Hey all! I have been wondering what types of software are necessary to learn for working at a production company. I currently work with Pro-Tools & Garageband but I am learning more about Logic. I am applying to jobs in LA and wasn't sure if knowing Logic was necessary- I just don't want to waste countless hours on Logic when most companies don't look for it.
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This is my input 'from the outside looking in' as I neither work for a production company or live in LA.
1. As I spent 23 years at Exxon, my initial take is you learn and use the tools used at the company. Your background in your tools is used primary for considering you for the job. The assumption is, for example if you are expert in one or more DAWs/sequencers and many VSTs, then if they use others you can quickly come up to speed.
2. The tools and data formats you use are primarily important if you are part of a larger 'workflow' which most of us are. You get your 'stuff' from someone and you provide your product to someone else. So, you need to work with the formats you get and you need to insure the data/formats you provide are what your co-workers need to work with/expect.
As I, for example, am independent and not as part of a production company, those who dependent on me really don't care about that 'black box' in the middle as long as I score the scenes as directed and provide the audio editor with the files they need. They should not care, for example I that I use Sibelius with various VSTs and instruments - I am one of those 'types' that don't use a DAW/sequencer at all since I want to score once and potentially use the score for both electronic distribution and live performance (i.e., charts) :)
I am still a part of a larger 'workflow' so before I start after the cues are defined (or I am given the ability to create them on the fly) - I come to an 'agreement' with the person(s) who are providing me with the film -- locked or not, what format, file type, etc. And then I get agreement/buy-in on the type of WAV (or WAVs) and as these are short films (normally), whether I would pre-mix the levels (with pre-defined 'keyframes') so all the audio editor/mixer needs to do is put a single WAV file (untouched) into an audio track in the film OR whether they will be responsible for doing the mix and setting of the keyframes in the score.
Hi Sarah. I hear Logic is big in LA, and Cubase in London, though London seems to be becoming more Logic too now. Pro Tools is more generally used for mixing, mastering and the final mix than composing, though some composers use it for everything. What kind of jobs in LA are you looking for? As Joel mentions, if it's a scoring job then they shouldn't care too much what DAW you use. If it's some kind of production house, then either ask what they use, or look on their websites to see if it's mentioned or if you can sneakily see any pictures of monitors with a DAW open on them!
Cubase could be big in the U.K. because it is a product of Steinberg which is a U.K. company. Steinberg also now sells one of the top three notation tools, Dorico which competes against Sibelius (part of Avid which also sells Protools) and Finale.