Recording careers don't only involve working with temperamental divas and disorganized rock bands. The skills and knowledge required in the recording industry can lead to numerous career opportunities in Sound Design and Production.
Sound Designers are most usually employed in the film and television industry, where they provide sounds to accompany screen action. The work they produce is essential to the filmmaking process, as sound elements give film a sense of location or period, or a particular mood. These elements can be any sort of recorded sound, from field recordings to music and special effects. There is, as you can imagine, quite a bit of versatility required, as designers can work alone to produce entire soundtracks and effects, or in a team involving a production mixer, sound supervisor, editor and director. People in this line of work, therefore, must be good communicators, and willing to accept direction and work with others. They must also have a thorough understanding of acoustics and both analog and digital recording and editing equipment and techniques.
In film and TV production, sound effects are added during the editing process. This means that most sound designers have to be experienced sound editors, comfortable with the editing process, software and equipment.
Sound design, however, is not limited to just television and film productions. With numerous media platforms now competing with movie and TV screens, including the Internet, advertising and computer games, the demand for quality, high-trained sound designers is at an all-time high.
Sound designers may be employed by a host of production and media companies, however, many work on a freelance basis, with their own audio workstations and recording equipment. This flexibility gives the opportunity to work on a number of different projects, across a variety of different platforms and formats.
As you can see, now is a great time to start a sound design career training program. The best training programs offer a mix of classroom theoretical instruction and hands-on practical training. Graduates from these programs are highly sought after in the industry, as this varied training approach has numerous benefits: it introduces students to the essentials of the profession, providing an overview of the skills and techniques needed to create recorded sounds, music and special effects; while also providing a golden opportunity to gain experience and confidence with the necessary tools and software needed in the trade.