“You could probably have a full-time job just keeping up with the changes in technology,” says Erik Lawson, who started as an audio engineer and is now a sound designer based in New York City.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Theatre’s Technical Jobs: Much More Than Meets the Eye
“You could probably have a full-time job just keeping up with the changes in technology,” says Erik Lawson, who started as an audio engineer and is now a sound designer based in New York City.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
For me, the section written by Elize Simon really resonated with me when she talked about the community aspects of working in sound. Because I am a young sound-person who is obviously still learning tons of things every time I do sound-related work, my experience has always been learning new technology and methods on the job, or for a specific job. I am also very grateful for how sound people tend to be very friendly and helpful as Simon mentions – whenever I get stuck with something I either contact someone I know or do a simple Google search, where there’s tons of online forums with people asking and answering questions. It is this community aspect and allowance for open communication that makes possible what Joe Pino mentions in this article – the fact that much of new technology is learned on the job. Because tech is always changing, there is no way for students to learn everything in their four years of college, so it is both this willingness to teach each other, and interest for learning, that allows sound technicians to continue learning all throughout their careers. Eric Lawson’s segment was also very exciting to read, as I plan to focus in sound design here at CMU. I enjoyed reading about how he has applied what he learned at CMU to continue trying new things after graduating.
Technology is, for some reason, always a controversial topic, especially in theatre. Because the industry has such old roots, there are some people who feel that technology is compromising the art. And there are also people who rely heavily on technology, and will incorporate it into every aspect of their process. The truth of the matter is, that theatre needs both extremes to function. If everyone in the entire industry agreed on how to best use technology, then all of the shows would function the same. We need shows that reject technology, shows that embrace it, and shows that fall somewhere in the middle. Schools like CMU should prepare their students to adapt to whatever style they happen to be working with. A lot of programs go out of their way to have the latest technology and incorporate it into every show, which is lovely, but a little one sided. Thankfully, at CMU we really get a lot of training for low budget, low technology shows through Playground, which is really valuable.
Honestly this article was very inspiring to me. Here's all these people that due to their passions have adapted and changed with their industry. I am s afraid of leaving school and not knowing as much as I'd like to. But, they're right. Perhaps creating is the most important, and as long as you're driven to create, and have the tenacity to adapt and overcome, you can. Also, shoutout to Joe Pino for being in this article. And for a great perspective on something I hadn't really thought about before. CMU is training us to think on our feet and work with, as Emma mentioned, low budget shows in many scenarios, to push us to create art without necessarily the tech to do so. And he's right, as we go along we will get taught to do speicifc and newer jobs requiered for our fields, and if we are trained with the creativity and the idea that many things over overcomeable in creating art, we can succeed and learn. I'm happy that we learn technology, but also just the basis. Like, most schools don't learn hand drafting nowadays, but the foundation and the emphasis on learning the basics are extremely beneficial.
More than anything, I believe that theatre is about the art of communication. As mentioned in this article, our program teaches us how to learn, and continue to learn. I agree with this article that theatre is constantly changing, and that technology is becoming more and more prevalent in the field, however, theatre has not solely become about technology. It remains that art of storytelling.
It is comforting knowing that getting a job is not only about knowing how to operate certain technologies. Sure, I believe that having prior knowledge of different technologies will make you marketable, and make for an easier transition into the job, however, being a quick learner, and adaptable, to me, is just as valuable. From an employers perspective, a nice resume, and a willingness to do it my way, goes a long way.
Starting out, it is likely that we will not have access to all of these fancy technologies anyways, so knowing how to work with a small budget is equally as important.
Post a Comment