Personnel Issues
Personnel or people issues are possibly the most difficult to work with in the studio.
In fact, they have a tendency to affect many other aspects of the session and infiltrate the project as a whole in a negative way.
The greatest skill a producer can have in these circumstances is that of diplomacy and perception.
Being able to sense when there is an underlying issue and nip it in the bud quickly means that you might be able to avoid what could become some very difficult and unproductive sessions.
So what can you do about being able to improve in this area, as it is something that is very difficult to learn?
Some would say you either have perceptiveness or you don’t. We agree with this to a certain extent, but there are practical things you can do to help yourself in this area.
We have said at various points in the earlier sections of this book that getting to know the artist or band you are going to be working with is a wise investment of your time. This really is true when it comes down to working against some of the personnel difficulties that might occur when the red light is on.
The session really is not the time or place to be settling disagreements, listening to arguments, or even counseling individuals with regards to issues in their personal lives.
Nothing kills the creative process more, not to mention the vibe that you may have worked hard to establish.
Therefore, try to find out a few things about the individuals in the band; we don’t mean become their best friend all of a sudden, but simply try to gauge where they’re at as a person and what kind of personality they have. It shouldn’t take too long to work out who is the extrovert and who likes to take a back seat.
This should hopefully prove to be useful when the recording sessions start.
There’s a chance that the disagreement over a musical part might not be wholly down to just the music side of things, but actually be because two band members are very stubborn individuals and both want things their way.
If you recognize these traits beforehand, then you will be better prepared for these instances should they arise.
Knowing how to react to them and when to push a point and when to let go is important.
Your goal is to get the best creative result you can out of the situation; how you go about doing this exactly is down to your own judgment and intuition.
This is the third segment in our series by Golding and Hepworth-Sawyer on audio production. Additional segments are available here.
To purchase What is Music Production? click on over to the Focal Press website.
Russ Hepworth-Sawyer is a sound engineer and producer with many years’ experience of all things audio and is a member of the Association of Professional Recording Services and the Audio Engineering Society; a Fellow of the Institute For Learning (U.K.); and a Director of the Music Producer’s Guild. Craig Golding is currently Course Leader for the Music Production degree program at Leeds College of Music in the U.K. and also has an active freelance career in sound engineering and production with over a decade’s experience working in the industry.