Artists House Vault: Careers in Sound Design

I’ve received several requests on twitter for more information about careers in music other than being a musician. So, today’s Vault will focus on a career that allows you to still work with music and sound, still use your technical skills in recording and audio editing, and put food on the table without having to ever step out on a stage.

These videos will be featuring Chris Scarabosio, a sound designer at the renowned Skywalker Sound. If you are interested in sound design, Chris’s advice and thoughts are the place the start.

Who is Chris Scarabosio? Our first video is a short introduction to Chris and his job at Skywalker:

What kind of background does a sound designer need? As with most careers, there are a multitude of paths one can take to end up as a sound designer. In this next video, Chris talks about his background and the particular career path that led him to his position as a sound designer:

What does a sound designer really do every day? In this video, Chris talks about what a day in the life of a sound designer is like, including the tools and approaches he uses:

Keep in mind that a sound designer’s work is needed in many different fields including music, film, television, marketing/ads, and (probably the most commonly overlooked) everyday businesses. Imagine for a moment every place you’ve been to where there are sound effects. Public transportation (the chimes when the doors open and close), aquariums (the underwater sounds), museums (the dinosaur roars), theme parks, planetariums, and the list goes on. All those background sounds and sound effects were created by sound designers.

If Chris has piqued your interest, these video segments were taken from the entire interview with Chris which you can view here.

Another related career is in TV and film scoring. Head over to our main website and explore the entire section of videos related to TV and Film Scoring!

I’m going to be focusing on more music related careers in the future, so keep an eye on the blog for updates!