run the other way?

I haven’t been blogging. I haven’t felt right about it. I’ve been thinking a lot about this industry and how impossible it must be to get a foothold if you’re just starting out. When I got started in 1985 … things were still influenced by the studio system and apprenticeships were available. You trained. You trained under someone who had a responsibility to pass on knowledge gained from the previous generation. Or you got a job as an assistant, which meant you trained for another 5 to 10 years before becoming an editor. This real world training was great. It was like a secret club with it’s own language. I loved acquiring the vocabulary that would allow me to get on the phone and order a reprint from a lab. I loved putting my hands on a rewind and challenging myself to spin a reel it faster and faster until it produced an amazing breeze. You could make a decent wage while you learned. It was an incredible privilege.

When digital editing replaced analog editing—  apprentices and sound assistants eventually became obsolete.  With Pro Tools, an editor no longer needed that kind of support. But it also meant that this real world training ground for assistants was a thing of the past too. No longer could you learn your craft in an assured and studied manner.

Right now we’re faced with a tight tight economy (with regards to the TV post production community). And yet we still have recording schools all across the country spilling out graduates by the thousands. Equipment has become relatively affordable which means that it’s easier than ever to hang a shingle and and take on jobs from Craigslist. Jobs for no pay. Or jobs that don’t pay much. This ends up affecting everyone. It causes wages to come down for everyone.

Quality is affected too. People have become used to MP3 quality. Some television is sounding worse than ever. Shows are compressed to death in an attempt to make them appear louder and punchier, but the affect is quite the opposite. Everything sounds the same.

I hate to be discouraging to anyone that wants to forge a career in this field, but the climate seems just terrible for building a career right now. Budgets are getting smaller and smaller and companies both big and small are grappling for the same work. The market is over saturated with those that already offer post services and with those that want to be a part of the industry. Most importantly… structured, real world training opportunities have all but dried up.

Run the other way? Not necessarily. I still like to think that if someone is talented enough and patient enough, there are still roads in. The important question remains though. If you can find that “road in” and take it — will you like this terrain once you get here? Or are the golden days of sound editing and mixing a thing of the past?

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