How to succeed in Theater Sound Design, Podcast Sound Design, and Podcast Production – with Kirsty Gillmore, Jeff Schmidt, and Matthew McLean:

In these 3 new interviews, you'll hear what it takes to get started and succeed in theater sound design from Kirsty Gilmore, podcast sound design from Jeff Schmidt, and podcast production from Matthew McLean:

• Theater Sound Design – insights from Kirsty Gillmore
• Podcast Sound Design – insights from Jeff Schmidt
• Podcast Production – insights from Matthew McLean

Theater Sound Design – insights from Kirsty Gillmore:

About Kirsty Gillmore:

Kirsty is an award-winning sound designer and voice director, based in London, UK. Her sound design work for theater and opera has included dance-music themed climate change drama, gender-swapped Shakespeare and immersive dystopian soundscapes for baroque opera (which worked surprisingly well). Kirsty is a guest tutor in sound design for the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Find out more about her work at www.soundswilde.com.

 
• What theater sound design entails:

As a theater sound designer, you’re essentially responsible for everything the audience hears in the performance space, including what they hear (music, sound effects, soundscapes) and how they hear it (sound system). You’re in charge of choosing and installing the sound system —speakers, sound desks, interfaces and convertors, playout/cueing software, microphones, radio mics, foldback, cables, computers, outboard equipment (FX units, dynamics processors), etc. You also need to create or source the sounds, which includes soundscapes, sonic textures, sound effects and music. If there are live sound effects or Foley involved, you’ll also need to work out the best way to achieve these as well.

 
• What it takes in terms of skills and gear:

Theater sound design covers both live sound and studio sound skills. Sound theory knowledge is fundamental, so make sure you’re very confident with the basics, particularly signal flow, gain staging, and processing.

On the live sound side, you need to be comfortable with installing and operating theater sound desks (DiGiCo, Yamaha and Avid are all frequently used digital consoles), speakers and microphones — both wired and radio mics. Developing good relationships with hire companies is a must, and as you start to work on larger-scale shows, knowing great production sound engineers will be a lifesaver. Acoustics knowledge will come in handy when you need to consider audience coverage when positioning speakers. The standard playback software used in theater is QLab (Mac) and getting up to speed on how to operate and programme this is a must (if you’re a hardcore PC user, Show Cue System (SCS) is an alternative to QLab.) Many designers also use Ableton alongside QLab for live looping and playback.

With computer-based audio routing systems, such as Dante, becoming industry standard, it’s become almost mandatory to have IT networking skills as well.

You’ll also need your own home studio or access to a studio-setup to create, find, edit and mix the sound effects, soundscapes, ambiences and sonic textures required for a show. The DAW or software you use to make sounds is usually down to individual preference, unless you’ll be sharing files with a composer, in which case you may need to agree on a preferred system. ProTools, Logic, and Reaper are all widely used.

In the current climate of budget cuts and arts funding reductions, many theater companies look to save costs by combining roles and hiring a composer/sound designer or video/sound designer.

Having related skills such as composition or video design can be very useful. In the current climate of budget cuts and arts funding reductions, many theater companies look to save costs by combining roles and hiring a composer/sound designer or video/sound designer. While you should never agree to do two roles for the cost of one, having additional skills can give you the edge in certain situations. And if you’re planning on going into sound design for musicals or opera, score reading skills are essential.

On top of all of this, effective communication, project management and time management skills are also extremely important. The sound designer’s job involves a lot of expectation management, often with people who have varying levels of understanding about sound. Theater is a high-pressure environment and all the creative and technical aspects need to come together in a short space of time — anything from a few weeks (for very large shows) to a few hours (for small-scale and fringe theater). Being able to troubleshoot, work under pressure, and endure long hours are part and parcel of the job. You’ll also be expected to manage the sound team — anything from a single operator for smaller shows up to 3-4 or more people for large shows and tours.

 
• How to learn it:

There is no “one way” to start working in theater sound design. The traditional way to get into it is through formal study in theater sound or technical theater at a drama institution or similar. Such institutions will offer placements in theaters and with designers as part of the training, which allow you to build industry relationships.

However, many sound designers come from other disciplines, e.g. live sound, composition, lighting design, and learn on the job. Working in support levels in theaters, e.g. casual sound operation of show, will lead to connections with directors and producers, which can lead to sound design opportunities. Designing for fringe and low-budget shows in smaller theaters and spaces which can’t afford more seasoned designers is an established way to build experience and a portfolio.

Working as an assistant or associate for more experienced designers is also another way of to building experience and connections. These roles are often advertised by word-of-mouth or through social media networks.

Working as an assistant or associate for more experienced designers is also another way of to building experience and connections. These roles are often advertised by word-of-mouth or through social media networks. You can also form new connections and find out about opportunities by joining your local theater or live sound professional organization or network (online and in person).

 
• How to find work:

Theater sound designers are generally self-employed and work on short-term contracts for venues and production companies. Jobs are occasionally advertised on arts jobs sites and theater company or venue websites. The more usual way to get work is through developing solid relationships with directors, producers and venues, which leads to being recommended for work. About 20% of my theater and opera sound design work has come from applying for formally advertised positions. The rest has come through direct approaches from directors, venues and producers who have either worked with me before, have heard my work on other productions, or have had a recommendation from another designer or theater practitioners.

 
• Essential advice for working and making it in theater sound design:

If you’re at the very beginning of a career in theater and you’re fortunate enough to be able to afford formal study, look for institutions that offer degrees and courses in theater sound. Otherwise, look for opportunities to assist or do other entry-level technical theater jobs at your local theater, amateur dramatic group, school or technical college. Get to know new theater companies and offer to do their sound.

Go and watch theater, of all sorts, at all levels. Listen to the sound design and pay attention to the system design as well as the sounds and sonic palette — what works? What doesn’t?

… it’s worth investing just as much time in creating connections and relationships as it is learning about new tech.

Building your portfolio and career takes time and patience. Theater sound is a pretty tight-knit and small community and it’s worth investing just as much time in creating connections and relationships as it is learning about new tech. Join professional networks and unions and take advantage of the networking and learning opportunities.

Be open to working with new and interesting companies and productions.

Be aware that you’ll probably need another way of generating income while you build your sound design career. Fringe and small-venue shows won’t be able to pay much, and will still require a decent investment of time. You need a side job (or jobs) flexible enough to allow you to pay the bills and still keep working in theater.

 
• Further reading and resources:

Sound Design for the Stage (Gareth Fry)

The Art of Theatrical Sound Design (Victoria Deiorio)

Association of Sound Designers (ASD) – UK professional industry body for theater sound professionals and students. Advice, industry directory and an archive of professional seminars on various theater sound topics

Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA) – US professional body for theater sound designers and composers

About Jeff Schmidt:

Jeff is a creative director for media with a focus on audio storytelling.

Jeff’s cinematic Audio Design has been a distinguishing feature of widely acclaimed audio series that have racked up over 100 million downloads in the last 2 years alone, including the two most downloaded new shows of 2018 (according to podtrac) Gladiator and Dr. Death. Four of those series have been or are presently in development as television series.

His other audio-rich series include: Inside The Exorcist and Inside Jaws in collaboration with series creator, Mark Ramsey, POPS! The Incredible Story of Louis Armstrong staring Reno Wilson, The Undercovers starring Ed O’Neill highlighting the true stories of undercover DEA agent Edward Follis who risked his life in the field fighting international drugs and terrorism, Aftershock, a full cast fiction audio thriller starring Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead, Colony), David Harbour (Hellboy, Stranger Things) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead). Learn more about his work at jeff-schmidt.com

• What podcast sound design entails:

Since the space is still maturing, it’s constantly changing and expanding. In my podcast work the term “Sound Design” often includes almost everything audio related: dialogue recording, editing, and processing, to recording, editing and designing original sound effects, music supervision, and editing, composing, final mix and mastering. I’ve been using the term “Audio Design” to make this distinction where “sound design” is a specific function under the broader approach of “Audio Design.”

I don’t know if it will always be this way. I suspect as the space grows and projects get more ambitious the film/TV approach might be needed. I can already see myself hiring Foley artists, for example, to really elevate the immersion of these series.

 
• What it takes in terms of skills and gear:

The gear is mostly the same you’d use to create sound for any other media — a DAW you’re proficient with, shaping tools like plug-ins and apps to modify recorded sounds to fit the creative vision, recording equipment to capture original sounds, sound libraries, etc…

Since there’s no visual reference, the audio has to stand on its own and communicate more clearly

Being skilled and creative across several aspects of Audio Design is pretty essential. That means having a great ear, taste, and sound design chops. It also helps to understand how sound design for audio-only is different than for visual media. Since there’s no visual reference, the audio has to stand on its own and communicate more clearly – the sounds themselves have to be able to conjure images in the listeners head while trying to avoid using the most stereotypical version of a given kind of sound.

Equally important (at least to me and in my work) is being really into stories. Audio series are very character and story-focused because it tends to be a more intimate medium. The ability to choose and cut the right music to “score” the emotional beat of the story, to create pace, tension, release and pull it all together in the final mix is vital.

 
• How to learn it:

Like most creative work you really learn by consuming the work of others and then doing it yourself. Since the podcast space is still emerging, many audio people working in it will come to it from other media like Film, TV, and Radio.

…it’s important to…figure out what works and doesn’t when using only sound to tell engaging and immersive stories.

There are now a number of studios being established where you could potentially land a gig and hopefully work with more experienced designers. Either way, it’s important to take the skills you’ve honed elsewhere and figure out what works and doesn’t when using only sound to tell engaging and immersive stories.

 
• How to find work:

I’d start by finding out who makes the shows you really admire and reaching out to them. Most of them have or will have multiple shows in development. There are several radio groups that have robust podcast efforts underway – the homegrown efforts of Public Radio, for example, and then via acquisitions of established podcast studios by the commercial broadcasters. I’m confident most podcast studios and networks would consider fitting quality designers onto their teams.

It’s important to note that there is still not a lot of series that require heavy sound design. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to put out more projects that ask to push that boundary and there are ambitious sounding series coming out more frequently – but they are still the exception right now.

 
• Essential advice for working and making it in podcast sound design:

It’s essential to have a demonstration of your work, preferably in audio-only. If you haven’t done enough of it yet to have something to show, I suggest creating your own. If you can’t write and don’t know a writer that can give you something to work with then “borrow” the writing — a poem, or a novel — and design it for audio-only (as long as it’s for demonstration purpose only). This is a lot like taking film and TV scenes and game trailers and doing a custom “re-skin” or “re-score” as a demonstration of your skill.

From there, you could ask a network or studio you’re interested in working with if they can give you a tryout. Maybe they’ll send you a scene or two to design if they have a need. Create Google Alerts for Podcast & Sound Design. There was a flurry of jobs posted recently at a number of studios.

I also suggest striving to be at least as curious about how storytelling works as you are about how sound design works.

 
• Further reading and resources:

I cannot recommend Rob Byers’ NPR training enough. Even if the NPR style is not what you’re looking to do, the basics of good audio is fundamental and this is essential reading for beginners.

All the books about podcast sound design are being written as we speak! But for a primer, I cannot recommend Rob Byers’ NPR training enough. Even if the NPR style is not what you’re looking to do, the basics of good audio is fundamental and this is essential reading for beginners.
Beyond that, I personally read as many articles, blogs, and interviews with sound designers, composers and mixers as I can. (A Sound Effect Blog, Designing Sound, Soundworks Collection, Tonebenders podcast, etc..). But I also read, watch and listen to a lot about story. That includes writing advice, screenplays, interviews with directors and producers for insight into how they work and how it can relate to my work on podcast series.

You can apply a lot of general sound design, mixing and composition skills across media. Discovering where they meet and where they diverge is a big part of the fun.

Podcast Production – insights from Matthew McLean:

About Matthew McLean:

Matthew is an audio drama writer and producer at The Podcast Host. He specializes in audio production and sound design and enjoys writing “how to” articles on podcasting.

In his spare time, he works as a manservant to a grumpy adopted three legged house rabbit called Willy, and his wife Lucy.

Learn more about his work at The Podcast Host
 
 

• What podcast production entails:

I suppose that, when working with others, there’s a lot of education involved. It can almost be a consultancy-style job.

For example, you need to set expectations that you can’t magically transform phone call audio into studio quality audio.

You often need to educate folks on things like equipment, technique, and recording environment. Most podcasters don’t get into podcasting because they’re interested in audio. They do so because there’s something they’d really like to talk about.

If you can help them to record the best possible sounding source material, you can go and make it sound great.

… bad sounding podcasts are going to struggle more and more as the space becomes busier

But if they’re handing you terrible recordings and saying “clean this up as best you can” then nobody is winning. Repair work isn’t half as satisfying as enhancement work, and bad sounding podcasts are going to struggle more and more as the space becomes busier.

 
• What it takes in terms of skills and gear:

I’ve mentioned doing everything you can to avoid repair work, but sometimes there’s no alternative. It’s still a vital part of the job.

If a client has grabbed a quick interview with a top celebrity on their phone recorder, you can’t just say “well actually, you should’ve recorded this in a proper studio.”

A lot of the time you will be fixing things, so it’s important to learn about things like EQ and noise reduction.

Gear-wise, you really only need a computer and a DAW. Audacity is free, and many folks start with that. I personally use Adobe Audition. Reaper seems to be popular these days too.

 
• How to learn it:

You can learn mainly by playing around with your editing software. Pull audio files of varying quality in there and play around with different techniques and presets. See what everything does, and can do.

Also, accept that you’re not going to learn everything at once. Learn new things in small doses; don’t get bogged down watching hours of YouTube tutorials without putting stuff into practice.

Definitely run your own podcast too. That’ll teach you a lot about the process from planning to publishing.

 
• How to find work:

Many freelancers will create a website, upload some portfolio pieces and pricing info, then start to market themselves. This could be anywhere from social media to platforms such as Fiverr.

If you start your own podcast you can be the ‘sponsor’ of your own show. You can talk a little about your podcast production service at the beginning, middle, or end of your episodes.

Folks can reach out to podcasting companies too, to ask if they’re looking for help. It’s good to be able to offer more skills than audio production though. You’ll have a better chance if you’re also a practiced writer and a bit of an all-arounder.

If you start your own podcast you can be the ‘sponsor’ of your own show. You can talk a little about your podcast production service at the beginning, middle, or end of your episodes. You might even offer a special discount code for your listeners to help get those first few clients.

 
• Essential advice for working and making it in podcast production:

On the one hand, be flexible in terms of the types of jobs you’ll try your hand at. If a client wants advice on content or interview skills, can you lend a hand there? If they’d like show-notes written, or help publishing episodes, can you chip in there?

On the other hand, make sure everything you take on is scalable and sustainable. If you have a day job or are at college or university, be mindful of how much you’re doing. If you’re working alone and you somehow get 50 new client inquiries, you’ll have a bit of thinking to do. Set strict boundaries for when you’ll work, and when you won’t.

Don’t get pulled into that belief that you need to work 20 hours a day. Are you really doing your best work in that 19th or 20th consecutive hour? The idea that you need to out-work everyone else with the hours you put in is an old and tired one – literally.

If you look after yourself as best you can, you’ll do better work for the folks who hire you.

 
• Further reading and resources:

We have a vast amount of free how-to content over at ThePodcastHost.com. Our Podcast Production section would be a good place to start.

There’s also a handy guide on how to get a job in podcasting which might be useful for folks. There are some more tips and advice in there.

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