Want to study Sound Editing & Design. Suggestions?

[Alex.Mitchell]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum had any suggestions for where to look if I wanted to take a course in Sound Editing and Design. I was looking at Maine Media but thought that it would be a good idea to broaden my scope a little so that I know that I'm making the right decision. Thanks for the help!

 

[Rippie]

I'm not trying to discourage you from attending school by saying the following but
wanted to put this out there for you.

My own personal opinion, I don't think its worth it to spend an obscene amount of
money when there are other paths you can take to learn the craft and get you
much farther along than a school will get you.

Internships.
Dedicated internet forums
DVD's
1000's of online videos
Books
etc.

Out of these 2 choices which would be better in the long run to you?
1. Find a school, pay big bux and probably money for room and board.
Be taught by someone who is probably slightly out of touch with the "real world"
of the moment. Have a large portion of their teaching be directly out of a book
that you could buy on your own. Possibly depending on class size have to schedule
time to use the gear.


2. Bust your ass to find a talented post sound person and beg them
to let you work for them as an assistant 100% free for a complete year.
Be able to sit in the same room watching how they work, the decisions they make,
how they interact with clients.
Use the money you saved on school to buy the actual gear you need to
start a career.
Go home and watch every online video about post sound tricks and techniques,
read every forum you can get your eyes on.
Be able to turn your gear on at home and learn...etc.


Obviously these are just 2 examples of paths and I make
school look like the bad guy.
My point is if you have the absolute passion
for audio there is no reason why you cant achieve what you want without
spending a lot of money on traditional school and in my opinion
be much farther along in building a future.

Sure if you were going to be a doctor you need formal training and a DEGREE.
Sound careers just aren't the same in that regard.

Just to throw a bit of real world examples.
Even though I co-owned a (music) recording studio till about 10 years ago
I'm most definitely considered a PRODUCTION sound mixer.
BUT,
in the last 3 years I've been offered 2 full time jobs in post production
and I was offered a teaching position at a local university. (I dont have a degree in sound)

I passed on those jobs but I was able to pass along the teaching job
to a fellow post production mixer who also doesn't have a degree in sound.

Point being, no one cared about a piece of paper with my name on it.

 

[Alex.Mitchell]

Not looking to study for years and years, mostly just looking for a week or two thing so that I can get a lot of questions ironed out. Also, I'm not spending my money on this. There are a lot of education and career development grants and I'm trying to prep a decent list of courses that I would be interested in. I have been doing the forum, DVD, internet thing for a while now and want to do this. Thanks for the advice though.

 

[Cedric Akins]

Look into buying dvd's on the subject for home study. Although this is not the best way to become a professional in production or post-production audio it is a start. The art of mixing takes years to master. Rippie actually has a much better suggestiong. I would suggest that you follow that path instead. I don't know where you will find any school that has a one or two week course in audio mixing prod. or post.

Good Luck.

 

[Noiz2]

Chris is right on the money.

There are very legitimate reasons to go to a school, getting a job in sound isn't one of them. For working (as opposed to teaching) it makes no sense to do anything between a JC (you get some info and access to equipment) and a big name school like USC, UCLA etc. THe big school won't nec teach you more but you will get to meet and work with the students who will be the folks running the biz so the contacts can be gold. Almost nobody I've met doing post sound at the top levels had any experience in sound before they got a job doing it. What will get you jobs are connections to people who have jobs to offer and the only real way to get that is to work at something that brings you into contact with the people you want to hire you.

Sound design is pretty much an undefined term in film. It's like saying I want to learn computers. There are techniques but you not going to get them in a class. At least not more so than just reading the stickies on post. You are certainly not going to get anything in a week or two.

If you want to take classes take them in related subjects. Say a class on Pro Tools might be good. A class on recording wildlife could be useful.

If this is not about careers but interests then go to the JC it's a great bargain. I just took a class in FCP. It was theoretically on editing but really it was a motivator to get me to spend enought time to get over the hump with FCP.

 

[Burn2Earn pro.]

there are so many ways to do anything its all personal preference. Some paths aren't needed but work best for others. It sounds like you have made your decision to go to school. the only schools I know are in new york and my buddy actually went to one of them , Its in long Island and its call Five Towns music school. it was pretty small years ago but i think it has gotten bigger.

It was kinda expensive but it had its own studio in side of it and it was really hands on.
another friend of mine went to some music production school in orlando fl , Im not sure the name but he said it was really intense , he learned alot.... tough to get a job though!!! hope some of that is helpful to you , Good luck

 

[pixelated]

The Orlando school was probably Full Sail - http://www.fullsail.edu
Totally awesome school but sounds like way beyond what you're looking for.

Rippie's suggestion of interning free for a year is excellent if you can find the right fit with the exact type of career you're aiming for. Way cheaper than school and more focused - caveat is finding the right fit. I'd have to give his suggestion an A+ if you can get it to work for you.

There's a huge variation in school offerings out there - both in quality and price - which don't necessarily correlate at all. Do LOTS of homework before committing your time and $$. Noiz2 and others points on what you really get to take away from school are also worth careful consideration. Everyone's techniques and capacity for learning differ. Some can absorb from a book - others do better hands on. It's important to evaluate what works for you.

 

[Chadfish]

Spend the money designated for tuition on a simple audio set-up, then practice.

You can find a lot of lessons on youtube alone. Still for relatively cheap you can get great instruction through DVDs, and you can rewind them and use them another day. But if you have a Grant and you must spend the money on a class then Google away and find a seminar or a short school or a class. If the Grant comes as a check to you, and you don't have to prove you went to a school, then buy gear with the money and learn the best way possible - through experience.