Here are the job opportunities (or as we like to call them, Grind Opps) from this week's show.
GRIND OPP #1
Position:
Sound Designer
Industry: Recording
Location: Reno, NV
Description
Gaming company seeks aspiring sound designer to create all audio for games.
GRIND OPP #2
Position:
Video Editor
Industry: Film
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Description
Media company requires full-time video editor with good storytelling skills.
GRIND OPP #3
Position:
Assistant Engineer
Industry: Radio
Location: Sacramento, CA
Description
Local radio station is hiring assistant engineer that will operate, maintain, update and repair hardware.
GRIND OPP #4
Position:
Videographer / Editor
Industry: Film
Location: Austin, TX
Description
Digital marketing firm seeks videographer / editor to shoot and edit content for political activities.
GRIND OPP #5
Position:
Studio Production Assistant
Industry: Film
Location: Tucson, AZ
Description
Candidate will be operating studio cameras, floor directing, lighting, graphics and basic audio boards.
Transcript
What’s up y’all? Welcome to Connected. I’m your host, DJ IZ. Again, you can catch us here every Monday at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Man, I was just chopping it up with my team prior to us starting this show man, and I just want to say we got some really cool, exciting things coming up soon. I’m pushing for next week, but you might see it in two weeks. Who knows? I’m just excited about what we’ve got going on. I mentioned in the last show that I was going to Japan, so some interesting things there for all my creators who work on music, DJs, musicians, singer-songwriters. I got [inaudible 00:01:09] coming out, which I’m happy to tell you about. I was very limited on the information I was actually able to shoot you last week, so this week I can kind of dive into it. So, we have this called an arc, and it actually allows you to loop yourself for those… For anybody who plays acoustic guitar, it saves you from [inaudible 00:01:30] guitar. Sing over it. For casts that work on beats, you can do your beats. Resolver software, Able 10, you can do it in Pro Tools, all those things.
That’s really cool man, so I’m definitely excited about that. I’m working with this company called Zoo, which is based out of here and Japan. So, they deal with primarily products that are [inaudible 00:01:54], film recorders and the whole nines. So, as we go, I’ll be able to kind of just share a little bit more information on this actually from [inaudible 00:02:03] drops next month. All right. So, keep your ear on that.
Let’s see what else is exciting. We’ve got a couple…that’s exciting but I feel like I’m going to wait till I’ve got… Well, I don’t even want to give it away, but the team might get on me for that . But anyway so, for those of you who are just tuning in for the first time, we are on now episode 22, which puts us at roughly a 115 jobs I want to say that I’ve been able to present here on Connect. So, I was just talking to a friend of mine over the weekend who’s actually in film, who’s consistently tuned into the show man, just to be able to see the impact that we’ve been able to make just even with what we’ve got going on. And what he’s trying to do as far as career, it’s really exciting, man and kind of just keeps it going for us here in what we’re doing.
Let me see. What else? Man, I don’t want to miss anything. I feel like with the last show, I feel like maybe there’s some things I quite wasn’t able to cover, so I want to make sure you get your Q and A, your questions together right now. So, when we get to the Q and A part of the show, that I can kind of dive through them, and get those answered for you guys, all right?
So, anyways man, I hope you guys all had a great weekend. Thank you all for tuning in again today. So, I’m going to keep things off. We’re going to dive into our first Grind Opp of the day, which is in the field of film. Production assistant AMC’s limited project, The Walking Dead Retrospective is seeking production assistants, and this is in Atlanta, Georgia, all right. Now, here is the details. Must have strong work ethic. I mean that’s obvious must plus there. Critical thinking skills and a positive attitude, another must. Responsibilities will include preparing paper work, running errands, and working with creative and production teams as needed. Candidate will be working a minimum for 24 hours per week, irregular hours for set.
Let me do the math there. Candidate will be working a minimum of 24 hours. That’s actually not bad if that’s a minimum. But again, you’ll be responsible for prepping paper work and running errands, and working with creative and production teams as needed. Now that sounds like it’s a combination of a kind of on-the-go gig, but also too in a very creative setting. You’ll be working with folks so you definitely gotta know how to work with folks, how to work with people and be positive, good energy. We always encourage those things on any of these grind opps, because for one, nobody wants anybody showing up with a raggedy attitude, and just good energy man. Good energy is always a positive because it promotes the energy of getting things done, and being happy about your work, all right.
Irregular hours are set. Any time they say irregular hours, man, that might be two in the morning, that might be your [inaudible 00:05:18] that, the wee hours. So, you kind of want to make sure that your schedule can compensate those adjustments, all right. Well, that’s super important. Again, this is in Atlanta, Georgia. I know a lot of folks in film that are based out of Atlanta Georgia. So, this could definitely be a great one for you guys if you are tuning in. Also, for our Recording Connection students that might be based out of Atlanta, definitely want to take advantage of this.
So, I think the key things in this one is obviously you got to have a strong work ethic, and you want to have some experience. It doesn’t say here, but I’m starting to learn that with these grind opps we’re presenting to you guys, it’s really a great idea to have some experience. Like I said, the goal here is to always get in and take advantage of these opportunities and over-perform. So, definitely wanna keep that at the forefront of your mind.
All right. Moving on to Grind Opp number two, this is in field of radio. Radio assistant producer, executive producer seeking assistant producer that will support productions for pod broadcast, web and social media. Web experience preferred. This is in Concord, NH, all right. Here are the details for this one. Will be responsible for researching and finding necessary music, sound effects, and archival tape for the works in progress, basic audio production preferably Pro Tools, deadline-oriented, comfortable with organizational tasks. Ideal opportunity for radio graduate or audio that has come through with working in fast-paced environment under strict deadlines.
Again to me, this is another opportunity that stands out for our film connection students. As you can see, this one is asking for experience, preferred experience. Okay. So, this one’s interesting because it’s super detailed in regards to job description which is finding necessary music, sound effects, archival tape for the work in progress. So to me, that’s obviously something that pertains to pro-project, meaning each project might be different. You gotta find the content that kind of coincides with each project or with that particular project, whatever the vibe is, so you got to be able to kinda… You wanna have a library of information in regards to music when it comes to that kind of thing because you wanna be able to identify with the concept and the goal and be able to pair music with it instantly or have an idea in your mind of what will work and what won’t. It will save you a lot of time.
They’re asking that you be fluent in Pro Tools. So for those of you who might be good at, let’s say Able 10 or Logic or any other ones. Like I said, it’s always good to know a variety of recording platforms just because you get an opportunity like this, they want you to be fluent in Pro Tools. So, it’s good to know them all. Again, like I always say, it’s good to know a variety of platforms when it comes to recording and even on the films I always say, “Know your gear. Know your options.” All right?
Deadline-oriented. So, that comes with being structured, on point, on time, and being able to execute, all right. So, that’s always a plus and you’ve got to be comfortable with organizational tasks. So again, that points itself to someone who has structure and the ability to be organized. You’ll be surprised how many folks just don’t have the ability to be organized. So, this is a good opportunity for a radio graduate. I think that’s why we definitely wanna highlight this one for our Recording Connection students, because we definitely have those bases covered, especially with students who actually had experience in real time in the real workplace.
And last but not least, you just got to be fast. It’s a fast-paced environment, so you just got to be able to go, go, go, go, and execute. These come with strict deadlines, okay. Some of the grind opps in the beginning kinda says gotta be able to deliver, gotta be able to be well-organized and execute, but this one is saying, “Strict deadlines.” And so there is no two days later, three days later, it’s that day, this is pretty much what they’re aiming for, all right.
Moving on to Grind Opp number three. This is in the field of recording. Part time sound engineer. Hotel looking for a live support engineer for venue operations and artist communications. This is in Portland, Oregon, all right. And here are some of the details for this one. Candidate must have a positive attitude. It’s interesting that these grind opp details would have that specific detail, right? You would think folks would show up and just naturally have a positive attitude, and the reality is common sense isn’t always common. So, I would say it’s something that we find ourselves having to reiterate for those of you who are looking at taking advantage of these opportunities. All right, man. You always want to walk in through that door, energy and just excited, all right?
So, you must have a positive attitude, a true love for music, and a desire to give musicians, and the audience the best experience possible. Responsibilities will include maintenance of in-house system, set up and breakdown gear, liaison between a hotel and bands and report too at work directly to production manager. Time management is a must for this position. One of the things that I’ve stressed even outside of this show and in the business that I’ve been able to conduct even outside of just music, one thing that I’ve always stood by is that experience is everything.
I don’t care if it’s a album, if it’s a movie, if it’s a new product. When I think about just what people get excited about these days, I get excited about the experience, and just the overall presentation. And if you look here, having a true love for music, a desire to give musicians and the audience the best experience possible. Really at the end of the day, that’s what it is about. Even when you jump into a grind opp interview, you wanna give those folks the best experience of who you are, right?
Because you’ll find that a great experience will take you a very, very, long way. And that’s even my rule of thumb even today is when I get involved with companies, the overall goal is to give them a great experience. If it’s a great opportunity, if I’m investing the time into helping them come up with a product, my overall goal is to give the consumer the best absolute experience. And to me at the end of day, that’s really what it’s all about, man. It’s about a great experience and really, really, loving what it is you’re doing. Because when you love what you do, you’re gonna have a positive attitude. You’re going to have energy. When you hate what you do, you’re gonna walk in with a janky attitude, a bad vibe. And this time and these days, nobody wants to be around that. I know I don’t which is why I love my team, because my team’s got great energy, and that I look forward to my Mondays. So at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about man.
So, another detail for this one is, maintenance in-house systems. So one of the things I’ve talked about too is a lot of these grind opps can be very technical, but also very, very, creative, and you’ll find that it’s either one or the other, right. You’re either great at being technical, when it comes to the creative, you’re, “Ugh,” or when you’re super creative, you’re not very technical. So, you’ll find that some of these grind opps are asking you to really be both which can be tough at times. It’s being able to switch that gear off.
For instance, you’ll be dealing with the hotel and bands. You’ll be a liaison so, you gotta know your… That communication and that posture is very different. When you’re dealing with people at the hotel, when you’re dealing with the artist, very different things. You gotta know the air in the room. You gotta know how to read it. You gotta know how to insert yourself and just be cool. Be easy to work with. You’ll report and work directly with the production manager, so time management, they’re saying is a must for this one. So, again, being structured, being organized will keep you dialed into that clock, and what those numbers are, so you can stay on focus and get what needs to be done, done.
Let me see, what else. I think one of the things that definitely to keep in mind with being a sound engineer, especially when you get to deal with the artist, you’ll come across artists that are cool. You’ll come across artists that are jerks. And I think it’s ultimately being able to help these artists, right, get to a place where they’re comfortable with how they want their sound to be or how they want their audience to hear them. And I think you do your best to complement whatever that vision is. I’ve dealt with some and in the past that are just… I’m just going to say it, they’re just assholes. So, I think in this day and age especially in that environment, you just want to always complement what the artist is trying to do. It’s tough because sometimes you’re not going to get an artist that is the coolest cat in the world. Sometimes, they’re gonna be real stiff. Sometimes, they’re gonna seem like they’re pissed, but just continue to do your job, man. Be stand up, be great and just have a great vibe, great energy and that’s what it’s about.
All right, moving on to Grind Opp number four. This is in the field of radio. Audio tech and board operator. Broadcasting company is looking for a part time tech to run live and recorded programs. This is in Seattle, WA, all right. Let’s see. These details are… Oh, hold on. Candidate must have experience operating radio broadcasting consoles. Potential full-time position. You must be available to work holidays and weekends. Candidate must have strong communication and organizational skills, all right.
I mean that’s pretty basic on this one. It’s pretty self-explanatory. As far as working holidays and weekends, oh, yeah. Whatever plans, weekend plans, I’m a go to the beach, I’m hanging with my girls, I’m hanging with my boys, that’s where it gets tough, so that’s the sacrifice. And the great thing is this is a potential full-time position, so you definitely want to get in there and make your presence felt because you can easily slide into a full-time position which is always a great opportunity, all right.
You gotta have experience operating regular broadcasting consoles. So again, do your homework. Like I said, it’s always good to know an array of gear and equipment so that when you get into these situations where you’re in this environment and you come across something that you never really worked on before, you don’t want to slow down the work flow, and you want to be able to fly. You want to be able to do what it is you do, and that only comes with you knowing your gear, and knowing a bit of everything that’s out there. For these kind of gigs, you get in, you assess what they use and then you do your homework instantly. I always tell cats, the quickest way to learn something or figure out something, just go to YouTube. There’s tons of videos that you can find that are pretty much tutorials or cats filming themselves working on it. So that’s always an option, but at the end of the day, you just want to be able to get in there and function and fly and work.
So important detail for this particular grind opp is you gotta have strong communication and organizational skills. And I would say across the board with all these grind opps, that’s definitely a must. Having strong communication or organizational skills. You’ll find that even with that characteristic, it allows you to really knock down all the other things within these particular details for these grind opps. With strong communication and organizational skills, everything kind of comes into play within those dynamics. So those are definitely, I would say, in my mind at the top of the list as far as performance and presentation. If you have those two components, nine times out of ten, all the other ones just kind of fall into place. So that’s definitely important to remember, all right.
Next Grind Opp which is our last one of the day. This is in the field of recording. Audio engineer. Publishing company looking for an audio engineer that will record writers’ rough demos. This is in Kansas City, MO. And here is the MO for this Grind Opp. Audio engineer who will be responsible for recording, burning disc uploading audio on the servers. There will be live engineering opportunities available. Live engineering experience is a plus but not required. Candidate must have at least one year of studio experience. Okay. It sounds like it’s pretty basic especially for anyone that’s an engineer. We all know burning discs and transferring audio to servers is not too intense. Now, the recording side can definitely be intense, and I’m gonna assume that any engineer that’s viewing this today has some pretty decent experience under the belt especially for our recording students at the Recording Connection.
I don’t think I really need to dive into the details of the recording process for an engineer. I think if you’re tuning in to the show, you pretty much know the ins and outs for that. But there will be live engineering opportunities available, so they’re saying live engineering is definitely a plus. As far as having experience, that’s definitely a plus. One thing I can definitely comment on is live engineering versus live recording are two different worlds. So for those of you who are in either fields, recording or live, it’s just good to get some information and experience on your belt. Especially if you’re a studio engineer, it’s always good to reach out to folks. And the engineering world is a really small, small, world so you’re either a live engineer or you’re a recording engineer.
And there’s definitely just some things that kind of work hand in hand as far as being able to apply the same kind of things. However, when you get to the venue side versus the recording room side, two different dynamics as far as the acoustics, different techniques are required for each application. So it’s just good to know those things, especially when you get an opportunity like this. You just want to be able to know what it is, what gears you need to switch, so that you can obviously execute the goal at hand.
And you’ve got to have at least one year of studio experience. So, you already know if you’ve got a year of studio experience, you kind of know what that entails as far as the recording process, but I don’t really see burning disc and uploading audio to servers being a challenge for anybody looking to dive into this particular grind opp. So guys, that is our last grind opp for the day. So, now we get to move to something a little cool, a little something more, we can shoot some information. If you got questions, I told you guys to get your Q and A ready, and it looks like we actually got some questions. So, let me see here. Another thing before I get to these questions, be sure to click on your right side of your screen. We have the Apply link which is the way to apply for these grind opps. You should see that.
Also two, these grind opps are available to everyone, not just Recording Connection students, but we’re making them available to anyone who’s tuning in. So as long as you’re here live and direct with us, you can have access to these grind opps. If you’re looking to become a student or would like to join the Recording Connection, well you can go to www.recordingconnection.com. There, you’ll be able to see everything in regards to what we do, and what we’re in the process of doing. Also too, you can also reach us at… make sure you jot this down. You can reach us at [email protected]. Matter of fact, I just had couple folks ask where they can send music, tracks, and stuff like that, so you definitely want to make sure you shoot all that info to the website, and to that email address, all right?
All right, so Dwight. I see Dwight here often, man. What’s up, D? Thank you for tuning in again. I come here in Connected from an article I read, and I was wondering are these grind opps only available to students at the connection? They are for a limited time. So you definitely want to make sure that if you happen to come across a grind opp that you find very interesting or something you wanna have access to, man, just jump on it right away. I’m not sure what the time frame is for our grind opps, but it’s definitely a limited amount of time to where other people may have access to them. So we’re bringing them to you first. So man, just make sure you get in there and go for the grind opps that you see that you wanna kinda dive into. All right? So, I hope that answers your question, D.
Let me see. Can you give us a little history on your beginnings and how you achieve your success? Man. It started a long, long, time ago for me. I started out on drums when I was five, and my father was a musician. And so we always had gear and equipment laying around the house, and my dad always had the latest drum machines, samplers, and pretty much evolved from playing drums to messing with these drum machines and started sampling my dad’s vinyl, and next thing I know, I was making beats, and kind of just evolved into writing songs, and really just kind of got my music to folks. Music, just kind of was able to circulate my music in, and after being kind of just kicked off from there, man and was a very, very, long road but that’s the short version. I won’t take up the whole time on the show, but that’s kind of the short version, man. That’s kinda how I got my career going. And it started from me being a drummer, and everything kind of just eventually fell into place, after years and years and years of hard work and trying to meet the right folks and just trying to be present for opportunity. And that’s kind of how everything kind of came to fruition and it came together. All right?
Let’s see, moving on to the next question. What does paying your dues mean? Man, honestly, paying your dues man, in this day and age, folks don’t really know what it means. And paying your dues at the time I was coming up was really just man, start from the bottom. I hate to say it, but it’s like going through a mental process of telling yourself, “Before I focus on what I feel I’m entitled to, what I should be earning, what I should be getting, I’m just going to be a fly on the wall and sponge up everything I possibly can. I’m gonna keep my mouth shut and I’m just going to learn.” To me, that’s what paying your dues is. Man, you shut up, you be a fly on the wall, and you learn, and you learn, and you learn. And one day, maybe somebody might ask you for your opinion or ask you for some information. Somebody might say, “Hey, man. Let me see you do what you do. Okay, you’re an engineer? Okay. Cool. Mix this music for me.”
And then that’s when your opportunity comes and then you’ve got to be able to deliver. So, paying your dues is a very, very, important component and fundamental to getting in the game and learning. A lot of cats these days, it’s like they know everything. There’s no room for growth. There’s no room to learn anything, and it doesn’t work like that. It does not work like that. Your experience is what validates you, not your entitlement, not your talent. Your experience is what validates you. So I think that’s definitely important for those of you who are tuning in who are looking to be an aspiring engineer or videographer or filmmaker or songwriter, or musician. Definitely want to keep that at the forefront of what it is you’re doing, and just the mentality. The mentality should always be to really get in there and grind and work hard, and just keep going, keep going. You’re gonna have your road bumps. You’re gonna have your trial and error. You’re gonna have your mistakes, but you just gotta keep going. You gotta keep grinding. If you love it that much, trust me. You’ll keep going.
Let’s see here. Also too, the main way the Recording Connection can help you get your music out will be through the connections you make, taking the program, the audio engineer, who is your mentor and producers and artists you meet while externing in your mentor studio. That’s another way we do it here. We actually put you through a mentoring process, where you sit with somebody in real time and you kind of get your traction there. You kind of get your experience there. But at least, it’s with somebody who’s really in the game and doing it in real life. So, those are some of the cool things we do here at the Recording Connection. So, definitely keep that in mind.
Let’s see here. How long does it take to be an overnight success? Man, that’s a good question. I think to be an overnight success, it takes damn near a 1000 overnights. The thing is I don’t know really what the value is in being an overnight success. What I can comment on or account for is the work I’ve had to put in to being where I’m at is you just eat the values there and you value it more. You do more of your best to maintain it and to continue on growing. When it’s an overnight thing and it kind of just fell in your lap, it’s hard to really appreciate that. It’s hard to really understand it for what it really is versus the sweat, the tears, the blood you had to put in. Two different dynamics and for me, I think if anything fell in my lap, I can’t really say that I’d hold onto it and nurture it the way that I have when it’s come to my craft and my passion. But because I’ve had worked, 20, 20 plus years, I think I value it and I try to take care of it and maintain it, and keep that passion first. To me, that’s crucial in any journey that you’re going through, to just remember that the value is in the work and the sacrifice that it took to obtain what it is you love. Mine wasn’t an overnight so I can’t really comment on that, but y’all know what’s up.
Always an informative and an inspiration being here with you. Much love to D, much love to you Dwight for constantly being here every Monday. I see your name pop up all the time on my Q and A, man so, definitely keep turning in, man. It’s always great talking back and forth with you and answering your questions.
Also, how long should my reel be? I think a good reel is anywhere from a minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes, making sure it’s just kind of very sparse, very engaging, very exciting. Try not to have your reel be one clip that’s extremely long. Kind of just take the most engaging and exciting pieces of work or presentations that you have. I know for me, if I’m looking at somebody’s reel, I just wanna see some really exciting, very informational content on this person. So just keep that also at the top of your list when it comes to putting a reel together, making sure that it’s the most exciting pieces of you, and who you are, and what you represent, all right?
Let’s see. What if I’ve never done something a job requires, but I know I can do it. Should I apply even though I don’t have the real world experience in that exact requirement? Let me see. If I’ve done something that job requires, but I know I can do it. Well, here’s the thing. There’s a difference between knowing you can do it, and knowing that you’ve done it. If you’ve done it before, but maybe not in a professional setting, then yeah, absolutely. Apply for it and go for it. But in a professional setting, if you know you haven’t really done it, don’t even do it. Don’t even do it. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. If you’ve done it at the crib or you’ve done it with your boys or whatever and you all get together and let’s say you film or you make music or you work on Pro Tools or you engineer, yes. If you’ve never done anything remotely close to what the job is asking, and you have no idea, you just kind of want to get in there because you think you have the ability to learn, that is not the time to learn, if you’ve never touched it. So, definitely, I don’t recommend it. Definitely don’t recommend it.
What was your favorite thing you saw during your Japan trip? What did I see? Well, I’ve been to Japan years ago, early 90s, and I’ve always known the Japan culture to be very, very, kinda just extremely conservative and chill and kind of just… I’m not going to say boxed in, but their posture is just very… How can I say it? I can’t even say very chill. They’re just very strained in their expressions, I think. So, I got a chance to go to this kind of area city in Japan called Roppongi where culturally, this specific area has really kinda diversified with foreigners and just even Japanese that are really non-cultural, meaning they’re a little more outgoing. There’s night clubs, they go out. It kinda mirrors a little more of what the states here is, as far as just the town, the nightlife in various cities.
So that was kind of exciting to see, just to see the different dynamics of the Japanese culture in that fashion, whereas outside of Roppongi, it’s very traditional, very reminiscent of what I remember it to be. Then you go to Roppongi in it’s night life everybody’s out, walking the streets, completely different experience. So that was kind of like one of things that stood out to me about Japan. I’ve never seen that side of Japan. So that was cool. That was definitely a great experience being in Japan till three or four in the morning, out listening to music, seeing other just Japanese people just out hanging, dancing and drinking, pretty different.
So, guys it looks like that’s about it for our Q and A. Remember, if you’re trying to get at us, here’s where you can do that. Jot this down. Again, you can get us at [email protected]. So if you’ve got content, if you’re trying to just get in touch, show your work, your music, reach out, get more information, you can definitely hit us there. Or you can always go to www.recordingconnection.com.
Shout out to my team, shout out to my squad. I know I spend a little bit of time talking about what we’ve got coming at the top of the show, but I’m very excited. These next couple of weeks you’re gonna see some cool, cool, additions, changes and it’s always gonna be fun because that’s what we do. And shout out to my team for consistently making this happen for me, and allowing me to come to you guys every Monday. Again, we are here every Monday at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
So, for those of you who are just tuning in for the first time, I hope you’re able to see what we do and we will bring it to the table unlike any other thing that’s out there, we’re doing it, and we’re first ones to do it. So, I stay proud about that, got to stay proud about that. Shout out to Bryan [SP], Howie [SP] and Mike [SP] for holding it down. I look forward to seeing you guys next week, and I’m excited where the show is going and so, yeah. Have a great week. Get out there and grind. Get out there and make it happen. Again, this does not happen by itself. You got to put in the work and application. All right? Have a good one, y’all. Peace.
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