If you're looking to get a studio internship and haven't landed the opportunity yet, I highly suggest reading my last post on this subject - The Recording Studio Intern Survival Guide: Landing Your Shot At An Internship. If you already did - and the steps I suggested to you worked - then congrats!!
This post will be focused on what it means to be an intern and all too common pitfalls I have seen interns struggle with time and time again. So, regardless of if you are just about to start your internship - or are a studio owner looking to take on interns for the first time - I hope this blog will be of great value to you in your journey to success as an audio engineer!
Be prepared to spend hours exercising every single pot on the console - analog gear requires tender love & care!
There are many things that will be expected of the intern. Seemingly mundane tasks such as keeping the bathrooms clean, making sure there are enough pencils in the control room, keeping the console exercised, etc... Every studio will set its own expectations of interns in what is expected of them. Everyone who does an internship will have a very unique experience. The most important thing to remember here is that as an intern - you get what you put in, make the most of it! Be excited and thankful that you have an opportunity that is becoming less likely to get with each passing year. We are living in the last days of the record industry of the past, the music industry is changing rapidly...
'You get what you put in' means the intern that cleans the toilets and mops the floors and immediately takes off for the day will be progressing at a much slower pace than the intern who completes their duties so that they can now finally learn from the engineer. Yes, the studio will appreciate you completing your basic duties as an intern! However, if you aspire to be an audio engineer and not a recording studio janitor; staying extra hours to truly develop an understanding of the craft will be required...
Leave your damn phone in your pocket & on silent! I'll say it again, so the engineer - or client (god forbid) doesn't have to...Leave your damn phone in your pocket. On Silent. Don't be the intern who is answering every single text they get every 30 seconds. Don't be the intern who taking up space in the control room while lost in their phone on social media. Don't be the intern who's phone gets a robocall right when they sneak into the live room mid-take to fix a mic stand that started to droop. You were...so close to being a hero. Then, you got an offer to extend the warranty on your car...
Stay focused. Learn the signal flow of the studio you work in. The intern needs to be another set of eyes and hands for the engineer. This means 'seeing there is a microphone unplugged with your eyes and moving quickly to fix it with your hands. Your ears, however, are still in training - keep that in mind...Your time will come, be patient. Be able to identify problems the second that they happen. An intern in the control room can be a great benefit to an engineer, or a nuisance if the intern isn't respectful, or spatially aware of what's going on.
Learn what every single piece of gear in the studio is. Take pictures of the racks of gear, the microphone cabinets, the guitar amps - everything. You should know top to bottom what every piece of gear does. Think about it this way - how the hell are you supposed to be able to grab a mic you were just asked for if you have no idea which one the engineer is refferring to? "I asked for a 441, not a 421! No! Not that one either, that's a 414!! Dammit. Go make coffee, I'll grab it myself..." How are you supposed to help patch the session if you don't know what is what on the patchbay? Understanding the gear will also help you develop an understanding of thought processes the engineer is making. You'll likely notice patterns - things the engineer does consistently because they just work. These are those studio secrets everyone likes to say is 'guarded information'. The only way to develop a true understanding on the studios audio ecosystem is to observe, then study on your own time. Research the gear, read about what it does & what the uses are, and observe the engineer using the gear for those very uses day in and out. Pro tip: If you are in the room - nothing is being guarded from you. Just pay attention, and you'll pick up on every move...
Be a sponge for information. Don't forget that internships are supposed to be temporary positions - make the most of your time. You can benefit a ton from watching an engineer's flow in the studio and learning the process. Write down anything you don't understand, ask the engineer about them when the engineer isn't busy - i.e at the end of the day, or even save it for an off day where there may be some downtime at the studio. Put in the work in at home to better understand any concepts that tripped you up during the work day.
Don't give your unsolicited opinion on anything. Not a take, not an FX, not a guitar tone, nothing! The only time an intern should be speaking about anything regarding the project with the artist is when they are directly asked something like "What do you think of this riff homie?" to which the shiny-eyed intern should happily and enthusiastically reply "It goes hard! I love it!" - or something along those lines...even if the riff does not go hard, and you actually think the riff is trash. The issue with voicing your unsolicited opinion on the client's art isn't that your opinion is not respected - it may very well be! You may be a very capable musician and possibly even a capable engineer - you are trying to work in music for a living after all. The issue is that the artist has booked time to do the record with the engineer you are interning with, not you. Anything that you say which detracts from the flow of the day or may make the artist feel insecure about anything has the potential to be very damaging to the vibe of the session. This is a great way to upset the engineer.
Show up. An intern should never justify to themselves that they aren't going to help on a session day because they aren't into the music that the artist is recording or working on. Once again, that opinion does not matter, the artist isn't there to impress the intern, they are there to work on music that they made. They are spending a lot of time and money with the engineer to bring their vision to life. Keep open communication with the studio engineers on your availability and show up when you say you will. Deciding to ditch out on helping the engineer for a week - because you know they're working with an artist who makes music you don't appreciate - is a great way to cut your internship short!
Take notes feverishly. Write down everything the engineer says to you. If an engineer asks you for a mic, you should immediately be writing down which mic you are supposed to get as they are speaking to you. This means you have a pen & notepad at the ready at all times. You should have a notebook completely filled up with insightful as well as useless information by the time you are done interning. What ends up being useful information will be up to you and will depend on how you utilize the lessons you learn during your time interning. You will end up having 'light bulb' moments later in your career where you finally piece together a concept you may have been told about early on in your internship. Writing down everything enables you to be a better sponge for information, and helps those light bulb moments happen a lot faster in your progress as an engineer!
Have thick skin, but keep your dignity. Be able to take a joke - don't let small things get to you. You'll likely catch a lot of shit day in and out - remember that it's just part of the gig. Being able to brush off the small stuff now will only set you up for success once you start dealing with your own clients. Let your boundaries be known, loud & clear. Respect is a two way road. Yes, you may just be starting and haven't yet 'paid your dues', but nobody is entitled to strip you of your identity, dignity, or self-worth. If you feel like your internship puts you in a position like this, just leave and go work for yourself! Remember this: artists choose an engineer because of the work they produce - not the space the work in.
I hope this guide will help you navigate your internship experience on your path to becoming an audio engineer for life! No matter how hard things get - remember this - we are the luckiest people alive. Stay humble, and be thankful every day you have the opportunity to learn from engineers who have built careers and lives from helping people with their music. Once you've completed your time as an intern and are ready to start booking clients in your own home studio, or you have decided to skip trying to get an internship and are ready to jump right in...I highly suggest reading my post A Musician's Guide To Making Money Online. Take the right steps towards booking your first client! You'll need some gear for this first though, check out all my top picks for The Best Studio Gear!
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