Media & Entertainment
Skill India Sector Blogs

Sound Engineer

Introduction

In commercial films, radio, television, films, advertisements, videos, websites, computers, mobile games, music video recordings, and others more, there are engineers to record the soundtrack. The importance of this work is very high and it is also a major field of revenue production. In India, the scope of the sound engineer sector is small and limited nonetheless the potential for growth is huge in the Entertainment industry in India. As there is progress and growth in the entertainment sector and the demand for sound engineersis just increasing by the day.

Are you interested in building a career as a sound engineer?

To become a Sound Engineer you will need to fully understand the scope, job profile, and responsibilities of the career.

This blog gives you a detailed idea of the working life of a sound engineer

Job Description

The Music Engineer is a person who uses machinery and equipment to record, synchronize, mix, or reproduce music, voices, or sound effects. Usually, the sound engineers work for the production of movies, music recordings, video games, or TV shows. Sound engineers are also known as Sound technicians, music engineers, or audio equipment technicians.

Sound engineers manipulate acoustics to achieve the desired result. They are responsible for setting up and testing the sound equipment.

Job Responsibilities and Duties

Minimising or completely deleting unwanted sounds
Keeping a check on the volume levels and sound quality
Placing and turning the ambient sound microphones on
Working along with the producers and artists on a project
Providing supervision during live production
Getting feedback from clients and making sure the final product is up to standards
Look after maintenance and repairing of the sound types of equipment

Eligibility

There is not really a compulsory rule to have formal education training to be a sound engineer. However, it gives you an edge to have some training.

Sound engineer qualification includes attending post-secondary vocational programs, having hands-on knowledge about the equipment that is used.

Stream	Graduation	Post-graduation	P.hD.
The candidate must have appeared in 10+2 from any educational board.	The candidate should have a bachelor’s degree to pursue a career in this field.	The candidates can also pursue a master’s degree if they want to. Although it is not necessary to go for this.	If the candidates desire, they can additionally pursue a Ph.D. It is not, however, necessary to do so.
The core subjects should include Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM).	They can pursue B.Tech, B.E. in sound engineering. Try to maintain at least 50-60% to get admission in post-graduation.	They can pursue M.Tech, M.E., M.Phil in sound engineering.	They can pursue PhD. in the relevant field.
The candidate should try to gain at least a minimum of 50-60% marks. Then, only they will become eligible for bachelor’s course	The candidate needs to pass the entrance exams like JEE, JEE advanced, IIFA and others to get enrolled in a bachelor’s degree.	The candidate needs to pass the entrance exams like GATE and others to get enrolled in a master’s degree.	—

Sound engineering courses-

Undergraduate	Diploma	Postgraduate	Ph.D.
B.A. in mass communication 7 Media college	Diploma in sound engineering	M.Tech. in sound engineering	Ph.D. in sound engineering
B.Tech. in sound engineering	—	M.A. in sound engineering	—
B.Sc. in sound engineering	—	M.Sc. in sound engineering	—

Certification

1.SBE- Society of Broadcast Engineers certificate

The society of Broadcast engineers provides an exam to become a certified audio engineer. To take this exam you should have at least five years of experience in the field.

2. Avid Certified Operator: Pro Tools | Music

This course is perfect for beginners as it explains the art of cinematography from the ground up. You will learn the camera settings and various lighting techniques used while taking cinematic shots

3. Avid Certified Mixer: ICON Mixer

Avid’s ICON digital console has become the top-level choice of selective professionals and opens new doors of efficiency and creativity. This certification course explores its full scope of highlights, and how you can utilize them to make better sound mixes.

Skills Required

There are many soft skills and personality traits required by a sound engineer in this industry to become the best. Here are some of those skills

1. IT Skills

Sound engineers are most likely required to work with different audio equipment such as a digital audio workstation.

2. Problem-solving Skills

The sound engineer works with a lot of electronic equipment and when one of them malfunctions, it is the job of the sound engineer to be able to identify the problem and make quick repairs and necessary adjustments.

3. Critical Thinking Skills

The Audio engineers are supposed to fix the problems with the sound equipment, to fix problems they must come up with alternative solutions and then figure out which solution will have the better results.

4. Manual Dexterity Skills

A sound engineer must know how to set up equipment, connect wires, use knobs and buttons to make adjustments, etc. This all requires manual dexterity

5. Monitoring Skills

As a sound engineer, you must continuously monitor volume levels and sound quality. They must have a keen eye for details and find mistakes at once.

6. Communication Skills

As a sound engineer, you must continuously monitor volume levels and sound quality. They must have a keen eye for details and find mistakes at once.

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Entrance Exam

To get admitted to universities or colleges, candidates must pass an entrance examination.

National level exams-

Exam Name	Conducting Body	Duration	Frequency
JEE Mains – Joint Entrance Exam Mains	National testing agency (NTA)	3 hours	Twice a year
JEE Advanced- Joint Entrance Exam Advanced	Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)	3 hours	Once a year
IIMCEE (Indian Institute of Mass Communication Entrance Exam)	Indian Institute of Mass Communication	2 hours	Once a year
GATE- Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering	Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)	3 hours	Once a year

State-level exams-

Exam Name	Conducting Body	Duration	Frequency
WBJEE (West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination)	West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board	2 hours	Once a year
UPCET (Uttar Pradesh Combined Entrance Test)	National Testing Agency (NTA)	3 hours	Once a year
KCET (Karnataka Common Entrance Test)	Karnataka Examinations Authority	1 hour 30 minutes	Once a year
AUCET (Andhra University Common Entrance Test )	Directorate of Admission Andhra University	1 hour 30 minutes	Once a year
TS EAMCET (Telangana State Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test)	JNTU Hyderabad	3 hours	Once a year
MHT CET(Maharashtra Common Entrance Test)	Maharashtra Common Entrance Test Cell	2 hours 30 minutes	Once a year

University-level exam-

Exam Name	Conducting Body	Duration	Frequency
BITSAT (Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission)	BITS Pilani	3 Hours	Once a year
VITEEE (Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination)	VIT University, Vellore	1 hour 30 minutes	Once a year
SRMJEEE (SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Exam)	SRM Institute of Science and Technology	2 hour 30 minutes	Once a year
JMI EE (Jamia Millia Islamia Entrance Exam)	Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University	3 hours	Once a year
FTII JET (Film and Television Institute of India Joint Entrance exam)	Film and Television Institute of India	3 hours	Once a year

Job Prospects

Job name	Job description
Sound engineer	They collaborate with the producer to obtain the desired result by modifying acoustics. They are in charge of setting up, operating and maintaining the technical equipment needed to capture, amplify, and enhance sound.
Acoustic consultant	They assist in designing, assessing, management, and control of sound and vibrations in the environment.
Production assistant	They assist in the setup of the set with the necessary equipment. They assist sound recordists in ensuring that the entire sound recording process runs effectively and provides general sound crew support.
Studio Technician	In the film, TV, and music industries, you’ll need to work with audio, visual, and other technical equipment. Their responsibilities include working in both live and recorded scenarios.
Studio Manager	They work in a creative agency, where they supervise, support, and manage the projects that have been assigned to them. A project manager’s profile is pretty similar to this one.
Promo producer	A promo producer is in charge of advertising television shows on the air to entice viewers to watch them. They give recommendations for the program’s promotion plan.
Multimedia developer	They create an integrated multimedia program by designing, creating, manipulating, and tailoring visuals, sound, animation, and text. They collaborate closely with the customer.
Audio engineer	To record, synchronize, mix, or reproduce music, vocals, or sound effects, audio engineers use apparatus and equipment. They work on the film, music records, live concerts, and video games development.

Work Description

The field of sound engineering course comprises several positions. The work of all the professionals is related to audio and sound only. They are experts in the field of sound. Although the work description of all the professions is different. But still, there is some routine work which is performed by all the professionals. The following are day-to-day work descriptions of sound engineers-

They follow the directions and details given by the directors, producers, and others.
For events, broadcasts, or recordings, set up and test sound equipment.
The track, record, edit and mix audio tracks (instruments, vocals, etc.).
They also enhance the sound quality of recordings by adding sound effects.
They work with video editors to ensure that video and audio tracks are in sync.
During live events, use backup tracks and other effects.
Collaborate with others on lighting, camera, and other aspects of the project.
Sound libraries should be created and maintained.
When technical issues develop, resolve them as soon as possible.

Top Colleges

College name	Location
Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)	Different Locations in India
Birla Institute of Technology (BITS)	Pilani
National Institute of Technology (NITs)	Different Locations in India
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT)	Vellore
SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST)	Chennai
Delhi Technological University (DTU)	Delhi
Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC)	Delhi
IIFA Multimedia	Banglore
National Institute of Film and Fine Arts	Kolkata
Anna University	Chennai
Manipal Institue of Technology(MIT)	Karnataka
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)	Pune
Sardar Patel College of Engineering	Mumbai

Conclusion

To have a Sound Engineer Career you must really know and work well with technology, sound machinery and have a piece of knowledge of music. To have better chances of finding a job, try having more experience working as a junior audio engineer.

Media & Entertainment Skill India Sector Blogs