Sound Engineering
About Sound Engineering Jobs
For years sound engineering was not considered a true division of engineering, but times are starting to change. The advent of computers, video gaming, and other important criteria have turned this once common job into a career that requires tremendous skill. Sound engineering requires a lengthy, hands-on training process that uses many computer programs, sensitive audio machines, and creative flair during the mixing process. Take a look at many of today's movies and you can see exactly what those in sound engineering do.
Pixar has become one of the most popular animation companies in the world. Their whimsical movies are created totally through computers, yet the characters feel so lifelike. With any Pixar movie, the movie idea starts out as a simple story. A screenwriter creates a script that graphics artists use to create a series of comic script sketches. Computer graphics designers then take these sketches and create computer images of every scene. Eventually, the images are put into motion with the help of animators and then color is added. This is a complex project that can take years to complete. Once this is over, the sound engineering team becomes involved. It is the responsibility of the sound engineering professionals to bring in the actors/actresses to read the script. During the readings, their voice takes are recorded. This process can take weeks because complete perfection much be achieved by every actor/actress before the sound engineering team can complete the next stage.
Once the sound engineering team has all of the vocal tracks, they work on sound effects. Sound effects can come from any number of items. Thunderstorm tracks may actually be live recordings of a thunderstorm, or they may be created using drums and sheets of metal. Ask popular musician Weird Al Yankovic how he creates some of his sounds effects, you'll learn that he's done everything from armpit farts to dropping watermelons onto a hard floor. Those on sound engineering teams must be creative like this to get the sounds they need. Once all of the sounds and vocal tracks have been recorded, the lengthy process of blending the audio tracks to the computer animations begins. Things have to be timed perfectly by the sound engineering team in order for the lip movements and vocal tracks to match.
