SOUND MIXER (Part Time)

Description

Ears Up Sound Design is seeking a part time sound mixer (on site and in studio) to join our team on a contract basis in producing our portfolio of exciting location-based projects. Candidates should have at least three years of professional experience, be creative and collaborative, and ready to work with the unique challenges of themed entertainment and spatial sound design. The primary duties of this position include mixing soundtrack content in-studio (the “pre-mix”) and mixing, programming, and integrating content on-site. Hours/week vary depending on project timing, so the ideal candidate is flexible with their work schedule. Installations happen approximately once every 2-3 months, and require about 60 hours of work over six days. 

Note: We are also seeking a SOUND EDITOR to join the team. We encourage candidates who are a good match for both roles to identify themselves as such to be considered for a combination role. A combination role would likely provide ~30+ hours of work per week, and editing work would be timed around field installations.


Core Responsibilities

Sound Mixing

  • Stereo work-in-progress mixes combining dialogue, sound effects, and music elements

  • Spatial multichannel “pre-mix” of content based on the pertinent sound system configuration

  • On-site mix and integration of content, in coordination with on-site audio integrator(s) and other vendors

Collaboration with on-site audio integrators and other vendors to …

  • program and adjust show system playback

  • calibrate and tune on-site sound systems, when necessary

  • program audio DSP system, as-needed

Coordination with Ears Up team members and project collaborators on spatial audio integration strategy

Management and maintenance of mix session layout and file management based upon intended delivery format, loudness calibration, and Ears Up’s session structure standards.

Required qualifications

  • Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (active passport) to installation sites 

  • Extensive experience with sound mixing for one or more of the following: location-based entertainment, audio post-production for film or TV, live theater, video games & virtual reality 

  • Expert-level proficiency in Avid ProTools and/or Cockos Reaper

  • Familiarity with QSC’s Q-Sys or other audio DSP platforms

  • Strong creative and technical critical listening skills

  • Strong time management and organization skills.

  • Strong communication skills, including the ability to articulate creative and technical subjects to collaborators of all knowledge levels.

  • Desire and willingness to experiment and learn new skills.

  • Ears Up requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As of January 14th, 2022, “fully vaccinated” means those that are eligible per CDC guidance have also received a COVID-19 booster shot.

  • Experience with sound system tuning & calibration (e.g., with Rational Acoustics’ SMAART software)

Bonus qualifications

  • Southern California-based applicants preferred, but applicants willing to sync with PST working hours for meetings are welcome

  • Experience with interpretation and analysis of CAD drawings and audio/video system paperwork 

  • Familiarity with audio middleware (e.g., Wwise, FMOD)

  • Experience with video editing and familiarity with video editing software - (e.g., Final Cut X/Adobe Premiere)

  • Familiarity with game engine design software (e.g.,Unity/Unreal)

  • Ability to lift up to 50lbs.


Starting Rates:

  • $35/hour, with option to increase based on experience. 

  • $900/day when on a site 50 miles or more from your home. 

Additional Information:

This part time sound editor position can predominantly be work from home, with the following clarifications:

Editors will have access to the computers and equipment at the Ears Up studio, when available. If they elect to work from home or another location, Ears Up will require each editor to own and competently operate a basic collection of hardware and software, including:

  • A computer and requisite peripherals of sufficient power and capacity to:

    • run Avid’s Pro Tools Ultimate software

    • connect to the internet with a reasonable upload/download speed

    • store up to 500GB of project-related files locally (via Dropbox)

  • Studio monitor loudspeakers and studio-grade headphones which provide neutral, full-range audio monitoring.

  • Avid Pro Tools Ultimate and/or Cockos Reaper software

  • The following audio plugins: 

    • FabFilter FX bundle

  • Editors will be expected to adhere to Ears Up’s design workflow standards, including audio session structure, loudness calibration, delivery formats, and file organization/storage workflows.

  • Editors working remotely shall make themselves available for communication and pre-scheduled meetings for at least part of Ears Up’s business hours (9am - 6pm PST), to be determined upon applicant’s location.

Application Instructions

You can find our online application at the following link: www.earsupdesign.com/apply

In addition to the questions, the application includes an upload link at the very bottom of the form. Please use this link to upload your CV/resume and demo materials/portfolio. 

If you have any questions or any problems with the application process, please send us an email at recruitment@earsupdesign.com.