Black and white photo of female student photographing a musician playing guitar for Sound Factory
Sound Factory
Internships provide valuable hands-on experience working in a real business environment. At Plymouth, we offer a range of opportunities across multiple industries and disciplines. Many of these internships not only contribute to meaningful work but can also have a positive impact on the community.

Creating opportunity 

Sound Factory is an emerging music organisation based in the South West. The owner, George Shelton, was inspired to promote new and upcoming voices within the music industry. He's passionate about creating opportunity for musicians of all levels, by concentrating on three main areas:
( Live recording
' Schools and education
@ Studio production
Sound Factory serves musicians, bands and artists who are interested in recording in a studio environment or performing at live events, and aim to give young people the skills to express themselves through music and song writing. 
Sound Factory Live Events are promoted events for up and coming or established artists and bands, that allow them to showcase their talent in music production.
Sound Factory Sessions, are recorded live performances of artists in preparation for sharing via social media. The same artists will later that day perform at a promotional night at a partnered venue. 
Sound Factory Schools was kick started through George's passion to give back to those who can’t afford music tuition, and the scheme will focus on skill acquisition and song writing, involving students across all backgrounds.

Live sessions 

During live recording sessions, the Sound Factory team record, mix, film and edit performances. The live sound is engineered and mixed by a team with experience in engineering and producing iconic albums with the likes of Oasis, Stone Roses, The Verve, Muse and many more. The videographers for these sessions have equally impressive experience, including working at the famous Abbey Roads Studios, Sony and BBC live sessions.
Watch our live session with UK Number 1 Artists, The Lottery Winners.

Industry-standard experience

Sound Factory has been a great environment for previous interns, providing them with industry-standard experience and the opportunity to gain beneficial new skills. 
George hopes interns will be able to “gain practical, real-world experience which would set them apart in the job market, whilst addressing a wide variety of tasks such as videography and editing for publication – providing value to both Sound Factory and the students themselves.”
Sound Factory

I was motivated to participate in an internship with Sound Factory to enrich my studies, and gain more experience working in a professional environment. It helped develop my camera skills, as I used new cameras and gimbles for the first time and it was great to learn as I worked. I can apply this knowledge to my course and future projects.

Working with a team of professional videographers was also an incredible experience. I learnt a lot from them, and it taught me lots about working as a professional videographer in the music industry.
Lauren, BA (Hons) Filmmaking student and 2024 intern
 
 
 

Future opportunities

Looking to the future, it is a busy year ahead for Sound Factory as the business continues to grow, and George hopes to be working with student interns again.
“I absolutely would love to work with Plymouth University and their students again.
 
The Industry Liaison team were brilliant and made sure that everyone was okay, despite the fast pace of the arrangements and project start. 
 
Working at Sound Factory allowed for the interns to develop skills that are useful within all industries regardless of the course discipline. The interns certainly grew in terms of communication, organisation and planning with members of Sound Factory and external partners.”