Sound engineering is one of the most essential aspects of our lives, especially for the media and entertainment industry. Sound engineering is the process of capturing, recording, editing, manipulating, mixing, reproducing as well as delivering any kind of sound with the help of mechanical equipment and digital devices.
Scope Demand and Functions of Sound Engineer
The main function of a sound engineer is to record or create crystal clear sound. At EKmixmaster, many professional sound engineers can take care of the sound of your video or film. As an audio engineer, you need to work on the technical aspect of recording such as you need to place the microphones, pre-amp the knobs as well as the set the levels.
Scope of a sound engineer
There are various scopes of a sound engineer in India and after completing the sound engineering course you can become a sound recordist, music composer, music arranger, sound designer, mixing engineer, music producer, promo producer, and radio sound engineer. As a sound engineer, you can get jobs in various fields such as TV channels, radios station, TV studios, film studios, etc. as a multimedia design artist, animator, etc. Sound engineers have huge demand in India and at the entry-level, you can expect a salary of 3.5 lakhs per annum but with 1 to 3 years of experience, your salary can go up to 6 Lakhs.
Functions of a sound engineer
A sound engineer implements various kind of techniques for mastering the sound and some of the essential techniques are:
Audio equalization:
Equalization is the process of boosting or reducing different frequencies of a sound. There are huge varieties of equalizers such as shelving equalizers, graphic equalizers, parametric equalizers, and semi-parametric equalizers and by utilizing those equalizations the audio and sound engineer equalizes the sound.
Audio compressor:
The sound engineer also needs to compress the audio files by using audio compression. With the help of such an audio compressor, it becomes possible for lessening the range of the sound that usually remains in between loud and quiet parts. The audio producers can also be used for boosting the quieter tracks as well as lower the louder track. They can make the music more symbiotic by using an audio compressor.
Stereo Enhancement:
The sound engineer can also widen the field of the mix by stereo enhancement. With such technology, the sound becomes more balanced, unique, and dramatic.
Balancing the levels:
Another significant function of a sound engineer is to mix the sound that is essential to get an emotional effect. They used to increase the tension of the drum with the help of the technology called Crescendo. Hence, the sound editor can lower or higher the range of levels at the time of mixing the sound, which can blend both the loud and a quiet sound that makes it perfectly balanced.
Panning:
The sound and audio engineer also needs to use panning for controlling the width and length of the song. With the help of planning techniques, it also becomes possible for the sound and audio engineer to move the soundtrack left and right easily from the stereocenter. Using such a panning technique is very essential otherwise the song will sound flat.
Frequency Spectrum:
A sound engineer also needs to maintain a frequency spectrum. Frequency is the number of times that a sound wave can pass at a fixed reference point every second. The sound engineer uses equalization to get all frequencies in the spectrum properly. Hence, the sound engineer can capture, reproduce, and process the audio frequency spectrum that is between 20 Hz to 20 kHz with the help of an adequate sound device.
Reverb:
With the help of technology like reverb, it becomes possible for the sound engineer to use time-based effects. This technology is also used on Youtube and that is the reason for sound depth and fullness. With technology like DAW, it becomes possible for the audio sound engineer to produce a unique structure of the sound. With the help of reverb, the sound engineer can create a distinction between the sound that is produced in a concrete hall and a large celebrity music studio. This is how the audience can understand the difference between the two sounds.
