I woke up one day just over four years ago this month and realized that I had been unemployed for half a year. The previous version of my sound effects website that I had launched the summer before was on life support, discouragingly underpowered for the technology it was using. Worse, I was uninspired. I hadn’t recorded a single shred of sound for ages.
Early 2011 also coinincided with a brief but active surge of minimalism bloggers elsewhere on the Internet. Those blogs have since faded away. However, they conveyed a message that had an immense impact on me: fundamental change requires drastic steps.
The minimalist blog writers were the main reason I launched the Creative Field Recording blog and began writing about sound effects, creativity, and sharing sound in February, 2011. At that time, I had no idea the blog would result in four years of articles and three books. I couldn’t have guessed that it would motivate me to record more sound effects and share them online. None of that was on my radar whatsoever, and I am a little surprised it’s all happened.
More importantly, I couldn’t have imagined that I’d have the opportunity to meet so many of you cool and inspiring creative sound professionals in the field recording community.
I have trouble believing it’s been four years. They’ve whipped by.
I mention all this for three reasons:
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Creative Field Recording Bookstore Discount
To celebrate the fourth anniversary of the website, all books on the Creative Field Recording bookstore are now 50% off for the next 48 hours. Use the promo code 4YEARS at the checkout to receive this discount. You can choose from:
- Field Recording: From Research to Wrap. (
$24now $12.) An introduction to recording sound effects beyond the studio. - Selling Creative Sound. (
$29now $14.50.) How to assemble a bulletproof sound library and share it on the best sites on the Web. - Sharing Sound Online. (
$49now $24.50.) How to build your own independent bundle Web shop.
The discount includes combo packs as well. Visit the bookstore page to learn more.
- Field Recording: From Research to Wrap. (
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Article Retrospective
The next handful of articles will list a selection of my favourite posts from each year. They’ll offer a brief summary of the articles and why you may like them. So, each post will be a retrospective of the best of each year’s articles. If you’re new here, it’s a good way to catch up on the best posts on the website.
There are 185 articles on the site. That’s a lot to search through. In addition to the “Best Of” posts, I’ve added a list of the website’s all-time top 10 posts. You can find it on the sidebar, just a bit up and to the right of here. It looks like this:
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Evolving Your Pro Sound Career
Finally, a general note: this all has taught me that it’s not too late to change the direction of your career. Dissatisfied with the work you’re doing? Are you interested in spending more time field recording? Perhaps you’d like to shift from film sound to game audio. Maybe you simply want to grow your existing career.
I’ve had four major career shifts myself: studying book publishing and writing to editing television and film sound, to consulting for Web shops, to creating my own sound library and writing about field recording. What was common with each shift? Every change was unexpected, drastic, and involved risk.
So, if you’re thinking about doing something new, I’d encourage you to give it a shot. It may seem intimidating. However, change is simple when you crave new things and embrace risk. I know how that sounds. But if I can do it, anyone can. If you want to change or enhance your sound career, do it! We have many inspiring figures in the field recording and sound design communities. Join them. Everyone is eager to see what you will create.
Incidentally, I wrote a few posts about making big changes:
Thank You!
I want to thank every one of you for participating on the blog, reading the articles, Tweeting and sharing the posts, and sending email. I also appreciate you supporting the books and sending your feedback.
Many thanks, and all the best with your creations,
Paul
Use the promo code 4YEARS for 50% of all e-books in the Creative Field Recording bookstore, good for the next 48 hours.
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