To begin the planning for the day we selected teams for different jobs in the day, with two people selected for each different job. We weren't limited to working on these particular aspects, but it was our job to be more focused on these in particular just so we can have a level of quality assurance in each different area. The job I selected was the stage team, which consisted of Oberon and I.

We started the setup with all the basics, getting the stage panels set up first and then all of the different necessary instruments (drum kit), microphones, power cables, stage box, etc. We had to sort out where we were going to put the foldbacks as well as PA, since we wanted them to play nicely with each other whilst also working with the space that we had. We ended up finding some milkboxes that we put in the gaps of the stage and PA, and then we sat the two side foldbacks on top of them. This worked really well for leaving more space on the stage as well as eliminating the gap in the stage and PA. Most of the rest of the stage setup was pretty straightforward, we set up the stage box at the side of the stage and set up the console over the back of the crowds' space. We set up some audience mics next to the PA's.

While in this stage of final set up the artists started to turn up/set up. Ben Jansz arrived first so we started setting his equipment up first. Ben had a pretty crazy setup, with a large amount of effects pedals for all of his instruments (including his vocals), drum foot pedals, a guitar amp, as well as a didjeridoo! We ran the vocals through an XLR splitter so we could have his "wet" vocals from his own effects - and we could have a dry vocal signal going directly to the console. Oberon rang out the foldbacks for Ben's mic, and then we were able to gain stage everything on the console and have a soundcheck.

Around when Ben was finishing up Eyesite turned up, which was perfect. We were able to quickly move everything of Ben's off of the stage and then move Eyesite's gear on. This included two different guitar amps and a bass cab with a D.I. which we were able to run into the console. This setup didn't take too long, and we had a lot of hands on deck for it so it was no hassle. We got everything gained up and had a quick soundcheck, which also seemed to go very smooth without any major issues.

The live stream team seemed to be all sorted, with them having had all the cameras and laptop set up. The streaming software was working as it should, so we were all ready to go!

The actual running of the show felt pretty smooth. The team did great here, and we all took turns at taking care of the sound - applying effects to some channels, adjusting levels, etc. I thought the overall sound was great, and there were no major issues with it in person. I brought some headphones along and went for a roam away from the show for a bit to check the live stream's video and sound. The video definitely seemed a bit laggy - something that seems to be a common problem for video streaming. The sound however sounded great, the live mix sounded more than fine in my headphones so that was another aspect we had covered well.

It was easy enough to cater the sound towards the two artists. Eyesite was pretty straightforward and easy in their set (especially since I knew their songs a bit). We had a small intermission in which we had to quickly take all of Eyesite's gear off of the stage and replace it with Ben's, which was an easy process given how many people we had there to help. The livestream was taken down during this time. We had to make sure we had the right microphones set up, and that all of the signal was coming through properly. After this we were able to move right into his set.

Ben's set was just as smooth as Eyesite's. We had very few issues during the running of the show here, and any that did come up (like feedback) was easy enough to fix. I was a bit more hands on for Ben's set, which was definitely more fun. It was important to ride the faders of the wet vocals and the dry vocals between songs so that there wasn't any unwanted effects whilst he was addressing the crowd. Besides this Ben's set was much the same as Eyesite's in terms of us running it, which made things pretty easy.

Once both sets had been completed it was finally time to finish up and pack up! We all helped and packed up all of the artists' gear, and then all of the SAE gear (microphones, cables, etc). The live stream team packed up their respective equipment, and the console team theirs. Oberon and I focused on the stage more so but eventually everyone was helping with the stage since it is the largest aspect of the pack up. The entire pack up was a surprisingly quick process with everyone helping.

For this project we firstly had some preparation in week 8's class. In this class a split console setup was used, with two different consoles used for FOH and foldback control. In week 11's class we started the setup for the open day, as it was the day after class. In the morning of this lesson however we explored the methods of using passive speakers for the live setup - in this case as the foldbacks. Using passive speakers meant that we had to use an external amp, which came with the issues of splitting the load between the speakers and with the right amount of ohms.

We set up the stage panels under the marquee, which was quite a laborious task but well rewarding in the end when we ended up with a large stage (4.8m x 4.8m). This allowed us plenty of room on the stage which made it feel quite comfortable. We then all helped out in different ways with setup, bringing PA speakers, the console, etc. We set up a small tent for the FOH console, which we were asked to move out of the middle of the audience area. This was the first issue that we faced, as the university staff understandably wanted there to be a clear view from the cafe to the stage. This meant that we had to move the console tent over to the side.

Once the artists turned up it was all very simple, they were easy to get along with and their setups were very minimal. The first artist - Josh - only had an acoustic guitar, stomp, tambourine, and vocals. This was super simple to set up and mix. Oberon and I took charge of the foldbacks for this, and we made a mix in the foldbacks that Josh was comfortable with. For the rest of that performance we stayed at the foldback console and adjusted the mix when necessary. There was this one nasty bit of feedback that we couldn't get rid of, and we realised it must've been caused by the FOH mix. Oberon sent himself over and told them, and the mix was then adjusted - fixing the feedback problem.

The next setup was a bit different, it was a duo act who ran most of their instruments and mix in Ableton. The only inputs we had were of Ableton left and right, a vocal, a saxophone, and some keys. This was a bit frustrating as it meant that we didn't have control of much of their mix - the lead singer ran his vocals into Ableton meaning he was in control of his own mix there. This was an easy enough setup however, and we rotated around a bit for the running of the performance. I was on the FOH mixing console for this performance - and it felt like the easiest job since we had such a minimal amount of control.

After all of this was done we were able to pack up just like we set up, which was a pretty straight forward process. Thankfully there were no troubles in this part of the day!

To begin this project I decided to start by looking at other audio engineers' websites, investigating what different aesthetic approaches they have taken and what their strengths are for each of them. My favourites I found were Ryan Hewitts', Pete Hutchings', and Nick DiDias' - each of these different websites had certain aspects about them that I thought worked very well. I liked how professional Ryan Hewitts' one seemed and how it gave a good understanding of who he is, whereas I liked how the others were much more simple and to the point. I wanted to strike a balance between these approaches for my website; combining professionalism, simplicity, and information.

I decided to make my website through Wix and create a domain through Namecheap (based on a recommendation from Shaun). These services seemed great for what I needed - unfortunately a Wix premium subscription was a bit costly but it seemed to be worth it. Wix is a website builder that I have used in the past and it worked great for what I needed, so I was happy to invest in it for this portfolio. I connected my domain to my website and set up the SEO tools, which worked like a charm.

I decided to keep it simple with just four tabs - home, projects, contact, and about. Home would just be a general hub with a display of my most recent work, and with a quick contact form. Projects is where all of my projects will go. Contact has the same form as on my home page, but also with my email address displayed. About is a quick bio of who I am and what I aim to do. I have an Instagram link as well, as that is the main social media platform I use.

I currently also have a design student who is creating a logo for me and giving me some general feedback with fonts, colours etc. I want to keep the main aesthetic that I have established, just with some minor adjustments in order to make it a bit nicer.

The feedback for this was mostly positive thankfully. I received a recommendation of a new photo for my about page, which is something I definitely did already want (I need to go have a photoshoot at some point). I also got some recommendations for my project page, which was to spread out my projects rather than group them - as well as hide the projects I consider lower quality further down the page. I thought these were all great pieces of feedback, and so I put most of them into action as soon as I could.