Sound Supervisor

Sound technicians are required to assemble, operate and maintain the technical equipment used to record, amplify, enhance, mix or reproduce sound. They identify the sound requirements for a given task or situation and perform the appropriate actions to produce this sound. Sound technicians of different types are required in a range of industries including film, broadcasting (radio or television), live performance (theatre, music, dance), advertising and audio recordings. Sound Supervisors also monitor the safety and effectiveness of all sound equipment throughout each shoot, troubleshooting where necessary. Sound supervisors are sepreated into two different areas, production and post production. 

Specific activities for a sound supervisor in production usually include:

Assessing the acoustics of the performance area and assembling and operating the necessary equipment;

Consulting with producers and performers to determine the sound requirements;

Selecting, positioning, adjusting and operating the equipment used for amplification and recording;

Applying technical knowledge of sound recording equipment to achieve the determined artistic objectives;

Recording sound onto digital audio tape or hard disk recorders;

Monitoring audio signals to detect sound-quality deviations or malfunctions;

Anticipating and correcting any problems;

Maintaining and repairing sound equipment.

Specific activities for a sound supervisor in post production include:

Integrating (synchronisation) of pre-recorded audio (dialogue, sound effects and music) with visual content;

Re-recording and synchronising audio (post-synching);

Mixing and balancing speech, effects and music;

Creating and altering sound effects for use in films, television, etc.

Sound supervisor work is open to all graduates, a successful candidate will need to show a good understanding of the physics of sound, technical aptitude (including an awareness of current sound technology and equipment), good aural skills, excellent communication skills and acute attention to detail. A good general education will be useful. GCSEs or A-levels in maths and physics and qualifications in electronics will be particularly beneficial. Also a degree would be beneficial in:

• Music/sound technology;
• Sound engineering;
• Media technology and/or production;
• Technical theatre.

A typical starting salary would be: £16,000 - £18,000 in an established studio or in television and radio. A typical salary with experience, e.g. after ten years in the role would be approximately: £30,000 - £35,000. These wages are often supplemented with unpredictability or unsocial hour allowances. A freelance sound technicians can earn £230 - £500 per (ten hour) day. Sound technicians frequently have to work long days and unsocial hours (the average working day is ten hours) including evenings, nights and weekends. They often need to adopt flexible working patterns in order to work on breaking stories, to tight deadlines or to ensure that the creative process is not interrupted.