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UCAS Choice - Help Required


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I am currently in my final year of studying A-Levels and wish to eventually become a freelance sound engineer, specialising in musical theatre. Hopefully, this would ultimately be on the West End or Broadway (I am a UK-US dual national so visas would not be an issue). Right now I am in the UCAS process and have received offers from LIPA (BA Sound Technology) and Rose Bruford (BA Performance Sound), amongst others that are no longer in consideration. Grade requirements for these courses should not be a problem since my predicted grades are well above the highest requirement and my studies are going very well. I was hoping students (past or present) or anyone who knows about these institutions may be able to provide some advice on the advantages and disadvantages of both these courses.

 

I realise that LIPA has an outstanding reputation and facilities, as well as living costs being less in Liverpool. However, the course at Rose Bruford is more specific to live and theatre sound. Understandably in London living costs are a great deal higher (although this is not really an issue for me) and the lifestyle in Sidcup would not be a "typical Uni. experience".

 

Is a more specific course (Rose Bruford) better for career prospects?

What type of contacts do you obtain from these courses? How many and how useful are these contacts in later job prospects?

How much are these two courses based on IT? (I do not have a GCSE or A-Level in IT)

How much maths is involved in the two courses? (I do not have A-Level Mathematics)

 

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated,

RLawrence

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Can't offer anything specific to the sound courses, really. What I can tell you, though, is that I've encountered graduates from both institutions' lighting courses, and LIPA seems to produce a more rounded graduate, with a greater breadth of experience and more of a feet-on-the-ground attitude, than Rose Bruford. But hey, that's only my opinion from having met people who've come through both of those colleges. What I can tell you, though, is that Liverpool is a great city - and the point about living costs is also a very good one to bear in mind.
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Afraid I can't comment on either course, but I will say that a Uni degree in theatre sound is a requirement of making it - Google Gareth Owen Sound - I met Gareth at Uni in Plymouth through the Musical Thestre Group, and would be fairly certain he was studying something non sound related, but he has the drive and passion that helped him get where he is. That and practical experience and willingness to learn and be teachable are probably more useful than a degree. Not saying it won't help.

 

Much as those of us outside London might dislike it, there is a certain gravity effect that London has and that does mean that there's physically more companies, theatres and things happening in London, so in terms of gaining experience it might be easier in London.

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Good call, Pete. Gareth Owen is a fine example of the irrelevance of specialised courses in our industry and the value of hard graft in the hands-on department.

 

It seems to me that Gareth got there more by accident than design, did a massive amount of hands-on learning and spent years building up contacts and a track record before he became freelance. To set out from school aiming to be a freelance sound engineer on the West End stage is aiming at an incredibly tiny niche. Especially as that niche is pretty much fully occupied already.

 

Interesting too that you both went to Plymouth and neither did what I consider to be the best live sound course around at Deep Blue Sound with Jim Parsons. Lots of hands-on stuff and contact making on that one.

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Start to write your CV now! What have you done so far that would convince your next employer of your skill and competence. You haven't mentioned doing anything "backstage" so far. It's your experience that get's you your next job. What you did age 16 gets you work age 17 and so on. Paid work is good but school and college "experience" soon devalues to little as it gets older.

 

Are you certain that you want the life of a self employed person on short contracts? Many jobs are 1, 2 or 3 days. You have the permanent uncertainty of where the next cheque is coming from and whether the mortgage company likes you or more likely not. For credit rating purposes for mortgages etc a history of steady employment will serve you best.

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The sound tech course at LIPA does have a fair amount of studio work as part of the course, although there are still plenty of productions to get involved with.

The sound department at LIPA is second to none, they have great lecturers and excellent links with the industry with graduates all over the place.

 

Have a look here for their music festival on at the minute. Broadcast live on Youtube soley by students, might give you an idea at what goes on.

 

(this is Fridays stream)
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Good call, Pete. Gareth Owen is a fine example of the irrelevance of specialised courses in our industry and the value of hard graft in the hands-on department.

 

It seems to me that Gareth got there more by accident than design, did a massive amount of hands-on learning and spent years building up contacts and a track record before he became freelance. To set out from school aiming to be a freelance sound engineer on the West End stage is aiming at an incredibly tiny niche. Especially as that niche is pretty much fully occupied already.

 

Interesting too that you both went to Plymouth and neither did what I consider to be the best live sound course around at Deep Blue Sound with Jim Parsons. Lots of hands-on stuff and contact making on that one.

Off Topic: I think Plymouth is lucky with a great music scene which really helps. Paul (who got Gareth into SSE) is a great character and still active in the PA world. Likewise, Jim is a top chap and Deep Blue run a venue too!

 

Josh

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are going back a bit now...over 15 years ago to when I went around both LIPA and Rose Bruford (I grew up near Liverpool and LIPA was a good convenient option)...and it was hard then for me as it appears to be for you now! I'm sure they both still have great facilities and courses on offer (I was looking at their offerings in lighting courses) and it was a tough choice to start with but when I went to Bruford for my interview on campus, I knew where I wanted to be from the feel of the place. At the same time, a close friend of mine (and good friend of previous poster, Pete McCrea for that matter) went to look at LIPA and Bruford also. Fast forward 15 years, I have a BA(hons) from Rose Bruford and a successful freelance career in lighting corporate and special events, the other chap didn't go to university at all, he went straight into the work place and is has worked his way up to now being the Projects and AV Director of a group of companies which turns over in excess of £3m. We had similar starting points, we helped each other along, we still occasionally work together, but university hasn't necessarily made the difference.

 

However, I did have a great time, learnt a fair few things, made even more mistakes in a safer environment and met some great people who have helped me get work and I them, and I believe it was right for me.

 

First question, have you been to both campuses and had a good look around. Stopped for a while and grabbed a coffee to see what you think to the feel of the place? Could you see yourself studying there? Go through the prospectus by all means, but they generally make little sense until you are doing the course in my experience - some times you have to go with your gut feeling.

 

Second, are you aware that although maths is involved in sound design and time alignment etc, both places are offering a BA - an arts degree, not a science one, so there will be more focus on the appreciation of sound design within theatre. Same goes for the IT, but you will need good IT skills (which you still have time to learn) in any job these days and especially going forward in order to make sound in theatre work, especially with the amount of networking now involved in various forms, such as Dante and show control integration as well as CAD.

 

Thirdly, I know Rose Bruford have many visiting lecturers on the sound course, including the legendary Digby Shaw among other West End names, look at how the universities each position themselves in terms of preparing you for the life of employment and the exposure to real-life outside world people.

 

Finally, draw up a table to compare the three options: LIPA, Rose Bruford and not going at all and hitting a warehouse floor of Orbital or Autograph prepping shows out. Look at the options, go with your gut instinct.

 

All the best with the tough decisions!

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