Getting started as an assistant?

[Dougie Murray]

I'm sure that many of you on this amazing forum would have started your careers in the recording industry making cups of coffee, cleaning up beer cans and ash trays; and if you were lucky assisting the setup for a tracking session.

I my self aspire to be part of the recording industry and know that all the courses on recording i can do cannot prepare me fully for working in the real world. Thus i wish to become an assistant and I was hoping if anyone could give me some pointers about approaching a studio to become one?

I would be working for free and I am studying in a tertiary orginisation how to work in the music industry; it covers not only the studio, but live sound, business, and composition.

Cheers

[Dougie Murray]

original reply posts have been lost

[warhead]

Dougie, it sounds like you've already got the right attitude towards assisting / interning. I got lucky years ago, I bought my first tape machine for my home studio from a local studio and the owner (still a best friend of mine) liked the stuff I was letting him hear and asked me to assist / intern. No money involved, but I learned a lot about mic techniques, running a session, signal flow etc. I was still working full time elsewhere during the day, and while I hung on for quite some time working for "free" (education isn't free) I eventually just moved on to recording bands in my own space.

If I were you I'd show up in person, maybe with some material you've recorded on your own. Don't talk too much, in other words don't try to sound like a know it all. I doubt any studio owner's going to have much confidence in a guy who's willing to work for free but is trying to talk their game...it may look like a struggle anyhow.

But be humble, quiet, and not too needy! And if they say no the first time, so what...keep going back and politely asking if anything's changed. If anything your persistence may mean more to them in the end, but I think most studio owners are going to be looking for more of an empty shell to fill than some guy who already has his own ideas of how things should be done.

Like I said, no interviewing process for me so I'm stabbing around a bit for ya...but I'm sure others who have been through the process will chime in too.

Best of luck.

War

[Jack Ruston]

I agree...

You seem to have a great attitude. What people sometimes dont appreciate is that while a studio job may not be applied for in the same way as a job in a bank for example, it needs to be applied for in the same spirit. The studio owner is going to be thinking...

1. Is this guy going to cause any problems if I hire him: ie will he start voicing uninvited opinions in front of clients...or doing 'helpful' things without being asked like putting mics in the dishwasher etc

2. Once he's learned the ropes, is he going to turn into an active asset: ie is he musically sensitive, talented etc. Can I help him to become a great engineer?

3. Is he someone I'd quite like to go for a beer with?

You need to come across as very organised and professional but at the same time quiet and conscientious. If you get hired, start off by speaking when spoken too sort of thing, and very quickly you'll find how chatty various people are, and how much you can ask them at different times. Do the jobs that are required to keep things going: hoover, make tea, pick up trash, sit in the corner. It wont be long before someone entrusts you with a slightly more important task, which you duly take in your stride and start to become a valued and important member of the team.

These relationships work on the basis that you offer the studio free work, and they offer you experience. If you come to a place where you feel that you are being taken advantage of, leave. Its sad to say that there are people out there that just want a free dogsbody. Although you are supposed to be invisible to start off with, you should feel that you are appreciated in some way. If you dont, then hit the road and dont look back.

J

[Tibbon]

I've always found it rather interesting that this is one of the few industries in the world that people will work for free constantly. Even in China they charge 30 cents an hour for work. Work should be paid for IMHO. Yes, it's 'experience' but i'm sure the sweatshops in south american countries could say, "Well sure, they are getting the experience in case of the rare chance that they are to work in an american factory, they should be grateful".

Even in the film industry, not as many people work for free. Graphic arts, web design, programming, etc... I think it's the heart of many problems at the lower end of things. Nothing has value because everyone will work for free.

[Dougie Murray]

thanks for all the info

keep it coming

[BruceTheProduce]

Dougie , about a year ago I got an internship at a post facility. I loved it at first. To me it didn't matter what the task was. Coffee, picking up garbage, sweeping, you name it. But the cool thing was that when I was done I'd get to go sit behind the producer's desk and watch the staff engineers mix, edit or whatever. After 3 months of not feeling valued ( that's how I felt ) I took off. I regret it now cause I knew that I would have gotten something if I were a bit more persistant. Now I know, and after some freelance work I'm kinda going back internship hunting. ( that all depends on this TV producer guy I met ), but anyways. Dougie don't give up too soon. Stay there for a while and be humble, but just like Sly said: If after a long time they still use you as a piece of dirty cloth, hit the road and don't look back

Good Luck

Bruce

[uvc1977]

Hi Dougie

I think the hardest bit is going to find a place in OZ that will be able take you on. There are only a handful of studios in Sydney that are in the position to employ assistants. I dont want to discourage you though because its always worth giving it a shot. I have you thought about other fields such as radio, television, film etc?

Community Radio is one area to think about cause everyone wants to be behind the mic but hardly anyone is involved from a technical aspect. If you can find a station that is well run, attracts sponsorship knock on their door, become a volunteer. You will learn a lot of skills - pre programming shows, segments etc, editing interviews, recording and producing adverts. By giving up a couple of hours a week over a 6-12 month period you can develop a whole range of skills, obtained a reference, and if the stations sound engineer decides to move on there is a very good chance they will employ you cause your already trained up.

either way goodluck with it

[pigpen]

Everyone here is saying the same thing, which is good for you. Your attitude is right on. Don't walk in saying you want to be the next Rick Rubin and be respectful adn you will be amazed at how much people in the hot seat react to calmness.

Another idea for ya....this is how I found one of my assistants. (I am also very informal with "interviews", I go with my gut.)

If you can afford to, go find a band that you dig that is willing to work with you. Take them to the studio you wish to intern at and book a day. Go with the band as their "ears" and introduce yourself to the studio guys. Along the course of the day, make good musical decisions and ask the engineer how he got the gig there and ask if they take on interns. Worst case scenario, he says no and you move one. At least you got to see him work and they now know you exist. Best case, you get the gig.

Worked for my dood, but then again I am a sucker for a go-getter.

Good luck, however you choose to approach it. I did it for a year and a half at a huge studio in ATL. Never got hired, did not really learn a ton, but met some very cool people who ended up helping along the way. That is the "x" factor when interning....sometimes it is not what you do, but who you meet.