How To Get Work As A Sound Designer Beginner To Pro

[@AftertouchAudio]

Bonus points if you can find the "=^.^="

[@kanchababaal8943]

Thank you. This was very inspirational. As an audio graduate myself i have also fallen in the trap of constantly looking for jobs online but not getting much result. Keeping an open mind for any projects that comes your way is the best route to take 👍👍👍

[@AftertouchAudio]

I found I got lots of jobs in different areas that help put me farther in the area of audio that I wanted to be in. Meet as many people as you can and enjoy the ride =^.^= you’ll make it!

[@upstairstudio371]

This deserves more attention. So much more tangible than the generic “be really good and don’t stop trying kid!” I feel like I was able to place myself in various parts of your journey and helped myself realize where and what to do next. Thanks a million for this video. Honestly!

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Upstair Studio! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I try to take a different approach to all my videos =^.^=

[@Holy_logic]

Wow loved every second of this 👏 was a really good insight into your journey, this weekend while juggling a full time job I entered into my first game jam was such a good experience and hopefully I’ll be able to “network” and find a small project to focus on right now

[@AftertouchAudio]

Congratulations! That is fantastic! Game Jams are great ways to meet new people in the industry and just work on some really cool projects, and these people will eventually go on to make some bigger games and they'll need an audio person =^.^=

[@Holy_logic]

Aftertouch Audio I managed to convince the host of the game jam to take me onto his team, as I was straight with him and said I wasn’t sure on how long I could realistically spend on the project as I was working 20 hours of the 48 hour period 😂 and didn’t want to affect someone’s jam because of it but in the end we got a working game and he said he wants to add to it over time and let me finish creating the sounds for my show reel so that’s a good start, he said he’d definitely keep me in mind for future projects as he runs his own games company so fingers crossed 🤞

[@littlenickjr]

Thank you very much for sharing. These "origin stories" are always insightful. Im hoping to throw myself into game jam audio once finished with my current project.

[@AftertouchAudio]

Awesome Trintas! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and if you ever have any questions please let us know!

[@Holy_logic]

Hey let me know what game jams you’re looking at joining, I’ve been skimming through a long list of them looking for some that sound good

[@Holy_logic]

There’s also a discord I can send you a link to for game dev London that was my first game jam and they hold monthly game audio meets the next one is on Tuesday 16th feb 5:30-7:30ish uk time

[@littlenickjr]

@@Holy_logic NoNeutrality#2633 is my discord. None that I'm particularly eyeing, but if you have some info that would be sweet.

[@oscarvgaa]

Thank you so much for this video! I got my first ongoing job as a podcast editor at the start of this year, which has gotten me really curious about game audio and post-production. Your insight is helpful 🙏🏼

[@AftertouchAudio]

Congratulations Oscar! Welcome to the audio industry!

[@topche_111]

Man thanks for helping me and making me able to choose what to do with my life. ❤

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey, I'm glad this story was helpful =^.^=

[@TheSoundFXGuy]

Love hearing your story! A lot of great personal information.

[@AftertouchAudio]

Thanks man! I would love to hear your story as well =^.^=

[@kage-ashley]

this is helpful after i have been accepted to my uni that specialises in sound for game, great vid!

[@tarellawright8988]

Extremely helpful. Thank you.

[@rogerjia6981]

Great video! I'm currently an audio engineering student and this video really helped me gain some insight on the industry as well as some inspiration.

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Roger! How many months do you have left in your program?

[@rogerjia6981]

@@AftertouchAudio currently I have like 40 months left ish. I’m still a freshman haha. I’m constantly exploring and game audio is a serious career option for me since I love games so much, but like you said, who knows what path I’ll take in the future? That being said, Would you be open to me sending you a 1min reel of some redesigns to get some feedback in the near future?

[@AftertouchAudio]

@@rogerjia6981 Oh wow, that is a big program haha. Mine was only 18 months (

[@rogerjia6981]

@@AftertouchAudio wow that’s awesome that you learned so much in 18 months! Cool! I’ll send you an email in the near future

[@AftertouchAudio]

Most of my learning happened outside of school. School really just gave me the fundamentals and was heavily geared towards Music and Studio Work, but having a solid grasp of the fundamentals made it easier to learn things outside of school.

[@LaughySound]

Would absolutely pay for a course if possible, hope you have one in the future! Great information!

[@shawnxiao1888]

Thank you for sharing the information! I just graduated from a conservatory of music and I was majored in audio engineering and I want to start my career as a sound designer, I've been looking for jobs on Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indee etc. but almost all the companies are requiring you have at least 3 years of experience in game industry or having relevant experience with an AAA title game delivered. I just feel so bad right now. Don’t know what to do next.

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Shawn, Best piece of advice I could give you is to apply for these jobs anyways. Most jobs will say you need x amount of experience working on x just too help limit the amount of applications they receive. If your demo reel is up to par I would just apply for the job anyways.

[@stockingaroundaudio1747]

Ha! Literally just purchased the Zoom H4n Pro last month to start making my first libraries. Thank you for such a great, informative video!

[@AftertouchAudio]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video =^.^=

[@mastakilla2253]

Thank you, very inspiring!

[@AftertouchAudio]

I'm glad you enjoyed Masta K =^.^=

[@SerhiiIziumenko]

I can tell my story it will be shorter than yours. I'm 28, I don't have any audio degree I don't have much time to learn. For 7 or even 8 years of learning music production, I don't even know the basics of music theory , but I know some sound design stuff, I all time was Ableton live user and now I switched to reaper which makes my life even harder than before. But I'm trying. And I want to work in this industry. And will keep learning and trying .

[@m83mic]

THIS. Thank you for making this.

[@AftertouchAudio]

Thank you Michael! I'm glad you enjoyed the video =^.^=

[@Pyroific]

damn...i guess i'll have to actually go outside and talk to people 😭

[@xcryosonx]

Thanks for sharing your journey. :) I'm now on a similar path myself (but different) and what I found really amusing in this is your course list of the things you studied at music recording college, it's near identical to what I studied at a community college years ago. Cheers man.

[@AftertouchAudio]

I found a lot of people that got into sound design started in Music. It seems to be a very common route to go =^.^=

[@ajryangameaudio]

Thanks Tyler, inspirational!

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Andrew, I’m glad I can inspire you on your audio journey.

[@johnryan4401]

Amazing story Tyler, never knew.

[@cactuzzsound]

Perfect video. I am thinking of my own about same topic for like a year or something, but haven't still done it yet. Maybe this one will rush me a bit :) Cheers Ty!

[@AftertouchAudio]

Doooooo ittttt! It was a fun video to make as I had to reflect on a lot and really put my memory to the test haha.

[@tubamonkey1]

This is awesome! Just downloaded Cubase and following tutorials. Hopefully in a year I can have started building a library and making friends 🎙️

[@AftertouchAudio]

One of the best DAWs in the world! Make sure to follow the Cubases KZbin as that is where I learned a lot about how to use my DAW. kzbin.info/door/cQBdibdDxH2ngu3kNPYOEA

[@bradenparkes]

Great video tyler

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey, thank you Braden! I'm glad you liked it =^.^=

[@정진호-x4h]

Your stories inspire me

[@AftertouchAudio]

Thank you! I’m glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@Max10_B]

That fundamentals course would be cool

[@AftertouchAudio]

It has been something that I've been thinking about for awhile, but have not put into action yet.

[@Max10_B]

@@AftertouchAudio no sweat. Thank you for giving all the free advice. The discord is awesome too. Between the in depth specific sound videos like Pokémon go, 1 hr sd challenge shorts, template videos, and Pokédex of sound (great idea btw) I’ve learned a ton. One of my favorite channels for sound design

[@Albert._]

Holy cowabunga! How does this not have more views!?

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Albert, glad you enjoyed the video =^.^=

[@ozo1489]

Wow! zoom can do location recording? I thought boom mic is the only way... Still student, feel everything you said (Level 2 now, and also feel networking is really hard but everything comes form there) Thanks for the tips and everything you share in this channel!

[@AftertouchAudio]

Thank you Ju! Yea, the H6 comes with a Shotgun Microphone attachment which is great for just starting out on short films. We managed to get some really good results with it.

[@ozo1489]

@@AftertouchAudio Hi Tylor, I watched this again and got a question when you said you cut door sound for one month. It's always a mystery for me what to do after I record a raw sound the only things I do is clean up the noise. But I suppose there has a lot more work I can do first to make a favor for myself future to use?

[@AftertouchAudio]

@@ozo1489 I usually keep the raw sounds & a slightly denoise and compressed version. That way I can go back if I need to go back, but the de noising and compression will help keep things sounding consistent.

[@z.ngaming2681]

0:27 wow 1:10 meme 2:23 with a bit of luck 4:06 psshhhhh 4:34 location sound

[@matthewhorcher1059]

thank u for this

[@AftertouchAudio]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video =^.^=

[@damondahl]

thank you!

[@AftertouchAudio]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@AndrewWithana]

Great video! I'm looking forward to study in the same path, May I know what program you took and the college you attended to? Thank you so much.

[@AftertouchAudio]

I personally would not recommend the school I went to as it was geared more towards music production and less towards film/game sound. The program I took was Audio engineering and production.

[@robert2112ful]

I have a bachelor in design and produce electronic music for more than a decade. How hard can it be to make Sound Design a profession? The point is, I am located in south of Brazil where this area is almost non existent. Do you think there's a possibility to network just remotely at the beginning? Thank you ❤

[@AftertouchAudio]

Almost all of my work comes in remote now a days.

[@robert2112ful]

​@@AftertouchAudioThank you! One last question: do you think to start building a portfolio would be better to work for free in real projects or start with fictional projects?

[@AftertouchAudio]

@robert2112ful you could do both if you’d like. I think doing re-designs is super helpful for practice and showing off what you can do, so I would start there.

[@robert2112ful]

@@AftertouchAudio thank you for your attention! I'm in a very key position in life, though as I said, I never met any professional in the field here in Brazil. But I believe I have somehow a good background in the area that will help me start it. Thanks again!

[@AftertouchAudio]

@robert2112ful ny dialogue editor works out of Brazil. It is 100% possible.

[@DevickMediaComposition]

Do you think that you need a degree to do this? Or is portfolio and experience with game jams more important?

[@AftertouchAudio]

So I try to answer this question with a bit more of a detailed response than others might, as the blanket Yes answer I think is not helpful to the majority of people. Yes, absolutely you do NOT need a degree or schooling to break into this industry, I personally have NEVER been asked in a job capacity where I went to school or what degrees I have (Unless I was being an expert witness for a court case where I needed to analyze audio for court). There is enough free information on KZbin, the free WWise 101-301 courses, and other outlets like the Slack & Discord Channels that you can usually get in touch with someone working in the industry to help answer your questions. If you check out the channels section on my KZbin you'll see a big list of people that are worth following and make good tutorials. With all that being said, this learning style does not fit everyone and can often stunt growth if you don't take advantage of being a self-learner. So with all that I say, if you are asking the question "Should I go to school" typically speaking I say yes, as hard-core self-learners don't really ask those questions, they are already doing so. If you are someone who enjoys doing self-directed studies and pursuing your own learning strategies then I think school would hold you back in a lot of ways. I personally find the classroom very hard as I was always ahead of my courses wanting to go outside or beyond the curriculum. If you are someone who learns best with direction or a structured learning path then school, mentorship, or internship might be the best path for you to take, as you'll have a course with learning outcomes and the structure built out for you. I hope this helps.

[@DevickMediaComposition]

@@AftertouchAudio I can't thank you enough for your reply. I am more grateful than you know for the time you spent responding to me. I am an avid self learner, and am also enrolled in some berklee certificate courses for game audio that I'll complete in the spring of 2024. I've always been a self learner and self starter, and with your advice I'll be able to plan my goals accordingly. Thank you again for your help, and have a wonderful day. -Max Devick

[@heatsink47]

do you need to have experience with music to become a sound designer

[@AftertouchAudio]

I would say no, but having a fundamental understanding of keys, tempo, and how music flows helps.

[@heatsink47]

@@AftertouchAudio thank you for the response

[@nick_warrior1258]

Well i kinda want to ask , i am thinking of changing career path and start studing at uni as sound engineer and considering the paths after graduation any general tips?

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hey Nick, there are a lot of paths you can take. I decided to take the freelancer route which means I do a lot of different types of jobs, but you can sum up just about everything I offer into a "Sound Designer". You have Foley Artists, Mixers, and Recordists that specialize in props, feet, cloth, and sometimes water. They usually work in a studio. You have Sound Editors, which take recorded effects and cut them into the production. This could be Ambiances, or Sound Effects. You have Music Editors, which take already recorded music and create a music edit for film. You have Composers who write custom music for productions. You have Sound Designers who manage and oversee the project and sometimes do all jobs. You have mixers which take all of the assets from all departments and mixes them into a final product. You have audio for games, and that in of itself has dozens of possessions. You have Dialogue Editors, which specialize in dialogue editing, making all of the dialogue smooth. You have Field Recordist who goes out and gathers source content for Sound Designers and Sound Editors. There are lots of different options you can have within the audio world, and just remember any of these jobs I listed above have about a dozen sub jobs.

[@nick_warrior1258]

@@AftertouchAudio Thank you for your fast response! Well that help a lot. Just something more I understood that you had to experience some of these job by your self to get to know what you like to do the most but how about the beginning? I mean with zero connection and support from the university? Well if I am asking to much just don't mind me. And I wish you the .!

[@gokulv.k.2347]

Highly Relatable 😂

[@AftertouchAudio]

Hahah, It is not a super unique story haha. I've met so many people in the industry that walked a similar path.