and if you like read more below
Part 1
Part 2
Pat lays out some useful areas to start, and follow his blog please:
Patrick Dudgeon has worked for nigh on 20 years in the events industry, and quite unusually, for one company.
Patricks growth with Ultra events has seen him move from setting up sound for nightclubs in Green Point, to travelling around the country with roadshows and fan parks, to settling into large-scale corporate events and concerts with international performers.
Patrick focusses on all things audio, but is well versed in lighting, video, staging and general event production.
A specialist in sound system design to not annoy the residents, Patrick has a passion for educating and informing the public on the hidden side of events.
“Do you know what ALL the Knobs do?”
and yes, I do.
The second most common question I have been asked consistently over time is “How do I get started in the industry?”
Now the question is obviously about the live audio industry, a subsection of what I like to call the Events industry. and the answer is not straightforward, as there are as many paths into the events industry as event professionals I have met.
I can share a little about my story – I first got involved with the AV team at my school, setting up a 2 speakers, a microphone and some lighting for assemblies and special events.
I then moved to my church’s AV team, we had a drumset, a keyboard and a few singers,and the pastor on a sigh, lapel mic. I got to shadow the in house sound guy and learn how to make things louder but not too loud. every sermon also got recorded to cassette tape for archival.
During my tenure at the church I had decided to follow the audio engineering avenue, and I enrolled in what was pretty much the only audio college at that time, City Varsity.
It was a two year diploma course with an optional third year, for an advanced diploma. I only had the funds to do two years, but I took adavantage of those two years.
At college I met a friend who had a basic PA system with a powered desk, and a few microphones. We ended up doing shows at a local metal club for a few months for not much money at all. but it was fun and allowed us to “cut our teeth”
Back at college, we had access to our lecturers who were business owners in the events industry, and who we could accompany on their live shows. Essentialy being used as free labour, we would go help load the equipment, drive it to the venue, offload the equipment, set it up, let the lecturer do the show, then we would pack up after the show, load it up, drive it back to where it was stored and offload it, before we went home.
Looking back, helping out the lecturers was my stepping stone into the industry, even if I didn’t think so at the time. Also being friendly with everyone I studied with gave me great connections that I still use to this day.
One college friend had a gig with an events company, and he couldn’t make a few days, so he asked me to sub in. I subbed in and impressed the business owner, who said he’d call me for future shows. About half a year passed, I didn’t get called, until I got a call asking if I wanted to come help out at the warehouse for a week. After that week, I was asked if I wanted to stay on, and my journey began – 20 years later and I’m still with Ultra Events.
BUT! – how does that affect you? what avenues are available to “break into” the industry today?
I’ve created a by no means exhaustive list of four ways you can get started in the audio industry, so let’s jump in.
1: Study
Firstly – If you have made the decision that you want to do live audio as a career, I would recommend looking at one of the fantastic audio schools around – there are a few, in Cape Town, as that is what I can speak to, there is Cape Audio College which offers a Bachelor of Arts in Sound Technology and Production, which has a live sound module, and their well equipped department offers in-venue training, as well as supplying gear and students to gigs, festivals and the like.
It would be remiss of me to not mention my Alma Mater, City Varsity, which offers a Diploma and Bachelor of Arts in sound production with specialised electives, one of which is Live Sound.
There is also the Academy of Sound Engineering which offers a Higher Certificate and National Diploma course in sound engineering.
And the final example on my list – which is not comprehensive or exhaustive – is SAE which has a Higher Certificate or Bachelor of Arts in Sound Production course. SAE also has courses in live sound reinforcement.
By arming yourself with these courses you will build a fundamental knowledge of theory and important concepts such as gain staging, signal flow, how to operate equipment, and most importantly, how to roll cables.
Approaching an events company with a qualification and endorsement from one of the reputable institutions of learning will have a positive influence of how you are received by the company.
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, studying is expensive – almost to the point of exclusion for the majority of the population – and it can take two or three years(or more), to earn your accreditation, and then there is no guarantee that you will get a job right out of college. which leads me to my next option…
2: Crewing Companies
As a professional events company, Ultra often uses the services of crewing companies. These companies provide crew to established events companies on a per-event basis, to assist the permanent staff with event builds, breakdowns and loading and offloading trucks at the warehouse.
The crew companies are always looking for staff, and I’m not going to lie to you – it’s hard work.
If you work for a crewing company you will be involved with early morning load-ins and late night load-outs, and the work involved is heavy and can range from setting up and breaking downs stages and scaffolding, the aforementioned loading and offloading trucks, and moving the show equipment to the correct area.
Some crewing companies in my area are All Access, Resa Crew and NAJ crew.
There is a little caveat though, when you join a crewing company, it is up to you how you utilise it. Take every event that you are on as an opportunity to learn, and tell whoever is in charge of audio for that gig that you have an interest in sound and you want to learn and be better at it to assist them more efficiently.
If you do this consistently you will stand out and be noticed, and you will learn and grow quickly.
3. Join your church
A good number of the audio professionals working in the industry right now got their start in a church. While it is a commitment that might not necessarily have financial compensation, the Church is a great way to learn practices and techniques that will jumpstart your audio career.
Churches, especially the bigger ones that would welcome more volunteers, often have top-of-the-range audio equipment, and a typical service will cover all spheres of the event production sphere, from a worship band to a pastor on a lapel (yuck) or headset, audio playback and cues, streaming or recording, and coms systems.
Churches will also very commonly have lead techs that have years of church and professional event experience, and will be willing to teach and share their knowledge with willing students.
Hillsong
Northpine Baptist
4: Teach yourself
Finally – and this is something that applies to all of the other avenues – Teach yourself. I don’t need to remind you that we are in the information age. There are almost infinite resources available, for free, on the internet. YouTube and Google are your friends, and follow their advice, and their links. There are great books on every subject from microphone technique to mixing philosophy. There are blog posts to educate. The whole combined knowledge of the world is in your hands, literally. teach yourself, and never stop learning.
And then, go out, and do it. Get involved. Walk up to the grumpy looking guy or girl in a black T-shirt with headphones around their neck at the show and tell them that you’re interested and want to get involved. If you are serious, and take their number and follow up respectfully, you just might find your foot in the door, ready for load-in.
Source
https://capetownsound.blogspot.com/2024/06/how-do-i-get-started-in-live-audio.html
Martin Myers 
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