Making the Modern Sound Career
I started my sound career in 1999 without a film degree, a Facebook page, an Instagram, snapchat, or YouTube account. The internet at that time was nothing more than an AOL CD that was mailed to you with a dial up experience that was a ticket to nowhere. The only real access I had to information regarding the technicalities of recording good sound was through books and engineers I met who worked in local professional recording studios. The thought of making a living in sound felt like a pipe dream. It was like trying to connect a lego piece from an exoplanet into another world I had no access to. I didn’t have any family or connections that worked in the film or music business to help me in the door. Looking back over twenty four years later I realize I had one very important thing.
Now before I turn this into a self absorbed auto biography let’s get right to the question which is what makes a modern sound career and how does someone like myself coming up from such a different time period possibly understand today’s challenging career landscape? When you consider the amount of information overload we let into our daily lives with social media posts ranging from gear talk, manufacture marketing, on set work flexes, and networking events that seem to lead to nowhere the honest answer is I don’t really know which path someone should take to develop their career nor do I envy their position. But I do know they should seize the opportunity to choose their own path free of the noise, opinions and online pressure from their peers. Coming from the age of limited information I had the advantage of being with myself, examining my own passions in silence and getting to the heart of the matter.
If you get truly get quiet, turn off your devices and spend time to get in touch with yourself you’ll quiet the noise and for just five minutes a day you will be amazed what you may discover. If you’re interested in learning something that’s not fueled by product sales, post likes or product marketing agendas you should first look within. What truly ignites your passions, what drives you? What is it about sound that speaks to your soul? Once you get in touch with your true self and inner motivations then you will open yourself up to connect with real mentors that you can learn from who are willing to share their experience and time if approached in the right way. However the truth is most of those gatekeepers are from my generation and beyond. Often times they don’t have Youtube channels, Instagram pages or SnapChats which actually can be a strong advantage when attempting to connect.
Remember that building a modern career in sound is often a series of stepping stones. It’s too common for those to try to skip ahead, focusing just on the destination whereas all the enjoyment is in the journey. I for one would have never considered being a production mixer because of my love for music. But I found after being accidentally being one after volunteering to help on set for a short film I was composing, I found I loved connecting with the people more on set then being in the studio. Each career is a process of discovery, trial and error, successes and sometimes failure. Each of these is a teaching moment and a launching point to your next adventure. No two career paths are the same. It’s also worth mentioning that in addition to the quiet spaces and mentorship there is some excellent online content available. Some of my personal favorites are the CAS In Conversation Podcast, Youtube Channel and CAS Quarterly. Another top notch resource is JW Sound group. I actually emailed my first production sound mixer mentor on JW Sound. He took an interest in my email and invited me on set. It was because of me reaching out to him that I became a Union member and have the career I have today.