I NEED HELP
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howlingwolf487
Active Member
Degree or not, you'll want to live in an area where you can get firsthand experience in whatever it is you want to do. I work for the Center for the Arts at my university and am planning to get an internship this summer somewhere around Philadelphia. I can almost guarantee you won't get paid much, if anything, and you'll have to work hard and long to get to a higher position of any sort. Bust your butt off, do whatever you're told, and never stop learning. Be bold but always respectful and don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how stupid or basic you feel they might be.
Sure, some areas might be more lucrative and have more activity in the production industry (say Vegas, NYC, Chicago,etc.), but I would venture to bet that as long as you are marketable in your field (i.e. have firsthand experience and some connections here and there) you can find work wherever you are.
Best of luck!
Sure, some areas might be more lucrative and have more activity in the production industry (say Vegas, NYC, Chicago,etc.), but I would venture to bet that as long as you are marketable in your field (i.e. have firsthand experience and some connections here and there) you can find work wherever you are.
Best of luck!
Well, if you want to do Hawaii, just move there. If you want to do cruise ships, get a job, throw everything you own in storage, and live on the boat until your contract is up. If you want to do R&R, nashville is the place that most touring techs live who do that type of thing. Just depends what market you want to be in. There is no right answer.
Didn't you just post yesterday that you were in high school? So this apparently would be some time in the future after you get into a school and then the degree. What kind of degree do you plan on getting and from where? What aspect of 'live sound' are you interested in? What experience do you have? Many live sound jobs are going to be a matter of happening upon an opening or knowing the right people. As wolf said, you might end up very entry level until you get the experience and contacts needed to move up.
Yes i am currently in high school, but im one of those people ethat likes to get prepared for their future, i will probably get a bachlors from new england school of comunications, or columbia chicago, as for my current experince i have done everything from theater, to bands, to a "coffee house" style show at my school, and ive been doing this since 6th grade, so almost 6 years. and i apperciate all of the help. i will most likley go into touring, or theater as that is most likely the easiest to get into.
Spikesgirl
Active Member
Easy? Possibly. well paying? Only if you're prepared to work your butt off.
The cost of living is extremely high in Hawai'i and there aren't that many venues that would put a newbie, even on with a degree, in demand. They have a large drama program in Honolulu and that's where a lot of the local techs come from. If you want to work in Hawai'i, I would start to apply to the University of Hawai'i - Maona.
Life on cruise ships is very, very hard or so I've been told by the various cruise ship techs I've spoken with. It's not like you do sound and that's it - you'll be working seven days a week (in some cases), 10 to 12 hours a day doing whatever needs to be done, and it won't always be in your field. It's a great way to see the world, but just know that the pay is extremely low and the work is extremely hard. This is why you see so few Americans on cruise ships.
In fact, there's a thread here somewhere about working on a crusie ship that you might want to check out.
Have a friend (costumer) who just got off the touring circuit and he hated it. Lving in hotels, being out of contact with family and friends,the hours, the attitudes all made it really tough for him and he couldn't wait for his contract to expire.
Just be sure that you really want a particular lifestyle and look at the big picture. That's sort of hard to do when you're in high school, but it's better to be realistic early on and know that anything worthwhile is worth working for
Char5lie.
The cost of living is extremely high in Hawai'i and there aren't that many venues that would put a newbie, even on with a degree, in demand. They have a large drama program in Honolulu and that's where a lot of the local techs come from. If you want to work in Hawai'i, I would start to apply to the University of Hawai'i - Maona.
Life on cruise ships is very, very hard or so I've been told by the various cruise ship techs I've spoken with. It's not like you do sound and that's it - you'll be working seven days a week (in some cases), 10 to 12 hours a day doing whatever needs to be done, and it won't always be in your field. It's a great way to see the world, but just know that the pay is extremely low and the work is extremely hard. This is why you see so few Americans on cruise ships.
In fact, there's a thread here somewhere about working on a crusie ship that you might want to check out.
Have a friend (costumer) who just got off the touring circuit and he hated it. Lving in hotels, being out of contact with family and friends,the hours, the attitudes all made it really tough for him and he couldn't wait for his contract to expire.
Just be sure that you really want a particular lifestyle and look at the big picture. That's sort of hard to do when you're in high school, but it's better to be realistic early on and know that anything worthwhile is worth working for
Char5lie.
howlingwolf487
Active Member
I agree with Charlie...
I am currently a Broadcasting Major but have no plans to get in to that specific field. It has, however, taught me a LOT about production and given me even more skills to use in the live production industry.
I am from New Jersey originally, but attend college in Indiana, so I can't wait to get home. I already have a great girl who I plan to marry someday, so touring is not an option. I plan to get a job at local venues, etc. as well as doing freelance work on my own. I can also work as an editor (video/audio) and have good bit of post production work under my belt. Also, I have worked as a carpenter for the past 5 summers. All of those things make me marketable and afford me options that I wouldn't have otherwise.
Do everything you can; get your hands on new consoles, software, speakers, etc. and learn how it works and why it does what it does. Your plan is admirable, but it will take a TON of hard work and long hours to get there. If you really want to go for it, then by all means, do it - and do it well. Otherwise, reconsider your options. Remember, it will be your life's occupation (or at least a large part of it).
I am currently a Broadcasting Major but have no plans to get in to that specific field. It has, however, taught me a LOT about production and given me even more skills to use in the live production industry.
I am from New Jersey originally, but attend college in Indiana, so I can't wait to get home. I already have a great girl who I plan to marry someday, so touring is not an option. I plan to get a job at local venues, etc. as well as doing freelance work on my own. I can also work as an editor (video/audio) and have good bit of post production work under my belt. Also, I have worked as a carpenter for the past 5 summers. All of those things make me marketable and afford me options that I wouldn't have otherwise.
Do everything you can; get your hands on new consoles, software, speakers, etc. and learn how it works and why it does what it does. Your plan is admirable, but it will take a TON of hard work and long hours to get there. If you really want to go for it, then by all means, do it - and do it well. Otherwise, reconsider your options. Remember, it will be your life's occupation (or at least a large part of it).
Some of the techs from national tours that come through here give advice to get a job at one of the large PA rental houses. Nashville, New York, Chicago, LA, Newbees always coming and going. You will probebly have to start by working in the shop pushing roadcases around. When you get offered any kind of road work, never turn it down. Say no once and don't expect another offer. Not as much glamor as it may seem from the outside looking in.
It is interesting that you say this as a recent discussion on one pro sound forum noted how there seems to be an increasing tendency with many programs and people to focus on the equipment and overlook learning the basics of how and why. You get people who can program the snot out of a digital console but have no idea of the difference between balanced and unbalanced audio or mic and line audio. They know how every speaker sounds in a studio or concert setting but have no concept of speaker patterns and the impact on coverage, intelligibility, etc. They can run the console, effects and all the gear but no idea of how to connect them or set system gain structure. They can tell you when one system sounds better than another in a particular application but don't really understand why this is. One person even commented on a new employee with an audio degree that couldn't tell him which connector was an XLR and which was a 1/4" phone.
A person out on tour or on the cruise ship has to be able to function pretty independently and as such they need to know a lot more than just how to operate the equipment. They'll ideally have a decent understanding of both the artistic and technical (physics and electronics) aspects of systems. Consider this in making your choices, you'll likely have to supplement your formal education with other learning and experience.
Agreed. Its not just the technology, its what is behind the technology. As far as I am concerned, if you are a lighting or sound person and don't know how to solder, you should not be working. If you don't know the basics of power, also should not be working. Those types that know the tech but nothing behind it (Cough fullsail cough) do great until something goes down. Troubleshooting is 90% of this field.
The first thing i learned was trouble shooting, and that you never place a mic in the direct path of a speaker, espicially a shot gun mic, we dont acutual monitors in school for the talent show which is really bad because we always have the singer whos short and wants to stand with the wic in the center stages path, i relize how hard it is for this to work, but it is something i enjoy, and id rather be poor but have a job i like, then be rich and have a jon that sucks
You can put a mic in front of speakers, you just have to have another mic to "cancel" it out, it gets a bit technical to do, but you can do it. But yes, I personally believe that anyone who manages to get through the school of hard knocks with audio will do better then anyone that comes out of school with it. I started as a sound person way back when, and still use what I learned whenever I work with lighting. If you can trouble shoot a finicky sound system, you can troubleshoot anything.
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