Author: Gaerin Warman-Szvoboda

 

Let’s Get It Right The First Time: Warman-Szvoboda ’18 at Third Side Music in Montreal, Canada

Dec 07, 2018
 

I am a month and some change into working for Third Side Music in Montreal, and it feels like I could have a lifetime of this ahead of me and I wouldn’t mind. A usual day at work will find me going through the extensive catalog of music that Third Side represents. I’ll look up songs on our music library, Soundminer, to make sure that they’re there and that they are the best audio file possible so that we can send them to our clients. With any luck, they’ll make it into various forms of media, including television, video games, and commercials.

There’s a lot to learn working at Third Side, both in work, where I’ve learned much in the way of research as I collect data on the tracks we own the rights to, and in music, as I’ve learned about the artists we represent and their respective genres. But, of everything I’ve picked up, nothing is more enjoyable than what I’ve gained going through the Studio One catalog, which is a record label we represent. It requires a lot of digging because most of what we get from them dates back to the 60s and 70s in Jamaica and, particularly during its earlier years, the Jamaican music scene had little regard for tracking when things came out, as well as for publishing law. I also love learning about the genre of ska music, how it evolved into rocksteady and reggae, and how one country so well defined its own style of music. The early house band of the label, the Skatalites, was particularly influential, and many of its members had lifelong careers in the Jamaican music scene. Doing something about the group for my final history project is very tempting. We’ll see what more I soak up in my remaining six weeks here. It’ll go by fast.

Photo credit: https://www.musitechnic.com/

 

Warman-Szvoboda ’18 at Sweetback Productions in Chicago, Illinois

Sep 02, 2017
 

For Gaerin’s Fifth Co-op: The Extra One, I’m working as a production assistant for Sweetback Production‘s film Big Shoes Blues. This is the first film for the company which has, up until this point, been putting on plays in the Chicago area for decades. It is headed by the parents of my friend, Max, and his father, Michael McKune, is the film’s writer and director. My production assistant work has taken me in a few different directions, including shopping for props and costumes, as well as helping around the set in various capacities. While this has usually meant delivering items to people and setting up tables and chairs, the bit I’ve done to help set up the scenery (including hearing all the thought that goes into that) has been quite enjoyable. You just have to know where to put that plastic plant.

So far, I’ve mostly been a jack of all trades in my work. I spend a lot of my time running around and helping with whatever is needed. Though I have a hand in a lot of what goes down on set, I’m aware I’m pretty replaceable for the most part. I seldom know much of what I’m doing prior to a day or two before filming, save for the basics I always do and some sort of general schedule. However, I’ve gotten to know most of the people involved in the production, though that’s not a lot, and that’s been a definite positive. I feel like this has given me a chance to look at what goes into making a project like this from several different perspectives and feel encourages to pursue various means of fulfilling myself creatively. Over the past month, I have been trying to get better about writing down ideas I have for future creative projects and am trying to set aside time to develop these further, though I have felt pretty creatively drained throughout my time here. While my contributions to Big Shoes Blues are not exactly creative, being in a creative environment while putting my energy into doing things like arranging the seats of a restaurant patio or positioning a dumpster in an alley is fairly advantageous. The work can take a lot out of me but, on days when I’m not working, I am able to be inspired by the work I am in proximity to, which is one of the main things I’ve enjoyed about this co-op. But what I’ve liked most about this opportunity has been working alongside friends for the purpose of a larger project.

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Local-Business/Sweetback-Productions-2282027305396354/