PUNEET SAMTANI
PERSONALITY TRAITS OF A SUCCESSFUL STUDIO SOUND ENGINEER.
The job of a sound engineer can get really hard and taxing. It takes a lot of skill, determination, consistency, hard work and luck to succeed, like in most professional fields. To stand out in this highly competitive field a sound engineer needs more than skills towards his craft and more than the innumerable hours of work put behind him / her. The engineer needs to have some personal qualities to succeed as well.
1. Patience – Collaborating with creative people to create something which is personal to them can be very hard and demanding in itself. As an engineer you are not always going to like what the client has to say. It’ s the engineers job to manipulate the situation so every person involved is happy and the product ends up the way you had promised. The engineer must try to keep focus while the other creative people involved go through their emotions and frustrations regarding the product. She / he must stay patient and keep his cool always.
2. Strong work ethic – Getting to work in time, delivering the product as promised, keeping the clients in the loop, answering emails and calls timely, meeting deadlines, taking pride in one’ s work, being reliable, disciplined, meticulous, diligent all add up to the strong wok ethic one needs to excel.
3. Positive – More often than not, an artist is always in self doubt when creating. Staying positive and creating a positive atmosphere at the times when the artist is doubting oneself, can do wonders and lift the mood of the artist and everyone involved in the studio. At times when people are running against times to meet deadlines, it helps if the engineer remains positive.
4. Inquisitiveness and ability to adapt to new technology- There is so much happening around us and the technology is constantly changing. One must be inquisitive enough to understand where things are heading and one must be eager enough to adapt to new technologies coming their way. Things keep evolving and the engineer must also evolve with time to stay relevant.
5. Humble – There is always room to grow and learn. No one knows everything and probably never will. Keep that in mind. You are always a student of your art form. Take any art form, it usually takes a lifetime to master it.
6. Good Organizational skills- Have things set up for the session. Make sure everything needed is there. Keep the sessions edited, labeled and ready. Keep the place neat and tidy. It’ s the engineers job to make sure the session goes smooth and for this he / she has to be attentive and organized. The engineer has to manage the studios time and his own time very well so that the client does not overshoot the budget allocated.
7. Perceptive – Be totally in control and aware of your surrounding. Always think two steps ahead of the client and preempt situations. Pay attention to how everyone is feeling and give them an environment that allows them to be creative and do their job to the best of the abilities.
8. Good Social Skills – You must be able to work with people. If you don’ t have this you can surely develop it. You might be the best at what you do, but if you don’ t hone this skill you wont get very far.
9. Talk less and Listen more – The engineer gets paid to listen and he must listen very carefully. Silence in the studio should always be maintained and the engineer should speak only when necessary.
10. Respect the artists and the creative – Not all the artists and the content that you work on will be of the same level or caliber. Keep in mind that you are a sound engineer and not a critic. Give utmost respect to your work.
The Score Magazine
34 highonscore. com