Live Videos Created from Music Event

When our campus live music organization, DSU Live, hosted a recent event, they not only brought in some exciting live bands, but they also captured it on video from multiple angles.  Student Luke Arens set up a camera angle from high above the bands, while also shooting handheld footage from ground level along with student Nathan Fields, and advisor Nathan Edwards.  Student Paul Schipper captured the audio and complied all of the footage,  ultimately creating a series of highly-professional live videos.

The three bands who played the showcase included "I, Apparatus", "Victor Shores", and "No Parking on the Bridge".  Check out a song from Victor Shores above, and also visit Paul's YouTube page for many more videos from the event and elsewhere.

Students Perform at "Tips for Talent"

Ethan Shafer

For the second year in a row, students took to the stage on February 15th in the Trojan Center cafeteria for our second annual "Tips for Talent" event! The event, hosted by DSU Live and the campus Diversity club, is meant to show off the musical talents of DSU students while raising money for charity.  Just a few of the many performers are pictured in this post.

Amanda Welbig

This year, we made over $150 in a 90-minute timespan that will be donated to a local food pantry. Equally exciting was the amount of great talent that took the stage, which included many of music instructor Sandy Champion's students from her private lessons. The event garnered such positive feedback that we are hoping to host another one before the end of the semester. Congrats to all of the performers, and thank you to all of the students and faculty for their generous donations!

Billy Hofer

Tasha Draven

Audio Student Performs at Mochavino

We were excited to see DSU audio production student Mike Rugg play an acoustic show at Mochavino, which featured some fantastic cover songs from bands such as Radiohead and Tears for Fears.  A great crowd of students came out to check out the show.

Mike also performed recently at Myxers coffee shop on campus.  Check out his performance of Someday You Will be Loved by Death Cab for Cutie:

The video was filmed by Luke Arens and edited by Paul Schipper.

Bands Rock the Underground in January

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

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

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

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.