Careers at Gruen Effect AI
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A&R Director
The Artist & Repertoire (A&R) Director runs the department responsible for finding and signing new music talent. They are responsible for the budget of the department, managing the staff, hiring new staff and sometimes acting as A&R manager for larger acts. They are responsible for managing the A&R coordinators and other A&R staff.
An A&R Director needs a thorough understanding of music and the contemporary music scene. They need to know how music works and how albums are recorded and produced. Decisions must be based on sound knowledge, research and understanding of the music. It is helpful to have a good understanding of a variety of genres, for example classical, contemporary, rock, pop, and jazz. They also need excellent judgment to make decisions about the likelihood of commercial success, and the negotiating skills to ensure they get the best deal for the record company while supporting the artists’ ambitions.
A&R Assistant
An A&R Assistant can be responsible for supporting any and all A&R administrative tasks.. Specific responsibilities of this position often include office duties, helping to scout new bands, artists, and music, as well as attending shows and acting as a liaison between the A&R rep and the record label. This position must often maintain and develop relationships directly with artists, scout and research new artists, songwriters, and producers, review demo submissions, cover shows, coordinate detailed bi-weekly A&R research reports and carry out other scouting projects.
A&R Manager
A&R Managers are creative people with good business skills and a solid understanding of the music marketplace. It is not enough to like the music, an A&R Manager needs an excellent knowledge of the contemporary music scene and to understand what sells.
The main job is picking acts that will be successful and then working with the act to find the right producers and writers. The process is very much a nurturing one to ensure the band or solo artist impacts at the right time with the right material.
A&R Scout
A&R (Artist & Repertoire) was developed when it was rare for artists to write their own material. A&R in those days was concerned with matching artists with songwriters. Nowadays A&R is responsible for scouting new talent, signing it to a label and then overseeing all aspects of the process that leads up to the delivery of all finished recordings. As well as scouting and signing singers and musicians an A&R Scout will often manage the recording process and be concerned with the development of artists as they grow and mature.
Accompanist
An Accompanist is usually somebody who supports a singer, choir or an instrumentalist, by playing a musical accompaniment. There are many types of Accompanist. An Accompanist is often, but not always, a pianist. They may provide musical accompaniment to silent films, dance classes, choirs, or other musicians including ensembles, bands and individual musicians. A singing teacher who plays the piano for their pupil while they are singing is providing accompaniment just as a band or full orchestra do, when they and a singer performs a song.
Account Executive
An Account Executive in the music industry may work in PR, Marketing or Sales. They are employed directly either by a music company, or by an agency specialising in the music or entertainment industry. They will usually be responsible for a specific client of the agency or company, or a specific brand or company product. In the music industry this may be a band or solo artist, or a record label. The Account Executive will often be responsible for a portfolio of clients or brands.
Account Manager
An Account Manager in the music industry is more senior than an account executive. They will make more strategic business decisions. They may be responsible for managing a team of account executives.
An Account Executive in the music industry may work in PR, Marketing or Sales. They are employed directly either by a music company, or by an agency specialising in the music or entertainment industry. They will usually be responsible for a specific client of the agency or company, or a specific brand or company product. In the music industry this may be a band or solo artist, or a record label. The Account Executive will often be responsible for a portfolio of clients or brands.
Engineer
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including electronics, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music. An audio technician is proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multitrack recorders and workstations, and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is becoming more and more important for the audio technician to be versed in the understanding of software and hardware integration from synchronization to analog to digital transfers.
Assistant Engineer (Studio)
While this position is a tried-and-true path for anyone who wants to be a recording engineer or producer, it’s also a fantastic entry-level position for anyone who wants to work in the record industry but isn’t exactly sure how. Assistant engineers typically work for a studio for between one and five years, until they’re promoted to full-fledged engineer, have enough job experience to seek a studio job elsewhere, or make key connections with artists and producers that enable them to go freelance. Assistant engineers might also use their studio experience to pursue another angle, such as working in A&R, learning to be a mastering engineer or mixing engineer, or keeping the studio in good shape as a studio manager or studio maintenance engineer.
Backup Singer
Session singers are usually conservatory or university trained, as the job requires excellent sight-reading and harmonizing skills and a keen understanding of vocal technique. A session singer might start out providing vocals for demo tracks by songwriter-producers before being hired to do session vocals for a full studio recording. On the other hand, live backup singers often start out as singers in original bands and other live performance projects before being scouted as backup singers for large pop acts.
Audio Programmer
Audio Programmers work in the digital games industry. They are responsible for the processing, storage and playback of sound effects and music in the game. They write the software tools and utilities to support the sound and music. It is a highly skilled job and Audio Programmers need a high level of technical knowledge and understanding of a wide range of computer programs as well as a passion for the games. They will often work both for the game team directly and the software department. The Audio Programmer is responsible for ensuring the game sounds as good as it looks and plays. Their work will be essential to the atmosphere of the game and to making sure that sound and music are properly integrated and enhance the experience for players. The Audio Programmer will work closely with the audio production department, and they may be responsible for development of the audio component of the company’s software as well as the playback and mixing routines in the game itself.
Director, Music Video
Music Video Directors are responsible for storyboarding and composing a shot-by-shot vision for a music video. They must analyze a song and synchronize their video to the rhythm of its music. Music Video Directors must collaborate with the production crew and actors to create a unified video. A director is responsible for determining how the film moves, sounds and looks, as well as for the performances of the actors. On set, the director takes charge of the artistic and technical aspects of the video. They hold auditions, conduct rehearsals and approve music, costumes, scenery and locations.
Engineer, Recording
Recording Engineers (sound engineers or audio engineers) usually work in recording studios making high quality sound recordings, mainly for the music and entertainment industry. They need to be able to operate complex electronic equipment to reproduce music, dialogue, sound effects and other audio content to the highest quality. This may be for commercial music CDs or albums, radio, television and theater, commercials or corporate presentations and promotions.
Animators
Animators are professional artists specializing in manual and digital illustrations used in film, television and advertising. Mostly, animators work with specialized software to develop sketches and ideas into final products. They may contribute to developing a project’s artistic style or might receive direction from lead animators to execute.
Effects Animator
Effects animators are responsible for adding natural or supernatural characters or things to animated films. They work with VFX supervisors to determine the most effective approach to solving effects issues and develop the finished, final product. Effects animators create effects based on concept art and design from art departments. They use 3D lighting and effects as well as compositing tools to achieve the desired look. In addition to VFX supervisors, effects animators work with technical directors, designers, and art directors to create realistic effects.
Cartoonist
Cartoonists draw advertising, political, social, and sports cartoons. Some cartoonists work with artists who create the idea or story and write captions, and sometimes the cartoonist will write captions themselves. Most cartoonists have critical, comic, or dramatic talents in addition to drawing skills.
In the animation industry, cartoonists render drawings of characters, environments, and objects for small and large-scale productions. Additional duties may include developing moods and color patterns, dramatizing action, and create and paint background scenes. Cartoonists may draw characters and scenes manually, on the computer or a combination of the two.
TV and film cartoonists may draw animated cartoons, prepare model drawings and sketches of characters, and draw special effects for animation projects.
3D Modeler
3D modelers work in film and video production studios, game design companies, advertising and graphic design firms, web design firms, software companies, architecture firms, laboratories (both science and medical), colleges and universities, product design firms, and manufacturing firms (retail, home, tools, etc.). Modelers also work in aerospace and for environmental agencies, automotive companies, retail firms, government agencies, crime labs (forensics), interior design firms, building technology firms, real estate companies, and many others.
Digital Painter
Digital painters work with 2D drawn animation, 2D computer animation, and 3D digital computer animation. They add color to images created by animators and work as part of a team consisting of compositors, color key artists, scanners, and color stylists. The entire team works under the direction of the head of digital color and compositing.
Digital painters receive drawings from the animation or other related department. They use computer software to clean up line work, if needed, and then add color using software programs such as Photoshop, Toon Boom, Illustrator, Animo, and/or Opus Creator. Digital painters have a keen eye for color and detail. These fine artists also understand the animation process, which helps them deliver spectacular images.
Art Directors
Art directors work with art and design staffs in advertising agencies, public relations firms, or book, magazine, or newspaper publishing. They also work with producers and directors of theater, television, or movie productions to oversee set designs.
Graphic Designer
Graphic designers work in manufacturing, specialized design services, publishing, advertising, public relations, computer systems design and related services, wholesale trade, government, aerospace, securities and commodities, and scientific research and development services.
Video Game Designer
In addition to the games industry, video game designers may create interactive games for the mobile technology industry, education, advertising and marketing, web design, and many businesses. However, most video game designers work for gaming companies.
Engineer I or Junior Engineer
A Junior Engineer or Engineer I has approximately 1-2 years experience with at least one language of focus. They have a good grasp of basic programming foundations. Engineer I takes on tasks assigned by the Team Lead. They also contribute ideas during team meetings.
Engineer II or Mid-Level Engineer
These professionals have more than 2 years of experience in software engineering. This software engineer title ranks above Engineer I in terms of field experience and craft mastery.
Senior Engineer I
A senior engineer is expected to create expert design concepts and foolproof debugging. They have 5-8 years of programming experience.