Students host 2011 Battle of the Bands

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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: