ME: SOUND ENGINEER

ME: SOUND ENGINEER

One of the questions inevitably asked by any older relative is; ‘So, what do you do’. Well, my answer is ‘I’m a sound engineer’. Most often I am hit with a resounding slap; ‘what’s that?!’ Then I have to go through the process of telling them what it’s all about and the rigmarole of explaining how it’s done.

Yes; I am a sound engineer. I work at the sound mixing theatre of one of Mumbai’s leading production houses. People often ask me why I took this job. I frequently ponder upon this very same question. To be frank, I got into this industry on a whim. I was always interested in music and film, so I thought this would be a great place for me to nurture my ambition of being a ‘rock star’. I can’t think of more ways to tell you how wrong I was.

It’s stunning to know that the Bollywood film industry has a higher output than even Hollywood. Of course, many of the films made here are B and C grade, but it is nevertheless a mammoth sized industry. But with an industry of that size, comes other problems. The audio industry is at present experiencing what I call ‘the studio boom’. There are so many studios in Mumbai that it is a painful sight. The major down-side to this ‘studio boom’ as I call it is that many of the big studios are being forced to lower their rates, sometimes to even half of what it originally charged in order to compete with the smaller budget studios. The engineers suffer from poor pay-scales as a direct result of this. I personally have experienced this; starting out working for free, then working extra hard to climb the ranks. It took me almost three years to gain some sort of financial independence. But those three years took a lot out of me, as I felt like a factory; churning out one film after the other.

Let me tell you what being a sound engineer is all about. You wake up at 6 in the morning because some whimsical client thinks it’s better to work during the wee hours of the day. Then you spend the rest of the day locked up in a dungeon with a solitary light shining above you; you rush through lunch because you’re running out of time and the release date of the film is just around the corner; you beg your boss for a five minute cigarette break, after which you’re forced to sit through a screening of the film you’ve been working on even though you’ve only seen it around 50 times. Then just about when you think it’s time to go home, in walks another capricious client who prefers working at night. After another four to five hours of plodding along, the boss says ‘pack up!’ You’re momentarily relieved, but only to find out that you have to come back again tomorrow and repeat the whole process; only this time you have to be there by six in the morning. And just when you thought you’d be able to rest your weary soul on Sunday, your ever so amiable boss informs you that it is not to be. There you have it; the life of a sound engineer in a nutshell. Now isn’t life just wonderful?!

An aspect I’ve never understood is the so called fraternity of film institute (FTII) graduates. Most of them think they’re a cut above the rest. You can see them walking around the studios with their noses held up high in the air. While many of them really are really quite commendable, quite a few can be quite trying with their irksome ways. I’ve had a plethora of bizarre requests which never really made sense to me. If I’ve ever tried to cross-question them, either the explanation they’ve given is as equally obscure or they can either be quite a nasty earful. For instance, I have been told several times ‘increase that sound clip by one decibel’. Whenever I get this request, especially from an FTII graduate, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Any self respecting sound engineer who has the slightest knowledge about how sound works, knows that, to make a noticeable increase in sound, one has to increase the level of sound by at least three decibel. There have been so many times, I have just pretended to do so, and the response has almost always been ‘that’s perfect; leave it like that’. I still haven’t been able to figure out what they’re trying to prove. But then there are those certain gems of people who are kind and sensible, and working with them can be quite a pleasure indeed. They give me my space and allow me to work freely, only correcting me when really necessary.

But hey, don’t get me wrong; those were only all the cons of working in this field. There are upsides to it as well. While most of the time I’m working on your typically average Bollywood film, once in a while I do get to work on something out of the ordinary. I’m talking about films aimed at the film festival circuit. Now that is what I call good cinema. Also every now and then, I come across a director or sound designer who has sensible and subtle tastes unlike those conventional Bollywood directors and producers who want everything so garishly loud that it hurts to an extent of having to beg for mercy! Finally, when a movie is over and done with, and I see my name on the credit roll; that’s a different high altogether! The fact that there’s another movie waiting doesn’t really help; but all the same, the satisfaction I get is tremendous!

So you say you want to be a sound engineer; well I say, read this carefully. But don’t just take my word for it. There are plenty of people who are making an excellent living out of this profession. As for me, I think I’ll shift to writing. I have a good feeling every time I write, and I’m not too bad at it. What do you think?!

Siddharth Basrur.