A career in the field of sound design is a glamorous prospect desired by many musicians and noise makers alike. A popular educational path to this sort of career is through taking a sound design course. Some however, are sceptical of the value of this type of course and unsure of the exact types of jobs you can expect to be competing for with such a qualification. This article will hopefully help you better understand the discipline and overcome any doubts you may have.
Let’s start with the basics of sound design: Sounds can be loosely classified as noise, music and words/dialogue. A sound designer will use any of them either in a rhythmic function where sounds provide a counterpoint for the images they accompany or in a dramatic function where the sounds enhance the meaning of the images they accompany. A sound design course will teach you the techniques needed to efficiently carry out these tasks and how to maximise the potential of professional standard audio software.
Industries you will be able to apply these techniques to include video game development, film production, animation, TV, radio, advertising and new media.
The most salient advice perhaps, should come from real sound designers; those who are immersed in the industry and can talk about attaining success with the benefit of hindsight. Paula Fairfield is an award winning Sound Designer who has worked on a host of movies and TV shows including ‘Lost’, ‘Sin City’, ‘Tropic Thunder’ and many others. Despite this impressive CV she has still made the decision to continue her education by enrolling on an online
sound design course at award winning music college Point Blank. This is what she had to say…
…on how she made waves in the industry:
“I am a supervising sound editor and designer for TV and feature film. I have been working in the commercial industry for 15 yrs and before that I ran a media centre for artists in Canada, where I worked as a picture and sound editor for artists and also made my own multi-media based video, film and audio works… I originally went to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, concentrating on video, audio and photographic art. One summer I got an apprenticeship at the National Film Board of Canada and worked as an assistant to an award-winning picture and sound editor. At that time, film was still edited on magnetic tape stock, moviolas and Kems. As I waited to cut edited magnetic tape pieces of sound into prepped tracks, I watched in awe at the sound editing my boss was doing. I had no idea this was how sound for movies was done. At the risk of sounding corny, the process of adding sounds to image was so magical and I got completely hooked.”
…on her advice is to budding sound designers:
“Best thing is to try and build a portfolio of work and network with industry people. There are many online sites advertising the need for low or no-pay sound for short films etc and that is a good way to get opportunities and meet people.”
…on what influenced her decision to go back into education at Point Blank?
“Firstly I wanted to learn some new tricks to add to my design bag. Also I have owned Ableton for a while but have never had the time to get into it. I tried once but because it is such a different way of thinking, it wasn’t immediately apparent how to use it in the odd half hour I had to look at it. I had some time this summer and thought it would be fun to finally learn it. Similarly Reaktor has always eluded me as it seems like you need to be a nuclear physicist to use it. It is an interesting tool and one very well suited for design work. My main hesitations about taking courses at Point Blank that a) I am not a musician (though I wish I were) and b) I work exclusively to picture. The Point Blank courses definitely put me outside my comfort zone, and that’s a good thing!
With an online sound design course, I can sit down when I have a spare minute and poke away at a lesson and then get back to my work. It’s fantastic!”
If hearing Paula’s words has inspired you then Point Blank’s
sound design course is well worth checking out.
