So I took the plunge. A leap from the city of brotherly love to the big apple. I’ve been in NYC for the past three months interning at Nutmeg Audio Post. Nutmeg was founded in 1979 and specializes in audio post-production and sound design for film, television, radio and video. The company is in the midst of expansion, adding video post to it’s list of services, and re-branding to the simple…Nutmeg Post.
I honestly thought interning was over for me, but when this opportunity arose, I knew I had to take it. Transitioning to a different state, living environment and back down to the bottom of the totem pole was an interesting change for me. As I suspected, I have been learning a ton about myself as a professional and person.
The following text was not written by me. It comes from a YouTube video I found several weeks into my internship. While the video was made for aspiring audio engineers, the statements are universal and apply to any intern. Every point the author makes is vital to the success of an internship.
Since the video is all text, I transcribed it for those who don’t want to sit through a fairly uneventful six and half minute video. Here it is…
You would like to be, you are, a sound engineer.
“Why will I hire you instead of somebody else?”
By Stephane Meer
Head manager of Studio Capitale
Audio Post-Production company in Paris, France
For fifteen years now I have seen and interviewed young sound engineers, mostly out of school looking for a job.
Some of them can have their evaluation made in minutes, some take a few days, in all cases after a week we know if the challenger is a possible recruit or not.
What are the things to know?
First, what you learn in a school will at max be 50% of what you need to know.
Second, knowledge is important but the key is attitude.
Attitude toward technical difficulty
Attitude toward the questions you should ask yourself
Attitude toward the company team
Attitude toward the customers.
Attitude toward technical difficulty
We NEVER ask anyone to know EVERYTHING before coming to us.
It’s okay if you don’t know a software, a machine, or a way to record something. What you shouldn’t do is lie about it, and pretend you know when you don’t really.
The best attitude is to ask questions and get your hands on it.
We will judge you on the way you react and learn, much more than on what you already know!
Attitude toward the questions you should ask yourself
When a new challenger comes to us, he’s in probation. We start slow by giving him easy tasks.
You should always check out any simple request you are given. Then we will think you are reliable and go on giving you more and more responsibility.
If you fail those early tests, I’m very sad to say that you are black listed right away and your chance to be recruited is gone.
Always verify, verify, verify again, spend a lot of time at this until this is your second nature.
Attitude toward the company team
There are many good sound engineers out there, so why recruit somebody we don’t like and have to share our days with for the months or years to come?
The rule here is the same as in any social context: Don’t think about YOUR perspective, think about THEIRS!
Don’t talk about you, make them talk about themselves.
What could be useful and comfortable for THEM first. What is their need, what is their problem, what do they like, what can YOU do for them?
Be in their shoes and they will take good care of you and make you succeed. It’s so simple to do the right thing when you focus on the right goal.
We don’t care about YOU, we care about what YOU can do for US. So the first step, if you want to win the game, is to know more about the team you’d like to fit in.
Attitude toward the customers.
Customers don’t spend their time with the accountant, with the secretary, with the manager…they spend their days with their sound engineer.
Therefore you ARE the company’s face to them! We will recruit you if you give a good image to people.
If you have charisma and sound reassuring, you definitely have an edge. The proper culture and way of life will give you a link with our customers and we will measure this feedback to evaluate you.
I’ve seen a young sound engineer cross a customer in our corridor, and this person came at me and said: “I don’t want him for my session”.
This is real life, every relationship detail is important, smile, hello, would you like a coffee or a tea…
My conclusion is:
Don’t think you are a sound engineer because you master a pro tools!
Don’t think you are good because your school gave you good marks.
Be modest and master the tips I gave you and you will be a winner.
I hope this advice helps all you current and future interns, for it has greatly helped me. It also got me hired. Please pass it along to others. Best of luck to all of you.
I ran into this video on YouTube. FLINTface was a band who’s demo I recorded the summer of 2007, before I moved to Philadelphia. They had a video produced for the song “Shotgun.” It came out very well and I enjoyed seeing a video accompany the song I recorded. It brings back a lot of memories and I hope there will be chances to produce and record more music in the future. Hope you like…
This is the final version of A Sailors Story, a short documentary I produced detailing my Grandpa’s experiences in WWII. I always love hearing veterans stories, especially those of the second world war. This project was inspired by Band of Brothers, HBO’s miniseries on the 101st airborne. All those men deserve a great deal of respect for their courage, sacrifice and heroism. I was also captivated by how an extremely ugly situation created so many beautiful friendships. It is important that we preserve these stories for generations to come.
This was my first project shot in HD. We used Sony V1U. The camera is small, travels well, and looks great. Special thanks to Amiekay Richcrick and Tommy Grimes for their help. If possible, watch the film in high quality.
So I recently had the privilege of visiting Studio Ten Creative Group , a production entity of Philadelphia’s NBC10. I thought I would write a little bit about what I learned from the few hours I spent there.
For those who may not know, Studio Ten offers a variety of services to help clients either create or promote they’re brand. The name is new to the Philadelphia scene, but the people behind it are not. The group is made up of many distinguished professionals, specializing in commercial production, original programming, audio and graphic design, and web content/promotion.
I got to spend a good amount of time with Eileen Matthews, production manager of the group. Here’s what I observed and took away from our conversations.
Personal Observations
Eileen started at NBC 10 as an intern. She was actively involved, presented herself well and made a good impression on those she worked with.
Eileen has produced a great deal of content and has been to some incredible places. She is an example of how this career can be incredibly rewarding, but involves willingness, determination and sacrifice.
Eileen has been recognized for her work and won numerous awards, but I felt she was extremely humble. I think it’s important to stay grounded, even if you have many achievements.
Career Advice
Due to recent layoffs and the struggling economy, this market is oversaturated and you must be willing to move to find work.
Don’t let your resume give away all the information about you. It should be a brochure and prompt conversation.
When interviewing, let that person see who you are. Your work shows what you are capable of, but they need to know if you are a good fit for the company.
When you’re first looking for your first job, you can’t be too picky. Take what you can you can get and show everyone you are capable. Go above and beyond. Make them want to use you in other areas.
I also got to spend a good amount of time with John Johnson, supervisor of post production. He had some great insight and advice.
I talked to John about how he got into the industry. He enjoyed telling me about his past. It’s important that your conversations don’t always revolve around you.
He had several jobs until he was hired at NBC. Each job was a stepping stone, having more responsibility than the one before.
We talked about how the business has changed. John has adapted to technological changes and expanded his skill-set. Being multi-dimensional is now expected throughout the industry.
John encouraged me to stay on top of things….learn new skills, read about who is doing what and what may be coming in the future.
Most importantly, he reminded me that people his age should never be written off. There is so much you can learn from people like John. They want to tell you what they know and they also want to hear from younger people.
Overall, visiting Studio Ten benefited me greatly. It made me realize how willing people are to help you because they were in your shoes at one point. Never feel intimidated to call or visit a place that interests you. There may be times when you’re rejected, but it never hurts to try. You can learn so much by being in the environment and hearing advice from an experienced professional.
So again, it’s been some time since I’ve updated. Things have been crazy around here and I finally have a Saturday off! This week felt like a whirlwind. I did an 18 hour day on Tuesday/Wednesday and it wiped me out. The semester has been going well. It’s pretty hard to believe my college career is almost over. Here’s what’s been going on.
Being executive show producer for Temple Update has been a main priority for me this semester. With the help of the other volunteers, we produce a half hour newscast every week. I posted some excerpts from my first show below. It’s been an awesome learning experience. We’re constantly writing, shooting and editing content. The show is taped live and treated as if it were being broadcast on air. It’s been a great time and I’ve also made some new friends.
The Fall semester is over! It’s really hard to believe that I only have one more to go. I must say these past few months were extremely challenging, but also allowed me to grow both in skill and as a person. I learned a great deal. From producing news packages to designing sound for a play, I discovered new ways to express myself creatively. I also encountered new people and unique relationships. It’s been a long time since this has happened. I’ve always gravitated towards those I’ve known for years, but it’s been really great to experience new friends. I’m very thankful.
I’ll be working at the station over the holiday. The Mummers Parade is coming up soon so it’s been pretty busy around here. I’m really glad to be back. I’ll also be re-vamping my resume and reel during break. I need to have a quality product ready since graduation is slowly approaching.
I wish everyone a wonderful holiday. Be thankful for what you have and the people who appreciate and love you. I’m sorry this post had nothing to do with audio or video.
Wow…It’s been a while since my last post. Things have been crazy, but I’ve had so many great experiences this semester. Here’s what I’ve been up to…
In September I recorded an acoustic duo by the name of The Economy Studs. We recorded a couple acoustic cover tunes so the two could start playing out. From the looks of their myspace It seems they are doing just that! Check out their myspace to listen to some tracks. JT also designed their website. It was a great project and I think it came out well.
I’ve been involved in Temple Update this semester, Temple’s student run news program. It’s been a great time and I’ve gained lots of broadcast production experience. Check out www.youtube.com/templeupdate to see some segments of different shows. The semester has been packed with good news. I got to shoot Barack Obama and Bob Barr’s visit to Philadelphia, the Phillies championship parade, Jason Mraz and much more.
I’m also currently taking a theater sound design class. This is something I’ve always been interested in. For my final project I was given the opportunity to design sound for Temple’s production of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. It was really fun to design considering the director wanted to go for a very surreal and psychological concept. We actually open this Friday, November 21st. The show runs into December. If you get a chance, come out and see it. For dates, visit www.temple.edu/theater.
On top of all this, I’m still working part time at WPHL. I’ve been training in master control for the past several weeks. It’s been great and a nice escape from school. I’m excited to work more over the holiday.
That’s about it. I hope to have new reels up after the Christmas holiday. Until next time…
Welcome to the redesigned home of Carl Vasile! I hope the new layout and features of the site will give you a better understanding of who I am and what I do. I’m excited for what the future holds and glad to have a way to keep everyone up to date with what I’m doing. Make sure to check out JT’s site (the designer) www.thejtsite.com. He’s been a great help and always delivers a quality product. Feel free to watch, listen, comment and contact me if you’d like. I hope you enjoy the new site as much as I do!
