Reading Reflection #10

Reading Reflection #10: Live Sound. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Choose one from the following:

Gilkey, Lucas. "An Insider's Look at the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound."

OBIE. "Wall of Sound."

"History of Public Address." (click on "History" at the top left)

Borgerson, Bruce. "Is it P.A. or SR?"

Menasche, Emily. "P.A. 101."

Roger, Fred J.. "Why They Call It Sound Reinforcement."

Trubitt, David (Rudy). "Live Sounds: Suzanne Vega."

Industry Report #10

Industry Report #10: Live Sound

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc.

If you are a member of the Live Sound Group, you still have to complete an Industry Report.

Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Industry Report #9: Broadcasting

Industry Report #9: Broadcasting

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc.

If you are a member of the Broadcasting Group, you still have to complete an Industry Report.

Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Reading Reflection #9: Broadcasting

Reading Reflection #9: Broadcasting. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Choose one from the following:

Derene, Glenn. "Is the Music Industry Trying to Kill Modern Internet Radio?"

Crum, Chris. "MusOpen Uses Diaspora Model to Set Classical Music Rights Free."

Deitz, Corey. "8 Reasons to Start Your Own Internet Radio Station or Podcast ."

Dardis, Ken. "Facebook and Radio Industry: Results Worth the Effort?"

Dardis, Ken. "Reason to Visit Broadcast Radio Sites."

Owen, Sharon. "10 Reasons Why Satellite Radio Rocks."

"Broadcasting: Some Sound Industry Job Descriptions"

"Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians and Radio Operators."

Jepson, Matt. "Confessions of an Audio Tech, Part 1."

Jepson, Matt. "Confessions of an Audio Tech, Part 2."

Jepson, Matt. "Confessions of an Audio Tech, Part 3."

Reading Reflection #8

Reading Reflection #8: Film Sound. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Choose one from the following:

McGrath, Ben. "Wicked WInd," New Yorker, 20 October 2003.

Thom, Randy. "Designing a Movie for Sound."

Carlsson, Sven E. "Sounds of Illusions: Sounds of Moving Images."

Coffey, John. "An Open Letter from your Sound Department."

Lord, Max. "Why Is That Thing Beeping? A Sound Design Primer."

Marshall, Jane Knowles. "An Introduction to Film Sound."

Martin, W. Eric. "IP Foley Artist: A Day in the Life of an Independent Professional."

Peck, Nick. "Sound by Design: Make Pictures Come to Life With Sound."

Rydstrom, Gary. "Sound Design of Terminator 2."

Schurr, Ande. "Sound Tips."

Sergi, Gianluca. "The Sonic Playground: Hollywood Cinema and its Listeners."

Sergi, Gianluca. "In Defence of Vulgarity: The Place of Sound Effects in the Cinema."

Ulano, Mark. "Moving Pictures That Talk: The Early History of Film Sound."

Industry Report #8: Film Sound

Industry Report #8: Film Sound

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc.

If you are a member of the Film Sound Group, you still have to complete an Industry Report.

Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

AU 1111 Week 8 Prep

Hello, everyone.

We meet tomorrow (August 31) for Week 8 of our career class. Week 8 means that we will experience our first Group Presentation! The Film Sound Group (Kevin, Alfredo, Rick, Johnnie, Michael) will break it down for us. And stick around for a guest lecture by Kelly McGuire, Chief Audio Engineer of the Fender Museum in Corona, 4 PM, in our classroom.

See you all tomorrow.

Industry Report #7: Academia

Industry Report #7: Academia

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Reading Reflection #7

Reading Reflection #7: Academia. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Choose one from the following:

Rivers, David B. "Who Are You?"

Trang, David. "A Career in Academia: Unexpected Treasure."

Brooks, Leslie Madsen. "'Slash' and braided careers in academia, or how I learned to embrace career chaos."

Lingle, Breean. "The Curriculum Quandry."

Peterson, George. "The New Face of Education."

Wee, Eric. "Professor of Desperation."

Foley, Michael S. "Facing the Indignities of the Job Market."

Please submit as a comment to this post by the beginning of class, Week 8.

AU 1111 Week 7

Hello, all.

We meet for Week 7 tomorrow for a discussion of Academia. This will also be the last week before Group Presentations begin Week 8. The revised schedule:

Week 8 : Film Sound (Kevin, Alfredo, Rick, Johnnie, Michael)
Week 9 : Broadcasting (Erick, Matt, Jose, Brandon)
Week 10 : Live Sound (Gerry, Jonathan, Parish, Andrew)

Remember that there is no Reading Reflection #6 due tomorrow (full credit), but the Industry Report #6 (Game Audio) is due as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/08/industry-report-6.html

Okay, see everyone tomorrow.

AU 1111 Homework Clarification and Group Presentation Date Changes

Hello, all.

A couple of quick things:

1) We will be postponing all of the Group Presentations by one week. So that means Week 8 will feature Film Sound (Kevin, Alfredo, Rick, Johnnie, Michael), Week 9 will feature Broadcasting (Erick, Matt, Jose, Brandon), and Week 10 will feature Live Sound (Gerry, Jonathan, Parish, Andrew). Not because of the field trip, which will be sometime later in September, but because I think you could use the extra time to pull together your presentations.

2) The homework pattern is definitely out of sync, and not just because of the extension of Game Audio and the postponements of the Presentations. We were off cycle from at least Week 2, and so, in an effort to clarify the homework I've decided to move things around. First, we will have another freebie assignment, this one for Reading Reflection #6, which would have been on either Game Audio or Film Sound but now is on "nothing," so no need to turn anything in (and, of course, full credit for this assignment for everyone). Industry Report #6 (Game Audio) is still due next week. Week 7 we will be looking at either Academia or Freelancing, and so Reading Reflection #7 and Industry Report #7 will both focus on that particular industry along with readings yet to be assigned for that week. So, for instance, after the Film Sound Group Presentation on Tuesday of Week 8 you will read the articles assigned for that week (listed under Week 8) and complete Reading Reflection #8 (Film Sound) and Industry Report #8 (Film Sound) by the beginning of class Week 9. (Please note that you have to complete an Industry Report even if you are part of the Group Presentation that week.)

More soon.

Have a great weekend!

Reading Reflection #6

Since we are now out of sync on the Reading Reflections (entirely my fault), this week's Reading Reflection is a freebie--everyone gets full credit. No response needed.

Hopefully now we will be up to date. From this point on, each week's Reading Reflection and Industry Report will be about the same industry covered in class that Tuesday (reports due the following week).

Industry Report #6

Industry Report #6: Game Audio

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

AU 1111 Week 6 Prep

Hello, all.

We are now past Midterm and into Week 6, if you can believe that. Because we are still working on Game Sound, this week's Industry Report is a freebie--everyone will get full-credit. So, next week's Industry Report #6 will be on Game Audio, due Week 7.

But the Reading Reflection #5 is still due, and so pick one from the list of readings on Game Sound and post your response as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/08/reading-reflection-5.html

Next week's Reading Reflection #6 will still cover Game Audio, so choose a second reading from the same list or one of the screenings for the next Reflection.

In class on Tuesday we will follow-up on the Midterm, then launch into more discussion about the Game Audio industry.

See you tomorrow.

Industry Report #5

Since we postponed discussion of Game Audio, this week's industry report is a freebie. Everyone gets full-credit for Industry Report #5. You will report on Game Audio in Industry Report #6, due Week 7.

Reading Reflection #5

Reading Reflection #5. Since we are still covering Game Sound, go ahead and choose an additional article from the list, or write about one of the video clips we watched last week. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Choose one from the following (and please don't pick the same article you wrote about last week!):

Bridgett, Rob. "The Role of an Audio Director in Video Games."

Spanos, George. "Silence in Sound Design."

Bridgett, Rob. "Getting Game Audio Right: The Big Picture."

Bridgett, Rob. "In the Loop: Planning for Feedback in Video Game Audio Production."

Brandon, Alexander. "Let's Play Peek-a-Boo: An Interview with George "Fatman" Sanger."

Brandon, Alexander. "The Importance of Being Earnest."

U.C. "Sharing Your Skills in Game Audio."

Spanos, George. "What Makes Great Game Sound?"

Spanos, George. "Breaking into the Game Industry."

Harlin, Jesse. "The Three Rs of Audio Leadership."

McDonald, Glenn. "A Brief Timeline of Video Game Music."

Randy Thom discussing the Sound Design for Scarface video game.

Sound Design for Harry Potter video game.

Sound Design for Gears of War video game.

BoingBoing Music for Video Games Part 1 and Part 2.


Post as a comment to this post (click "comments" link below). Due by the beginning of class Week 6.

AU 1111 Week 5 Prep (Midterm)

Hello, all.

By now you should have received your Midterm Progress Reports. That grade reflects all work done to date on Industry Reports 1-3 and Reading Reflections 1-3.

A reminder that you should read the readings that pertain to the forthcoming industry. For instance, as we look at Game Audio in Week 5, you should read the articles on game sound under the homework section of Week 4 on the schedule:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_schedule.html

So, your Reading Reflection #4 would cover an article on game sound by Bridgett, Spanos, Brandon, U.C., Harlin, or McDonald. Please don't write on an article that is not on the assigned list.

Your Reading Reflection #4 should be posted as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/08/reading-reflection-4.html

And your Industry Report #4 (Manufacturing/Distribution/Retail) should be posted as a comment to this post:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/08/industry-report-4.html

If you get an error message from Blogger about your comment being too long, just divide your comment into two (or three) parts and add as many comments as you need to get your report posted.

Please arrive in class on time on Tuesday afternoon, since we will tackle the Midterm right away. Review the class notes as archived on the schedule as PDFs, and make sure you've read all of the assigned readings. Go back to the schedule to see if there are any you missed (I added additional readings here and there).

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

See you Tuesday.

Reading Reflection #4

Reading Reflection #4. Pick one of the assigned articles. Your response will be a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Post as a comment to this post (click "comments" link below). Due by the beginning of class Week 5.

Industry Report #4

Industry Report #4: Manufacturing/Distribution/Retail

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Industry Report #3

Industry Report #3: Audiobooks, Audio Trade (music/audio magazines, books about audio)

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Reading Reflection #3

Reading Reflection #3. If there are multiple readings assigned for a particular week, just pick one. The responses will consist of three-paragraph statements on a single article or essay, answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Post as a comment to this post (click "comments" link below). Due by the beginning of class Week 4.

AU 1111 Week 3 Prep

Hello all,

We meet again tomorrow for Week 3. Remember to post your Industry Report 2 (Musician/Producer/Songwriter/Agent) and your Reading Reflection 2 as comments to these posts on the Course Blog:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/reading-reflection-2.html
http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/industry-report-2.html

I am also giving the class a grace period, so that those of you who missed the first week's assignments can post those reports and not receive a late penalty. But these have to be posted by the beginning of class tomorrow to receive this break.

Here are the links to the posts I've added for these late assignments:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/reading-reflection-1.html
http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/industry-report-1.html

This week we will be talking about the Audiobook industry, as well as the Audio Trade industry (music magazines, books about audio, etc.). So, read Touzeau Chapter 3 and 5 to prepare.

Week 2 Follow-up

Hello, all.

I've added a few readings to the list for this week. You will only need to pick one to write on for your Reading Reflection 2, which is due by the beginning of Week 3 on Tuesday the 27th as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/reading-reflection-2.html

Remember: write your response in Word or Notepad, click on the "comments" link on the post (or click into the comments box) and paste your text into the box.

Industry Report 2 is also due by the beginning of class, and this one will feature the Musician/Songwriter/Producer field. Since there is no chapter on this field in the textbook, write about some of the things we talked about in class, what you could pull from the readings, and your own thoughts on this career. Remember that you are answering the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit for you.

Here is the link to the specific post:

http://au1111.blogspot.com/2010/07/industry-report-2.html

Next week we will be examining the Audio Book/Audio Trade Industry, so make sure to read Chapter 3 from the "Careers in Audio" textbook (your Reading Response 2 can cover this reading).

Have a great weekend!

Reading Reflection #2

Reading Reflection #2. If there are multiple readings assigned for a particular week, just pick one. The responses will consist of three-paragraph statements on a single article or essay, answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Post as a comment to this post (click "comments" link below). Due by the beginning of class Week 3.

Industry Report #2

Industry Report #2: Musician/Songwriter/Producer/Agent

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).

Grading Criteria and Group Presentations

Hello, all.

I have added the grading criteria for the Reading Reflections and Industry Reports to the Projects page:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_projects.html

Or, you can access each one directly:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_reading_criteria.pdf
http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_industry_criteria.pdf

These are the spreadsheets I will be using to grade your reports, and so you can read through and see what I will be looking for when you are framing your responses to the questions.

Also, I decided to move back the dates for the group presentations to give you more time to do research and formulate your presentations. I also wanted to slot them in after midterms and before finals so that they will hopefully have a lesser impact on your schedules posed by your other classes.

So, here is the adjusted schedule:

Week 7 : Film Sound (Kevin, Alfredo, Rick, Johnnie)
Week 8 : Broadcasting (Erick, Matt, Jose)
Week 9 : Live Sound (Gerry, Jonathan, Parish, Andrew)

This is also posted on the Projects page and Schedule:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_schedule.html

Okay. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Week 1 Follow-up

Hello, all.

You may have noticed (or not) that I removed the link to the Course Blog from the online syllabus:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_syllabus.html

I did this because I felt that using the blog was an extra, unnecessary step in getting your assignments to me. So, from now on, go ahead and mail your Reading Reflections and Industry Reports directly to me at gbach@edmc.edu.

A few words about the Reading Reflection. The word "reflection" is defined as "a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration," or "a thought occurring in consideration or meditation." This type of careful consideration is exactly the skill I would hope that each of you practice on a regular basis during your career at Ai and beyond. By consistently ruminating on our current state of being, on our place in the world at THIS moment in space and time, we are able to judge how we are doing and where we still need to go. So, by applying this state of mind to the readings, you can position yourself in relation to a particular field, or even a specific job within that field, to see whether or not you can see yourself pursuing such an activity. Even if you remain steadfast in your determination to make beats, or promote bands, or test gear, or whatever, at least you have spent some time at least considering your options, so that in an interview situation you can respond with confidence and authority about that particular area of audio if it comes up in conversation, especially if you have to interview with a panel and you are fielding questions from several people from different disciplines. It's always good to be prepared, and the more you know about the industry (and the sub-industries, and sub-sub-industries), the stronger you will be.

And for this upcoming Industry Report: we talked in class about the Recording/Music Industry, even though the Touzeau textbook doesn't really cover that field (for reasons which he explains in the Introduction). So, let's look at the standard questions for the Industry Report:

1. The name and brief description of the career option. This is easy. The Music Industry would involve direct involvement of getting music recorded, mastered, printed, distributed, promoted, etc. (We will talk about the actual MAKING of the music next week when we cover Musician/Songwriter/Sound Artist.)

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc. Here you can simply talk about what you think getting/having/keeping a job in this field would entail. Since the book doesn't offer a breakdown on the Music Industry like it does for the other fields, use your best judgment on some pros and cons, personality types needed, etc. One thing for sure is that internships have always been important ways of breaking into the industry.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit. This, also, is easy, as it's your opinion.

Here is the link to the Projects page that details the project requirements for both the Reading Reflection and Industry Reports.

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/au1111_projects.html

Okay, that's it for now. I'll be sending another note soon on the group presentations. Best of luck with the rest of your courses.

Reading Reflection #1

Reading Reflection #1. If there are multiple readings assigned for a particular week, just pick one. The responses will consist of three-paragraph statements on a single article or essay, answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. Did the article convince you one way or the other about the feasibility of a career in this field? Please explain.

Post as a comment to this post (click "comments" link below). Due by the beginning of class Week 1.

Industry Report #1

Industry Report #1: Music Industry/Recording Industry

You will examine each career option, the pros and cons, the personal traits needed for success, entry level requirements, etc. Your report will answer the following questions:

1. The name and brief description of the career option.

2. A summary of the pros and cons, personal traits necessary for success, entry-level requirements, etc.

3. An examination of whether or not this career is a good fit.

You can format your Industry Report however you wish: a mock interview with yourself as a series of Q and A, a narrative with the answers woven into the text, etc. Post as a comment to this post (click on the "comments" link below).