The most important thing about running sound for Front-of-House mix is you ear and what you hear!
It is often said that the best seats at an event are directly in front of the sound console. This is for what should be an obvious reason: that the guy or gal mixing the show is making it sound the very best right where they are.
If you run sound for your church or school, consider the importance of developing your ear and maintaining good ear health. EVERYTHING depends on what you her and how you hear it. If you are not already doing so, you should try to avoid listening to music too loudly (like in your car in that big-a__ kickin’ subwoofer), use hearing protection when mowing the lawn or working with other power equipment, and have your hearing checked at regular intervals (best by a professional, but developing your own informal test can be helpful too as long as it is calibrated and measured). let’s face it, if we loose our hearing, we lose the ability to fit the mix together accurately.
Further, consider your mix audience, and how their hearing works. As people age their hearing changes, worsens. When hearing loss progresses certain frequencies and background noises can become more prominent because one type of ear ailment is loss of discrimination. In addition, folks are bound to use hearing aids at one point or another. These handy little devices amplify sounds in specific ways, which may not work as intended during your greatest mix ever. Just consider what it sounds like to you may NOT be what it sounds like to others.
To this end, I ask you: What do you hear? This is the most critical aspect of your job as a mixer: Continually listening critically to everything you hear while mixing live or recording. Make sure you consider what is going on around you, the acoustics of the room, the quality of speakers you are listening to, if you have a head cold. What do you hear? Is it accurate? Can you describe it? Take a few moments and try to describe to yourself what you are hearing, right where you are? Fan noise? Foot noise? Typing? A Clock? Which instruments stick out? If you don’t already do this, you should start now.
So far we’ve been talking about listening with our ears, but the rest of technical ministries involves sight: What do you see? Where does your eye go? How well do you see color? Or if something is in focus or not. What does the ambient light do to what you are trying to see on a projection screen? This effects shooting video, lighting and projection.
So – What do you Hear? What do you See?