Featured Student
Name: Matthew Jones
Occupation: Certificate II in Music Industry
Local tech course offers exciting career options
A sound technician in the music or entertainment industries – perhaps in one of the big American movie or recording studios - or a nationally televised sports cameraman; just two of the many technological career options open to Year 11 student Matt Jones.
Matt, who is working towards a Certificate II in Music Industry, can’t believe his good luck in coming across a vocational course that will not only equip him for two of his dream jobs, but will also lead him in other exciting directions.
He learnt about the course from friends who told him how good it was. “I was very fortunate to be able to enrol in it”, he said.
Matt is currently learning to become an audio technician, i.e. mixing and recording tracks and “pretty much whatever’s needed to produce a track of the standard you’d hear on the radio. It’s fantastic because we have everything we need - including a 48 channel mixer – here at school”, he said. As well as broadening his knowledge, the course will give Matt four credits towards his QCE.
He is also doing regular, industry placement work as camera operator covering NQ Fury, NQ Cowboys and Townsville Crocodile home games – a job he finds both exciting and challenging – plus he’s been involved in community events such as the Greek and Riverway Festivals and significantly assisted in the production of the NQ Rock Awards and this year’s school’s musical.
Although Matt’s course is a purely technical one, he is also learning drums and guitar and is a qualified football referee; all of which give him valuable background knowledge and understanding of the industries he’s working in. He closely follows the sporting teams he films, so it’s very much a case of mixing work and pleasure.
As far as music goes, he likes most things apart from country music and Gangsta rap. His favourite band is Lamb of God; and at the moment, he can think of nothing better than working for them as a front of house technician, helping make their music sound great for hundreds of thousands of people.
Matt’s mentor Bjarne Ohlin explained that the course fairly accurately reflects any expectations - including corporate/business aspects - the industry demands. “There are a lot of opportunities but not a lot of salaried positions for recording engineers so it’s essential students have a broad understanding of how the industry functions and to have a ‘show reel’ of the tracks they’ve recorded and the projects they’ve been involved in”, he said. “It’s also incredibly competitive and challenging and if you don’t get that audio or shot in real time when someone’s scoring a try, your contract’s null and void.” However, Bjarne was confident Matt could handle such pressure. “He’s incredibly hard working, reliable, eager, keen, hungry to learn and very focused. He understands technology and problem-solves. He’s had a lot of experience and he challenges himself constantly”, he said.
Despite the excitement of potentially stimulating careers, Matt is very conscious of his good fortune in having the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to reach his many goals. “I want to achieve as much as possible in the time left and, once I’m qualified, as well as working in sports or music, I’d also like to come back here and teach others the fantastic things I’ve learnt”, he said. “I’ve had some marvellous opportunities thanks to this course. It’s given me so much; I’d really like to be able to give something back.
