Steve Cook, Assistant Dubbing Mixer
How did you get into the industry?
''One way, is to be a runner for sound or post-production place. Even though the pay can be low and you work long hours, you won’t have problems about how to use equipment because you can use the empty suites to your advantage. Another way is to do a sound technology course that gives you the skills but you may have to start from the bottom. Also they can be costly.''
''I’m a refugee from the music business where I used to work in music studios. One of my friends who worked in a post-production DV company suggested to try post-production. I found some time to learn how to use the equipment and then speculatively rang post-production places for work.''
What training and/or education have you found most useful in progressing your career?
''Absolutely none whatsoever. I've learnt everything from the manual and my friends taught me when they had downtime in their studio. Mostly it’s on-the-job training being an assistant.''
What are your career plans for the future?
''I’m toying with the idea of going freelance but that in itself problems, because you need to make a client base of people that want you to mix their programmes and it's hard to get enough work.''
What has been the best piece of luck for you?
''I’ve been dead lucky with each time I got a job. For my first music job I didn’t know there was an advertisement when I wandered in, and it was the same thing with post-production. But with the music job, I ended up working for nothing for the first 6 months.''
Do you freelance? Fulltime? Contract?… What are the (dis)advantages of that?
''I work a full-time Monday to Friday, some evenings and weekends as well. I’m on a salary as opposed to freelance.''
Is there a skill you need or want to learn?
''Specific stuff with equipment, but the higher you go, there’s less contact with people who do your job and you don’t work with other mixers.It’s the digital age now and people expect things to be done faster. Because there’s lots of new stuff turning up you have to be ready to learn a whole new piece of equipment quite often.''
Are there any other points / reality checks you'd like to make?
''In terms of people starting out it's really difficult because in reality you have to work for nothing. Mainly because of the production budget.''
