Advice for post newbie

[seizethecarpe]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this site and relatively new to the audio post world. I went to school for audio engineering for two years and now I really want to do sound design. My question is (and I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times before) how do you get started? I've tried contacting numerous studios, but no one has responded. I've applied to jobs on mandy, Craigslist, kijiji, etc and havn't gotten anything (paid or unpaid). I feel that i a decent demo reel Ty Media but I am getting no responses from anyone. I feel that a part of the problem might be that i don't have any original material... meaning that I have taken the audio out of previous films and replaced it with my own. Should I go down to the audio post studios I have been interested in and ask them about internships? Or just keep on trying online until I find some work to build up my portfolio?..
Thanks in advance : )

[matt-o-]

Originally Posted by seizethecarpe

Should I go down to the audio post studios I have been interested in and ask them about internships?

This is what I would do, at least in my part of the world. It's all about personal relationship to get a foothold in this kind of work. Internships are the best way to do this. Good luck! And be patient!

[seizethecarpe]

Thanks for your response Matt, I'll take your advice and go to some studios tomorrow! Do you think I should call them first and tell them that I'm coming to talk to them about internships or just show up with my resume?..

[sailor]

Originally Posted by seizethecarpe

Thanks for your response Matt, I'll take your advice and go to some studios tomorrow! Do you think I should call them first and tell them that I'm coming to talk to them about internships or just show up with my resume?..

Research the facility, find out the name of the person you want to contact, then call him/her to ask about internship opportunities. Don't "tell" them you're coming to talk about internships -- you have to get yourself invited. Respect the fact that you're asking busy people for their time and attention and approach them accordingly.

If you just walk in unannounced and hand your resume to the person at the front desk, it will be ignored. It's a hard lesson for newcomers in the business to understand, but internships are far from the top priority for facility operators. You must get their attention at an opportune time.

[paranerd]

Originally Posted by sailor

Research the facility, find out the name of the person you want to contact, then call him/her to ask about internship opportunities. Don't "tell" them you're coming to talk about internships -- you have to get yourself invited. Respect the fact that you're asking busy people for their time and attention and approach them accordingly.

If you just walk in unannounced and hand your resume to the person at the front desk, it will be ignored. It's a hard lesson for newcomers in the business to understand, but internships are far from the top priority for facility operators. You must get their attention at an opportune time.

Exactly. And once you get an internship, make sure that you become a necessity in getting things done and that the studio would be screwed without you. This is how our newest employees got in.