New city guide v02

NEW CITY GUIDE Meredith Jones Sofar Sounds Atlanta Leader

[email protected]

SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

WHAT IS SOFAR SOUNDS? PRE-GIG NIGHT OF THE GIG POST-GIG DOS & DON’TS GLOBAL SOFAR DOCUMENTS


WHAT IS A SOFAR SHOW ? SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

WHO : Depending on host capacity, 50-85 people who RSVPed via the monthly e-mail newsletter or forwarded email. It is up to the Sofar City Team to determine a good mix of old and new Sofar attendees. Dafds

WHAT : A listening room. The event is BYOB, guests sit on the floor, and 3-5 acts (unannounced until night-of) perform 3-4 acoustic or stripped down songs for an audience of music lovers. Recently, though, Sofar has also hosted many ‘plugged-in’ sessions to support various electronic acts. dafds

WHEN : Typically a week day (to attract locals and avoid busy nights). Normally 2 hours (8-10pm) Dafds

WHERE : Location is kept secret until one week before (neighborhood is revealed) and night before (address is revealed).

WHAT IS SOFAR SOUNDS? SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

We’ll jump right in. Fingers crossed, you’ve heard the ‘Sofar Sounds shpeal’ already. Below is our take on it. This is what you say once everyone is seAled on the floor, staring at you, wondering what exactly Sofar is.

“Welcome to our inaugural Sofar Sounds Atlanta show! Sofar Sounds started a couple years ago in London when two friends were sick of going to concerts and not being able to hear their favorite arHsts. They started playing and performing music in each other's apartments. It soon became a monthly event and two years later, Sofar hosts monthly (or someHmes more frequent) shows in apartments, loNs, houses, and backyards around the world. Sofar aAracts a very unique audience of true music-‐lovers. The idea that the performers are kept secret unHl the night of the show ensures that people are coming simply for the love of music.

Please stay un-l the end ! Please no talking/tex-ng during the show !

Please, if you like the arHsts, go see them again !

And now to introduce our first act...”

PRE-GIG


PLAN A SHOW: TO DO LIST MONTH TIMELINE

TEAM MANAGEMENT BOOK 3-‐5 ACTS

BOOK VIDEO/AUDIO DETERMINE GUEST LIST GIG COMMUNICATION

GLOBAL SOFAR COMPLIANCE

HOW TO PLAN A SHOW SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

FIND A HOST Finding a host gets easier with -me and is typically word-‐of-‐mouth. • Ideally, the locaHon is centrally located • Ensure there is adequate parking (if applicable) • Friendly and accommodaHng hosts • Know how many people the space can hold

BOOK PHOTO/VIDEO/AUDIO Booking photographers, videographers, and sound designers is oDen the easiest part ! • Each show typically involves 2-‐3 videographers (who normally double as video editors), 1-‐2 photographers, and an opHonal (but preferred) audio engineer.

BOOK 3-5 ACTS Booking acts is done by the Sofar City Team via email. Not sure what to say? Check out our email templates here: • Each act can be a singer, band, or spoken-‐word performer • Diverse line-‐up is encouraged, but acts should be complimentary • Acts will perform 3-‐4 acousHc, stripped-‐down songs with minimal equipment

DETERMINE RSVP LIST We are ac-vely working on making this process easier. Stay tuned for updates. • Guests must be subscribed to the mailing list on www.sofarsounds.com to receive the monthly newsleAer. • From the newsleAer, guests will RSVP via email. You can keep track of who responds via an Excel document. AlternaHvely, you can ask people to submit their RSVP via google form.

MONTH TIMELINE SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

One of the hardest parts of being a city leader is figuring out what to do and when. This is an example breakdown of how Sofar Sounds Atlanta manages their month

Pick a Date

Find a Host

Book Bands

Book Photo/Video/Sound

Send Gig Details

Night of Gig

Follow Up Email

Post

Photo

Upload

Video

March 1 (beginning of month cycle)

March 28 (typically Thursday)

March 21 (1 week prior)

March 31 (2-‐3 days later)

April 4 (1 week later)

April 11 (2 weeks later)

Feb 24 (before email is

sent)

Start month cycle again – pick a date for your city’s next show !

TEAM MANAGEMENT SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

TIPS FOR TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Know you responsibiliHes – clearly define who owns what. • Email team members constantly to stay in the loop. • Keep in mind month-‐long Hmeline. • Use an excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything (example here: (Sofar Atlanta Team Spreadsheet) hAp://bit.ly/YKRO2F

TITLE RESPONSIBLE FOR

Band manager Booking bands (emailing, scheduling, confirming)

Video/Photo/Audio manager Booking videographer, photographer, sound engineer, answering all quesHons pre-‐gig, and managing files & uploading photo/video post gig.

Host manager & Emcee Finding a host locaHon, coordinaHng with the hosts.

Emcee HosHng the actual event, introducing the bands, etc. (Can be a responsibility shared among all Sofar City Leaders)

There are many responsibiliHes for each Sofar City Team. Here’s a breakdown of different roles and responsibiliHes.

BOOK 3-5 ACTS SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

Hey Micah ! A friend of mine, Jack Preston from The Dojo Collective in Atlanta, suggested I get in touch about the possibility of you playing Sofar Sounds (www.sofarsounds.com) in Atlanta.

We hold secret living room shows in people’s houses around the world… Three to four acts play short, acoustic or stripped down sets of four songs each. Having started by playing to a living room of 10 people in North London a few years ago this grassroots movement of alternative gigging has expanded to the point where we are now playing gigs in London, NYC, LA, Austin, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Mumbai, Sydney, Melbourne and 10 other cities. The events have caused such a stir that Reuters ran a feature, which helped fuel the movement: http://goo.gl/kbKZV.

I'm sorry this is such late notice, but our premiere secret Atlanta living room gig is planned for Thursday, February 28. We're looking to have 4 acts and so far we have Lily and the Tigers, Yamin Semali, and Richelle Brown playing. Would you be free/interested? The gig is normally from 8-10:30pm. It's super chill and a truly unique experience. The house is near Grant Park.

Best Meredith Jones -------------------------- Sofar Atlanta Team [email protected]

Below is a sample email used to email bands for a Sofar Sounds gig.

BOOK VIDEO/AUDIO SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

To Do List Before the Gig

•  Send videographer links to Vimeo, YouTube, share audio guidelines and audio/video PDF

• Connect the host and videographer in case they want to see the locaHon before the gig.

•  Learn more detail around ‘tech specs’ • How many camera operators? • How will they handle the raw footage? •  Similar light sekngs between or among cameras.

Every show requires •  2-‐3 camera operators to film during the show (ideally 1

steady camera and 1 bcam, more cameras always welcome).

•  1 video editor (must produce at least 1 video per act. •  1 sound engineer to set up mics, record audio, and

mix/master the audio post-‐gig.

Common Ques-ons What audio/mic setups should we be using? We strongly prefer having a sound engineer/designer, but we don’t always have this luxury.

Do we film the en-re show or just songs to be cut together? Feel free to record the enHre show, but we only need 1-‐2 videos per arHst (each video featuring just 1 song).

How do we live stream? Unfortunately there are only very expensive alternaHves to the basic web-‐cam setup. For now, we recommend you hook up an HD Camera to a laptop and have the host set up streaming from Google+.

Please refer to the Video and Edi-ng pdf guide for more informa-on

MANAGE RSVPs SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

GIG COMMUNICATION SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

GLOBAL SOFAR COMPLIANCE SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

Below are items each Sofar City Team must complete as part of the Sofar Sounds Global Movement.

One -me / ongoing

•  Submit bands for review to UlHmate Reviewers Google Document.

•  Email Nick Hayes to establish account for Video Manager (He will provide you login details for Sofar Hard drive, access and links to Diagonal View, and login details for Vimeo).

•  Access Dropbox folder for Sofar branding for your city (see appendix)

•  Create Facebook group for your city (please follow tradiHonal naming convenHons)

Every month

Pre Gig: •  Submit date of gig to Sofar Gigs Importable

(google doc) •  Email date of gig to [email protected]

before monthly cutoff for newsleAer

Post Gig: •  Submit form for donaHons informaHon (see

form in appendix) •  Upload photos to Flickr (see later slide) •  Upload videos to Global HQ using FTP •  Upload txt file with informaHon for each video •  Upload videos to YouTube using Diagonal View •  Upload videos to Vimeo using login

NIGHT OF THE GIG


NIGHT OF THE GIG SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

MarkeHng •  Sofar Logo / Signs printed and posted where cameras will see (behind ‘stage’ area) •  Logos posted outside the home, to guide guests • Band names/contact clearly visible •  Suggested #hashtags for social media

LocaHon •  Furniture moved • Toilets idenHfied •  Side Room •  Space for band equipment •  Ice/cups/coolers available for guests • Camera set up for streaming •  Introduce volunteers, especially A/V. • Coordinate lighHng/space needed. • Table for bands to set up/sell merch

Performances • ArHst releases brought to gig and signed by acts (or managers) • Band order decided & communicated •  Set list provided to live-‐stream and social media techs. Spelling/wriHng credits etc. • Emcee speaks with each band for special announcements -‐ gigs/CDs etc. • DonaHon hat ready for emcee to pass around (usually before the last act)

There are plenty of things to think about the day of the show. Here’s a handy list to make sure you’ve got it all covered.

POST-GIG


FOLLOW UP EMAIL PHOTO UPLOADING VIDEO EDITING

VIDEO UPLOADING

FOLLOW UP EMAILS SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

TO BANDS

TO ATTENDEES

Paypal is an easy way to send donaHons to photographers, videographers, sound designers, and most importantly, bands.

1.  Create an account 2.  Deposit the donaHons 3.  Disperse donaHons via email 4.  Send summary email of funds dispersed

to whom and when to Sofar City Team

PHOTO UPLOADING SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

FLICKR Username: Sofarsounds (@yahoo.com)Password: housegigflickr

VIDEO EDITING SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

** Note ** We now have an in-‐house editor that can assist our local leaders. Should you only have shooters available for the night, then you can just drop the files from the session into the folder (please label appropriately) and we can edit the videos here.

To Do List Post-‐Gig

• Remind editor of Hmeline (2 weeks) –create actual due dates if needed

•  Set up mode of transfer (Dropbox is usually easiest) and include your city’s video templates (see Global Documents slide)

• Once rough cuts are received and approved, proceed to next slide on Uploading.

Common Edi-ng Ques-ons

Is it my choice which songs are cut together or somebody else's? Typically the arHsts state their preferences on which songs are recorded.

Am I turning over the raw footage ever or just sending rough cuts and finished cuts? Rough cuts and finished cuts.

Do you have an idea of the turnaround -me from show to when finished cuts are needed? Ideally 2 weeks since that would mark the mid-‐point between the previous and next show.

VIDEO UPLOADING SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

•  One Hme: Email Nick Hayes to receive your log in details for: (1)  Sofar Global HQ hard drive folder (2)  Diagonal View (used for YouTube).

•  Upload to Sofar Hard Drive •  Open FTP client (ex: FileZilla, CyberDuck, Fetch) and enter Source: , Port: , and

user details (set up by Nick Hayes, above).

•  Upload to YouTube (via Diagonal View) •  Go to link for Diagonal View and upload video according to instrucHons in

guide (below) •  Send video link to arHst involved and gain approval •  Sent noHce/email to Sofar Global once videos are approved to make them

public

For more detail, reference the Appendix for our Uploading Guide (pdf)

DON’T. SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

•  Procras-nate in emailing bands •  Forget to confirm performers mid-‐month •  Be hazy in how you will disperse dona-ons •  Delay in uploading photo/video

DO. SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

•  Clearly communicate what informaHon your RSVPs will get and when.

•  Submit your city’s informaHon to all relevant global documents.

•  Communicate oNen with bands, hosts, photo/video before and aNer the show.

•  Greet every audience member at the door as they show up.

FAQ SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

When will the show begin? We tell people to promptly arrive at 8pm; shows typically start around 8:30

What is the call -me for the different acts? Call Hme depends on you! we have 4 acts singing 3-‐4 songs each. the show normally goes unHl 10:30, so if you prefer a specific Hme in there, please let us know

Would it be OK to bring a synthesizer and electric guitar? yes absolutely ! we are hosHng at people's houses/apartments, so as long as the band brings their own equipment, you can bring whatever you need

SOFAR GLOBAL DOCUMENTS SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

REFERENCE GUIDES •  Filming and Edi-ng Guidelines (doc) // this guide you can share with the videographers and editors for

each gig. It provides guidelines on the styles used for videos for Sofar •  Video Uploading Guide (pdf) // this guide can be leveraged by the Sofar City Leader who is responsible for

uploading their city’s videos to Global HQ, YouTube, and Vimeo. •  New leader Interest // This quick doc is sent to those interested in becoming Sofar Leaders in their city. •  SOFAR Coordinator Manual // This has similar, but more detailed, informaHon about what is involved in

being a City Leader •  Sofar Gig Checklist // This is exactly what it sounds like – a checklist for planning your Sofar gig !

GLOBAL DOCUMENTS •  Dropbox folder for Sofar Branding : hAps://www.dropbox.com/sh/quugk4n7djexyH/OEbXv1fMlY •  All Gigs Sofar importable // Keeps track of every Sofar show by number. Please input your city, date, and

the four bands that performed for each gig. •  Gig dates // This is what Sofar Global uses when compiling each month’s global newsleAer. Please make

sure to have your dates in 5 days prior to the end of the month! •  Sofar City Emails // What it sounds like – emails for all of the people involved with Sofar Sounds

worldwide. •  Ul-mate Reviewers // This is where you will input your recommendaHons for musicians/acts/bands. Please

check this periodically for reviewer comments and votes. You must have at least two ‘yes’es to book an act.

ALL GOOGLE DOCS CAN BE FOUND HERE: hAp://bit.ly/ZSCtzs


QUESTIONS? SOFAR SOUNDS || NEW CITY GUIDE

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