I’ve always found the resume building process in AV to be a bit of a challenge. For audio-visual professionals, there is no degree program that really prepares you for the world of live event production. There are plenty of indirect routes – film schools, recording certificate programs, and individual courses on video and lighting. But even those tend to be skewed toward the studio – music recording, film, post production, broadcast, video editing etc.

For live event professionals, most of the experience is gained in the field. But, there are plenty of educational opportunities that we can take advantage of to make ourselves more valuable, and more marketable. I’ve compiled a list of some of the main ones – how much they cost, and where to find them.

Certification with Infocomm International: CTS

Infocomm is a non-profit organization that provides education and information to AV professionals. It offers a certification course called the Certified Technology Specialist. There are three version of the CTS:

CTS General: An in-depth overview of live audio, video, Information Technology, project management, and AV sales. It also touches on architectural diagrams as it relates to working with floor plans in an installation setting.

CTS-D: The “D” stands for design. The certification is a next level up from the CTS general and hones in on knowledge specific to being an audio-visual designer.

CTS-I: The I stands for installation. The certification is geared for those who want to specialize in AV installation.

All CTS courses are skewed somewhat toward AV installation, but there is quite a bit overlap into live event applications since there is quite a bit of theory that would benefit you in any situation. Audio Engineers should find CTS surprisingly useful, since it goes into depth about networking, and its application to AV. It also goes into depth with audio theory, covering the science behind the decibel, how humans perceive sound, calculating speaker impedance, and quite a few other useful topics.

Cost: the cost of the CTS general exam is currently $375, and must be taken at an approved testing site in your area. For course and test info, visit Infocomm – CTS

For an overview of of what to expect on the test see my article, What to Expect on the CTS Exam.

2. Q-Sys Certification

Q-Sys is QSC’s audio integration platform for control of permanently installed audio systems. Q-sys is one of the leading platforms now, so you see it everywhere – hotels, churches, amusement parks etc. Knowing this platform will be a major boost to your resume, since being able to program and troubleshoot these systems is an invaluable skill.

Q-Sys offers training and certification on their website. And the great news is…it’s free!! It is one of the few certifications that doesn’t have a price tag, so it is really a great idea to take advantage of.

The training module can be found at Q-Sys Level 1 Training

3. High-End Systems HOG Training

High-End Systems is a subsidiary of ETC, and it’s most well known product is the HOG lighting console. Since the HOG console is one of the industry standard lighting boards in use, having HOG certification will give you a tremendous advantage, especially if you are looking to become a technical director, lighting designer, or lighting technician.

Training takes place in a real classroom, held at specific dates at various locations throughout the country, which are posted on the site several months in advance.

The cost of the class is $500

If taking the class is not a possibility, the training center site has several video tutorials on both HOG and HOG PC.

All of this can be found on High-End’s Training Center website, High-End Training Portal

4. High-End Systems Fixture Repair Class

High-End Systems also offers an in-person class where you will learn lighting fixture repair, down to the component level. Below is the description from the training website:

A basic guide on trouble-shooting and maintenance of DLHD and all LED products.

During the class, attendees will learn how to remove and replace major components, understand wiring harnesses and signal flow, as well as learn the fixture’s menu system.

Attendees will gain a working knowledge of the Content Management Application (CMA) software, including the process of loading custom content and upgrading fixture software.

This part of the course also offers a brief overview of proper content encoding for the High End System’s digital lighting fixtures.

Focus is emphasized on conventional automated lighting fixtures.

Attendees will get hands-on experience for general trouble-shooting and maintenance of High End Systems’ lighting fixtures.

Attendees will learn how to remove and replace major components, understand wiring harnesses and communication flow, as well as learn the fixture’s menu system.

The cost is $200. The only downside to this class is that it is only held in one location: 2105 Gracy Farms Ln, Austin TX. And there are only a handful of dates each year.

More info on this class can be found at High-End Training/class registration

5. AVID Certification

AVID’s claim to fame is Pro-Tools, but it also makes a great live audio console called the Venue, which is widely used in the high-end pro audio world. If you have ambitions of being an audio engineer for an A-list artist, then learning this console will be an invaluable step.

AVID offers two training courses on pro-tools, and two training courses on the Venue. These are in-person classes, and they are quite in-depth.

The downside is that these classes are expensive. The introductory Pro-Tools class currently has a price tag of $1,195, for instance. The Venue Training ranges from $13-$1500, and is two days long.

But AVID has other training resources on its website that are more accessible and affordable. If you go the Find a Course section of the site you can find a pretty wide range of courses that start at around $160. See AVID Online Courses

A couple notable subjects that live AV people will find useful would be their e-course on Networking , and a course on video theory (both links below).

AVID Networking Basics Course

AVID Video Theory Course

6. Yamaha Console Training

Yamaha has both seminars and online training for their products. Yamaha consoles are an industry staple, so knowing them inside and out will benefit any AV person immensely. Examples of their current in-person seminar topics include:

CL/QL console training

Digital Sound Reinforcement using Dante Protocol (Dante is currently the leading protocol for digital audio transmission and digital audio networking)

NEXO Speaker Systems (yamaha’s latest line of high-end loudspeakers)

Worship Arts Technology

General Yamaha console training labs

These classes are held in various locations throughout the country, but the main ones are in Las Vegas, Illinois and Buena Park California. This is great news for the lot of us AV people who are Los Angeles Based.

The other great news is that almost all of these seminars are free!!

The training labs in Buena Park are my favorite so far. You register for a 2-hour time slot in which you are able to tinker, and practice on any of the main Yamaha consoles: LS9, M7-CL and the PM5D. Yamaha staff is on hand in each lab to answer your questions. And it’s free! You just have pre-register at Yamaha Training Seminars

On the same training site you can find a handful of online courses that are very helpful, as well as a training blog. Really good stuff.

7. Shure Audio Institute

Shure doesn’t have any certifications that I could find, but they have a ton of great information in the form of webinars, and a couple of in-person classes from time to time. The great thing is that they don’t just offer training for their products, but a lot of their information is education on microphone applications in general. This is especially true in the area of wireless microphones. They also have a great blog for audio education.

All of their webinars are free, and pretty easy to understand with a basic understanding of audio. You can find the site at Shure Audio Institute

8. SMAART Certification

SMAART stands for System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-Time. It’s a software application for analyzing the frequency content of an audio signal, a process known as Real Time Analyzation. The RTA process usually takes place just after an audio system is installed. A signal known as “Pink Noise” is run through the system, and a specialized mic is used to pick up the signal in the center of the room. The software gives you a visual depiction of what that mic is picking up, and how room acoustics, or speaker design are affecting sound quality.

SMAART is the industry standard for RTA software currently, and Rational Acoustics, which makes the application, offers a training course with certification.

The Fundamentals of SMAART is a 3-day seminar held in various locations throughout the US, UK and Australia.

The cost is $750.00

You can find the class schedule and registration at Rational Acoustics Training

9. Extron AV Associate Certification Program

This is a course with a certification designed to give AV professionals a solid foundation in the fundamentals. There are no pre-requisites, and the course is completely online.

Although strangely to enroll in this course Extron says that “To enroll in the AV Associate Certification Program, you must be a reseller, consultant, or instructional technology professional” on their website.

They give no info on cost, but they only say to “contact your extron representative for pricing.”

After you take the AV Associate course, there are several other certifications they offer including:

The School of Emerging Technologies – 4k

Extron Control Professional

Extron ProDSP Specialist

For more info on Extron training products, visit http://www.extron.com/training/index.aspx?s=tab02

10. Harman Certifications

Harman is an electronics company that has recently been acquired by Samsung. Harman owns several AV manufactures including:

AKG

JBL

Martin

dbx

Digico

BSS

Studer

IDX

SVSI

They offer certification courses for all of their brands, both online and in person. The two most relevant to us in the live events industry would be Martin and JBL. And for those you can go straight to their training websites:

JBL: JBL Training/Training

Martin: Martin.com/Training

JBL’s training is all focused on their VTX Line Array Series. Training is three days long and covers everything from system design, and rigging to networking and system optimization.

Martin has training for both their consoles and fixtures. The fixture class is held in Indianna, costs $600, and covers all of their moving fixtures. If that’s not a possibility for you, they also have webinars which can be found here: Learnstagelighting.com Webinars

If you’re interested in any of the other Harman training courses you can find those here: ProHarman.com/Training

Conclusion:

This is, hopefully, the beginning of a growing list. For an extended list of training and certifications there is a Part Two that goes a little more into lighting and video.

If you know of any other good classes, certifications or seminars please feel free to comment below.

Best of luck out there!

Carmelo San Paolo, CTS