What Does It Mean To Engineer Sound And Lighting?
Posted on: 4 November 2022
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Lighting and sound engineers are professionals who help with a wide range of video and audio productions. If you're considering hiring a sound or lighting engineer, though, you might not be confident about what they do and how they could fit into your plans. People who want to know more about what it means to engineer light and sound should understand the basics of the following three things.
Roles
Engineers are professionals who have training and experience in making sure that the production value of lighting and sounds will be excellent. If you've ever watched a TV show and thought the light looked amateurish compared to other stuff you've seen, there's a good chance engineering wasn't a priority for the folks making the show. Quality engineering can give any production that extra level of sharpness and professionalism.
Notably, anything that deliberately employs sound and lighting is a production. Live events like concerts and theater productions fit this bill. Likewise, recordings of videos, podcasts, radio shows, movies, and similar productions deserve some engineering attention.
The extent of light and sound engineering in modern life can surprise people. Folks who make TikTok and YouTube videos now often work with lighting and sound engineers. Businesses employ engineers to ensure their audio and video quality at meetings is top-tier, too. If production quality matters, an engineer should be involved.
Engineering for Productions
Engineers provide solutions that meet the specific needs of a production. A theater company's engineering will usually focus on providing a great experience for audience members regardless of where they're seated. This means creating long-term installations to ensure sound and lighting quality in a stationary setting. Conversely, someone who's live-streaming events may need a more portable kit that can operate on the fly in a wide range of conditions.
Imagining all of the possible scenarios for production is critical. A local TV station's mobile units, for example, need to think about what a production will be like in the field. It may even have to account for power availability in poor conditions like the days after a natural disaster.
Testing and Improvement
Ultimately, you and the engineers you hire are going to deploy lighting and audio systems for your production. They will then test the systems under a range of conditions to ensure peak performance. For a podcast, this might mean verifying that the audio pickup works well for a variety of voices in different seating positions within a recording studio. Likewise, they will use testing data to ensure that the production quality of your content meets or exceeds your requirements.
Contact a service provider to learn more about sound engineers.