Introduction To The Audio Industry

Question 1

Types of jobs for sound engineers in music production studios

Answer 1

Producer
Recording engineer
Assistant engineer
Sound technician
Guitar/bass/drum technician
Mixing engineer
Mastering engineer

Question 2

Live sound/ theatre sound

Answer 2

FOH engineer
Monitor engineer
Recording engineer
Assistant engineer
Guitar bass drum technician
Rigger
Roadie

Question 3

FOH engineer

Answer 3

Only responsible for mixing one mix for all of the audience to listen to while a monitor engineer is responsible for many different mixes depending on what the performers need to hear

Question 4

Monitor engineer

Answer 4

Mixes the instruments and vocals on stage for each individual performer to hear

Question 5

Recording engineer

Answer 5

Someone who sets up and operates equipment and is responsible for creating, modifying and producing music

Question 6

Assistant engineer

Answer 6

Will assist the recording engineer in operating the soundboard and other electrical equipment during the recording session, usually in the recording studio

Question 7

Guitar/bass/drum technician

Answer 7

Maintains specific intruments

Question 8

Rigger

Answer 8

People who build the stage and lighting crosses which need to be stable and safe

Question 9

Roadie

Answer 9

• Extra pair of hands
• Intimately involved with managing each production, supporting a band on tour, and providing security for the event
• Like and intern

Question 10

Post-Production Studio (film, television, radio, gaming, multimedia)

Answer 10

• Music director
• recording and re-recording engineer
• sound designer
• sound editor
• foley engineer
• game sound programmer

Question 11

Music director

Answer 11

Liaise with the person composing the music for the film to ensure the correct atmosphere is created

Question 12

Recording & re-recording engineer

Answer 12

Postproduction audio engineers who balance background noise, dialogue, music and sound effects to create the final audio track for a movie, to show or advert

Question 13

Sound designer

Answer 13

• responsible for providing required sounds to accompany screen action
• work closely with the production mixer, sound supervisor, editor and director to create unique sound elements
• Created unique sonic backdrops

Question 14

Sound editor

Answer 14

Created soundtrack by cutting and synchronising to the picture, such elements, such as production wild tracks, dialogue tracks, library material and foley in analog or digital form and presents these to the re-recording mixer for final sound balance

Question 15

Foley engineer

Answer 15

• person who re-creates sounds for film, video and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality
• foley is a unique sound effect technique that involves creating and performing everyday sounds for movies and to shows

Question 16

Game Sound Programmer

Answer 16

• A coder and sound engineer who implements audio assets into a video game engine or similar interactive media project
• must ensure that the correct sound is triggered correctly within the game

Question 17

Location & Broadcast

Answer 17

• Boom swinger
• Sound mixer
• final mix engineer
• technician
• sound editor

Question 18

Book swinger

Answer 18

Job is to capture an accurate dialogue on set to make sure there is no noise or buzzes

Question 19

Sound mixer

Answer 19

• Generally managed, if it’s a two-person team, the recording equipment, monitoring and ensuring that the recordings are captured correctly and are in sync
• makes sure everyone on set can hear what they hear
• provides basic mix for editing department

Question 20

Final mix engineer

Answer 20

Sound is often mixed in real-time on set but makes sure the music is mixed properly

Question 21

Technician

Answer 21

Managed the technical side of things like lights etc.

Question 22

Sound editor

Answer 22

Created soundtrack by cutting and synchronising to the picture, sound elements, such as production wild tracks, dialogue tracks, library material and foley in analog or digital form and digital presents these to the re-recording mixer for final sound balance

Question 23

Big 5 of production

Answer 23

1. Pre-production
2. Tracking
3. Editing
4. Mixing
5. Mastering

Question 24

Pre-production (7)

Answer 24

• Assess the band/artist’s wants and needs
• Define the roles in the studio
• Assess music in regards to composition, arrangements, instrumentation and studio equipment required
• Monitor the band/artist’s progress
• Book studio time, Session Musicians, additional instruments and studio equipment
• Determine scheduling
• Sign and process all necessary legal documents

Question 25

Tracking (10)

Answer 25

- Set up software with relevant data - (track labels, routing, BPM, time & key signatures, session configurations) - Make adjustments to instruments - Make adjustments to microphone placements and gain structures - Make adjustment to headphone mixes (aka. Cues or Foldback) - Record a “scratch track” — overdubbing: separate every instrumental recording - Insert markers and memory locations - Track main instruments and vocals - Track overdubs, drop-ins and harmonies - Sign off on track sheets that have been used throughout the sessions

Question 26

Editing (7)

Answer 26

- Book session in editing suite - Assess the editing technique(s) to be used based on the producers instructions - Make a copy of the unedited session as a reference session - Apply appropriate techniques to compile the best performances from the tracking sessions - While editing, be mindful of timing, pitch and performance errors - After editing consolidate audio in preparation for delivery to the mixing engineer - Sign off on editing track sheets

Question 27

Mixing (7)

Answer 27

- Set up software and hardware according to producer’s request - Import reference material - Sonically balance all instrumentation and vocals - Be observant of gain structuring - Create layers, width and depth within the track using available hardware and software based on the producers vision - Reference your mixes on different monitoring systems and environments - Print a stereo track or a series of stems based on the producer and/or mastering engineers request

Question 28

Mastering (9)

Answer 28

- Set up software and hardware - Insert reference tracks - Apply final compression, EQ and limiting - Be observant of the albums “ebb & flow” - Choose track order in conjunction with the producer - Consider topping and tailing of the album and apply additional fade-in’s and fade-outs if necessary - Reference your masters on different monitoring systems and environments - Insert ISRC Codes (International Standard Recording Code) - Deliver different formats to the producer ( Vocals up, vocals down, instrumental, broadcast etc)

Question 29

Typical tools found in a recording studio

Answer 29

- mics - accessories - tools - hardware