作者：Mark Kilborn

在我的职业生涯中，我曾经是求职者坐在面试桌的一边，也曾经作为招聘者坐在面试桌的另一边。我发现应聘音效师的新人经常犯一些错误，让作为招聘者的我觉得困惑或者可怕。所以我觉得有必要针对这些问题写点什么。新人不知道怎么申请工作是非常糟糕的。

所以，我整理了自己刚入行时遇到的一些问题以及我后来得出答案，希望能帮助到有需要的人。

该如何称呼自己？

首先，如果你正在寻找一份音效师的工作，那就称自己是音效师。不要为自己没有太多头衔或经验而感到困扰。头一两年是我的摸索阶段，所以我一直在犹豫如果称自己是音效师会不会太狡猾或太自大，尽管我真的很想成为音效师。这其实是个很傻的念头；如果你设计声音，那么你就是音效师。自信一点吧！

但不要自信过头了。我有时候看到人们喜欢称自己为某不知名的独立工作室的音效总监、创意总监、CEO等。这非常容易招致招聘经理的挖苦和窃笑。不要过分吹嘘自己，现实一点。

如果你有幽默细胞，不妨给自己一个好玩的头衔。这有助于体现个性。我曾经看到有人把自己称作“超音忍者”。大笑之余，他也给我留下积极的印象。我还听说有个程序员在自己的名片上加了一个“有闲国际人”的头衔。这表明他是一相绝对不可思议的程序员。

我没有任何项目。我该在作品集里放什么？

我遇到许多年轻的音效师并没有积极参与声音设计项目，无论他们有多少空闲时间，这让我感到吃惊。你应该总是在从事某项目，即使那只是你个人的创作练习、没有其他人参与。

总是在与声音打交道。有一个著名的网络格言是，花10000个小时学习某领域，就能成为该领域的专家。如果相信这个传说能让你坐下来好好设计声音，那你就相信吧。总是在设计声音。如果你总是在设计声音，那么你就不会找不到东西放进作品集了。

如果你正在寻找一份游戏音效设计的工作，我强烈建议你尝试一些交互性创作。下载一个免费版Unity，找一本相关的书，做一些哪怕只有一点点交互性的东西。然后再为它制作声音。用UDK也可以，它也有免费版的。交互性DEMO可以训练你的执行能力，这对全职游戏音效师来说是很关键的能力。

但是我家里没有作业工具，怎么办？

对于这个问题，我会直接说“那就回家吧，别想什么音效设计师了”，因为我高度重视求职者的解决问题的能力。但因为今天天气不错，我心情也不错，所以我打算好好回答你。

你可以找到便宜或免费的工具。假设你有一台电脑（你应该有，不然你现在怎么看到这篇文章？），最多再存1000美元你就有足够的工具创作声音了。

需要DAW（数字音频工作站）？那就选择Reaper吧，个人使用仅需60美元。跟一款电子游戏的价格相当。

需要WAV编辑器？去找Audacity，它是免费的。

需要源材料？买一部Sony PCM-M10，200-250美元可以买到（这还要看商店是在哪里）。它内置一对立体X/Y全方位麦克风，非常划算。《指环王》和《霍比特人》的音效师David Farmer让我想到这个东西的。他自己一直在用。

需要一些你自己不能录到的源材料？好吧，资源大放送了。这里有三个非常棒的音效资源库，东西又便宜又好：

The Recordist – www.therecordist.com

Chuck Russom FX – www.chuckrussomfx.com

Rabbit Ears Audio – www.rabbitearsaudio.com

如果你想浏览大型数据库，购买/下载独立声音资源，那就访问www.prosoundeffects.com。

需要插件？在KVR (www.kvr-vst.com)上有很多便宜或免费的。如果你但求品质又不嫌贵，还可以找Valhalla DSP (www.valhalladsp.com) 。

需要界面？Focusrite Scarlett 2i2。200美元。

需要显示器？这总是最大的障碍，但如果你拿不出钱，那就买一对耳机吧。那就花100美元买副AKG K240吧。

给某视频重制声音是否违法？

我不是法律专家，所以我不想从法律的角度谈这个问题。我要说的是，我不介意在你的作品集中看到类似的东西，只要它不是用于商业的游戏/电影等，而是你的个人项目。我也没有见过其他音效总监会介意这个。

一个警告：我非常不建议把重制声音后的东西拿给原作的团队看。假设你想把声音作品集给暴雪的音效团队，我建议你不要截一段《星际争霸2》的视频出来，重新设计了声音后给他们看。你可以把你的作品给我看，或者给其他人，总之不能是原作的团队。唯一可能的例外是，如果你做的东西好到惊天地泣鬼神的程度，但即使是那样，我也要验证一下你的作品是你本人的独立创作还是出自行家之手。

记住，那些制作了原作的人对作品了如指掌，你在他们的作品中犯的任何一点小错误或缺陷都会非常明显。这无疑会让你自己面临更加严格的评估。

你会怎么评估作品集？

作品集最能给我留下深刻的印象。我通常会从以下几个方面考察你的作品:

1、难忘的、独特的音效设计。我想听到我以前没有听过的声音。我想听到有个性的、精致的声音。我想被你设计的声音吸引。回想一下你在电影和游戏中听到最特别最难忘的声音是什么，你就知道往哪个方向努力了。

2、混音良好。你设计的声音应该听起来清楚、容易理解，而不是含糊、令人困惑。强大的部分应该听起来就让人觉得强大。声音频率掩蔽很糟糕，所以请确保你为所有元素留下足够的空间。

3、动态范围。不要让我听到毫无起伏变化的声音。你的声音应该有活动空间。越大声并不意味着越好。

4、深度。我听过的大部分作品都在这方面做得不足。我希望我听到的声音能营造出空间感，无论声音是由面前的摄像机发出的还是100码之外的地方传来的。声音的深度与均衡性、回声和音量有关。如果你能做好声音的深度，那你就领先别人一大步了。

5、不要使用通用素材。我已经听过太多1997年之后的素材了。如果你从素材库中寻找并直接放进你的项目中，我们很可能会听出来。不要偷懒了。自己做内容总是更好，或者至少把找来的素材稍微修改一下吧。

6、挑选有针对性的作品。如果你已经有不少个人项目，那就把针对你的受众的作品放进求职作品集里。我本人制作的是FPS。虽然我也喜欢卡通风格的声音，但如果你拿那种作品给我听，我并不能肯定你能应付得了FPS场景中的音效设计：玩家挂在一架受损的直升机尾部，直升机在大城市的上空盘旋，大城市正同时遭遇着大火、地震、海啸和暴乱。有人拿枪射玩家……

7、不要音乐。你应聘的是音效设计师职位。不要在你的作品中放入音乐，特别是别人的音乐。除了你的声音设计作品，我不想听其他的。绝大多数游戏工作团中没有专人负责作曲。如果音乐才是你的心头好，那你就去创作音乐。

8、交互性。视频很好，可玩的视频更好。我曾经把我的作品集交给一家公司，我的作品中包含一个MOD项目，里面有材料、使用说明和我自己制作的、介绍我的作品的WAV文件。结果是，我被雇用了。

但是，请保证你的效互性DEMO非常容易使用。我可没有时间为了播放你的DEMO而安装旧版DirectX等东西。

务必放入视频，因为有些人可能无法播放你的交互性DEMO。使用Fraps或其他游戏录象软件制作你的交互性DEMO的视频，以防万一。

准备作品集还有什么技巧？

保证你的视频短而精。90-180秒为宜。把最好的作品放进作品集。不要由差到好的顺序排列作品。最好的作品要放在最前面。并非所有音效总监都有时间听完你的所有作品，所以在前10秒钟就要吸引住他们。

最好有一个提示表这类的东西，用于解释你做的东西。对于视频，要加入时间；对于交互性DEMO，单纯地解释就行了。

我的简历怎么办？

如果你有作为音效设计师的专业经验，那就要突出这一条。如果你没有，那就强调你的项目工作。不要害怕说你曾经做过Taco Bob商店或Mooby商店的店长。如果你在那些行业有所成就，那就告诉我吧。能力就是能力，无论你是在哪里获得的。

好好检查拼写。在我们这行，排版和拼写错误可能破坏一款游戏，也可能导致作品彻底失败。如果声音部门有人犯了那些错误，我必须给出解释。如果你的简历或求职信里出现拼写错误，我会认为你是个马虎的人。

求职信是好东西，可以向看信的人解释你为什么想做这份工作、你想向他们学习什么以及你可以为他们带来什么。

还有吗？

当你有目标公司后，我强烈建议你熟悉一下他们的产品。玩一玩他们游戏或至少看看游戏视频。到维基上查查该公司，了解他们的历史、知道他们团队中的核心人物叫什么名字。例如，如果你申请成为Arkane工作室（《耻辱》的制作公司）的游戏音效师，那你就应该知道Harvey Smith是谁以及他的职务。

以上。我希望本文能帮助想找音效设计工作的新人。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Some Advice for the Aspiring Sound Designer

by Mark Kilborn

In my career I’ve been on both sides of the interview table, so as a hiring manager I recognize some of the mistakes I sometimes see from new or junior audio applicants. A lot of these things were confusing or intimidating to me as I started out, so I figured I’d write a little post and address some of them. It sucks being confused/concerned about how to apply for jobs.

So here are some questions I had when I was getting started, and the answers I’ve learned along the way. I hope these help.

What do I call myself?

First, if you’re seeking sound design roles, call yourself a Sound Designer. Don’t obsess about your lack of shipped titles or experience. For the first year or two I was trying to get my foot in the door, I obsessed over whether it was disingenuous and/or presumptuous to call myself what I so desperately wanted to be. It was silly. If you design sound, you are a sound designer. Be confident about that.

But don’t take it too far. I sometimes see people who refer to themselves as Audio Director, Creative Director, CEO, whatever of an independent audio company that has zero or minimal credits. This is a good way to elicit a sarcastic chuckle from a hiring manager. Don’t oversell yourself. Be real.

If you’re an especially funny person, you can be funny with your title. It’s good to show some personality. I once saw someone refer to themselves as “Noisy Ninja.” That made me laugh and left a positive impression. I also once knew a programmer who had the title “International Man of Leisure” on his business cards. Loved it. Of course, it helped that he was an absolutely incredible programmer.

I don’t have any projects. What can I put in my portfolio?

It’s amazing how many younger sound designers I’ve encountered that aren’t actively working on sound design projects in whatever free time they have. You should always be working on projects, even if they’re projects of your own creation with nobody else involved.

Always be making noise. It’s a well-known Internet Fact that you have to spend 10,000 hours working at anything to become an expert. If believing that will get you to sit down and make noise, then believe it. Always be working on something. And if you’re always working on something, you’ll always have materials to put in your portfolio.

If you’re looking for a game audio position, I strongly suggest you try to work on something interactive. Go download Unity Free, get a book on it, and build some little level with minimal interaction. Then create and implement the sound for it. You can do the same in UDK, which is also available for free. Interactive demos help you develop implementation skills, which are critical in most in-house full time game audio roles.

But I don’t have the tools to work on stuff at home!

My gut tells me to say “Then go home and don’t be a sound designer” to this argument, because I strongly value problem solving skills in candidates. But I’ll give you an answer because it’s a nice day and I’m feeling nice.

There are cheap and free tools out there. Assuming you have a computer (and are likely using it to read this), for well under $1000 you can assemble enough stuff to make some noise.

Need a DAW? Go get Reaper. It’s $60 for personal use. That’s the price of a video game.

Need a WAV editor? Go get Audacity. It’s free.

Need some source material? Get a Sony PCM-M10. $200-250 depending on where you shop. Has a stereo X/Y omnidirectional mic pair built in, and they sound quite good. David Farmer, sound designer on the LOTR and Hobbit trilogies, turned me on to this thing. He uses his all the time.

Need some source material that you can’t record yourself? You’re in for a treat. First, there are three amazing sources for boutique sound effects libraries. Very cost effective, lots of cool stuff:

The Recordist – www.therecordist.com

Chuck Russom FX – www.chuckrussomfx.com

Rabbit Ears Audio – www.rabbitearsaudio.com

If you want to browse a massive database and purchase/download individual recordings, hit up www.prosoundeffects.com.

Need some plugins? Lots of cheap and free options can be found at KVR (www.kvr-vst.com). If you want some amazing plugins for shocking prices, the Valhalla DSP (www.valhalladsp.com) plugins are an absolute steal.

Need an interface? Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. $200.

Need monitors? This one’s always a killer, but if you can’t afford anything good here, get a pair of headphones. AKG K240. They’re $100.

Is it legal to redo the sound for a video?

I am not a lawyer, so I can’t comment on the legality. What I WILL say is that I don’t generally mind seeing this in a portfolio, as long as it’s explicitly stated that you didn’t work on the real game/movie/whatever and did it as a personal project. I haven’t met many other Audio Directors who mind this either.

One caveat: I would advise against redoing the sound of something and submitting it to the team that did the original work. So if you’re going to send an audio portfolio off to the Blizzard audio team (hi guys!), for example, I wouldn’t take the intro video of Starcraft 2, redesign the sound and send it to them. Send it to me or anyone else, sure, but not them. The only possible exception I would make is if you have done something absolutely out of this world and incredible, but even then I’d get independent verification, from someone more experienced, that socks will, in fact, be knocked off.

Remember, these people did the original work you’re replacing. They’re going to know this work intimately, and any mistakes or weaknesses you have will be extremely obvious to them. It’s setting yourself up to be reviewed more aggressively.

What do you look for in a portfolio?

The portfolios that make the strongest impression on me usually have some or all of the following traits:

01) Memorable, unique sound design. I want to hear sounds that I haven’t heard before. I want to hear personality, detail. I want to be pulled in. Think of the most characteristic and memorable sounds you’ve heard in film and games. Shoot for that.

02) Good mix. Things should sound clear and understandable, not mushy and confusing. Powerful elements should feel powerful, not just a mess of muddy low end distortion. Frequency masking is bad, make sure you’ve got space for all your elements to live.

03) Dynamic range. Don’t send me a flat mix of chaos. Ups and downs are good. Allow your mix to have some breathing room. Louder is not better.

04) A sense of depth. This is a weakness I hear in a lot of portfolios. I want things to sound like they are where they are, whether it’s right in front of the camera or 100 yards away. This is all about EQ, reverb (early reflections especially) and volume. If you can get this right, you’re ahead of a lot of people.

05) No library pulls. I’ve been listening to stuff in The General library since 1997. The grizzled ancients have been listening to it a LOT longer. We will probably recognize the sound you pulled from it and dropped straight into your project. Don’t do that. It’s always better to make your own content, or at least pull from a library and modify the content quite a bit.

06) Make it appropriate. If you’ve built up a collection of personal projects, send stuff that’s appropriate for your target audience. I work on first person shooters. While I appreciate listening to well-done cartoony stuff, for example, it doesn’t tell me if you’ll be able to handle the sound design on a scene where the player is hanging from the bottom of a damaged helicopter as it spins over a major city that’s on fire and currently experiencing an earthquake, a tsunami and rioting all at the same time. With guys shooting at him. And loud music. Speaking of music…

07) No music. You’re applying for a sound design position. Don’t put music, especially not someone else’s music, in your reel. I want to hear your sound design work and nothing more. The vast majority of game studios do not keep composers on staff. If music is your first love, go be a composer instead.

08) Interactivity. Video is good. Playable is better. I once submitted a portfolio to a company that included a FMOD project with assets, instructions on how to use everything, and a WAV file of me playing the stuff I submitted and narrating what I was doing. I got the job.

Do try to make interactive demos VERY easy to use though. I won’t have the time to jump through hoops installing an old version of DirectX and all sorts of other stuff to get your demo running.

And do have a video of some sort, for those that are unable to play your interactive demo. Use Fraps or something and make a video of your interactive demo so there’s a fall back just in case.

Any more portfolio tips?

Keep videos short and sweet. 90-180 seconds. Put your best stuff first. No, really. Don’t build up to the awesomeness. Start with a bang. Not every Audio Director will take the time to listen to your entire video. Assume you have about 10 seconds to hook them.

A cue sheet of some sort, explaining what you did, is excellent. If for a video, it should have times. If it’s for something interactive, then just an explanation that makes sense.
What about my resume?

If you have past professional experience as a sound designer, highlight it. If you don’t, highlight your project work first.

Don’t be afraid to list that you’re a manager at Taco Bob’s or Mooby’s or something. And if you have some accomplishments there, tell me. People skills are people skills, wherever you pick them up.

Use a spell checker. In our field, a typo in the wrong place can break a game and prevent 200+ people from getting their work done. When someone in the audio department does that, I have to answer for it. Typos in your resume or cover letter show me that you’re not paying attention to detail.

Cover letters are good. Explain to the reader why you want to work for them, what you can learn from them and what you can bring to the table for them.
What else?

When targeting a company, I strongly suggest familiarizing yourself with their back catalogue. Go play some of their games or, at the very least, watch gameplay videos on youtube. Look them up on Wikipedia, learn their history, know the names of any key personnell they have on their team. For example, if you’re applying for a game audio gig at Arkane (makers of Dishonored), you should know who Harvey Smith is and what he does there.

Not much else. I’m probably forgetting some obvious questions, so if you have them, hit the comments section and I’ll do my best. I hope this helps you find your way. (source:gamecareerguide)