As he shimmied through the narrow passageway inside the tomb of a collapsed Egyptian pyramid, Tyson Schaffner (BA, Audio Production, 2001) knew his wasn’t a traditional job in the audio industry.

“I told everyone, ‘Let’s take 30 seconds and think about it — we’re inside the tomb of a collapsed pyramid,’” said Shaffner, a freelance sound mixer. “I still like music recording, but you’re just not going to get that kind of experience in a studio.”

As a professional sound mixer, Schaffner works with television crews around the world to ensure cameras captures quality sound in addition to sight. Touring the tomb of a collapsed Egyptian pyramid was just part of the job.

Schaffner in recent years has served as sound mixer for several shows, including “America’s Next Top Model,” “The Simple Life” and “The Real World.”



“If you’re watching a reality TV show and you see a guy holding a camera and a guy next to him adjusting the microphone, I’m that guy,” Schaffner said.

And he loves it.

Schaffner’s sound mixing career started when he was an Audio Production student at Webster. Although he’ll be the first to tell you that his path didn’t fit the traditional one to professional studio work that many students follow.

“All of my friends at Webster were film production students and, in film production, it seems no one wanted to do the audio,” Schaffner said. “That’s when I figured out that I like being outside. I don’t like being stuck in a studio all the time.”

Schaffner would mix sound for his friends’ film projects and parlayed that knowledge into a summer internship with Bunim/Murray Productions in Los Angeles. It’s a company that produces several reality TV shows, including “The Real World” and “Road Rules” for MTV.

Schaffner returned to Webster after the internship, but kept in touch with the contacts he made in LA. It was through these contacts that Schaffner landed his first professional job on the set of “The Real World: Chicago.”



“I’ve been very fortunate because I’ve been able to keep my contacts from the very beginning,” Schaffner said. “I just kept meeting people and meeting people. And it all started with the internship. The internship directly led me to being where I am today.”

Today, Schaffner is working as the sound mixer on another television show. Although, for confidentiality reasons, he can’t discuss any particulars of the show until it airs on TV. It’s on to the next job after that, Schaffner said.

“With reality TV, you have to go where the show is,” Schaffner said. “Eventually I’m going to have to unpack a suitcase and stay in one place for a while.”

Return to Top  

• Words from the Dean

• Sounds Good to Me:
  The Reality of Life as a Professional Sound Mixer

• A Family Affair:
  Mother-Daughter Duo Shares Work Ethic,
  Goals, Webster Degree
• The May Gallery:
  On-Campus Gallery Displays the Best of Photography

• Matt Majikas ’07
  Broadcast Journalism
• Amanda Sang ’06
  Advertising and
  Marketing Communications
• Sarah C. Truckey ’07
  Media Communications

• Home Page
• About SCAN
• Become a GURU
• Send This to a Friend
• Contact Us
• Archived Issues
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Copyright
• SOC Home Page