Audio Production Blog

Bands Rock the Underground in January

2012-01-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, DSU Live hosted three intense rock bands from areas of North and South Dakota. These bands included I, Apparatus, Victor Shores, and No Parking on the Bridge. In addition to hosting the performance, the students are working on producing a 4-camera HD video shoot. Student Luke Arens set up a shot from a unique angle in the rafters and was able to control the camera via an ethernet connection to his laptop.

Fans at the show were impressed by the non-stop energy from the bands. Despite playing music from a similar genre, each group had a unique sound to keep the intensity high throughout the evening. It was an exciting first showcase of the semester!

Dust of War trailer debuts

2012-01-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

During Summer 2011, the movie Dust of War was filmed near western South Dakota. The film features several big screen veterans including Tony Todd, who has played roles in a number of films and television productions, and Doug Jones, who has also played a number of roles including that of "Pan" in the film, Pan's Labrynth.

Several DSU students assisted on the production crew of this film, including audio production student Mitch Williams, and digital arts students Carrie Aus and Donna Rice. The DSU theatre instructor, Kelly MacLeod, was also a key member of the production crew.

The film is set for release within the next several months, and the trailer was just recently debuted. We are hugely excited to have a connection with what looks to be a phenomenal movie production.

Funk Musicians Record at DSU

2011-12-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

Audio Student Tyler Steele found a great way to kick off the holiday break by recording a group of musicians from the University of South Dakota called 'Olde Funk Riot'. In order to capture the entire band live, they set up in the adjacent auditorium, utilizing a drum shield and the hallways to create separation between the instrumentalists. With Tyler bringing out his tracking and mixing skills, the project is sure to produce some fantastic results!

Digital Arts Students Premiere Video

2011-11-19T13:44:00.001-08:00

Digital Arts and Design students Luke Arens and Paul Schipper made their big video debut this week, when they showed a 5-minute video presentation at the annual Scholarship Banquet, with an attendance of upwards of 400 people. The video was created as a part of Paul and Luke's university-related internship, which challenges them to create promotional material for the DSU Alumni Foundation.

The video featured DSU alumni and donors who stressed the importance of supporting current and future students through scholarships. It also featured students who discussed the benefits of their scholarships.

The response to the presentation was overwhelmingly positive, and the students will continue to work with the Foundation in order to continue creating their engaging presentation materials.

'DSU Live' brings huge talent to campus

2011-10-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy month for members of our campus live music organization, 'DSU Live', which includes many of the university's Audio Production Program members. In addition to DJ'ing a huge Halloween Dance hosted by the Student Activities Board, the group has hosted some really exciting musical acts during October:

The premiere band showcase of the semester featured Sioux Falls area band, Avian Sunrise, with The Broken Resolve. We treated this as our big event to show the campus and community the kind of great shows that we are able to bring to DSU. The bands were a lot of fun and both played stellar sets. The Broken Resolve has an uptempo pop-rock sound, while Avian Sunrise has a piano-driven sound with a strong emotional core. The DSU Live crew was very on top of things, and they impressed the band members with their quickness and efficiency.

More pics can be seen in the flickr gallery. The group also had the pleasure of hosting an acoustic show in the 'Myxers' coffee shop in the campus Trojan Center. Our first show of this kind featured a hugely talented singer-songwriter, Audri Vargas. Her amazing vocal skills made it clear why she was a top 50 finalist in American Idol several years ago. DSU student Austin Donley kicked off the night. There was an excellent turnout and a very positive response that helped to ensure that DSU Live will be hosting more events of this kind very soon! Check out Audri's cover of Taylor Swift's song, 'Mean':

Student Creates New Electronic Music

2011-09-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

DSU Students have been hard at work this semester in our Recording Sessions class. One student in particular, Kristen Cooper, has been keeping a blog showing off her latest work. She has been using a portable field recorder to capture and edit sound effects for a video game project being produced in the Gaming department. Additionally, she has been practicing her skills using the software program, Reason, and recently finished a song titled, "Nightmare Moon Remix Rhapsody": Nightmare Moon Remix Rhapsody by Cooper Production

As mentioned above, she has also been capturing many sound effects and editing them in Pro Tools for the video game. She was requested to gather effects related to burning, trash cans, and howling winds. Here's the latest from what she's been working on:

Latest tracks by Cooper Production

I'm excited to see where this and the other Recording Sessions projects will lead this semester!

DSU Live has a HUGE start!

2011-09-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

As students have been getting back to work in their classes this semester, the campus music organization, DSU Live, has been off to a really strong start. The opening "GO! Karaoke" event packed the Underground and gave students the opportunity to sing their hearts out on stage. It was also a great opportunity to show off the updates to the Underground which includes brand new LED stage lighting! DSU Live also worked hard to promote themselves during the annual Activities Fair.

Above, you see founding member Matt Lyon posing with organization advisor, Nathan Edwards. Also helping out were student members Tyler Steele, Bruce Schulz, Paul Schipper, and faculty advisor, Sandy Champion. Check out all of the upcoming events at the brand new DSU Live website: www.dsulive.com!

Students visit for Digital Art Camp at DSU

2011-07-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

During July 2011, students visited Dakota State to spend a week at camp learning about the various elements of the digital arts arena. In the Audio Production section, there were two really great students in class: Sara and Megan. We went through the entire recording process, including recording vocals, instruments, MIDI drums, and the skills and nuance required to create a great mix.

Most of the week was spent reverse-engineering a song (in other words, creating a cover) by Martina McBride. It was sung with great skill by DSU faculty member, Tracy Pardy. Instruments and backing vocals were added, and the track turned out sounding fantastic! It was a really fun week.

Here’s the video that the students helped put together, complete with the song:

Digital Art Camp 2011: Audio Production from Nathan Edwards on Vimeo.

Students Create Promotional Videos

2011-05-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

This semester's Audio for Video class took on a project that required them to choose a topic related to the university and create a 2-5 minute promotional video on that topic. Every element of the video was to be produced from scratch, including the narration, interviews, video editing, and audio design. The goal was not only to challenge students to work as a team and create a cohesive final product, but also to benefit various groups or clubs within the university by providing them with promotional materials.
The following video on Gaming Club is by Audio Production students Carrie Aus, Braderious Martin, and Mitchell Williams. More videos to come!

Students host 2011 Battle of the Bands

2011-04-03T20:26:00.001-07:00

The student group, DSU Live, is an organization with members from many majors, including some from our Audio Production program. Just over a week ago, the group hosted their annual Battle of the Bands in the student union venue, The Underground.

The group hosted an excellent show that could not be described as anything less than a big success. We hosted five very talented bands from the area whose names were: Blood of the Ancients, Amos Slade, The Dashing North, Top Shelf Stank, and The Broken Resolve.

Thanks to the hard work of our students, the show went very smoothly and sounded excellent. We also raised money for Colleges Against Cancer! Enjoy these fantastic pictures by DSU student Denise Livingston:

Students Create Audio from Hollywood Films

2011-03-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

In this semester's Audio for Video class, Audio Production students have been working hard on a project that requires them to completely replace the audio track of popular movies. This project has revealed how sound plays such an essential role in setting the tone of a scene and bringing the viewer into that world. The students did everything from finding appropriate background music, to using creative sounds and audio effects. The results were very impressive!

Here's a clip from Wall-E with sound replacement designed by Jake Killoran and Brad Martin:

Here's another great clip with sound created by Carrie Aus and Jordan Lindgren:

Audio Production Instructor Releases Album

2011-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

DSU Instructor, Nathan Edwards, has just released his new album, "New Season" in both digital and CD format. He describes the album on his website:

"The seasons always seem to have a dramatic effect on my songwriting. It was only after compiling my recordings from the past several years that I realized I would have "Sunshine", "Cold Winter", and "Song for a Summer Day" together on an album.

These tracks have been through many different re-writes and recordings, and it sometimes makes me cringe a little to listen to the early takes. Even so, I have worked them to the point where I am proud of what it has all led up to and I can finally put the past several years into this completed album... a "retrospective" of sorts. Some of it was recorded in our South Dakota home, some back in our apartment in northern Illinois, and other bits and pieces were thrown in along the way."

You can check it out now at: http://nathanedwards.bandcamp.com

The Global Game Jam Winners!

2011-02-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

Many students at DSU spent a near-sleepless weekend participating in the Global Game Jam: A challenge to create an entire computer game in only a single weekend. Two upper-level audio production students, Kristen Cooper and Mitch Williams, worked on sound design for the winning game, "Ballistic Boatin' Beavers Blasting Belligerent Bums". We are introduced to the game by being told, "You play as a beaver whose home has been destroyed by Dam-nation."

Although they didn't have the opportunity to have all of their sound effects and music programmed into the game, the team impressed the judges with its fast-paced action and fun bluegrass vibe. Congrats to Kristen and Mitch and all of the other participants on a successful weekend!

You can download the game here!

Students Produce Music using Reason Software

2011-01-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

This semester, the DSU Audio Production program introduced a brand new class: MIDI (The Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Production. Students are learning to sequence electronic music using a software program called Reason. These advanced-level students will be given a lot of creative flexibility to incorporate unique musical and production-based ideas.

One of the students, Jacob Ritzman, is well-versed in using Reason and has posted much of his excellent work online. There are several samples below, and you can also visit his YouTube channel for more tracks. I'm looking forward to hearing a lot of creative new work this semester.

Recording Harp in the Studio

2011-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Paul and Dan working on Mic Placement

Student Paul Schipper provided us with a truly unique opportunity last week by bringing a harpist to record. Anna Vorhes is a highly accomplished musician who plays with the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orechestra, as well as the Sioux City and South Dakota Symphonies. She performed three pieces while Paul worked hard at the mixing desk. We utilized a fairly elaborate microphone setup, which included eight mics at various locations throughout the hall.

We received very positive feedback from the session and I’m very excited that we are getting such unique talent to test our recording skills with. Kudos to Paul for such a fantastic project!

Student Blog - Assortment of Audio

2010-12-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

Audio Production Student, Jordan Lindgren, has been keeping a great personal blog about his experiences with recording and live sound. He has been involved with both local music production and working as a crew member for national touring acts. Jordan is a perfect example of the kind of talent and passion for audio production that we are proud to have here at DSU. Here's a great video he made from a recording session earlier this year:

Cleaning up Vinyl at the "Transfer Station"

2010-12-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

Professor Dan Mortenson, shown above, is hard at work in the studio cleaning up some vinyl records. Along with our control room and tracking room, we also have a transfer station that can assist in digitizing your vinyl, VHS tapes and cassettes. We are always looking for new ways to add usefulness to the studio and benefit students and the university. Additionally, students are given assignments that deal with learning to transfer audio and created a cleaned-up "re-master" that sounds beautifully restored in digital form.

Turning a Speaker into a Microphone

2010-12-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

What happens when you connect an XLR cable to a speaker and plug it into a mixer or mic pre-amp? It simply becomes a microphone! As a fun project, we took an old speaker from a cabinet and did just that. The best use that I've heard of for this type of microphone is its use on a kick drum to capture the extended low-end. These are sometimes referred to as a "sub-kick". We are hoping to find a more professional way to mount the speaker, but for now we have something usable to work with. It will be interesting to see the results when Paul tests it on a drum kit this weekend. Here's what we made:

Live Sound class in "The Underground"

2010-11-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

In our Live Sound class, we spent some time in the union venue, "The Underground", discussing live sound techniques. We talked about setting up stage monitors, setting gain, DI boxes, and adjustments to EQ and compression. Also, we compared various different types of microphones and polar patterns to see how much gain we can get before creating feedback. In this vid, student Paul Schipper explains how to properly wrap an XLR cable:

Chris Champion on Acoustic Guitar

2010-11-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

The first secret to capturing a great recording is to start with a great musician, and we were lucky enough to begin working with the hugely talented Chris Champion in our Studio Sessions class on Friday.

Chris is a phenomenal jazz guitarist who recently moved to the area from Arizona. He played an interpretation of "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" with multiple layers of overdubs that ended up sounding like an acoustic trio.

It was great to put some of our techniques into practice, including mic placement, setting proper levels, routing a headphone mix, and multitrack editing in Pro Tools. We are looking forward to working much more with Chris in future sessions!

Recording Acoustic Ukelele

2010-10-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

DSU Student Paul Schipper recorded Jeremy Dougherty singing the song, Trouble, by the band Never Shout Never. Paul learned a lot about mic'ing a relatively unique instrument like the ukelele and how to best capture a live acoustic performance. He ended up with a great-sounding mix!

Live Sound at the Brickhouse Bash

2010-10-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

Dialing in the mix while Paul makes a recording

Last night, (Friday, Oct. 8) several students and I ran live sound for the "Brickhouse Bash" event in downtown Madison. The musicians were Jack Rollins and "The Sewer Rats" who played rootsy folk music and blues-inspired rock music, respectively. The event was hosted by the Madison Area Arts Council, who also presented an art show. The event provided the community with a fun place to spend a Friday night on a beautiful Fall evening.

The Jack Rollins band on the decorated stage

More work at the board

The Sewer Rats Performing

The drummer for The Sewer Rats

Paul in the DSU Studio

2010-09-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Paul in the moment.

DSU student Paul Schipper is hard at work on a project in the studio this weekend. We have been working on A-B Stereo mic techniques and learning how to become more efficient in Pro Tools.

Studio Gear Tour

2010-09-25T14:43:00.001-07:00

Here's some pics of our studio setup:


Dual Monitor setup on OSX with Euphonix controller


Pro Tools HD and Mic Pre-Amps

Some outboard gear including ART Dual analog compressors, Presonus vocal channel strip, and headphone amp.

Toft Audio ATB Analog Mixing Board

Mixing Ben Franklin

2010-09-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Dan Mortenson taking control of the board.

Today, we had the pleasure of running sound for one of the great figures in our history who helped to shape our nation into what it is today. Yes, Ben Franklin himself showed up to talk to the students at an all-school convocation. It was what I'm sure will be the first of many fun sound gigs to take place this year. Much more to come!

Welcome to the DSU Audio Prodcution Blog!

2010-08-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Students will be using this blog as a way to show their work and interests throughout the semester. I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun this semester!

- Nathan Edwards