Currently, I'm looking for a job in sound design. Because I am in the earliest stages of my career I am not in the position to turn anything down, so if you all have any suggestions be sure to let me know. I involve myself daily in many processes - post production for musicians, films/commercials, audio editing, and mixing.
3 salient ideas that I learned from my last master class 2/22/07.
The idea of being a mixing engineer excites me, esp. when working in a room that was designed to cut records; one with laser sharp reference monitors, outboard compression, and eq.
Though, these tools are only partial to the room they're contained in - they are nothing without one's mind - yet they ARE opportunities to create elements of space. As my palette, these resources are the same things all engineers have - yet it is he who distinguishes the good from the bad that survives and he who dares to makes a little noise who ultimately creates the gospel. The tools are all that remain.
I am conscious of every event that takes place in the audio field. From the planning and positioning of the microphones, to tracking, mixing, and post production - once one gets past the technology, that's when they can really begin to create the art.
What makes an instrument sound clearer in the mix? Well, first of all, good mic choice as well as placement. But if that doesn't seem to work, employ a bit of judicious EQ cut.
In the past year I've learned that conscious elimination with equalization is much more of a musical intention of the engineer, to allow the intstruments to speak to the listener. If you've done your job with eq and panning and the mix still seems cluttered it may be the decision of the producer to re-arrange the composition.
What is the focus of this recording? What do I notice immediately upon pulling up the faders? Something in my gut shoud tell me what to do. After getting a rough mix going it should be certain what the next step is. I should try to build a relationship with the instruments - maybe its the molding of the kick and bass guitar or quite possibly the phrasing of the rhythm and lead as they trade off in conversation. What is the lead instrument? I love listening to the music on low-grade speakers - not for pleasure - but in mono to check the relative levels of the channels.
Finally, I believe the most important idea is: How do my decisions affect the integrity of the final product? I want the talent to come away with something they're proud of. A piece of work thats going to be in print forever needs to be perfect! It is my service to use my ears and figure out what the musical conversation is for the talent, to be trasparent and allow their abilities and the relationships of their instruments to surface.
You become good by allowing the aesthetics from culture to come through your recordings, to use an open-mindedness and become a listener to everything it is you love. This attention to detail is the standard I live by.
