Audio Engineer, Saw Frits Kyaw is currently a chairman of AES Myanmar - Creative Media Institute (the leading creative arts and technology institute in Myanmar). He specializes in Audio Engineering Education, Mixing and Film Sound Designing. Saw Frits Kyaw sits down with MITL MAG to discuss his most memorable experience as an audio engineer, common misconceptions and much more.

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How did you first get interested in audio engineering?

I like music so much, but I couldn’t play any musical instruments well. I don’t have a good voice to sing either. When I found out that music could be created not only with musical instruments but also with a computer, I realized I have hope. I started creating songs with a computer and from there I knew I was interested in fixing and making sounds better which is a part of audio engineering. I always wanted to earn my living by doing something related to music and I found that audio engineering perfectly suited my passion.

Can you share a memorable experience or project you've worked on as an audio engineer?

It was in my early music producing time. The name of the song is “Last” and it is a kind of electronic music. I produced, recorded, mixed and mastered that song. It was a very new or advance genre at that time which no one had ever heard of. The variations, sounds and arrangement are unique. It was performed live and I was successful, but unfortunately wasn’t released officially.

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“I always wanted to earn my living by doing something related to music and I found that audio engineering perfectly suited my passion.”

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How do you stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in audio technology?

I follow famous and grammy winning audio engineers through their social media. I subscribed to all of the reliable online journals, magazines etc… and I keep in touch with senior, experienced experts from the Audio Engineering Society.
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What are some common misconceptions people have about audio engineering?

They thought they could fix everything in the post production stage, and they thought they could get a high-quality sound with unprofessional tools.

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Can you share any funny or interesting stories from behind the scenes of a recording session?

The recording studio at our institute doesn’t have a window between the control room and the studio. The engineer and the artist communicate with each other with camera monitors and a "talk-back". There was this one time when we had a recording session with a new artist who had never been to our studio, when he went into the studio, he didn’t know we could see or hear him, and he started farting comfortably. Everyone from the control room laughed out loud and no one volunteered to go into the studio for miking techniques.