Audio In/Audio Out:
The pros & cons of being an in-house audio developer vs a freelance
contractor and making the transition
Introduction
Needless to say audio for video games has come a very long way in the last 20 years and it's hard to believe that music was once limited to nothing more than a few melodic beeps and bleeps and short bursts of white noise which were supposed to be snare drums, not to mention a bit depth and khz frequency that was close to the sound of pure static! Well now we are in a brand new and exciting time in audio for video games. Most of today's platforms have the ability to stream CD quality music during game play and of course the sound effects have the ability to be pristine and interactive in a variety of ways unheard of a few years ago.
With this type of technical audio capability along with the tremendous growth
of the interactive entertainment industry, the need for skilled audio content
providers is greater than it has ever been. Finding work in this industry
as an audio developer can be very difficult to say the least and even more
difficult if one decides to go the freelance route, which brings me to the
topic of this article. Which is best: an in-house position or the freelance
route? Of course there is no easy answer but I hope to delve deeper into
the pros and cons of each and how the transition can be made from one to
the other. Obviously it is easy to be forced from one to the other either
by being unable to secure clients as a freelance contractor or from being
a casualty of downsizing as an in-house employee and I'm sure if we all
had the choice we would choose to be a successful freelance contractor,
but hopefully after reading this article you might be better prepared for
any such transition and most importantly be able to ask yourself or a potential
employer the questions you need to ask to make sure that you are making
the decisions that are best for you. Having personally made the transition
both ways, I hope to provide some insight as to the best ways to approach
a transition in either direction.
Going In House - "Audio In"
The majority of game audio professionals start out as independent contractors or perhaps come from another sector of the audio industry. (From here on out, when I refer to independent contractors or freelancers, I am also referring to those who have formed their own game audio development companies.)
In most cases the decision is made to look for an in house position due to sheer necessity. Obviously outside of the financial stability of being in-house there are many other advantages, like health coverage, 401K plans, profit sharing, bonuses and just plain old job security. I'm sure if given a choice, most would probably chose to own and operate their own company and go the freelance route as opposed to working for a game developer but often one needs the experience and credits that are easier to attain being in-house. There are many audio developers out there that have a client base that stretches far beyond the game industry. Many provide custom audio to the movie, Internet and interactive media industries, and games are only one part of their client base. For those types of audio freelancers there are several other financial opportunities that help to keep their company afloat when game audio projects are few and far between.
Competitive Field
It's a fact of life that the game audio field is one that is extremely competitive. There are new audio development companies popping up every week all competing for the same game developer business. Because the game audio field is so congested it is often difficult and sometimes seemingly impossible, even for a skilled and experienced developers to find and secure enough contracts to sustain them as a company. Lets face it, when you are an independent contractor, there are times when we have no idea where the next project is coming from or if it will come at all.
It is also important to mention another factor that plays a major role on the decision to remain freelance or to search for an in-house gig and that is what I like to call the "Family Factor". Clearly an individual with a wife, children and a mortgage, (or any combination thereof) can only hold out so long when business is slow, however, a single person with far fewer financial responsibilities has a great deal more "staying power" as a freelancer and is able to stick out the dry spells much better than an individual with more pressing financial responsibilities.
The Hunt
So lets say that the decision has been made, you stuck it out as long as you could and you've decided to conduct a job hunt for an in-house audio position. There are many things that one should keep in mind once that decision has been made. First of all you'll want to make sure you do all you can to increase your chances of getting a job offer once you've learned of any openings and there are several ways to do that, which I will outline below. I've learned that unlike other game industry skills like artists, programmers, producers etc, most audio professional positions are not advertised as mush as these other positions. Often, one will only hear of these opportunities via word of mouth, game audio newsgroups/lists or head-hunting firms. There is a reason for this and that is because unlike programmer, artist or producer positions etc, when you post news of an opening in the composer/sound design department, the company is often inundated with resumes, demos and inquiries from many who have zero experience in the game audio field or are hobbyists with questionable musical or sound design skills and it becomes difficult for companies to wade through the riff-raff to find the truly skilled and experienced individuals. Often when companies are looking for a composer or sound designer they typically need someone right away to either fill a recent vacancy or get the help they need to remain on schedule for a particular game's development. So companies prefer to get the word out in a more controlled method so they won't get bombarded with unskilled wannabes. I mean I can think of several positions open right now in the game audio field but you will likely find out nothing about these openings based on industry magazines or general web searches.
Getting back to my point…first and foremost make sure you carefully and professionally prepare your demo reel or portfolio package. I believe that when it comes to game audio positions, potential employers are most impressed with experience and credits. (I know there may be many aspiring sound designer/composers reading this who are desperately trying to break into the industry, but this article is intentionally meant to focus on professionals already in the field so please don't feel left out, "How to Break into the Game Audio Industry" is a completely different subject that I hope to touch on in a separate article.)
If you have several games credits under your belt then you dramatically increase your chances. Furthermore, if the credits you have are from major blockbuster games then that's even better. I equate it to being a free agent athlete, what teams have you played for in the past and how far did that team get in the season? That is, what games have you worked on and how well did that game do?
Secondly and I've said this a million times: Be highly versatile! Yes, there are companies that only need a composer or only need a sound designer, but if you are able to do both and do both well, you greatly increase your chances. And to take it a step further…if you are a composer/sound designer with programming abilities you will likely get snatched up very quickly and at a very nice salary to boot. It is also important to be versatile as a composer, able to create a diverse range of musical styles, but if you've had any success as a freelancer, then you already know this.
Be Picky
Another very important part of deciding to search for an in-house position is to pick your potential employer carefully. I realize that if you made the decision to go in-house you probably can't afford to be too picky, but it will be to your benefit to learn as much about that employer as possible before accepting a position with them because there is so much that can happen to make you regret your decision. First of all, I would do all I could to learn as many details as possible about that employer's financial stability. Yes this information is often impossible to uncover sometimes, but there are many warning signs in the game industry media that can give you clear indication that "maybe this is not the company for me". This may mean doing a great deal of homework and research. Many companies still hire even when they are a few months from going out of business, or selling the entire company and it would be a disaster to accept a position only to find that you might have to be laid off or fired months later, especially if accepting the position that required you to relocate yourself or family to another city. I would only apply to companies whom I felt were going to be around and/or had a strong track record for weathering the industry storms (and there have been a lot of industry storms in recent years).
It is also a very good idea to make contact with current employees of that company to learn about the atmosphere or management style of the company's executives. You can be sure they might say what you want to hear to get you to accept the position, but believe me you do want to know how their employees are treated on a daily basis so learning of the overall happiness rating of current employees might be a good idea. Many developers are wholly or partly owned by a much larger publishing entity and you might want to find out how stable that parent company is, how many other developers they own and the success of their recent releases. Learning more about what titles they develop or are scheduled to develop can also help you to determine the staying power of a developer. Major publishers who own several subsidiary developers often are forced to make the decision to close down a particular developer and you really don't want to get caught up in that if you can help it. Lastly, I would say, get in writing from the human resources department exactly what the job offer entails. Know exactly what the pay raise schedule will be, the bonuses, profit sharing promises, 401K plan, audio equipment or facilities that will be built, purchased or made available, etc. Sometimes many make the mistake of learning of what the salary might be and nothing more, so it helps to know "all" that a company is promising you for the present and future before you accept the offer.
What Are You Worth?
Whatever you do, don't be afraid to insist that the salary be directly reflective of your experience and credentials. I have seen WELL credited individuals hunt for work and be offered a salary not even close to the going rate for audio professionals and often companies know that that person is more likely to accept the position than to decline the offer because audio positions are so hard to come by. So do your homework and know what you should be asking for. Don't be desperate because desperation will have you settling for a salary that is far less than you are worth. So be confident in what you bring to the table and ask for what you are worth. The IGDA made a salary survey available last year, which should provide an excellent starting point for negotiations.
Of course job security or job happiness is nothing that we can guarantee ourselves ahead of time, but you can minimize the risk by doing a little (or a lot of) preliminary groundwork and ask a lot of questions before deciding whose team you want to join.
So how do you learn about potential audio department openings? Well while there are several ways to discover this, some of the best I've seen is to become a part of one of the many game audio newsgroups on the Internet. Sometimes audio directors themselves will post a direct search for skilled people to these lists. Gamasutra.com also has a wonderful section on job openings and some of the top entertainment and technical head hunting firms have the inside scoop of these openings also.
Going Freelance - "Audio Out"
Well now lets look at this going in the other direction. There are probably very few who would question why anyone would have the desire to be his or her own boss. Clearly this is probably a hidden desire of all the top in-house guys out there, but this is a major decision and will likely be a smashing success or a disastrous mistake and it takes a LOT more than just being a good sound designer/composer.
Some of the same factors and concerns I mentioned in the "Audio-In" section apply to this scenario and some even more than before, especially the "Family Factor". I'm sure I don't have to describe the risk involved with voluntarily leaving a secure in-house position for the freelance world when one has a family to provide for. For some the risks are just too high to even think about such a move, but it is important to remember that hundreds of people do it everyday in, and outside, of the game industry. It often comes down to your level of self-confidence, how much of a risk you are willing to take and plain old guts and determination. I would only recommend this if you clearly have all of your ducks lined up and things are well planned and thought out.
Save, Save, Save
One of the first things I think is extremely important is to build a decent nest egg in your savings before deciding to go solo. One should assume that he won't have a single project as a freelancer for 8 months to a year and your savings should represent your ability to financially make ends meet during that time especially when you own a home or have little mouths to feed. If you are a part of a winning team already you probably have had some decent bonus checks, not to mention that your regular salary should allow you to save well in the first place. Use this money to build up your savings and plan for the freelance market. Yes of course there is MUCH more that needs to be planned but clearly one must have a decent savings to even consider such a move.
One of the only things that keep many more from taking this plunge is the fear of the unknown and that's ok, fear can be a good thing at times, but if you have been a part of a winning development house and you have saved well and have some good credits to rely upon you have as good a chance as anyone else to turn some heads as you enter the world of independent contracting. Yes, like any new business, the failure rate is high but should that be a reason to never try?
Tools of the Trade
Having the money in savings is one thing. There are several other things that will require money to get you rolling. I suppose the most important thing would be to make sure you had the tools of the trade to do the job. Most in-house sound designer/composers do have personal home set-ups too and these set-ups can range from the very basic to the very elaborate. Of course this gear will help to get you started although there will surely be some additional hardware and software items you will need to compete in the field. Fortunately the technology is such that even the more affordable software and hardware tools are VERY capable and can allow you to do things that a few years ago might have require multiple high priced items. This comes down to the creativity and resourcefulness of the particular individual. I have seen many create GREAT music on a single workstation synth where someone else may have had an arsenal of gear at their disposal and the music still did not sound as good. So the moral of the story is, work with what you have and make it work for you. As you can afford new toys, get them!
Serious Business
There is another issue that I probably should have mentioned first…but if you don't feel you have a basic business skills, you should probably never even consider going freelance. It requires SO much more than knowing how to make good music or sound effects. When you first start out, you will likely be your own everything: secretary, receptionist, marketing executive, etc. You really should know how to talk business, write good business letters, and learn how to communicate effectively on the phone and in person. If you lack in these basic skills it could be the death of your company no matter how good your musical/sound design skills are.
Image is everything and if you don't take the time to "look" like a legitimate business entity, don't expect anyone else to perceive you as such. After you've figured out what your company name will be, you will need a logo, business cards, letterhead and most importantly a "professional" web presence. Most of the people in this industry do 90% of all their work and correspondence on their computers and it is imperative that your web presence conveys the message that you want to convey about your company. Don't expect to attract any serious clients with a lame web site. So do what you have to do to spend that money to get yourself established. It will definitely pay off in the long run!
Roping in Clients
Now for the fun part, which is securing new clients. I won't get into marketing 101 here, but if you play your cards right, with a little luck, your former employee can possibly even become your first client. I'm sure wherever you leave from they won't be too excited about losing you, especially if you were there for a long time and considered a valuable asset to the company, but it is possible that you can make the situation work to everyone's advantage. Be sure to give you employer plenty of notice about your plans to depart, make sure you complete current projects and even assist them in finding a replacement if needed. If you depart amicably, it is very likely that the developer will understand the advantages of working with someone whose work ethics, style and skill sets they are already completely familiar with. Even though they may or may not hire someone to replace you, chances are good that you can get them to use you on a limited freelance basis and to work with the remaining audio team or to work with the guy that replaced you. So leave the right way and never burn bridges along the way. A good life lesson too I suppose.
Conclusion
The game audio field has exciting opportunities for skilled sound designers/composers even if opportunities are hard to find. They are out there and those who are the most skilled and best credited will likely get those positions. There is clearly enough work to go around and if you are on the freelance side of things life can be wonderful or extremely stressful to say the least. The freelance route can be tremendously rewarding not only financially but also from a creative point of view but it is not for everyone. There are certain leadership and business skills that are mandatory and not everyone has those skills. You will need good organizational skills also. If you do, then be prepared for a lot of hard work and be prepared to put in three times as many hours as you would as an in-house person.
On the other hand there is a great sense of comfort being a valued in-house sound designer or composer with a bit of seniority and there is no question that the job security and many employee perks are worth punching that clock day after day. No matter which side of the fence you are on, a transition either way must be carefully planned and executed. So whether you decide to be "Audio In" or "Audio Out" just be good at audio period and you will eventually achieve you career goals. Good luck!
Author Bio
Darryl Duncan is the Founder and President of GameBeat, Inc. GameBeat is a full service audio content provider supplying custom music and sound effects to the electronic entertainment industry. GameBeat was formed in 1998 and now employs a full-time staff of five. GameBeat has been involved in the audio development of some of the biggest selling titles over the last few years. Learn more about GameBeat, their history, team, clients, credits and facilities by visiting their web site at: www.gamebeatinc.com.
Darryl can be reached at: dduncan@gamebeatinc.com
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the IGDA.