Short Motion Studios

Fax machines have made communication easier by making it possible to send documents long distance almost instantly. It’s the hard copy equivalent of the Internet. Having one in your office is no longer optional and they are becoming quite popular in homes as well. If you’re in the market for a fax machine, here are some of the best ones available.

Brother IntelliFax 2820

• Includes 8 MB of storage and can save up to 500 pages in memory for future printing

• Holds up to 250 sheets in its paper tray

• Allows for faxes to be scanned into memory while unit is receiving or sending other documents

• Prints at up to 15 pages per minute

• Includes copying feature that even allows for enlargements and reductions

• Operating costs are reasonable because it uses toner instead of printer ink cartridges

Canon L170

• Has a 450 page memory

• Has the option for adding up to 32 speed dialing numbers

• Transmits pages via fax at around 3 seconds per page

• Works with three different paper sizes, including A4

• Uses toner cartridges but ink but the toner can be a bit pricey

Panasonic KX-FP145

• Transmits pages at around 15 seconds per page

• Includes speaker phone and Caller ID features

• Has a built-in answering machine

• Includes a phone directory that can hold up to 100 numbers

• Provides distinctive ringing feature so you always know who is calling without looking

• Uses toner cartridges but ink but the toner can be a bit pricey

Brother IntelliFax-1960c

• Comes with a 5.8 GHz cordless phone and up to 3 additional handsets can be added

• Includes a digital answering machine built-in

• Provides both black and white and color faxing and copying

• Has a 16 MB memory for holding documents for further printing or faxing (up to 300 pages)

• Transmits pages at about 3 seconds per page

• Is Energy Star compliant to save electric costs

• Uses black inkjet cartridges which are very affordable

Overview of Best Faxes

Remember that the fax machine you choose based on the above recommendations depends on how you are going to be using the unit. If you only use a fax machine occasionally, you may want to pay more attention to price or to practical functionality, such as the addition of cordless handsets.

If you’re going to be using the fax machine in an office environment, you may want to spend a little more to get the faster speeds and larger memories, as well as some other features that might prove useful.

When I sit down to watch So You Think You Can Dance the last thing that goes through my mind is what the dancers had to go through to learn the dances for that evening. I simply sit there and watch a great or sometimes not so great performance and then critique it as if I know what I am talking about. What I don’t think about is the hours spent training, the lack of sleep and injuries the dancers went through that week. Several times it has been aired that dancers on the show had to go to the hospital for dehydration, sprained ankles or broken toes.

When these contestants go onto the show they are putting their health on the line for their dream and our entertainment. Additionally, these dancers are learning dances that they have never done before in a matter of hours and with a partner who most likely has a completely different dance background as well. When we start to pick apart these dancers, I think it is important to remember what they have gone through to get there and that they are most likely operating on just three hours sleep…for the week. Not only are they constantly working on their dances, they are hanging out with all the same people the entire time. I imagine that could get quite annoying and frustrating, especially when you tie the stress factor into it.

Once the show has it’s finale the show isn’t over yet. The top ten go on a several month tour all over the country traveling with the same people, and in confined spaces. When I think of all the behind the scenes that is involved for the contestants, I really am more appreciative of what they do and how they get by every day. And to think when they get kicked off the show they say, “This has been the best part of my life”. That is someone who really loves their job and what they do!

If you’ve just left college after training for years as a pianist, you might be finding it hard to get work. Of course, you can search for concerts, or join a chamber group. But there’s a fairly unknown area of work that can be both satisfying and fun to do.

I worked for almost 20 years in London’s West End as a rehearsal pianist, and this article focuses on what a rehearsal pianist is, and how to become one.

A rehearsal pianist plays for the rehearsals of West End or touring shows, in the weeks of production before the band arrives. Any show that contains live music will need a rehearsal pianist, but the most famous examples are the big musicals. I worked on Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Me and My Girl, Carmen Jones, and a host of productions both in the West End and on tour.

The contract usually runs for four to six weeks, from 10am to 5pm five or six days a week. During the technical week (the week before opening night or the first preview, when all the sets and costumes are added) the hours can extend quite dramatically – I would sometimes be working 12 or 13 hour days

As a rehearsal pianist you have to be very patient, and to enjoy watching the process of performance creation. In addition, you should be able to perform musical numbers repeatedly to a consistently high standard. And you need to like working with actors! You may or may not have a conductor there, and occasionally you are given the task of training the singers, or playing for the dance calls.

Most productions will have a minimum of two rehearsals each week. You may be called to work on the production during the run, particularly if there is no piano player in the orchestra.

How do you begin working as a production pianist?

When I moved to London in the late 80s I wrote 750 targeted letters asking for employment. Although most of the production companies no longer exist, the methods of contact I used are still valid.

Remember first that you’re looking for companies or organisations that produce events, musicals, plays with music or short films, that would need a musician.

In the UK, the place to start is the British Music Yearbook, published by Rhinegold and usually available in a good local library.

Once you’ve exhausted the BMY, then Contacts, published by The Spotlight, has a good up-to-date list of repertory theatre companies.

I also wrote to film and production companies (with the emphasis on Production) offering my services and asking them to keep my details on file for when they might need a film pianist.

Dance studios like Pineapple Studios in London are constantly hosting production rehearsals, and may be worth contacting. They won’t provide you with employment but they have so many production companies hiring their space that they might be able to put you in touch with people needing your brand of skills. It may be worth approaching all the similar rehearsing venues in the area.

Another alternative, often forgotten, is to contact the West End Orchestral Fixer. An orchestral fixer will liaise with the producers of a musical to book the musicians for the run of the show. They will sometimes employ or recommend pianists for the rehearsal period, even if they are not booked for the performances.

Once I was established on the scene, I got a great deal of my work from one West End fixer, who knew about or was involved in lots of productions. I didn’t necessarily play in the production itself, but was hired for the rehearsal period and the “overlap time” between the bandcalls (in the final week of rehearsal) and opening night. There is an exclusive list of orchestral fixers approved to book West End musicians – if you are having trouble finding it – contact the Musicians’ Union.

In short, start thinking out of the box. I got the contracts by writing to as many people as I thought had the budget to pay me. Did my mailout all those years ago get any results? Out of those 750 letters I received 49 replies, and one interview for a job in the West End which lasted for a full 8 months and led to a busy 20 years in and around London’s Theatreland.

Good luck!