CMU School of Drama


Thursday, April 27, 2017

Many Paths Taken: Learning The Ways And Lessons Of Pro Audio

ProSoundWeb: Being on the team that makes a professional audio system work optimally in a public venue is a rich and rewarding experience – especially so if you enjoy working with the artist, as well as the music that the artist creates.

In fact, many audio professionals enter the craft because they’re attuned to music; I know that I did.

2 comments:

Vanessa Ramon said...

I completely agree with the author of this article when he says that you should take advantage of every opportunity so that you may learn all that you can. I understand how people might only want to learn about the things that interest them, but they should realize that having a wide range of knowledge will help them become a more well-rounded professional and be better able to support their career. The ideas presented in this article remind me of the program here at Carnegie Mellon. There are so many things that I'm learning here that I never though I would need, but by being open to the opportunity I have to widen my knowledge of the industry disciplines altogether, I have strengthened my knowledge as a manager and ability to do handle more problems that arise. I think this article makes a great point that all young professionals should learn you never know where you will end up and it is nice to have skills that have prepared you for anything.

wnlowe said...

I think it is important to take pride in your work when working with audio because each task presents different hurdles and each one will result in an unhappy audience if not done correctly. I do think an important line in this article is that we are all human. I know this is not how the article intended it, but I think it is also important to understand that sound engineers are human when working on jobs and not everything needs to be perfect. A good sound is the important part, perfect sounds come after many rehearsals or in large market settings; however, it is important – just like any industry – to understand scope. Not every lighting design is going to provide full dimensionality and not every scenic design is going to have intricate texture. It makes no sense to bend over backward to add the right compression or reverb if nobody is going to notice it but you. Add it on the fly or on your own time, just don’t delay house opening or affect the audience’s experience.