Just came back from Full Sail...

[djswivel]

i'm a certified operator for music and post

the post test was a lot harder than the music. maybe that's just ebcause my focus with pro tools was music, and not post. Honestly, if you study the book, and know it inside and out, you should be good. you get 3 chances to pass the test. and each time you dont pass, they tell you the sections of the book to study, which really helps you out, because it will tell you a particular section. once you go read that section, in most cases you remember what question it was you got wrong, and then you know it for the next time.

 

[MarkN]

i'm a certified operator for music and post

the post test was a lot harder than the music. maybe that's just ebcause my focus with pro tools was music, and not post. Honestly, if you study the book, and know it inside and out, you should be good. you get 3 chances to pass the test. and each time you dont pass, they tell you the sections of the book to study, which really helps you out, because it will tell you a particular section. once you go read that section, in most cases you remember what question it was you got wrong, and then you know it for the next time.

kewl that the digidesign book yea ?

and also from what i can work out you have to take all the certificates so you have to do like the basic cert tests and pass those before doing the operator or expert certs you can just skip to the last exam ?

 

[djswivel]

kewl that the digidesign book yea ?

and also from what i can work out you have to take all the certificates so you have to do like the basic cert tests and pass those before doing the operator or expert certs you can just skip to the last exam ?

you have to take the 201 test which is the basic pro tools equivalency test first.

once you pass that (you get nothing for it btw), they allow you to take the Music and Post operator tests, which I believe are the 210M and 210P tests.

then if you pass those you can take another course to get experts in music and post which are the 310 M and P tests.

its all on digi's page....go to digidesign.com and click on training then courses and certification

 

[thedreampolice]

ya I am working on my 101 test right now. thanks for the advice!

 

[MarkN]

you have to take the 201 test which is the basic pro tools equivalency test first.

once you pass that (you get nothing for it btw), they allow you to take the Music and Post operator tests, which I believe are the 210M and 210P tests.

then if you pass those you can take another course to get experts in music and post which are the 310 M and P tests.

its all on digi's page....go to digidesign.com and click on training then courses and certification

thanks for your help i think i'll get the exams done in the summer now they seem to be a good qualification to have ! iwozn't sure about doing post but it makes sense really and gives u more work opportunites in the long run i spose !

 

[djswivel]

I will be perfectly honest with you, I've never gotten extra work because of my certification. It may have helped me get my job working with Duro, but as far as engineering sessions, artists don't really care. At least major artists don't. They don't pay attention to any of that stuff.

Maybe if you're doing local work you can put that on your website or whatever to try and boost your rates, but to be honest, I don't think anyone is gonna look it up. And I've defintiely never gotten any work from my profile on digidesign's website. Just thought I'd let you know. If you're doing it just for the pro tools knowledge, then sure. But don't feel like you NEED the piece of paper.

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Thanx for the info Swiv! I'm checking out some other schools still. Also going to look into the Pro tools testing...

 

[thedreampolice]

I am doing it as a stepping stone in to the post world. But again your hustle and networking count more than a cert.

 

[classic]

what happend to good ol fashioned college???

 

[J Rilla]

Yo on sum real shyt......Fullsail may be good idea if u want to engineer,but if you tryin to produce you might as well save your money........My cuz went to that shyt and he pretty much uses zero of the knowledge he gained..there placement program is kinda garbage also.....u better off grinded it out at a real college and hope wanna ya classmates is the next jay z

 

[djswivel]

Yo on sum real shyt......Fullsail may be good idea if u want to engineer,but if you tryin to produce you might as well save your money........My cuz went to that shyt and he pretty much uses zero of the knowledge he gained..there placement program is kinda garbage also.....u better off grinded it out at a real college and hope wanna ya classmates is the next jay z

I'd say your cousin falls into the category of students that didn't research the school, or didn't pay attention. The school obviously doesn't train you how to make beats. They make that very clear before you enroll. That's all creative and can't be taught. BUT, the school teaches you equipment you will use in the production world, and teaches you techniques to make your music sound better. How to properly EQ, compress, mix etc. If you're cousin isn't using any of that knowledge, then I'm really not sure what to say?

As far as the placement program, I would personally say he's wrong about that as well. Placement helped me get my job, and I'm working with many of the top artists out right now on various projects, and I'm Fabolous' personal engineer. I'm basically using the engineering as a stepping stone into production. My goal isn't to be an engineer for the rest of my life. But the relationships I make in the studio, and contacts I have right now are priceless and defintiely help me when it comes to shopping beats.

I guess for me, rather than going to a regular college, and working in an office somewhere during the day, I'd rather work in the music industry on my way to making it in the production world. I think it gives me a huge advantage over the next producer who doesn't have the contacts and relationships I have. And if for whatever reason the production doesn't work out, I'll still be happy working in the music business.

 

[J Rilla]

I'd say your cousin falls into the category of students that didn't research the school, or didn't pay attention.
.

That was the point i was basically getting at and honestly i think a good percentage of people attending fullsail make the same mistake. Engineering is a very long and meticlious work on a product that really isn't yours. Basically polishing up someone elses product and just like every person is made to be a producer every producer isnt made to be a engineer.I also think alot of people attending fullsail think that attending automatically means your going ito be in Ny mixing Fabolous albums in the next year. I'm sure hard work had alot to play in to why your in the postion your in now ,but i also think you may be in a minority. I'm sure alot of people do not obtain the sucess you have had as quickly as you have if at all. Just want people to have a heads up and really evaluate what they wanna do before droppin the major cash on it.

 

[djswivel]

Absolutely. You really gotta do the research, and be sure of what you want. I feel like I had luck on my side a little bit, but for the most part, I worked my ass off and earned my spot in the business.

You know how you hear people say, "If I can do it, anyone can do it". I truly believe that. I wasn't a special case in any way. In fact, the odds were stacked against me. I'm a Canadian trying to get a green card/work visa in a post 9/11 America. That is not an easy task at all. Studios and other job opportunities I've had could have easily overlooked me thinking, he's gonna be gone as soon as his student Visa expires. But the hard work paid off. Here I am.

I don't think I did anything special other than hard work, and I really think anyone who is seriously dedicated and focused on it, could be in my position.