Jeff Perkins Hired At DTS

Jeff Perkins

A VIEW FROM…THE BEGINNING
By Jeff Perkins

Everyone has to start his or her career somewhere, right? I was so excited about getting into the recording industry as quickly as possible that I graduated high school in Atlanta, Texas in two years in order to get a leg up. But there was only one problem: Where do I start?

As a singer/songwriter, I knew surround sound and digital recording was the place to be in this industry, but I needed to somehow gain an education and real-world experience in these realms in order to get my foot in the door, and fast. After looking into a number of schools I found The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) in Tempe, Arizona.

When nearing completion of my studies at CRAS, I heard through the grapevine that DTS (Digital Theater Systems) had an assistant position opening up, so I applied for an internship there and was accepted. Once I completed my internship, DTS offered me a temporary position as an audio assistant in the Mastering Department working on DVD encodes and transfers. That quickly turned into a full-time job as a studio engineer at DTS, where I continued to work on DVD encodes, editing, mastering and transfers. Six months later I was offered my current position as Studio Engineer, actually consulting at the dub stages for DTS. I also work at Todd AO in the DTS office there.

My job at DTS entails recording the printmasters for feature films and processing encodes at Todd AO. I create the master DTS print and go back to the studio to check sync. From there it’s sent out to production. Some of the projects I’ve worked on so far include: Gladiator; Sleepy Hollow; Terminator 2; Luiz Miguel – Vivo; The Mexican; Cirque Du Soleil; Interview with the Vampire; Studio Voodoo; Slackers; and many IMAX films. What more could I have asked for? It’s a dream come true!

My advice to the audio post beginner is simple: Learn as much as you can about every format on as many pieces of professional quality equipment as possible, preferably in an accredited and well respected educational facility, such as the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. Believe me, every day is a learning experience, but the ride so far has been great.