Pro Sound Web: I recently received an email from a reader asking how to get started in the audio business. I had to think about it for a while, hope this helps someone.
I was drafted…several times. I wasn’t even trying to get into the business. I just found a world I wanted to be a part of. Someone told me once to “put your body where your calling is.” Basically, if everything within you craves working in live sound or a studio, do it.
7 comments:
I found this article very insightful. Although parts of it seem extreme, I can't say I have the proper experience to really know whether it is or not. I found his statement about attitude very poignant. I found his discussion about how persistence and focus are very important a good reality check. Leaving CMU with a great education is a great asset but it still takes a lot more than that if you want to go places.
It seems that this attitude pertains to any career one might want to pursue; it is very rare to start anywhere but at the bottom. As Julie Andrews says, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start." She couldn't be more right. It is the skills that you pick up from the most basic jobs that build the foundation to grow up from. Without a strong foundation (and a good attitude of course), anything above it will just crumble and be useless. Those kitchen cleaning and coffee making days are when some of the highest wisdom is imparted. Listening to the experts chat while running errands or just being in the same room as them is a golden time to pick up information - and that attitude will secure the introductions and recommendations that will begin a successful career. So yes, it is most definitely best to stay humble and start at the bottom.
While not the most eloquently written of articles, the author still makes some very valid points which are applicable to all technical disciplines, not just audio. I absolutely agree that attitude is 90% of getting and keeping a job in the industry. Technical skills can be taught fairly easily, while personality is a much more difficult thing to change.
It is important to realize where you stand in the pecking order of the industry, and embrace it. If you do your job, and do it well, you will be noticed, and become trusted and valued. This is how careers are made.
I personally love this. "it's not what you know, its who you know.", chances are if you know someone who is well respected you know what you are doing. That is what means something to people, who trusts you. When you just walk in and ask for a job the possibility of them loving you and hiring you on the spot is very slim but if you walk in with a well respected high ranked person the chances of them liking you are more plausible. This is a good concept to remember, while I go through the next four years here it is important that I start networking and get my name out there so once I leave I will already have my foot in the door of a good company.
I stand by every single word this guy is saying. "Its not about WHAT you know, but WHO you know". Simple. But too too true. Being a student at CMU can feel kind of glamorous in a sense, because supposedly the name on your resume is said to open doors. However, we as passionate, ambitious, and young learners must not let ourselves get comfortable. We must be ready to keep learning from those in higher standings than us, even if that means cleaning up after a director or an actor or getting them coffee. Even dirty, mundane work such as this is completely worth it to me to work in this business and do what I love most. It's not about the money. Its about the work.
This article definitely presents some really valid and important points. One thing that hadn't really occurred to me before was that in something like audio, you can't just show someone pictures of your work and hope to get a job. I was aware that networking is important, but this made me realize how extremely. No matter where you want to work or what you want to do, its important to think about how you present yourself to the people around you, because who knows who they are or who they might know. Another really importnat point this article highlights is that you have to start at the bottom and pay your dues. You may be great at what you do in school, but you are still entering the working world and need to work your way up to the point where you can do what you actually love. And if its really the industry that you're meant to work in, it has to be worth it to you to stick it out through the boring and tough parts.
This thought hits me every once in a while; it's kind of ridiculous to me how little a college education means in some professions. Not that training and knowledge are not important, just that training and knowledge alone do not get you any closer to an audition than the kid who moves to LA straight out of high school (i.e. Aaron Paul). It's about who you know, who knows you, who likes you, who the people who like you know, etc etc but MOST importantly, it's your communication skills that set you apart. The willingness and ability to sit, for example, in a sound studio for hours on days on months and mix, chat, and learn.
Last year, Stephen Schwartz held a small seminar for playwriting students at CMU, and one of the most memorable things he said was that ALL of his friends -composers, playwrights, directors- had physical copies of their work on them at all times. CDs, scripts, flash drives, anything, in case someone or anyone came up and asked. Even if someone mentioned that they enjoyed one of their older projects, they'd counter with "here's my newest one, give it a look!" It takes a certain energy and confidence to constantly promote yourself and your work. And no matter how many business or audition classes you take, the essence of that energy can't be taught.
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