Paradigm Shifts in Entertainment Media and Film, Radio or Recording Schools

There have been and will continue to be paradigm shifts in content creation and delivery affecting the media and entertainment industry, which always has and always will provide countless new job opportunities. Somneone who wants to learn how to be a radio DJ, for example, or a film producer, will continue to have opportunities thanks to the Internet and new technology today.

Here are some of the trends for entertainment careers including jobs in film, radio and recording:

Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Networks - There are tons of new social media sites that have popped up in the entertainment industry. One exciting new one is our own. http://www.mediawarrior.com/ Join it yourself, and tell all your friends in the film, radio or recording industry about it.

Video-on-Demand - Video-on-demand (VOD) is huge, and it may just determine the next generation of content delivery. First there was film, then video, then TIVO, then pay-per-view, and now people can see and listen to anything they want anytime and anywhere. News has it that VOD will be a critical part of all digital subscriber product offerings if the future, representing a shift in content providers’ revenues.

Convergence Marketing -Convergence is the integration of several mediums of entertainment-and it usually involves the Internet. Basically we are talking about the Internet and TV, magazines pushing to the Internet, as well as films, books and Internet marketing. There are many media possibilities such as streaming, live chat, targeted advertising forums, blogs and Vlogs – all of which drive additional revenue. Some of the employment opportunities within convergence include marketing, content development, graphic design, Internet website development.

Special Effects in Film -Increasingly more sophisticated, there is a melding of creativity and engineering when it comes to special effects. Growth of companies Lucas Film’s Industrial Light, Pixar, Blue Skye, Ice Age, etc. and many others are winning awards for special effects. This means new jobs in this area for people who want to learn how to be a director, for example, or producers, actors, voiceover artists. you name it.

Video Games - Yet another big industry that ties in to entertainment, video gaming is getting bigger as technology improves. For jobs, check out Activision, Infogrames, and Take Two, just to name a few. A career in entertainment requires commitment and could mean a new location, in addition to education.

Globalization - Now, as we can see in the 2008 Olympics, there is tailored programming with native language music and personalities. During the next century we will see big changes in this arena, especially as major entertainment companies expand to other markets.

Those interested in learning how to be a film producer, or to find a Los Angeles film school,

Learn How to be a Radio Announcer

Television and radio announcers have to learn how to perform many duties both on the air and off. It is their job to announce important information to the public -- news, time, commercials, weather or even traffic. Typically they also do the research and writing for on air discussions.

Announcers also often perform interviews for events, and it isn't unusual for those interested in learning the career, to end up where they have to learn by doing. The Radio Connection where you can get a mentor in the radio profession will teach students the basic skills required in a real radio station. Your mentor will teach you while on the job, and chances are you can get on air experience.

Radio Connection Mentor Sam Greenfield knows why learning at a real radio station is infinitely better than in a classroom.

Announcers are usually popular with listeners and so they often make public appearances to promote special events, sponsors or station advertisers. Radio announcers are usually referred to as disc jockeys, or DJs who do on-air interviewing, talk to listeners and manage on-air contests, comment on news, traffic and the weather. Newscasters or anchors usually specialize in the news, weather, or sports, and are very heavily involved in the research and interviewing process with all of the parties relevant to an issue.

For those who work for a smaller station, they often have additional off-air responsibilities such as transmitter monitoring, commercial sales, advertising production, program logging, and control board operation. And that's not including fundraising and promotional efforts.

Technological improvements have allowed announcers to assume many of the tasks previously seen as too difficult since stations have become more operationally mobile. Some regional stations operate out of a single office, while others work overnight with no staff, using pre-recorded programs or those from automatic satellite feeds

Announcers usually must get involved in their communities. Sports announcers must appear at a sporting goods store to entertain customers, and news announcers often show up at local events.

At the Radio Connection, you will learn that this field isn't just limited to broadcasting fields, because many announcers work in motion picture production. Or you could get a job as a public address system announcer where you would broadcast information at special sporting or performing arts events. Although some announcers get to work in a good environment with soundproof studios, the downside is that they usually must work odd hours such as early-morning or late-night shows.

Qualifications are competitive and most jobs require formal training. You can always spend more money through either a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting or training in private technical college, but many of the Entertainment career Connection students believe the best way to learn is via the announcer mentor program at the Radio Connection.

Today, the hiring processes for radio announcers include an evaluation of one’s on-air presence. Starting jobs include researchers or production assistants that can advance if they demonstrate the right skill sets, which might take time. People rarely start out with an on-air position unless they go to a smaller station with an open time spot at an odd time. Beginners can be expected to be equipment operators or interview recorders. Announcers typically start out at smaller stations in local communities and move on to larger, citywide stations.

Network employment is extremely competitive. those hiring often seek college graduates with years of announcing experience, and they must have a proper voice, good timing, and many other abilities to be successful. They need to be computer-savvy and be able to work under on-air pressure—appealing to the audience with a fresh style, a good voice and a great personality.

Mentor programs in radio at the Radio Connection provide a solid curriculum, in a real radio station for a reasonable price of $5,500 compared to more than double that at a University.

Get a Mentor and Learn How to be a DJ

Many professionals have realized that the best way to learn is to learn by doing. For example, you could learn how to be a radio DJ or a sportscaster with on-the-job training via the Radio Connection program where you will get a mentor in the radio profession. The course teaches the skills required in a real radio station where you get actual on the job, and on air experience.

Best of all, you can do this in the town where you live with no relocation. Students can take classes part time, training around a job schedule.

The radio broadcasting school trains you to become a radio broadcaster, program director, voice-over artist, promotions director and more. In fact, some of the typical assignments include in-studio lab time training in an on-air radio station with state-of-the-art equipment. The radio program is taught one-on-one, in private sessions, in real radio stations with a real radio professional that takes each student through the course curriculum. No experience is necessary.

The 13 part course includes written curriculums and training guides. Some of the classes include:
Voice and Speech Development
Commercial Announcing and Copywriting
Voiceovers
Commercial Announcing
Sports Broadcasting and Writing
News Broadcasting
Disc Jockey or Talk Show Host
Weather Reporting
The Technical Stuff, and much more...

Howard Parker, (http://www.hpvo.com/) is now making millions as a voice-over artist. He started out working at Taco Bell, but it was the Radio Connection where he got his start.

He said, "This program works. It put me in front of real radio professionals, and I stuck to them like glue and learned all I could from them." Listen to the Howard Bell video here.

Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy

In case you haven't heard, the House of Blues has been sponsoring a very cool nationwide promotion called the "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp" -- as featured in this BusinessWeek video clip that talks about how the camp lets people live their fantasy of being a rock star -- while still keeping their day job. No matter what age.

As mentioned in Los Angeles Magazine's August issue, at the Los Angeles House of Blues, this August 26th, 2008 venue will feature Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke as a faculty member. History knows this controversial American hard rock band was formed in LA in 1985. Camp costs between $1,999 and 9,999. You can call 888-762-2263 if you want to sign up. or go to http://www.rocknrollfantasycamp.

By the way, Guns N' Roses has released five studio albums, two EPs, one live album, and three music video DVDs and the band is currently working on the infamous album Chinese Democracy. They have sold an estimated 90 million albums worldwide, including 39 million in the US.

Tremendously successful at every city nationwide where the venue takes place, this is just proof that programs like the Entertainment Career Connection's Recording Connection mentor programs work. Anyone looking to learn to be a recording engineer, would probably love to attend this camp!

Picture this ... lights are low, the crowd is screaming and the shaking. The opening act is about to take the stage…and the opening act is you! Many of us have dreamt about it and now it is a reality. Rock ‘n' Roll Fantasy Camp is a series of one-day camps that gives fans of all ages a chance to live their dream of being a Rock star. Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy, which has been critically acclaimed as the “Most Amazing Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle Experience” by The London Times and “Brilliant” by Good Morning America, gives happy campers a once in a lifetime chance to meet, greet and also jam with legendary rock stars. Then they get to perform live on stage at major concert venue at the House of Blues and The Fillmore as the opening act for Extreme & King’s X,. it doesn't get much better...

Counselors for the 2008 summer schedule include Gilby Clark (Guns N’ Roses), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon), Dave Ellefson (former Megadeth bassist), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Chris Slade (AC/DC, The Firm with Jimmy Page), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter), Mark Hudson (Aerosmith, Grammy Award winning writer/producer), Kip Winger (Winger) and many more to be announced.

Where is the best place to go to film school?

Most film schools have one campus, a few have multiple campuses, and then apprentice schools like the entertainment industry's best kept secret - the film-connection - has schools that are located pretty much anywhere. There are pros and cons about working in the film industry in big cities like Los Angeles or New York.

It may be easier for film professionals in Los Angeles, because everyone knows it's the hub of Hollywood, and that people can get to work on bigger film projects. But people have to pay more in living expenses for larger metropolitan cities.

What's more, the many ancillary industries are also affected in many ways when a big film hits the box office. For example, the DVD rentals and sales of the "Batman Begins" film, were boosted by the latest movie "The Dark Knight's." It claimed a record-breaking non-holiday weekend box office revenues of $158.4M, according to Rentrak's Box Office Essentials. That was a 345 percent increase in estimated DVD units sold from the prior week! This may have been because of the limited edition DVD gift set that was released on July 8, 2008 and coincided with the July 18th release of "The Dark Knight."

It's not any surprise that the U.S. motion picture industry produces most of the world’s feature films as well as most of the recorded TV shows. Dominated by six large studios based in Hollywood, over the years, things have started to change. With the increasing popularity and global availability of the Internet, cable television, digital video recorders, editing software and computer graphics there are more and more small to medium-sized independent filmmaking companies filling a growing demand, and they are located here and there across the country.

So if you want to learn how to be a film director, or go to a
film school in Los Angeles, odds are that you can get a job almost
anywhere in the U.S. For example, in 2006, there were 357,000 wage and salary jobs in the film and video industries - mostly produciton jobs such as casting, acting, directing, editing, motion picture and videotape reproduction and film processing. Ten percent of those in the film industry were self-employed. They sell services to anyone who needs them, working for multiple productions throughout a year. Here's a chart that details the jobs.


Oh and in case you've wondered -- what is the most expensive city in the world? This year, Moscow is the the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row. London is in second place, climbing up three spots since the year 2006, while Seoul moves down a place in the ranks, taking third place. Tokyo is number four, while Asuncion in Paraguay remains the least expensive city, according to the source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting. New York was the base city, scoring 100 points, Moscow scores 134.4, London 126.3 and Seoul 122.4.

Roots of the Music Recording Industry

It is hard to believe that it was only 130 years ago when the music recording industry began. In 1878 Thomas Edison invented a machine called the phonograph that could record sound. He planned on using it to relay telegraph messages, and also for automated speech via the telephone which he had already invented a year and a half prior. He figured out that the needle could prick a paper tape and record a message, which led to a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder, which, to his great surprise, played back the short message he recorded, "Mary had a little lamb." The phonograph machine was a tinfoil wrapped cylinder on which sound vibrations could be engraved and then played back.

By the early 1900s, many recordings were being produced by musicians worldwide. The recording industry became a serious business by 1910 for anyone who had the money. Over the next 90 years, the recording, editing and distribution of music was only available to those who had money and could afford expensive recording equipment and big recording studios.

It wasn’t until the late1980s when people began to experiment with digital audio processing. Sound vibrations were converted to binary words by the computer. Greater bit depths were available in the ‘90s, so audio could be better represented digitally, but it took computers with high processing power and big caches of memory and ram. Once again, like the old days of the recording industry, it took lots of money.

Today, personal computers have become accessible and less expensive, so memory and fast processing speeds that are needed for digital audio are available on nearly all computers. Sound cards and audio interfaces have also become easier to use and less expensive. Software like Digidesign, Garage Band, Reason, Logic Pro or Audacity, programs for digital audio recording, are now available for free so almost anyone can play around with recording their own music.

At the Recording Connection, Pro Tools software is the favorite go-to tool. These days more and more students who are interested in a career in the music recording industry already have experience with audio recording on their computers, so in order for the students to excel in the industry we encourage mentor courses where students can learn the business from a working professional.

Reasonably priced at around $7,450, students get a classroom that is a real recording studio in the town or city where they live. This is a school that trains people for a job in the music recording industry, because a classroom is not the best way to learn this business.

Check out our video here. This is an accredited apprenticeship, where you learn a structured course that has been written by audio professionals, and you are also working with a mentor, one-on-one, the basics and advanced. There are over 5,000 recording engineers have endorsed the Entertainment Connection course.

Uber.com for Entertainment Careers

Sometimes it's the right thing to do to pass along interesting information. If you have not checked out a website known as http://www.uber.com/, which is for artists, writers and musicians, then you may want to, or at least read Dennis Nishi's article in his How I Got Here column in the Wall Street Journal. (A hat tip to Dennis.) Uber is a social networking site that has grown to over 500,000 unique visits monthly, according to Nielson Online.

Maybe you are taking courses at the Entertainment Career Connection's Recording Connection school, and you are looking for information about the music industry, or you are an aspiring director who might even be looking for a career in the entertainment industry, Uber is a great website to check out.

Nishi interviewed the website's Founder Glenn Kaino, an artist and technologist, about competing in the social-networking space. Apparently Kaino initially wanted to work with artists that didn't have any access to the Web so he and his team contacted thousands of artists including Masami Teraoka and Edgar Heap of Birds and put up Web sites for them in order to document their projects.

Universities began linking to the site since it was not only cool, but a reference for original material. This is the genesis for Kaino's suggestions for other artists today.

In the Journal article he said, "Adjust to the market as opposed to the other way around... Emphasize your unique abilities so you can bring something different to projects. Have a good idea and a willingness to execute it. For me it's always been about creating personal networks. What I've learned in the new media realm and the art world is to keep things ad hoc and on the fly."

Today Uber is a compilation of everything from comedy blogs, and even a contingent of video gamers. The company's goal is "to be a publisher of world ideas online ... to facilitate an audience by allowing people to use our tools to express themselves."

There's a cool piece about Robert Price’s new gallery of tattoo work, (LEFT) including dogs, and Yoda.

Or, from Uber's music blogs, there's Dana's gallery of Motley Crue images from the Uber Crue Fest Photo Contest.