The Placement Year

For each student on the Tonmeister programme the third year of registration is normally a Professional Training Year (PTY), during which they will be working for an employer in the audio industry. The PTY scheme has advantages for employers and for students...

For Employers

This leaflet explains the gist of the placement scheme, gives some examples of how it might help you as an employer, and mentions a few of the other employers who use it: TonmeisterPlacements.pdf

Employers who have registered their intention to offer a placement this year can view shortlists of candidates plus CVs on our Members Only Website.

For further information please contact the Tonmeister Senior Professional Training Tutor.

For Students

The placement year forms an important part of your education and aims to develop your professional, practical, interpersonal, organisational, and creative &/or technical skills, and to allow you to apply some of the theory that you have learned in the first two years of the programme. Full placement scheme details for current students are available in the programme handbooks and module descriptions but, as a taster, here (in no particular order) is what some of the students on placement in 2021/22 thought were the 5 'coolest' (i.e. most useful, interesting, remarkable, exciting, impressive, enjoyable, etc.) things about their placements...

Alex : Pinewood Group Ltd : Junior Sound Editor

• Became extremely proficient at Pro Tools.
• Got really good at admin work, by keeping close track of what needed to be done each day.
• Spent time with some of the friendliest and most experienced workmates.
• Got to watch loads of films and TV shows (as a job)!
• Had time to come home and relax after a good day of work.

Ben : Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance : Studio Intern

• Engineered around 150 recording sessions.
• Worked with clients from every musical discipline—pop/jazz/classical/misc—and just about every common instrument.
• Worked roughly 9-5 but was able to schedule my hours as I liked.
• Got a lot better at critical listening.
• Met many friends and other contacts with whom I will likely work again.

Cal : Royal Academy of Music : Studio and Recording Assistant

• Solo engineered/produced a guitar project with a student which we're developing into an album.
• Got plenty of experience independently handling audio and video for concert livestreams/recordings.
• Made contacts with some great musicians and composers for future projects.
• Had lots of variety and responsibility in the jobs I was assigned.
• Worked alongside a very friendly, supportive and talented team.

Chloe : Eastcote : Trainee Assistant Engineer

• Made Mark Ronson and Ryan Gosling tea.
• Played piano on a song about being in love with a Tory.
• Had a conversation with Yungblud about the smell of death.
• Had a beer with a billionaire.
• Assisted on a few tracks from Razorlight's new album.

Diana : Schoeps Mikrofone : Studio and Manufacturing Intern

• Learnt to code in Arduino IDE.
• Learnt to take apart capsules to fix minor errors and assemble them back together.
• Got to go to a Tonmeister conference in Germany.
• Was allowed to borrow Schoeps mics for my own recordings.
• At the end of my placement I was gifted an MK4 with CMC6 body with my name engraved on it.

Harvey : ROLI : Sound Content QA

• Saw my many notational edits being made public.
• Used my own code to automate my workflow.
• Got to spend time and socialise with a lovely group of people.
• Ate yummy vegan food.
• Helped with planning on new app layout ideas.

Isaac : SONA. : Sound Trainee

• Was credited in the Prime Video series 'Wheel of Time'
• Briefly acted as assistant effects editor on a Netflix feature film
• Had my voice edited into the first 10 seconds of the Showtime series 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'
• Became a connoisseur of Hackney's selection of coffee beans
• [Very much enjoyed] a wrap party

Jake : DiGiCo : Software Tester

• Played with loads of mixing consoles everyday
• Took part in the 5G festival project
• Mixed monitors for the first time
• Died laughing countless times with my coworkers
• Learned bucket loads about digital audio in practice

Josh : Sound Disposition : Assistant Studio Engineer

• Recorded Zendaya in Tom Holland's house
• Got free tickets to the BFI London Film Festival
• Saw my name in the credits at multiple film premieres
• Redesigned an ADR studio
• Obtained an IMDb page

Kristina : Gearbox Records : Assistant Engineer

• Got to play with lots of tape machines and vintage gear
• Recorded 200 different takes of an Orc being killed for Warhammer
• Assisted Hugh Padgham
• Made a cup of tea next to Thom Yorke and managed to not wet myself
• Made replica puppets of Binker and Moses for their music video

Leon : Focusrite PLC : Software Engineering Placement

• Attended the audio developer conference (ADC) listening to lots of really interesting talks.
• Worked on a wide variety of diverse projects.
• Attended regular hack days that gave me an opportunity to work with and meet people outside my team and in the wider group and try to develop something new in a day.
• Didn't have to make tea; we drink coffee anyway...
• Worked in a great atmosphere, with good socials.

Lucas : ALM BusyCircuits : Intern

• Learnt C and C++ programming for embedded systems
• Went to modular meet gigs
• Learnt (and was given) lots of Eurorack stuff
• Had pub lunch with Steve Davis the snooker legend, now modular wizard
• Set up the studio space in the office

Micah : ICP Recording Studios : Assistant Engineer

• Learnt lots of ProTools shortcuts
• Tried lots of vintage gear
• Explored Brussels by e-scooter
• Received plenty of kisses from clients
• Didn't have to cook food for a year

Natasha : Sky Production Services : Audio Assistant/Trainee Dubbing Mixer

• Was paid to visit a Foley studio for the day
• Had tea made for me by a mixer
• Got to see my name in the credits on Sky
• Had my slurping noises featured on a short film
• Watched TV all day

Nils : Fraunhofer IIS : Binaural Audio Intern

• Developed Spatial Audio Algorithms from the ground up
• Presented my work to notable international companies
• Discussed interesting topics with high-profile researchers
• Lived and worked abroad in Germany
• Tested exciting unreleased products

Olivia : Guildhall School of Music & Drama : R&AV Intern

• Worked with very talented music and acting students as well as staff.
• Developed my ability to mix both audio and video live.
• Worked a variety of different roles within the industry, giving me a broad range of experience.
• Developed a passion and confidence for video engineering.
• Had a strong sense of responsibility within my department and the school.

Rafe : ICP Recording Studios : Assistant Engineer

• Worked on Stromae's live tour preparation and programming
• Sang Backing Vocals on Motives by Charles
• Got professional credits on 7 albums
• Had a few nights out with Paolo Nutini
• Thanks for the Cock Fight James A Brown when talking about the Electro-Harmonix pedal

Robert : Martin Audio Ltd. : Audio Researcher

• Worked alongside an incredibly helpful and friendly supervisor.
• Fixed a tweeter and a crossover that had been wired incorrectly by soldering.
• Learnt a great deal about object oriented programming in MATLAB.
• Was designated crane operator when rigging the open days.
• Worked from home in pyjamas. A lot.

Rosie : Guildhall School of Music and Drama : Recording & AV Intern

• Mixed a 64 channel big band and string orchestra concert for broadcast
• Met Anoushka Shankar and Robert Glasper on the same day
• Ate a lot of falafel wraps
• Got to use a crazy good cinema camera
• Filmed, edited, mixed and graded a 2.5 hour long showreel for an acting project

Ryan : Kinly : Projects Placement Engineer

• Went to Paris to work on a stock market trading floor by myself.
• Ran a live event for the law firm Slaughter and May.
• Commissioned three broadcast areas at TikTok's new London office.
• Learnt lots about cameras and vision mixing.
• Designed Kinly's new demo AV rooms myself.

Ural : AIR Studios Lyndhurst : Trainee Technical Engineer

• Had lunch with Chris Wolstenholme
• Worked for a Spitfire Plugin Session
• Worked on some priceless historic audio equipment, like Fairchilds
• Had the chance to learn from legendary techs
• Worked on an upcoming Waves Plugin

Wil : Abbey Road Studios : Runner

• Heard the best orchestral musicians in the world, every single day
• Saw lots of films before they were even finished
• Spent 3 days working with Noel Gallagher
• Was mistaken by James Newton Howard for his wife
• Drank lots of Premium Lager in the studio bar

Will : The Dairy Studios : Studio Assistant

• Engineered recording sessions for famous people.
• Received credits on albums released on music platforms.
• Met many useful contacts for whom I have since done more work.
• Repaired amplifiers, patch bays and other equipment, which developed my soldering skills.
• Improved the studio workflow by redesigning the website, simplifying studio signal paths and troubleshooting room acoustics.

William : The Yehudi Menuhin School : Hall Technician

• Recorded for some of the country's most talented young classical musicians.
• Was in full control of all the recording and mic decisions.
• Met famous classical artists and famous classical engineers.
• Had a great time socialising with the Hall team.
• Was put in charge of future upgrade decisions.