This week’s guest lecturer was previous student Luke Pickering, who started his studies at Lincoln in 2009. He has now gone on to be fully involved in studio work, having the pleasure of working at the legendary Church Studios in London, now owned and ran by Paul Epworth – Epworth is a respected Grammy award winning song-writer and producer. His impressive discography includes heavyweights in the industry such as Adele, Bruno Mars, Coldplay and Bloc Party (only to name a few) and tracks featuring in blockbuster films like Django Unchained and Skyfall.
To begin with Luke spoke about the current studio set up at The Church Studios; they have two 72 track desks, which are two out of the only five that have been created, and also there newly built Studio 2 room which in his own words is the best SSL mixing room in London; a very futuristic, clean looking studio. Very desirable. He then went on to speak about Miloco, who in Luke’s own words are “keeping studios as we know it alive”. They are a company that not only run studios and help with clients booking those studios out, but they also expand into studio builds, designs and installations, repairs and they also sort out work experience, and not just in London, but throughout the world.
Speaking of the more ‘traditional’ studio roles he first spoke of a studio assistant, who’s tasks include: equipment inventory – something Luke said he has to keep on top of for The Church Studios, which is over 900 pieces of equipment. They have to arrange repairs for equipment, so this means knowing that a piece of equipment is too far gone for you yourself to simply fix, which leads on to another task of a studio assistant; making life easier for the assistant engineer; to know what is happening in the studio such as equipment that is out for repair, so they do not have to even think about those sorts of things. A studio assistant will also organise bookings if someone wants to book out any equipment or a studio room, and they will even help with runners. Those on work experience. Luke then made the point that you need to be ready for anything; a studio environment is not a 9-5 job where what happens day in day out is pretty much the same, it can at times be extremely stressful or at others be really slow and you will find yourself sometimes not needed in that room. Another point made; don’t be in a room that you’re not needed in. Following on from the studio assistant summary, Luke then described the roles of an assistant engineer, which include: knowing the studio inside out, which means you are the first to arrive and set up and you are then also in charge of the pack down; you know where everything goes, you know how it all works and when the engineer needs something you can get it for them straight away. If a previous client comes in, you should be able to recall the setup they previously had and have this ready for them. You also keep everyone ‘fed and watered’ – which, of course, means making a good cup of tea. He makes the point that if you are in this role, or even a runner and on work experience, it is important to make sure you make a good impression and make the effort. Make people notice you.
Luke ended the talk with some do’s and don’ts with CV and cover letter writing. For the do’s, make sure your cover letter is personal to the position you are applying for, not for that job you’ve been dreaming of since you were 16. This leads to making sure you do your research into the place you are applying for; showing them you are interested in them specifically and you’re curious. Also show that you are flexible and that you acknowledge those mundane jobs – being a runner, making tea and showing you know that you won’t be sat down behind a desk any time soon. Listing your skills as far as being computer and social media literate is a good thing to show as far as skills are concerned because it shows you are intuitive, willing/wanting to learn things of your own accord. It is important as well to not talk about yourself too much (do NOT call yourself a ‘recording engineer, or producer) and do not write more than one page as your cover letter. Employers read countless applications, don’t make them bored.
To conclude this guest lecture, Luke told us about his experience of leaving uni and showing he was adamant on not ending up in a 9-5 job, but showing that working in a studio is not as glamorous as what some people might perceive it as. It is hard work and you have to work your way up – making tea and doing errands is more than likely part of the things you will have to do. But in the end, if it’s really what you want to make a career out of, it will always be worth it. The thing that I took from this lecture more than anything was not only confirming good CV and cover letter writing, but being told about the company Miloco. Founding out about companies that are big on work experience and can really help me with getting in to my desired career is important right now, being nearly half way through my final year already.
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