Unit 2: SOUND ENGINEERING and TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Sound engineering technicians operate machines and equipment to record, synchronize, mix, or reproduce music, voices, or sound effects in recording studios, sports arenas, theater productions, or movie and video productions. They set up, operate, and maintain a wide variety of electrical and electronic equipment involved in almost any radio or television broadcast, concert, play, musical recording, television show, or movie. With such a range of work, there are many specialized occupations within the field. About 32 percent of this work is in broadcasting, mainly for radio and television stations, and 16 percent in the motion picture and sound recording industries.

The transition to digital recording, editing, and broadcasting has greatly changed the work of sound engineering technicians. Software on desktop computers has replaced specialized electronic equipment in many recording and editing functions. Most radio and television stations have replaced video and audio tapes with computer hard drives and other computer data storage systems. Computer networks linked to the specialized equipment dominate modern broadcasting. This transition has forced technicians to learn computer networking and software skills.

Training

The best way to prepare for a sound engineering job is to obtain training in electronics, computer networking, or broadcast technology. Beginners learn skills on the job from experienced technicians and supervisors. They often begin their careers in small studios and, once experienced, move on to larger ones. Many employers pay tuition and expenses for courses or seminars to help technicians keep abreast of developments in the field. Audio and video equipment technicians generally need a high school diploma. Many have a university degree, although that is not always a requirement, and an employer may substitute on-the-job training for formal education requirements. Working in a studio, as an assistant, is a great way of gaining experience and knowledge. Prospective sound engineers and technicians should take high school courses in maths, physics, and electronics. Building electronic equipment from hobby kits and operating a "ham," or amateur, radio are good experience, as is work in college radio and television stations.

The Sound Engineering course that John Parson did at the Walton Institute is an 18 months part-time course designed to give the student an in-depth knowledge of sound-related skills and the workings of the music industry. It combines theory with a vast amount of hands-on practice and is aimed at people who want to give themselves the best possible chance of a successful career in the music industry.

After learning the basic skills you move up to the intermediate studios, where you will acquire sufficient skills to record an entire acoustic band. The advanced level then concentrates on computer technology. Working on your own individual workstation, you are taught to use various sequencing, editing, recording and mastering software on both Mac and PC to a professional, commercial standard.

Royal National Institute for the Blind - Job Advertisement

Job Title: Digital Studio Engineer

Main Tasks:

• The recording of books and other material in the agreed formats.
• To produce digital audio recordings in DAISY format.
• To operate a networked digital recording studio and post production equipment.
• To process and reformat audio material acquired or purchased from an external source.
• To direct narrators and produce recording sessions efficiently.
• To assist in the recruitment, training and development of narrators.
• To manage CD burning operations and digital transfer of audio.
• To assist in the training of studio staff.
• Person Specification
• An excellent knowledge of digital audio workstations and associated digital recording equipment.
• Knowledge of health and safety at work legislation
• An understanding of the DAISY format.
• Excellent knowledge of PC audio manipulation software and CD burning packages.
• Experience of recording spoken word audio in a digital recording studio.
• Experience of using a multi-channel automated digital mixer.
• Knowledge of the SADiE range of professional audio workstations.
• Knowledge of structured mark-up of information, (HTML, XML).

Tired of the same old stodgy company? Looking for a fast-paced, fun, exciting work environment? World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., a leading worldwide sports entertainment company seeks a highly experienced Audio Engineer to join our team of professionals at WWE in Stamford, CT.

The Job includes:

• studio shoots
• interactive shoots
• voiceover recording
• voice to picture recording

Position Requirements:

Applicants must be well versed in live television and studio production and experienced with interactive shoots. Post-production experience would be helpful, but not necessary. Applicants must have a minimum of 4 years in studio production and possess great attention to detail. Must have a high level of commitment and be extremely flexible. Some nights, weekends and holidays. This is a tremendous opportunity for growth toward post-production.

It is difficult today to imagine living in a world without phones, faxes, or the internet. Two types of companies fuel the growth of the telecommunications industry: the equipment manufacturers, who develop and produce the devices, hardware and software, and the service providers, who supply telecommunications services to end-users. The enormous number and variety of companies of both types means that there is a growing need for personnel with different levels of professional qualification, skill, and experience.

Examples of products developed by telecommunications equipment manufacturers are semiconductors or chips for networking and communications, telephones, mobile phones, pagers and handheld computers, switches and routers, and software management systems.

The activities of service providers centre on developing networks to provide extensive, efficient, and economical telecommunications services. These companies use hardware developed by equipment manufacturers but construct and operate their own networks and circuits, or lease them from other service providers. Examples of services provided by telecommunications carriers are basic telephone and fax, data, long distance services, mobile phone service, as well as IT and network solutions such as internet or extranet access.

Lions World Services for the Blind has been chosen to implement a new vocational training program designed to lead to employment with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Telecommunications Specialist or Network Monitor. The course will stress understanding of concepts, principles and practices of networking, data communications, and telecommunications. Basic skills needed include reasonably good keyboarding skills at the rate of 30 words per minute, a good understanding of basic arithmetic and calculator use at 90% accuracy or better, the ability to read printed materials at the rate of 100 words per minute with a comprehension level of 75% or greater on testing. Functional knowledge of the computer and the ability to use appropriate assistive technology is also required. Because the employee must work with a variety of computer servers with small screen displays, sufficient vision is required to distinguish colour and see the small LED readouts. Individuals employed as telecommunications specialists by IRS must have a college degree or one year of related work experience.

The University of Camford degree is designed for the rapidly expanding systems and data networks which service our modern computerised economies. Networks and telecommunications engineering is projected to have strong and accelerating employment growth for the foreseeable future. From the smallest computer network supporting the home worker to the largest telecommunications networks run by multinational organisations, this degree will provide the graduate with the skills for either environment.

The course provides a broad-based study of electrical and electronic engineering principles, computing and applied mathematics. You will develop specialist knowledge in networks and communications, microprocessor-based systems, and electronic engineering. After completing the second year you may want to undertake a year-long industrial placement (sandwich year) before returning for the final year. In the last stage of the degree, you will specialise in network protocols, security and management; data and telecommunications network design; communications engineering, as well as working on a year-long project.

Our graduates are expected to compete confidently and competently in the graduate market, finding employment in areas of Telecommunications, Computer Systems and Electronics, Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Computer and Simulation Science. As well as the engineering industry, recent graduates have gone into banking and finance, management consultancy and many have gone into software houses working on analysis, design, implementation and maintenance of software applications and systems.