Power Station Studios Internships
We are located in Pompano Beach, Florida
General Requirements for an Internship:
- Must be local to Pompano Beach, Florida. (Due to certain logistics and liability, we currently are not accepting applications for those not currently living locally.)
- Motivated individuals with drive and responsibility.
- Must have an above-general knowledge of the use of Pro Tools.
- Have a general understanding of the use of recording equipment.
- Either a graduate of a recording program or a functional understanding of music production and equipment.
- Be at least 18 years of age.
- Have their own reliable means of transportation. (Not an Uber app!)
- Dependable, reliable, and committed.
- A positive attitude and drama-free.
- Have good communication skills and be a team player.
- Keen attention to detail.
- Able to commit to a minimum of 1 day per week.
- No dependencies on drugs or alcohol
All internships begin as unpaid apprenticeships.
If you don’t meet ALL the criteria above, please refrain from applying.
If you meet the above criteria, keep reading!
(Yes, we will know if you took the time to read this before applying!)
Our goal is to find individuals who have what it takes to become true audio engineers. Often, people seek internships in recording studios to become better musicians, track producers, and songwriters. While these things often go hand in hand with audio engineering, they are not the fundamental goals of an audio engineer. Our goal is to train those interested in the science and craft of true audio engineering.
A little background in audio engineering… In the early days of music/audio recording, the person “behind the glass,” or the one capturing the actual sound recording, was not a “recording engineer.” The term “Recording Engineer” was actually adapted much later in the development of audio recording.
Those people who were “engineering” the recording sessions back then were actually “electrical engineers.” Sound and electricity have much in common. Hence the term “engineer.” The science of voltage, current, phase, and gain structure is all very much a knowledge set of a true audio engineer. An understanding of these fundamentals directly contributes to becoming a true audio engineer.
With the development of technology, in particular digital technology, combined with the vast tools of the information age, IE, YouTube, social media, websites, message boards, blogs, etc., the ability to capture audio in the form of a recording has reached the hands of the masses. While this is great in general, the problem lies in truly knowing what you’re doing rather than just playing with plug-ins until something sounds good. Someone spending weeks in their bedroom or project studio futzing around until something sounds good doesn’t work in a commercial recording environment when time is money.
Additionally, novice recording engineers make many mistakes that become much more costly down the road, and without proper recording knowledge and proper training, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to fix later. This is like painting yourself into a corner. If you don’t know, well, you just don’t know. Like anything in life, knowledge is key. Knowledge separates men and women from boys and girls. Or, to use a simpler analogy, “The more you learn, the more you earn!” This is true in just about anything in life.
Our Philosophy
At Power Station Studios, our philosophy for our internship program is simple. To create high-functioning engineers who, one day, hopefully become part of our Power Station staff. Or as we prefer to say, a part of our permanent studio family.
It is imperative that candidates have a fundamental knowledge and understanding of music production, as well as the ability to use Pro Tools.
Interns are placed into sessions on day one! Our approach is “hands-on” learning, assisting the session engineer during live recording sessions. We don’t believe in stifling people at the front desk and only fetching coffee until opportunity knocks. Because of this, we do not have the time to teach the basics of recording, equipment, and Pro Tools or other DAWs.
This program is not available to beginners.
See the Internship Program Overview below…
General Program Overview:
Qualified applicants will be required to commit to one day per week initially. This day will be assigned and will be the same each week. The intern will be responsible and assigned to every session on the schedule that day.
During the course of these sessions, the following is a general overview of what will be learned:
Recording Fundamentals:
- Microphones, their use, and placement in a multitude of applications.
- How to mic different instruments, voices, and other applications.
- Front-end signal path
- Microphone, preamp, compressor, etc., for various applications
- Signal Flow
- Routing through outboard gear, analog consoles, and digital interfaces
- Routing within a DAW
- Recording acoustic instruments: IE: Drums, Guitars, Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, etc.
- Recording Voice
- Recording digital instruments: IE, Synths, Electronic Drums, and other electronic production.
Managing a Recording Session:
This is a very important aspect of being a successful recording engineer. Having the knowledge to make a recording is only part of the equation. Clients need to know the engineer is not only capable of the fundamentals of recording but also confident that they can manage their project every step of the way. This is true with both local independent clients and even more so with commercial and record label clients. We will teach you how to manage artists and projects, and how to circumvent the politics inevitable in the recording industry.
In Summary:
The recording industry is not for everyone. This industry demands long hours and determination. Most people who explore this path realize that the business is not as glamorous as it may seem from the outside. However, this is a profession with profound rewards for those who fit the mold! Our goal is to identify those destined to be audio engineers and equip them with the fundamental tools to excel in our industry.
How To Apply for an Internship at Power Station Studios:
Send an email to: recording@powerstationstudios.com
Please include ALL the following in the email:
- Your full legal name (we are not interested in your “stage name”)
- Your contact information (Cell, email address, etc.)
- Tell us about YOU!
- Tell us about your level of recording knowledge, experience, and musical background.
- Provide your availability (available days to commit to an internship)
- Most important – Tell us what you are looking for and want from this internship
- Include your resume
- If you have some examples of your work, feel free to include them with your submission
Submissions that are missing the criteria above or that don’t take the time to give a detailed submission will be disqualified.
Those submissions that qualify will be contacted for an initial interview.
