Shailat
New member
I don't know were you guys are living but to tell the client to leave the room in not an option unless you are a huge name and they need your name on the CD as a prestigies issue.
You CAN set down groud rules but if your a working studio trying to make money then you don't just tell the paying client to leave cause you want them to.
I get Bikers...timid people..untalented...60 years old women...13 years old boys...choirs...rock bands.. punk bands...folk singers...commercials...opera singers and Chamber string orchestras...arogant...stuffy...assholes..cool..nice...people - all kinds.
You run a business - You explain...you coach...you strongly advise...you tell them "let me do what I know best"...you don't throw a client out of the room becuase he is bothering you.
He pays the bill. You want him to return to pay more bills...you are also there to provide a service. You are also there to make him happy. You do your best and make the effort to make him understand that by coaperating with you, you can do your best work. You can tell him " let me at it for 2 hours then come in and lets talk about the concept".
The worst I have ever said was either "I'm not the correct engineer to work with you, perhpas you should try ___".
Or - I don't want my name on the CD.
It's all psychology. You need to make the client feel like he is part of the process. That will make the client come back again and again. If he respects your opinion (can it be otherwise?) then he will understand alone that he should trust you. Respect and Trust is something you build. If it gets messy like multiple band opinions then you don't sweat it as Ed and nwsoundman said.
They arent paying you to be a kindergarden teacher. I tell them I think your making a mistake. But if I can't convince them, there it ends.
Most of you must be doing this as a sideline otherwise I don't understand your business strategy or how you keep afloat.
You CAN set down groud rules but if your a working studio trying to make money then you don't just tell the paying client to leave cause you want them to.
I get Bikers...timid people..untalented...60 years old women...13 years old boys...choirs...rock bands.. punk bands...folk singers...commercials...opera singers and Chamber string orchestras...arogant...stuffy...assholes..cool..nice...people - all kinds.
You run a business - You explain...you coach...you strongly advise...you tell them "let me do what I know best"...you don't throw a client out of the room becuase he is bothering you.
He pays the bill. You want him to return to pay more bills...you are also there to provide a service. You are also there to make him happy. You do your best and make the effort to make him understand that by coaperating with you, you can do your best work. You can tell him " let me at it for 2 hours then come in and lets talk about the concept".
The worst I have ever said was either "I'm not the correct engineer to work with you, perhpas you should try ___".
Or - I don't want my name on the CD.
It's all psychology. You need to make the client feel like he is part of the process. That will make the client come back again and again. If he respects your opinion (can it be otherwise?) then he will understand alone that he should trust you. Respect and Trust is something you build. If it gets messy like multiple band opinions then you don't sweat it as Ed and nwsoundman said.
They arent paying you to be a kindergarden teacher. I tell them I think your making a mistake. But if I can't convince them, there it ends.
Most of you must be doing this as a sideline otherwise I don't understand your business strategy or how you keep afloat.
Light
New member
Shailat said:
I am quite diplomatic about it. That means I tell them to fuck off nicely.
I am also very upfront about my process. I ask them what they want, sound wise, upfront, and ask for specific examples, with CD's if I am not familiar with the example. Then I tell it is very difficult (an understatement, if ever there was one) for me to get the initial mix done with anyone else in the room, on top of which they would be very board, as they would not be doing anything. If they insist on being there, I make a deal with them. They can be there as long as they keep completely quiet, but if they make ANY noise, they have to leave, or else they are wasting their own money because I can not hear what I am working on. No noise, no walking in and out of the room, no smoking, no food or drink, nothing to do but sit and listen to me tweak the drums, or whatever, for 2-4 hours. If they make any noise, I stop working until they shut up or leave, because my ears are not so good that I can concentrate on what is coming out of the speakers (which gets monotonous after the tenth listening, even if you like the song) when someone is talking in the room. Between being board out of their skulls, and realizing they are getting sick of their own song, and the fact that it does not (usually) sound very good at that stage of the mix, they almost never make it past the first fifteen minutes.
This is a part time thing now, but this is the same way I worked when I was doing this full time. When I am producing, I give my engineer the same respect.
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"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi