Hello there to everybody. It's too bad that I've missed all the get-togethers but thanks to Lee for getting in touch with me and letting me know about this blog. I think now more than ever it's important for us to keep in touch and give any help we can. Things are going okay for me here down in San Diego, I moved back home after graduating in April and am still here. Can't get a steady enough job to allow me to move out. It's kind of depressing being 28 and living with the folks, but hey, I don't really have a choice if I want to continue in this field. Anyway, I'll continue with the format that was laid out in the first post.
1. Jobs - At the moment I am a game audio intern at Sony Computer Entertainment in San Diego which is f-ing sweet. I got hired in September for a 3 month paid internship but they were nice enough to extend it another 3 months. It ends in a couple of weeks and I have shit lined up. They have told though that they would hire me in an instant if the "head count" allowed it, which is nice, but it doesn't pay my bills. They actually laid off a couple people in the sound department about a month ago, one guy had been here 12 years and had 3 kids, so me not getting hired kind of pales in comparison.
I have received 2 credits so far though, Dialogue Editor for MLB 09 The Show, and Foley Assistant for InFAMOUS, both coming out in the next couple of months, which is huge for my resume. I'm hoping I can get a couple more before I leave on some games in development.
I am in the process of applying for grad school and my boss wrote me an amazing letter of recommendation. I'm applying for a Master of Science degree in recording arts at the University of Colorado at Denver. Hell, if I can't get a job then might as well tack on to my exorbitant student loan balance (thanks Expression). I figure I can get some great loan interest rates right now and now that I've found something I love to do, a graduate degree seems like the right way to go. It's also something I've always seen myself doing anyway.
1. Jobs - At the moment I am a game audio intern at Sony Computer Entertainment in San Diego which is f-ing sweet. I got hired in September for a 3 month paid internship but they were nice enough to extend it another 3 months. It ends in a couple of weeks and I have shit lined up. They have told though that they would hire me in an instant if the "head count" allowed it, which is nice, but it doesn't pay my bills. They actually laid off a couple people in the sound department about a month ago, one guy had been here 12 years and had 3 kids, so me not getting hired kind of pales in comparison.
I have received 2 credits so far though, Dialogue Editor for MLB 09 The Show, and Foley Assistant for InFAMOUS, both coming out in the next couple of months, which is huge for my resume. I'm hoping I can get a couple more before I leave on some games in development.
I am in the process of applying for grad school and my boss wrote me an amazing letter of recommendation. I'm applying for a Master of Science degree in recording arts at the University of Colorado at Denver. Hell, if I can't get a job then might as well tack on to my exorbitant student loan balance (thanks Expression). I figure I can get some great loan interest rates right now and now that I've found something I love to do, a graduate degree seems like the right way to go. It's also something I've always seen myself doing anyway.
2. Projects- While here at Sony, I'm using the facilities to mix some recorded music from Expression, doing post work on some cinematics for God of War Chains of Olympus that I can add to my reel, and applying for jobs. I've also been in contact with a guy making a short film that is very audio-driven, so I'm hoping that will be something to work on coming up in the next couple of months. Like every film maker ever, he has festival aspirations, but who knows, maybe it'll happen.
3. Location - Here in San Diego for the time being, probably moving to Denver in the fall if I get into the master's program, looking for jobs everywhere, so who knows where I'll be in a month.
4. Events - The Casbah here celebrated their 20th anniversary in January and had some amazing shows, I saw 3 Mile Pilot, Don Caballero, The Album Leaf, Ilya, to name a few. Some great local bands got back together after years and played some great shows.
5. Cool audio sites - A couple cool sites I've stumbled upon are audiotalk.org and audiocookbook.org. Just some interesting audio related information.
6. Stuff I've learned - This is a difficult industry to make it in (obviously), especially in a city that isn't LA or NY. We picked a really shitty time to finish school with the economy the way it is and the music industry the way it is. But every time I think about how difficult it is, I think about friends of mine who are attorneys, stock analysts, accountants, etc., and I imagine myself doing what they do, and I get depressed, then I get motivated to try harder to make this passion of mine work.
6. Stuff I've learned - This is a difficult industry to make it in (obviously), especially in a city that isn't LA or NY. We picked a really shitty time to finish school with the economy the way it is and the music industry the way it is. But every time I think about how difficult it is, I think about friends of mine who are attorneys, stock analysts, accountants, etc., and I imagine myself doing what they do, and I get depressed, then I get motivated to try harder to make this passion of mine work.
7. Possible job hook ups - Not really, though if anyone ever applies to the intern position down here at Sony, I can probably put in a good word to the deciding people.
8. My life/well-being - F@cking frustrated and excited at the same time. Dealing with a girlfriend who doesn't want me to leave San Diego but who also is very supportive. Living with my parents is making me insane. Not having my life together by the time of my 10 year high shcool reunion is bugging me, kind of, but not really. Excited at the prospect of getting my graduate degree, something that I've always wanted. Anxious all the time. Overall, doing okay.
If any of you are living in the San Diego area and want to collaborate on anything, feel free to email me. Come March 20th I will have a lot of free time. I hope everyone is doing well and good luck to you all!
Nick
nlfletch at gmail dot com
Posts
