Question 1

How much do Sound Designers cost?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The job of a Sound Designer is one that requires a specific combination of artistic and technical skills. For that reason, a Sound Designer may easily charge $100 per hour or more for their services. Given that Sound Designers may work several days to weeks on a single project, the cost to hire one may mean several thousand dollars.

Question 2

What does Sound Designer mean?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

To say that you are a Sound Designer means that you are the professional on a film or similar type of entertainment who creates sound tracks for those projects. You both create and acquire audio elements that in turn to help tell the story of the film, television show, commercial, or other production.

Question 3

Who is a famous Sound Designer?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Though they provide an indispensable service in the filmmaking world, Sound Designers do not normally acquire the same kind of fame that a Director or even a Cinematographer would gain. That being said, many are well-known and respected within the film community. This group of individuals includes Ben Burtt, Christopher Boyes, David Acord, Gary Rydstrom, and Will Files.

Question 4

What does a Sound Designer do in film?

Daniel Lepervanche · Accepted Answer

As part of the sound post-production team, which ideally will also include Sound Editors, Foley Artists, ADR Mixers, Dialogue Editors, and Re-Recording Mixers, to name a few, Sound Designers in film are tasked to recreate sounds, invent sounds that might not exist and/or craft sounds that might be used to serve as sonic foundations for character motifs, scene enhancements, and/or bridging the gap between the score, music, and other sound elements of the soundtrack/final mix.
The magic of bringing a scene to life sonically can be a powerful storytelling device. Therefore the Sound Designer should consider providing interesting options, while also knowing how to collaborate with other creatives, Producers, Directors, [and] executives, and know that the goal should be to serve the story.

Question 5

How do you get started in sound design?

Brandon Jones · Accepted Answer

If you wanna get started, start recording sounds right away. That’s huge. Really have an eagerness to experiment and just try things. If you have a Pro Tools rig and you’ve recorded a bunch of sounds, start playing with those sounds. I mean pitching them up, pitching them down, and seeing what you get. Trying different plugins and everything.
One of the things I did early on when I wanted to get into sound design was I started advertising on Craigslist. I don’t know if Craigslist is like this anymore–this was like ten or twelve years ago that I was doing this. But I would pore over listings every day and I would send my résumé.
My first gig was a UCLA student film that was advertised on Craigslist. He said, “I need a Sound Designer for my short film,” and I got the gig. I think I did it for like $200 or something. I was probably making less than minimum wage because I put so many hours into that thing. But then he ended up recommending me to his classmates, and so I did another UCLA short film, and then another student film. Within a couple of years, I was doing a steady stream of student films for USC and UCLA.
Then from there … I’d get a TV pilot, then I’d get a small, independent feature film, and then I’d get another feature film. After five or six years, I was actually working pretty steadily in the independent film world. So for me, it really was a slow, gradual process.
You can go that route, but if you’re fortunate to have connections and know people in the field, I would say use any connection you have. Reach out to take people to lunch often and kind of pick their brains, ask them about things and tell them that you’re interested in getting into sound design, and maybe an opportunity will pop up.
There’s been a big imbalance in terms of gender in the industry. It’s been really male-heavy for a long time. So it’s a great time for young women to get in the field because the opportunities are really, really great. They’re trying to correct that imbalance that’s been there for so many years.
I’d encourage people to be persistent and send out 100 resumés. Don’t be afraid if ninety-five of them come back as “no” or get no response. Be persistent and keep trying. And don’t be afraid to start out on your own and just do your own independent film projects or anything that you can find.
Record a lot, work really hard. Try to have an open mind and try to think outside the box and be as creative as possible. That’s what it’s all about.

Question 6

How long does it take to become a Sound Designer?

Brandon Jones · Accepted Answer

I would really stress that you have to be patient if you wanna become a Sound Designer. If you’re talking about getting in the union and working in Hollywood movies, a lot of Sound Designers start off as Assistant Sound Editors. They’ll do that for several years and get experience, learn Pro Tools, and learn how a Sound Department works. Then they can move up to become Sound Editors, and they’ll work at that for years and years, and then they can move up to be Sound Designers.
It really depends on where you work. If there’s a lot of opportunity, you can move up really quickly. But I know some places where people end up working as Assistants for like ten years and they wanna move up, but there’s just no opportunity. I know of other places where someone starts off as an Assistant and it’s a small company, so people end up leaving, and after a year, they find themselves being Sound Editors. Really, it’s kind of a crapshoot as far as that goes.
Just be patient. Don’t expect to be a Sound Designer your first year out of college. It takes a lot of time to learn the craft, get experience in a wide variety of film styles, and make thousands and thousands of mistakes along the way. That’s the only way you’re gonna learn, you know?

Question 7

What makes a good Sound Designer?

Benjamin Cook · Accepted Answer

A good Sound Designer will have an appreciation of drama, literature, music, sound and the movie-making process. A musical nature is beneficial. Interest and background in recording, sampling, synthesis is also extremely helpful as well as a familiarity with modern DAWs.

Question 8

Do Sound Designers need a degree?

Benjamin Cook · Accepted Answer

A formal education isn’t necessary, but film and music schools will provide an opportunity to learn equipment and software and to foster relationships with like-minded people that often have a long-lasting career impact–it’s a very relational job.
There are a lot of non-degree courses in sound recording and media creation that will give you some valuable skill sets. Nowadays there are a ton of free and low-cost courses and training available online and on YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

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