I'm always trying to broaden my skill set by expanding into as many different disciplines and creative areas as possible (including music composition someday), but sound design itself may not be one of them.
Unless you actually want to be a sound designer one day, it's unrealistic to think you could develop proficiency in sound design as one of a number of different skill sets. I know of no professional directors who can do this. Even those directors who have specialist audio skills (James Cameron being a good example), still bring in a professional sound designer very early in the pre-prod phase.
In the 1940's and later, there were no sound designers per se. Hitchcock, Welles and others were certainly designing their films (adapting the scripts, shots, etc.) with the use of sound in mind but at that time audio technology only allowed them a very limited set of options/choices. By the late 1970's mainstream cinema sound started switching over from (1 channel) mono sound to (4 channel) surround sound and together with the start of digital audio technology this caused an explosion in the number of potential options and opportunities available for commercial filmmakers to create a cinematic experience and involve their audiences. It's at this point when commercial directors realised they needed specialist help/advice in the initial design phase of their films and this is when we start to see the first specific "Sound Designer" credits.
I think I'm capable of recognizing a good sound mix when I hear it, and a bad one when I hear it. And if I listen intently enough, I can probably nail down some things that can be improved in a particular project. But beyond that, I probably wouldn't have the know-how and the technical education to do a proper mix justice anytime soon.
Again, no, that would be unrealistic. Even moderately budgeted indie films are usually mixed in dubbing theatres which cost 7 or 8 figures to acoustically construct and equip. Mixing (Re-recording) with such complex and expensive equipment is a highly specialised role which takes years to learn. I don't know any commercial film directors who would even consider trying to mix their own film.
I certainly will try to educate myself further in terms of a working understanding, so that I can intelligently communicate with the sound people I work with.
Even just learning all the technical audio terminology takes years and is not worth it unless you're actually aiming to be a film audio professional. Audio is definitely an area where a little knowledge can be dangerous! The sound designer's job is to understand the story of the film, to help the director form a vision of how to tell that story and then to create the audio side of that vision during post. A large part of the job is learning to interpret what a director wants/needs, listening to how the director describes; the characters, the actions, the motivations, the emotions, how the story unfolds, etc., and presenting the director with options for how sound can be used to most effectively communicate these things and make the audience feel involved in the telling of that story. The reason why the sound designer needs an understanding of cinematography, etc., and to collaborate at such an early stage is because many/most of the audio audience manipulation tricks and techniques used require some sort of visual reference or support in order to work.
What's important therefore, is for the director to have an in-depth understanding of the story as a whole, of each scene, of each character and be able to clearly explain that understanding. The danger of a director using specific audio terminology is that it eliminates interpretation and forces us to take what the director says literally, which is fine if the director has a complete understanding of the implications of that terminology and a complete understanding of how applicable it is to that specific situation ... but, they very rarely do! Using specific audio terminology is a common cause of cock-ups and misunderstandings! One of the most valuable pieces of advice I learned from an old pro when I was starting out was: "
Give the director what he wants ... NOT what he asks for!"
You seem to be very particular about how others word and view the sound design industry, and I'm sure rightly so.
Sound design is effectively a "black art" and almost certainly the most misunderstood of the film crafts. It's a "black art" for no other reason than because: 1. It's extremely rarely ever mentioned or discussed publicly: It's generally only ever discussed either in secretive early pre-prod meetings or in sound edit or mixing suites, to which even cast and crew members aren't usually allowed. On the rare occasions that sound is mentioned at all (say on DVD extras) it's virtually always in terms of individual sound effect design, rather than sound design, and 2. As so much of sound design is about subliminal audience manipulation, the overwhelming majority of inexperienced and amateur filmmakers, formally educated or not, simply don't recognise it and are largely or completely ignorant of even what sound design is and why it's so vital, let alone how to employ it effectively. That's why I feel it's so necessary to be particular here, where there are many looking to progress and/or monetise their narrative filmmaking, which is incredibly unlikely if their films are almost entirely missing one of the fundamental necessities of modern commercial filmmaking.
So I definitely wouldn't plan to claim myself as a sound designer for hire unless I had gone through an actual degree program first that specialized in that.
There are no sound design degree programs I'm aware of and, I don't see how there could be any! Most degree programs are aimed towards music recording/production. Those few that specialise in film sound have to cover audio theory/engineering, which is a huge field in itself, and then cover; dialogue editing, Foley, ADR, sound effects design and mixing/re-recording. Very few education establishments have the facilities to go beyond the very basics and even if they do, a 3 year degree program is not enough time to cover all these areas in any great detail anyway. Having a detailed understanding of all these areas is just the minimum starting point for an aspiring sound designer, so any half decent sound designer program would really have to be a post-degree course, a masters or doctorate level program. I personally don't know of any such programs but even if there are one or two, practical real world commercial experience is still far more preferable.
However, as I mentioned, the sound designer credit is often used by those trying to break into film audio post on their own and by amateur filmmakers to mean the person who edits and mixes the sound in post. In this usage, you could claim you're a sound designer for hire pretty much whenever you want. IME, many of those who claim this don't even know what sound design is, but fortunately (for them), they don't generally need to, as all they need to accomplish is something which doesn't sound bad on YouTube. Ultimately though, sound design is not about whether a mix sounds good or bad but about how well it draws the audience into the story!
Could I ask what films, TV shows, or other projects you've been involved in? And if I might know any of them? Just out of curiosity.
I quite like the level of anonymity I have here. It allows me to freely say things which I otherwise wouldn't if they were directly linked to my name. I can tell you that: I've been in the Film/TV industry for over 20 years, I've been "involved" in films/shows you've definitely either seen or heard of and worked in a credited position on a number of films/shows you might of heard of/seen, plus a significant number of indie films you probably haven't heard of. For example, I'm just finishing a $300k indie feature and just starting a $2.8m one, but you probably won't hear of either. Certain aspects of my job often require me to work with those who work extensively on the biggest, Hollywood style films, which gives me a useful insight into how the really big boys play. For example, the piece of advice I quoted earlier was from a wise old (Oscar and Bafta winning) pro who had re-recorded and/or sound supervised films with Polanski, Burton, Kubrik, Scott and many other legendary directors.
G
