About the Role
Studio assistants aren't just gophers. This entry-level position requires an employee to work directly with sound equipment, recording directors and artists, and provides significant on-the-job training for people who wish to pursue careers as sound engineers or music producers.
Requirements
Equipment Set-up
Studio intern are frequently charged with getting the equipment ready for an artist. At permanent studios, this typically just means selecting musical tracks and preparing them for an artist to record over, laying cable, and ensuring the equipment is functioning. Intern may also select microphones, potentially affecting the sound and volume of recorded tracks. Checking recording equipment may also mean tweaking settings to ensure the best possible sound, according to ScreenSkills. Modular and temporary studios may require extensive set-up and equipment testing. For example, at a studio in a producer's house, you may need to haul in amplifiers from a truck, plug them into recording equipment, set up computers upon which to play music, locate headphones and other recording equipment and sound-test everything before beginning.
Communication With Clients
Studio interns are frequently the first point of contact for studio clients. Depending on the studio's size, interns may call clients to schedule appointments, manage the studio's calendar, educate first-time clients about studio policies and equipment use or greet clients when they first enter the studio.
Studios sometimes hire a secretary for these duties instead, but even at these studios, an intern needs strong communication skills and a solid working relationship with the studio's clients. Recording studio runners are tasked with getting coffee or lunch for clients or their boss.
Cleanup and Post-Recording Duties
Responsibilities in a studio intern job description include studio take-down after a recording session. This may include simply cleaning the equipment, moving it to a new location or taking down and storing large pieces of equipment. Interns may also participate in post-recording duties.
To save the producer time, for example, studio interns may listen to each track, then make recommendations about which tracks are best. Studio assistants may be trusted to make preliminary corrections to a recording, record samples of what a recording might sound like with a particular track added or consult with sound engineers to determine how to fix a singer's voice or an intrusive background noise.
