Stepping Stones: A passion for audio with sound technician Lina Arja

Sound technician Lina Arja, hard at work for NEP in the Netherlands

Sound technician Lina Arja has worked up until recently at NEP The Netherlands, where she pursued her career in audio for sports broadcasting. She left the company at the end of last year to travel the world for a spell, and is now back in Holland. We asked her about her career and why she loves this industry.

Lina Arjaat’s first job was working as a junior producer at Fabriq Media Group in the Netherlands, then most recently she was at NEP the Netherlands as a sound assistant

What draws you to your career in live sport?

The excitement of things being live always gives you some sort of rush. You have to really get things done in a quick amount of time, because no one is going to wait for you.

How did you first find out about TV broadcasting as a career?

It was when I was at school and was working as an intern. During my internship I only really saw what type of jobs it took for things to get recorded or live on TV. And it surely was a lot more than I even anticipated.

What got you from school, into the TV business?

To be perfectly honest it had never really crossed my mind as something that I could do. For whatever reason even to this day, TV seems like this untouchable world. We all know it exists, but do we ever think of the jobs that it takes for something to be put on TV.

When I started my study in sound and vision, we focused a lot on TV and I slowly started figuring out what the way to go is.

What was your first job, how did you get it, what did it involve, and how did you feel about it?

My first job was working as a junior producer at Fabriq Media Group in the Netherlands. To say I underestimated it would be an understatement, and I only notice that feeling now that I don’t work there anymore.

But I will say, your first job in TV is hard, because you won’t know all the aspects that are necessary until at least a year into the role. I gave up sooner than that, but once you get to know more of the jobs in the field, you might want to try something else in this field.

I have worked for two companies in TV so far, both working partly in sports and partly in entertainment, working as a producer and my most recent role as a sound assistant.

How did you get your current job role?

Up till recently I worked at NEP The Netherlands as a sound assistant. I left to do some global exploring, and now I’m back in the Netherlands. Through Fabriq, where I worked at as a producer, I got my first role at NEP the Netherlands as a junior sound assistant. You’ll learn quickly that knowing people will be your greatest asset. Everyone is out to help you, you just have to know what and who to ask.

Lina Arja, working hard at NEP The Netherlands as a sound assistant

Why did you go for it?

I wanted to try something new, and audio had always been somewhat mysterious to me. Camera and vision always seemed kind of obvious to me. And knowing that the technology in audio was still changing a lot, it interested me. I have been wanting to work somewhere where I could continue to learn.

What was hard about getting the job and keeping it?

The hardest thing about being a sound assistant was, I think, learning the role. Because one thing that not everyone knows is that working in audio is more than just handing out microphones. There is intercom, which helps everyone on the jobs communicate, which is a pretty important matter. While also creating relationships with the executive producers, the TV presenters, and the director.

What’s the hardest thing about it?

You don’t have to make everyone like you because that is impossible. But you do need to prove that you can do your job and are good at it. That was the hardest thing for me because there are so many people that you have to prove it to. But most of all you need to be confident about what you do.

What do you enjoy about it?

I enjoy getting to know people the most. You go to the most random places, with so many different people.

What challenges have you faced over the course of your career and how did you get you get past those?

I think because I am younger and woman, I in some way have an extra challenge to prove myself. Not per se because people have told me to prove myself, but because I feel like I have to because there are so many men there. Like men have been the norm for so long.

What’s the most challenging thing about working in live sport today, or generally, and why?

You can notice that TV is changing, less people are watching things and the things we do make always have the same recipe. Because that is the one that works. It is hard sometimes to really see the opportunities that might still arise.

The technologies used in sports broadcasting have evolved rapidly over recent years. What for you in your day to day job is the most exciting, and also what is the biggest gamechanger for this industry overall?

It has become easier, with far less cables, which makes it easier to make everything look clean or tidy, which wasn’t the case before. Because of a lot of development, we have a lot more options these days, making it easier to give the client what they’ve asked for and the ability to try new things.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve worked on in the course of your career?

In sports I have had the opportunity to work at a soccer match. The Dutch national team against the Irish, in Ireland. The most fun jobs are the once where you go to another country. You go with a small crew and it gives you more time with colleagues and you learn how different every country in TV works.

What advice would you give to other women looking to move into a role in sports broadcasting like your own?

Try any job that you think is interesting and figure out if it is that one or another that you like more. Don’t feel the pressure of having to keep working the same jobs if you think something else is more interesting. But find one job that gives you the opportunity to look around.

And try. Just because there are a lot of men still working here today, doesn’t mean that there aren’t any women around. Most of these men are excited for young women to join, because as many of my colleagues have said, you notice a difference once there in a woman on the crew list.