I guess film school is about to pay off

[AnalogElectric]

I went to school for film about 11 years ago and it migrated to recording bands. I actually wanted to do Foley or soundtrack composing but it was more convenient for me to record bands so I have ever since, full-time.

I know 98% of this forum revolves around recording bands but I?m curious if there are other recording engineering trades people on this forum dabble in or do professionally. I?m actually getting off my duff and I?m starting a production company that makes Radio Drama?s and books on tape (books on tape treated more like Radio Drama?s?music, SFX, etc).

I know Soundguy Dave does some stuff for film but I don?t remember on what capacity.

-- Adam Lazlo

[Roman Sokal]

although i haven't done it for a few years, i used to from time to time do location sound recording on indie movies. other titles for the job is 'production sound', 'sound mixer', etc etc

i lied for the first job i did. i only recorded rock bands and such up till that point. anyhow, someone was looking for someone to do the sound for someone's master thesis film project. i once PA'd a short film and paid attention to the sound guy, noting the terminology (like saying "speed!" when a take is about to get underway etc).
anyhow, i had an understanding of operating gear obviously, and immediately figured out how to use (and label/log stuff) a portable nagra 3.2 (or 4.2?) mono 1/4" analog machine. (with built-in compression option etc). even right down to radio lavalier setups. i pulled it off completely!
i found that job to be terribly boring. once you're set up, you wait forever for the lighting crew and such to do their thing. you really have to think creatively about getting the best possible sound; it's great to know the script and the visual direction. it's fun to 'direct' the boom operator (when shots require it). otherwise, it's lots of sleeping with one eye and ear open until the takes finally get underway. luckily for me i have photographic skills so i would shoot production stills during rehearsals while i was waiting for action to happen.
anyway, like i saidm it can be a boring as hell job, and a lonely one. seems like as well, that despite the fact that the job is 50% important/essential of what is going on, the sound guy always gets disrespected in a way. like, being forgotten when accolades for the film happens. (same with being the screenwriter.
'hey, remember me? the guy who put a lav on you during your love making scantily clad scene?' ha

i also noticed that this particular job is a very hard one to fill when there is next to no budget, especially in those 'work free, maybe get paid later if the film makes $ down the road'. i can totally understand- it's an arduous job that swallows up all of your time and precious sleeping moments and almost no location sound guy will do it for peanuts. anyone can find a grip, makeup/hair or production assistant who'll work for nothing, but not a sound person! though you might not be the one with dirty hands and a sore back at the end of the day, it's a 'dirty' job and an arty & challenging one that commands more respect in my opinion! great dialog recording is not necessarily easy- many a take or a key scene can be ruined in a way with 'standard' recording/mic placement- one must pay attention to the scene's going's ons to match the visuals- like intimate up-close sound with proper compression, or roomy sounds for spacious and energetic scenes if need be.

i swore to never do it again unless i got paid nicely the next time- like iatse uniuon rates or whatever (you can make lot$ if you're into it and driven enough. but otherwise, you're basically forgotten during production, and especially after!

anyway there's my compliment to your post- myramblings for the evening. (i indeed went to film school, though for only year 1 of a 3 year program)

cheers,
roman sokal

[AnalogElectric]

Cool Roman, great stories.

I did work on sets and that was the worst.

I didn't graduate from the film school I went to. I have 'authority' problems and butted heads with the teachers all the time. I mean why am I at an 'art school' where people are suppose to find their voice and the teacher and other students are saying what's 'wrong' with your work? Doesn't make sense to me. Arg, I hated it, got out as soon as I could.

The Radio Drama stuff will be fun. I've always been passionate about it but now it's finally going to happen. I've done a few in the past and it's been a blast. A lot of work and attention to detail but it?s a nice departure from my recording bands gig.

If it leads somewhere cool, if not I won't be disappointed.

Who knows, it'll probably fit my personality better. It has a film element to it but with sound. I suppose I appreciate a strong narrative no matter how it's presented.

-- Adam Lazlo

[dino]

Although I've only worked on a few independent films and local band videos, and that was a few years ago... I have had a decent paying, thirty plus year career in industrial and educational filmmaking, as well as doing freelance TV sound, camera, and lighting... I'm at the point right now though, where I would really like to get back into the artistic side of the things.... I make enough money with my regular gig so I would be willing work for nothing on a project that I found exiting.. Of course if there's a budget for it, it would be nice to make a dollar or two... :lol: Dean

[friendlybunny]

I work on movies. I usually do post-production sound. On big budget movies, I usually do foley editing. I hire other people to actually record and perform the foley, and then I edit the results to fit into the movie. On smaller movies, I'll put together the sfx, foley, dialogue, music and edit it all myself, but sometimes hire outside help for sfx/ foley recording. If it's really low budget, I'll mix it myself. There are many problems working on low-budget movies, the foremost being that sound is an afterthought. The first-time director/ producer doesn't know how involved (expensive) the sound will be.

I went to film school, but I was working on movies while I was in school. I learned so much more from actual jobs. If you're interested in working in film, I highly recommend getting a job doing one part of a film (like foley or dialogue editing). There is so much to learn about the entire process of completeing a sound track. I've heard a lot of stories about people who are music engineers who agree to do a sound job for a low budget movie, and it can be a painfull experience when they find out how much work there is. You can end up with 100s of tracks (dialogue, ambience, sfx, foley, adr, music), and there is a lot to learn about video/ film sync issues, and calibration, dolby etc.

It is a headache! I prefer to stick with one aspect of the film.

Books on tape, and radio drama sounds really cool though. I've wanted to work on that too.

[Echos Myron]

I do sound for video and film in Columbus. My audio experience started in high school when I bought a Porta 07 and a SM57 and got into music recording. With my parallel interest in film and video in college (at OSU), it all turned into a production sound job at a local production company where I've been working for 3+years now. Unfortunately most of my 'real' music recording now is confined to my spare bedroom--but I like it that way.

[JGriffin]

Hey, Adam.

I started out wanting to record bands, but ended up in the production/corporate end of things.

Recording bands is actually the smallest part of my engineering life. My full-time job is recording engineer at an ad agency's in-house studio, where I record an average of 250 radio commercials a year, and a handful of TV spots. Besides that I do sound design for local theater (I'm in tech for a show right now, in fact) and film (I'm currently mixing an indie film for which I also recorded foley/sfx and composed music). I also have a production company that I started with some friends to do radio drama-type stuff. That company, Toxic Bag Productions, Inc. (http://toxicbag.com), currently produces sound effects CDs aimed at gamers (we have 5 discs out right now--check 'em out and see if they might help you with your stuff) and functions as a front-end for my other sound design projects, as well as a small "record label."

In years past I've also worked restoring old-time radio programs for Smithsonian CD sets, running sound at local theatres, and doing indutrial/corporate work such as retirement benefit videos and Christmas party song parodies for big companies.

I'll agree with the other posters here--location sound is much less fun than post on a film. Too much sitting around waiting--of course, having said that I'll probably use my vacation time this year to shoot a film!

Good luck with your new company! I'm glad to see some discussion of recording beyond the music/bands subset--thanks for posting.

Joe

[underthebigtree]

While I am a musician/composer/engineer at the core, I've made a decent living from post production for film and video games for the last decade. I got into it thinking that working in any aspect of audio is better than having a non-audio related day job. Sound design is a highly creative and wonderful craft, and I've been really lucky to work on some great projects.

More power to you! Best of luck!

Nick

[kayagum]

I did theater sound design for a couple of years in Mpls (you're there too, right?), and I had fun doing it. But, the $ wasn't covering rent so I'm keeping the day job and doing my stuff for fun. One guy that I had worked with in the past is now doing music and sound design for the Childrens' Theater full time.

That being said, there's probably a lot more work in the commercial realm. Someone once told me the Twin Cities ranked in the top 5 nationally for commercial film and video (that's how most stage actors earn their bread around here). I'm thinking there's still a good market for good audio for that kind of work. For creative films- not here (when was the last time you saw a MN film on IFP?)

Good luck, and let us know how things are going....

[wing]

as far as i know, soundguy does location sound recording.

and he still needs to get a tattoo of that nagra transport he was talkin about.

[AnalogElectric]

Wow, a lot more responses than I thought I'd get.

To clarify a few things while answering some comments, I'm not going in to film work anytime soon again. It left a bad taste in my mouth and the hours and stress isn't worth it. I'm not looking to make any money off this either or I should say I don't EXPECT any money from it. Now if someone hires me to go a Radio Drama or book on tape then I'll expect something but this is a labor of love for me. It's those forgotten emotions I had when first recording bands. I don't play in bands anymore cuz the passion is pretty much tainted for me. I need to do something creative for me and I think with the people I know in theatre, film, and radio it will be more rewarding just to have people enjoy it rather than it is my livelihood. I do just fine with the recording studio, enough to live and pay bills so money isn't an issue or 'what can I do to make more money' kinda thing.

And yes, I'm in Minneapolis.

Gee, since there's interest I'll let people know how it's going...thanks for the responses.

--Adam Lazlo

[w_]

If you're interested in working in film, I highly recommend getting a job doing one part of a film (like foley or dialogue editing). There is so much to learn about the entire process of completeing a sound track.

firendlybunny, or anyone for that matter- any recommendations of how to get started working on films doing such things as foley, editing, etc.? It is just the kind of thing of you have to know the people working on the film or are there resources or certain places (web sites) where people post "jobs" such as this?

[Roman Sokal]

I went to film school, but I was working on movies while I was in school. I learned so much more from actual jobs.

DEFINITELY!

film school can't teach one to be 'creative' really in the end result- one either has it or they don't!

and by getting on a set gets one in motion and ahead of the person who went to school for 2-4 years, because they'll have to do what you did anyway, except that you're already ahead of the game and getting paid!

r

[JGriffin]

Wes9 inquired:

>>>are there resources or certain places (web sites) where people post "jobs" such as this?>>>>

www.mandy.com

[assfortress]

this is a little ot but are there any websites like mandy bit more focused on audio?