Success stories and Industry Insights

Stuart Wilson is a sound mixer 

Stuart Wilson is a sound mixer that uploaded his success story to skillset depicting his journey into his current career. In summary:

Stuart is a Sound Mixer, who has recently worked on Code 46, 24 Hour Party People and In This World directed by Michael Winterbottam and lastly The Dreamers directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

He is a sound mixer that records sound for film and tv. He says for him it took for main steps to get into his industry.


1. Volunteering to do short films for free or a small amount of money.

2. By getting into a Scottish film training academy, which is a one year course with a week long studio placement.

3. Year’s worth of assisting being a runner, booming, recording and lighting.

4. Successfully did sound at national film school, which he thinks is the best decision he’s made so far.

Notes

 Applying to film schools may be a good thing to do after I graduate I may be able to do these partime whilst working as a runner.

Volunteering is something I’ve always know about and will do this as much as I have before I can comfortably say I don’t need to anymore.

He feels as though he did everything he could to get where he is and wouldn’t do anything differently. Apparently he gained most experience from assisting people around production sets, and shadowing them whist they work.

Notes

I will make sure I do not take this for granted and I will try and soak in as much information as a possible.


He feels his biggest and luckiest break was working on a film in Paris directed by Bernardo Bertolucci called 'The Dreamers'


He kept up with developments in his field by becoming a member of the Institute Of Broadcast Sound and the Association of Motion Picture Sound, they both hold meetings people can talk about advances in technology and tricks of the trade.

Notes
This is a valuable thing to be a part of that can set me apart from the rest and always keep me on top of my game helping me progress faster than others.


When asked how the industry has changed since he has entered it he talks about the fact that there are more people working at the bottom of the industry ladder to a lower standard mostly because of the influx of short low budget films being made these days and also because people seem to be reluctant to hire let’s say a Foley artist because they feel they can save money and do it themselves.

And lastly he says the most important words he can give people to live by are “punctuality. To constantly strive to improve your standards. Determination.”

(http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/stories/production/article_3439_1.asp)

NotesThis sound great, the fact that these days people are willing to hire people with less experience because they feel the job doesn’t hold that much worth and importance means that there’s a great chance of me breaking into the industry and getting experience.

Borneo Brown Sound Operations Manager

Borneo Brown is Sound Operations Manager for the National Theatre. He spoke to Creative Choices about his own career, here is a summary.

As sound operations manager he is in charge of three other managers that each operate their own theatre and scheduling. Though away from the auditoriums, corporate events, press and marketing, They may also look after audio description and captioning, so the job can be quite varied and there always something going on.

"At the National Theatre, you start working on a production quite early on. As soon as you hear about it, you'll want to know who the sound designer is and what their requirements are likely to be.

The job can be quite varied as when a show comes along an rehearsals start we may do anything from operating to simply adding some sound effects here and there. Though leading up to the press night is where the pressure comes on because everything has to be meticulously plotted and planned. So when need be the show can be picked up moved re-created and them moved back again with maximum ease.

It is more common for people to do course before entering this industry which is good because it lets you get a taste and see if it for you.

Notes
Good to know I’m not wasting my time with a master’s degree.

You can learn the majority of what is needed on the job though there are extra things that are important and very helpful such as how sound works on a scientific level, and how the ear and sound perceive sound.

Notes
These things usually aren’t taught on the job or on course but taking the time to learn these things myself with self directed study means that I will be set apart from the rest of my colleagues and perform better helping me climb the ladder. And knowing these things before hand can make all the difference when in an interview.

"I think if you wanted to get into it, the main things you need are enthusiasm, motivation and a real desire to do it."

"Audiences should see sound as something that’s just part of the production. And they should only ever really notice it when it goes wrong."

Steve Mayo sound designer

Steve Mayo is a sound designer and he took the time to speak to creative choices and talk about his career

Steve got into sound when he left school, and left for London after studying as a sound technician at Manchester. One of his first jobs was a Dracula production he filled in for a sound designer that couldn't make a rehearsal. The director changed the entire show meaning he had to stay up late re-doing all the sounds. It’s at the moment he had his hand in melons trying to re-create the sound of a vampire being staked that her thought “I love this job”.

Notes
Being truthful with myself I do know that this is not all my job will entail, though the fact that I will be able to be playful with my job is very appealing. No matter how much I grow the childish part of me always remains.

Although there is a lot of rehearsal involved the fact that one day you may be doing a rock show and then an intimate stage performance the next keeps it nicely varied and challenging. With different kinds of shows he always finds himself trying to do and experiment with different things.

Notes
This is fundamentally important for me, no matter how hard I try to stick at something I just simply can’t if it's the same routine work for years on end. If I am going to choose a career and become successful in it, but I must choose a career that regularly offers different challenges to keep my enthusiasm and passion fresh.

One of the tricks he has picked up to make the whole audience feel as though there amerced in the experience is to “make sure you’ve got enough speakers around the auditorium so that you can bring waves crashing out from stage through the auditorium”

Notes
I will keep this in mind, this is one of the reasons I love sound. I has a great power and can completely saturate people with different feelings and emotions I love this power. And any tricks of the trade to make this power stronger are welcomed.

Hey says that sometimes it’s easy for your passion to get lost in the heavy load that the job comes with, and the long hours and sometimes antisocial lifestyle can keep you down and lower your moral. Though seeing the joy in the audiences from your own production, and standing ovations that last well over 20 minutes makes it all worth it and brings the passion rushing back.

Notes
This would suit me well the long hours and mass amounts of pressure would be very daunting and exhausting though as long as the goal and outcome is worth it then I am happy to put the effort in.

http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/industry-insight/article/working-as-a-sound-designer

Back up plans

It accrued to me that there is not guarantee I will be accepted into any of these universities, so I decided to look at what I will be able to do as a backup. Some other ways of being able to learn and gain the skills needed to get a job in the sound industry.

I may get turned down due to limited spaces on the course, possibly insufficient UCAS points or maybe my current course will not be seen to be a sufficient pre-request. So below I have found various courses that have no need for any of these things.

SSR London

SSR is a sound school based in London it is a very successful establishment associated with prestige’s companies such as apple, Itv local, bbc, mutv, the national skills academy and many more.

SSR is a very well respected school that have had many successful students

·         Ricky Meakin – After Djing for years Ricky joined this school to home his skills of sound design and production and open his mind to ne things. 6 years later he and his partner host a regular clubbing event Ibiza to a regularly 2000 strong, as well as other huge events from around the world.

·         Jay Thomas Heigl - who is currently studying Audio Engineering Techniques & Technology asked by producer Willie Dowling to help with the recording and mixing for British rock band “The Wildhearts” latest triple album. The sessions took place in a studio in northern France.

·         Robert Owen -  ever since her studies has not only completely incharge of all the recording, editing and implementation of the sound for the App version of a popular board game “war on terror”  that is now up for an award on www.bestappever.com. But he also is the resident DJ and co-owner of Nintendisco - a club night held in various cities and worked for Nintendo at all their events in 2011

·         Sophie Grant/Dan smith - Sophie used the skills she learnt to make, produce and release her own EP album, and Sophie has been working with uk entertainment brand such as “Bankers club” and had produced a 12 track for the rapper Sloozie.

http://www.s-s-r.com/london/index.php

This is the most Impressive most prestige’s sound school I was able to find, the sheer amount of companies they are connected with is dauntingly impressive and there students success stories and truly inspiring.

This course maybe very hard to get onto so, I have found other alternatives.

Live sound training - This is one of the rare sound course taught in Birmingham, though unfortunately they only teach a live sound engineering course. I am very confident this is not the route I want to go down I will bare this in mind in case I change my mind.

This course offers infield placements and experience at two well know venues in Birmingham.

http://www.livesoundtraining.co.uk/course-outline/

Point blank – Is another school that stood out among the rest, not only does this school have its own record label, but huge world renound record labels such as, island, state51, universal studios and many more check the look through fresh work from students to seek out fresh talent for hiring.

http://www.pointblanklondon.com/about-point-blank/how-to-find-us.php

Summary

I came across many online courses that I can take, but being realistic and knowing myself I get distracted too easily and find it hard to work in leisure environments such as my own house. So to be on the safe side I completely ruled this out as an option.

If in the even I do not get onto these course's I would spend a year volunteering in anything sound related to gain experience, invest in software and attempt to self learn software and create and engage in self made projects to build a portfolio.

From there I can try to either break into the industry as a assistant or runner and work my way up and re-apply for course and universities.

Which university is best?

After looking at which universities near me that do Sound technology it seemed that Birmingham was ranked in the top 10 for sound courses.


Birmingham University

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/music-technology

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/sound-engineering-and-production

Leeds university

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/coursefinder/19572/MMus_Music_Technology_and_Computer_Music

Ranking links

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Music

Universities

Here I will clear up some confusion I have had for a while, I’ve always know that I wanted to make sound effects for music and films. And now my current qualification in media will not be good enough to get me a job in this.

All job vacancies in this field ask for qualifications in music or sound technology and audio engineering. And I have always been confused between the three. What they entail, and what would be best for me. The confusion mainly steams from the fact that each of these course seem to allow you to apply for job titles that are the same. After looking a number of university courses these were my findings.

Music technology

Music technology is the study music and how technology plays a vital role in it’s the creation, manipulation, recording, production and distribution. In this course I would dive into the fast exhilarating technology that is involved in all areas of music production and learn how much and music technology work on a scientific level.

Here is a list of skills I may learn this course:

List sourced from Birmingham university and keel university

Composing  Sound
Sound Recording
Surround Sound
Audio Electronics
Digital Video
Music on Stage and Screen
Introduction to Composition
Reading Film
Popular Music
Introduction to Music Theory
Instrumental Lessons

Creative Sound Design
Audio-Visual Composition
Interactive Real-time Composition
Record production in Theory and Practice

All in all music technology is the study of music and technology and the many ways they co-exist together.

Sound technology

Sound technology is the science of sound and how technology is used in its creation, manipulation, recording, production and distribution. It’s essentially the same principles as music technology but more directed towards Foley sound, sound effects and dialogue. Though I now understand how the learning outcomes and fields of study can cross over. As I may have to learn how to integrate sounds in to music, many sound engineers will be involved in the recording of music. From there they may alter the recording, get rid of any unwanted sounds and maybe even add higher quality or more preferred sounds. And from there the music recording may be handed to some with skills in music technology to edit the tempo, pitch, and even create mixes with other recordings.

List if skills sourced from University of Glamorgan Pontypridd, university of Portsmouth

·         Audio Engineering

·         Media Technology for Applications

·         Live Sound

·         Electronics for Music & Media

·         Synthesis & Computer Based Audio Engineering

·         Repertoire Production Techniques

·         Music Industry Practice

·         Multimedia Communications & Signal Processing

·         Honours Integrated Group Project

·         Acoustics of Performance Spaces

·         Recording Engineering

·         Sound for Film & TV

·         Project Studio Production & Advanced Sound Synthesis

·         Advanced Electronics for Music & Media

·         Computer Based Media Production

·         Music Production

It seems that when technology was becoming integrated into the entertainments industry and job roles such as Foley artist and sound engineer things we’re a lot simpler, and there was a small fraction of the technology we have today. With the development and future integration of more technology into entertainment more job roles have been created.

So the lines between careers have been blurred, and many cases on small productions people will have to be skilled in many areas to take on multiple job titles where as on big productions people will be required to only work in the specialised field.

So audio engineer and sound engineer are the same profession and whilst music technology and sound technology are course that specialise in different things. They will teach some of the same techniques and principle and in the work place their tasks may overlap resulting them having to something required from the other profession.

Though all in all I think I will take sound engineering.

Job roles summary

These are all of the Job titles i would love to achieve one day, film is not the only medium I would like to design and edit music and sound for, but the jobs roles and responsibilities carry over for computer games to music.

As mentioned before all of the carriers I have chosen all require a post graduate degree In some sort technological sound course, or alternatively extensive experience in sound (which i do not posses). Though I will have to start as a trainee in charge of the smallest task around the production set.

I did leave out certain careers that I will have to go through to get to my prefers ones, such as:

•  Boom operators -  Responsible for the operation, holding and positioning of microphones on set.
• Foley editors/artist - In charge of recording and editing sound for the atmosphere, and events in the film. E.g park ambiance, car crash, punch etc.
• Production sound mixer - They have the job of recording, mastering and generally managing the dialogue of the characters.

So next I will look at master university courses and things I can do myself that will in my spare time such as volunteering, or various things I can practice to give me and edge on the competition.

Re-recording Mixer

Re-recording mixers used to be known as Dubbing Mixers bring all the sounds and sound elements e.g. (Dialogue, Automated Dialogue Replacement, Foley, Sound Effects, Atmospheres, and Music) together to create the film’s final soundtrack they are solely in charge of the film being technically and stylistically correct in the end.

Setting the volume levels is thought to be an art form in its own right, sound strange. Until you imagine how many hundreds of thousands can occur in some scenes, and the art is making it all seamless, realistic, and drawing attention to what’s important and necessary. I require high level of skill and experienced judgment from years of re-recording. In smaller budget films re-recorders may be required to take on sound designer roles as well.

Re-recorders may be employed by a Audio Post Production House or work on a freelance basis. You may be required to work extreamly long hours under high pressure.

What is the job?

Re-recording Mixers first appear on the work scene to prepare the soundtrack for audience previews. This usually involves an intense period of up to three days work spent in a dubbing studio working on large missing consoles, mixing, smoothing, mastering, finalizing  As well as adding in temporary music prepared by the music editor, recording mixers in short my work fast to a very high standard.

Re-Recording Mixers’ first task on films is usually mixing the soundtrack for audience previews. Typically, this involves an intense period of time (up to three days) spent in the dubbing studio, where the they work at large mixing consoles, mixing and smoothing out (cross fading) the sound, often adding a temporary music soundtrack prepared by the Music Editor. Re-Recording Mixers must work quickly, to extremely high standards.

After the previews, the producer(s) and financers may usually require films to be re-cut and re-mixed. At the same time the film will be edited and when picture lock is achieved add the final touches until everything is perfect.

In the Final Mix, the sound track is further refined in consultation with the Director, and mixed to a 5.1 Surround Sound industry standard. This process can take between 2 and 12 weeks depending on each film’s scale and budget. Re-recording Mixers finish work on films on the last day of the Final Mix.

Typical career routes

No matter how highly qualified you are to make become a Re-recording Mixer you must start out as a runner and prove yourself. Experiences Re-recording Mixers will look out individuals who show progress, passion, talent and to train as an assistant.

Essential knowledge and skills

An extensive knowledge of acoustics, sound recording and post production processes both acoustic and digital.

Key Skills include:

• Ability to manipulate and work sound for the moving image
• Excellent aural skills
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure
• Excellent communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Ability to work to strict deadlines
• Knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures

Training and qualifications

Re-Recording Mixers are usually graduates of Music, Sound Technology, or increasingly, Computer Sound Design courses. Because this is a highly competitive area, many also go on to specialise in Film and Television Sound at post-graduate level. Sound is one of the best served areas for film and television training in the UK with provision ranging from specialised short courses, to qualifications at HND, BA and post graduate levels.

Individual course accreditation in certain subject areas is currently being piloted. As part of Creative Skillset’s and the UK Film Council’s Film Skills Strategy, A Bigger Future, a network of Screen Academies and a Film Business Academy have been approved as centers of excellence in education and training for film. For more information, please log onto the Creative Skillset website.

Payscale states wages can range from £25,000 47,000. (http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Re_Recording_Mixer/Salary)

http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/post_production_sound/article_4764_1.asp

Music Editor

Music editors are the ones to help make the directors musical vision come true, they are the link between the composers/band and the film. They control the structure of the soundtrack to back the entire film up, the music must be well written, well performed, and fit in with the scene as well as the atmospheric messages being conveyed. The music must always re-enforce instead of taking the attention away from the screen.

Like all sound post and pre production roles, music editor’s responsibilities vary on the budget and scale of the film they work on. But their roles may include managing performed music, as well as pre-recording music selection.

What is the job?

Usually on a medium budget Music editors usually start shortly after the picture locks start rolling in laying down temporary rough music and soundtracks. This will help other editors gage the emotional tempo, provide the composer with the right template, and guide the directors desired direction for the film.

Music Editors attend a “Spotting Session” with all other superior level set workers. To discuss the progress, opinions, changes etc of what is being done.

Typical career routes

There are no typical routes to become a music editor. Those in these positions are musically trained and talented individuals. That’s have worked their way up from the bottom as trainees.

This is a very competitive job role and take years to catch a break, but only the most talented and hard working progress. Though it is sometimes possible to be taken under a music editor’s wing as a trainee.

Essential knowledge and skills

Music Editors must have an expert knowledge of how music is constructed recorded and performed. They must also have knowledge and understanding of how music can affect images and create drama, as well as an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop and classical music. A working knowledge of computer editing software is also required.

Key Skills include:

• Musical skills
• Technical aptitude
• Strong aural skills
• Excellent communication skills
• A good sense of timing
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures

Training and qualifications

Music Editors are usually graduates in Sound Technology and/or Music, who have also specialised in music at post-graduate level. Competition is increasingly high, and even those entering the film industry at a junior level usually have a B.Mus (Tonmeister) or similar qualification.

Individual course accreditation in certain subject areas is currently being piloted. As part of Creative Skillset’s and the UK Film Council’s Film Skills Strategy, A Bigger Future, a network of Screen Academies and a Film Business Academy have been approved as centres of excellence in education and training for film. For more information, please log onto the Creative Skillset website.

Income

The Career Development Center states Music Editor $20,000 - $60,000 (http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-Sound+Design+%2F+Supervising+Sound+Editor)