View Single Post
  #8  
Old 05-25-2012, 05:16 AM
DonM DonM is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 74
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna View Post
I tend to agree with you in a general sort of way. The more the merrier. I would however add a slight caveat to that in that all the residents and interns I have trained over the last 12 or so years have ALL come to me boasting a degree AND being an "expert" in Pro Tools. I've never (and I mean NEVER) had one of those guys (or gals) even remotely expert enough to handle even the simplest of tasks when suddenly the pressure of a feed was bearing down upon them. I have had several throw their hands up and walk away though.

My point being is that (as one who hires the audio engineers) it matters not that a potential employee knows Pro Tools and Logic. I'm glad he or she knows Logic but it ain't never gonna be of value to me or the facility. I'd much rather have someone who has mastered Pro Tools.

Like it or not that is, beyond any shadow of any doubt, the skill set they need to survive in the industry I'm in. That is an industry standard requirement and I know of NO production facility in Hollywood that strays from that standard. None.
Similar experience here - I have about 14 interns a year - and I find their workstation chops always less than they describe. I believe this is due to the condition that "Mastering Pro-Tools" implies a mastery of good audio production and post-production (including outboard signal routing and asset management). Typically I find that just about everyone confuses real usable workstation skills with memorizing the keyboard shortcuts in PT.

Our station uses Sequoia - just about nowhere can you get those instructions - so, having a good understanding of production and post, most skilled engineers will get along well.

Regarding a creative tool for artists - again - I don't care what my clients use - even if it is a Hardware recorder, I can work with the assets in PT or any tool I choose.

The only thing I do stray from ... is calling PT a standard. It is a highly installed product - and being functionally conversant in it is necessary - but as a tool, it's just a tool. I tell my students that a 'standard' can imply that PT is the basis for all other DAW's. To me the ultimate foundation is the analog tape based multi-track environment I'm sure you too experienced. With that as a standard, even PT demonstrates a tremendous reflection on that ancestry. So the 'standard' phraseology is my only caveat to the whole DAW tool thing. Many of my students hear so much noise about what Mic's, Near Fields, Consoles, DAC's, etc. they have to own in order to be a 'real' engineer. I'd rather they were real engineers regardless of what tools they own.

Great thread on this, typically these types of conversations are like muscle beach for me.

-D
Reply With Quote