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Audio and Video Technicians

Set up, maintain, and dismantle audio and video equipment, such as microphones, sound speakers, connecting wires and cables, sound and mixing boards, video cameras, video monitors and servers, and related electronic equipment for live or recorded events, such as concerts, meetings, conventions, presentations, podcasts, news conferences, and sporting events.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Perform minor repairs and routine cleaning of audio and video equipment.
    • Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
    • Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
    • Edit videotapes by erasing and removing portions of programs and adding video or sound as required.
    • Mix and regulate sound inputs and feeds or coordinate audio feeds with television pictures.
    • Meet with directors and senior members of camera crews to discuss assignments and determine filming sequences, camera movements, and picture composition.
    • Obtain, set up, and load videotapes for scheduled productions or broadcasts.
    • Construct and position properties, sets, lighting equipment, and other equipment.
    • Switch sources of video input from one camera or studio to another, from film to live programming, or from network to local programming.
    • Design layouts of audio and video equipment and perform upgrades and maintenance.
    • Maintain inventories of audio and videotapes and related supplies.
    • Obtain and preview musical performance programs prior to events to become familiar with the order and approximate times of pieces.
    • Plan and develop pre-production ideas into outlines, scripts, story boards, and graphics, using own ideas or specifications of assignments.
    • Organize and maintain compliance, license, and warranty information related to audio and video facilities.
    • Inform users of audio and videotaping service policies and procedures.
    • Analyze and maintain data logs for audio-visual activities.
    • Develop manuals, texts, workbooks, or related materials for use in conjunction with production materials or for training.
    • Construct and position properties, sets, lighting equipment, and other equipment.
    • Direct and coordinate activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
    • Determine formats, approaches, content, levels, and mediums to effectively meet objectives within budgetary constraints, using research, knowledge, and training.
    • Inform users of audio and videotaping service policies and procedures.
    • Organize and maintain compliance, license, and warranty information related to audio and video facilities.
    • Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
    • Reserve audio-visual equipment and facilities, such as meeting rooms.
    • Record and edit audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
    • Monitor incoming and outgoing pictures and sound feeds to ensure quality and notify directors of any possible problems.
    • Locate and secure settings, properties, effects, and other production necessities.
    • Produce rough and finished graphics and graphic designs.
    • Perform narration of productions or present announcements.
    • Install, adjust, and operate electronic equipment to record, edit, and transmit radio and television programs, motion pictures, video conferencing, or multimedia presentations.
    • Control the lights and sound of events, such as live concerts, before and after performances, and during intermissions.
    • Diagnose and resolve media system problems.
    • Record and edit audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
    • Conduct training sessions on selection, use, and design of audio-visual materials and on operation of presentation equipment.

    Skills

    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    Abilities

    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.

    Knowledge

    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    Education

    Education
    Postsecondary certificate
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Less than 1 month on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    73160/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    35.17/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    2,250
    Yearly Projected Openings
    260

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Assistive listening devices
    • Audio mixing consoles
    • Audioconferencing systems
    • Cassette players or recorders
    • Claw hammer
    • Compact disk players or recorders
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital video disk players or recorders
    • Digital voice recorders
    • Film projectors
    • Ladders
    • Lasers
    • Liquid crystal display projection panels
    • Loudspeakers
    • Manlift or personnel lift
    • Media control systems
    • Microphones
    • Notebook computers
    • Oscilloscopes
    • Overhead projectors
    • Personal computers
    • Plasma screens
    • Power drills
    • Projection screens or displays
    • Public address systems
    • Screwdrivers
    • Slide projectors
    • Soldering iron
    • Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter
    • Stage or projection or studio lighting system
    • Televisions
    • Touch screen monitors
    • Videoconferencing systems
    • Voltage or current meters

    Technology

    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software