Student Creates New Electronic Music

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!

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

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

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

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