Category: Audio visual technicians

Your Local High School Just Might Be The Future Of The Arts

We enjoy working with our local schools and are particularly proud to be involved with the arts curriculum at Northwood High School, the school my children attended.  They are finishing up a series of special events this month and we applaud them for their hard work.

Periodically, I have pointed out the phenomenon I call the “graying” of the concert production industry.  Lots of hands-on techs who got their start in sound and lighting began their careers in the 1970’s and ’80’s and are now looking at retirement or career changes.  Unfortunately, there are not a lot of kids ready to take their places.

If you read the trade journals that cover the concert production industry,  you know that a very high percentage of the articles feature technicians in their 50’s or even 60’s.

My work at Northwood High confirms this trend.  Northwood has a newly renovated auditorium with state of the art sound and lighting systems.  Twenty years ago, there would have been students crawling all over each other to get a chance to learn to operate this equipment.

Not today. Northwood has hundreds of kids involved in band, dance and drama but almost no students who want to work backstage or in the production booth.  They simply don’t see it as a college or career track.

 

If you have technical skills and are making a career change, give some thought to sharing all you’ve learned with your local high school arts program.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

 

Education In The Mailbox

I spend several hours a day reading, and the bulk of my time is spent with technical journals. It amazes me how willing publishers of magazines  oriented towards the entertainment production and audio visual industries are to underwrite the publication of dozens of really valuable journals. How can they do this? First of all,  advertisers like Duracell and Pro Tapes pay for these advertisements, not you!

Maybe other industries use this method, but this is the only one I am familiar with. As a result, these magazines are filled with dozens of really useful articles, and, many times, the advertising is filled with good info as well.

I use these journals regularly to find new products for our catalog.  Similarly, its also really great to come across articles about our customers. I even saw one of our products in a photo accompanying a story about the NFL Playoffs.

Here’s How To Get Your Hands On This Great Info

Any student or hobbyist in sound, lighting or theater tech can easily begin receiving these journals by simply making up a business name.

As a result, the magazines base their ad rates on the number of subscribers, so they are happy to add you to their subscriber list. They rarely do much to insure that you are a legitimate business with a large purchasing budget.  Similarly, they recognize that even students and part timers can drive purchasing decisions.

Journals like Pro Sound News, Sound & Video Contractor , Live Sound International, Church Production, and FOH Magazine are yours for the asking. Above all, they have great columns, handy “how to” articles, and honest equipment reviews. The photo quality is first good and the editorial content, while advertiser driven, is still useful. Above all, most of the writing is first rate.

Interested? Sign up for regular subscriptions at any of the publication web sites in this article. For instance, take a look at Pro Sound News and FOH Magazine.  In conclusion, this is definitely worth your time.

Harrison Bros. Inc.
TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517