tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9496813459839438462024-03-14T02:24:12.034-07:00UCI Sound DesignDon't forget to visit our homepage for more info on our program! http://sound.arts.uci.edu/UCI Sound Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13167649291310527507noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-78008711442829894742023-04-04T09:42:00.005-07:002023-04-04T09:42:36.559-07:00UCI Sound Design class of 2026<p>After a thorough search and interviewing lots of exciting candidates, Mike and I are happy to introduce our incoming class of sound designers! Here they are!</p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Eric Backus</b> (he/him) is a composer and sound designer, joining UC Irvine’s sound design cohort from Chicago. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Eric received a B.A. in Theatre from Arizona State University. His original music and sound designs for theatre have been heard around the country, Off-Broadway, and in many Chicago theatres including The Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf, Writers, and Northlight. In addition to theatre, Eric composes and sound designs for podcasts and film. He is beyond thrilled to be back in the West Coast sunshine, and to join UCI’s MFA Class of 2026! <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ericbackus.com__;!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!Ia1lXTTyoR-Mnv1k7EbGtq56yQ09kkvuJpXr6-I1IQQOyQPJa4r-338Uf5UFs-qo7rW290-hC1sZxQ$">www.ericbackus.com</a></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WLnJV3D-i6-1NSVeu0duoQJh7vDqAVKIBTJY14-u_WucJtnzN6xcoGjJLP1nnjzA3ohSTn5vN-MmCobvA7niJImMyQtmACpZvKa3WRyCbo3Y86EMdVG5DsGPj9YhEO6NF4ZKxKWPRYbbBWL0sRXPndC8fPIVT0U5iftloE-50lGCnSWN7_eHkw/s1800/UCI%20Headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WLnJV3D-i6-1NSVeu0duoQJh7vDqAVKIBTJY14-u_WucJtnzN6xcoGjJLP1nnjzA3ohSTn5vN-MmCobvA7niJImMyQtmACpZvKa3WRyCbo3Y86EMdVG5DsGPj9YhEO6NF4ZKxKWPRYbbBWL0sRXPndC8fPIVT0U5iftloE-50lGCnSWN7_eHkw/w266-h400/UCI%20Headshot.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Andrew Yoder </b>is a sound designer/producer/DJ from Boise, Idaho. His start in sound began with his passion for music and DJ culture inspiring him to blend aspects from all across the musical spectrum and applying them to the theatrical world. Starting his sound design journey early in his undergraduate career with Sam Shepard's True West. Since then he has gone on to receive 3 awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival('19, '20, '21) for excellence in sound design for his work on A Kind of Alaska, Drowning Ophelia, and The Moors. He was also a nominee for the Don Childs' Collaboration Award in 2019. Outside of sound design, he enjoys disc golfing, yoga, and DJ-ing.</span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8m7v96jTHtERf2-YDbKkrElgg3GkBhoyI-eEKl6mVHwvPZdae9-D701SjAy8s118fsIgbgEFUyzqASAvPL0e9eGyWyGhMIfdZky7PxK4Xk97bE0obrHktcinCDu0iAW0ckiF43UYSHWVyDzsthxfWLGtbcbOQcgdJ32_1ckaczeQMr6rzowCKg/s960/Headshot%202019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8m7v96jTHtERf2-YDbKkrElgg3GkBhoyI-eEKl6mVHwvPZdae9-D701SjAy8s118fsIgbgEFUyzqASAvPL0e9eGyWyGhMIfdZky7PxK4Xk97bE0obrHktcinCDu0iAW0ckiF43UYSHWVyDzsthxfWLGtbcbOQcgdJ32_1ckaczeQMr6rzowCKg/w400-h400/Headshot%202019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Welcome, Andrew and Eric! We can't wait to start working with you in the fall!</div><p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-54316160387575028222023-01-10T15:17:00.004-08:002023-01-10T15:17:38.792-08:00UCI Sound Design is Recruiting MFA students!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's January, which means that UCI Sound Design is officially recruiting for our MFA class of 2026. Have you been thinking about grad school for sound design, we want to hear from you!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you think that a Sound Design MFA may be the next step in your career and/or creative life, we think you should give UCI a look. We're proud of our program and the students who study with us, and we want to talk to you about what we can offer your education and whether we might be a good fit!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you're interested in learning about UCI Sound Design, here's what you should do:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>email Prof. Vinnie Olivieri at<a href="mailto:olivieri@uci.edu"> olivieri@uci.edu</a> to introduce yourself and set up a time to chat</li><li>head over to our <a href="https://sound.arts.uci.edu/">program website</a> to read about the program.</li><li>bookmark the <a href="https://apply.grad.uci.edu/apply/">application page</a> for all UCI graduate admissions.</li></ol><div>Drop us a line! We'd love to chat with you!</div><div><br /></div><div>And, for the algorithm, here are some photos of UCI MFAs doing awesome things in our program.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2F6xdsrS-c3Smgx5bZOpCw7UeRHavwo6ZrR_Pzyb4UZRsXf2VPw9F71VBRE8ESvbAzE8VNHxuzDtwZU671EhUNf-N6yXH-NYOqDhM1Sv1LlaXdxzz0N5KLWjiWubIaqYNvEhy3WX3Dm_l11yBFSqcLbrKUdUFjyWEoe9JZTbxfZISxE6LBdO0FoY4/s4032/IMG_1667.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2F6xdsrS-c3Smgx5bZOpCw7UeRHavwo6ZrR_Pzyb4UZRsXf2VPw9F71VBRE8ESvbAzE8VNHxuzDtwZU671EhUNf-N6yXH-NYOqDhM1Sv1LlaXdxzz0N5KLWjiWubIaqYNvEhy3WX3Dm_l11yBFSqcLbrKUdUFjyWEoe9JZTbxfZISxE6LBdO0FoY4/w300-h400/IMG_1667.JPEG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students at Meow Wolf's Omega Mart on a field trip for their Themed Entertainment Class.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssSKJYsfouy7N6BDjZHfSKt2NC_8N0JNPjH6fVjXEcuGqtSGON80HDUIA5vYa1DPhJ1-pLTIbmb7O_iYbKL4mtU_ak4lBvjYTzowtinQCqdt-k8Hn6fd6KUHpsIYE-nfTavzmrLZmdFRi5lw49pReqhlkAvI9h6Sj7VbwayrG8UYsx21MmQiap-Ap/s992/FCIX2580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssSKJYsfouy7N6BDjZHfSKt2NC_8N0JNPjH6fVjXEcuGqtSGON80HDUIA5vYa1DPhJ1-pLTIbmb7O_iYbKL4mtU_ak4lBvjYTzowtinQCqdt-k8Hn6fd6KUHpsIYE-nfTavzmrLZmdFRi5lw49pReqhlkAvI9h6Sj7VbwayrG8UYsx21MmQiap-Ap/w300-h400/FCIX2580.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kissing the duck brings good luck.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSzgMjK_9uaQObRjpZZz9RSdJBiGukqa6NB66bUgB-ioeeXkZZSdNvWrofaA80uFnPrjoFsEmNgVus2Jb7-L5xsdPAypqDfkKF74tX21ruyqWmwJIvUZAk0IJCxNHr3DIbst41u3XbYLOV3zfU2zP1aX7pFaRNP_wKBiqLQc8hhia45qqrt7BHVIy/s4032/IMG_1497.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSzgMjK_9uaQObRjpZZz9RSdJBiGukqa6NB66bUgB-ioeeXkZZSdNvWrofaA80uFnPrjoFsEmNgVus2Jb7-L5xsdPAypqDfkKF74tX21ruyqWmwJIvUZAk0IJCxNHr3DIbst41u3XbYLOV3zfU2zP1aX7pFaRNP_wKBiqLQc8hhia45qqrt7BHVIy/w300-h400/IMG_1497.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking from building to building on a tour of the Meyer Sound Lab facilities.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPgpAU71y1_8I8wPAMA4T8W5dUVUBbBKeFO8kSS-2Glq_e2B1ByIMUCBqxn05sTjFlQ-M7lSrcE0tTSpTvuRL59iHDQpMSRphHlzs2BQ2Jmry9S22NTIrbsof0lrEnfPNZaVB4QzJDd7cpvFb3ORQR8hXJMPBLZRljnCDT78Zqce2TmYI-UES20mK/s6094/IMG_5541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4063" data-original-width="6094" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPgpAU71y1_8I8wPAMA4T8W5dUVUBbBKeFO8kSS-2Glq_e2B1ByIMUCBqxn05sTjFlQ-M7lSrcE0tTSpTvuRL59iHDQpMSRphHlzs2BQ2Jmry9S22NTIrbsof0lrEnfPNZaVB4QzJDd7cpvFb3ORQR8hXJMPBLZRljnCDT78Zqce2TmYI-UES20mK/w400-h266/IMG_5541.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and a significant other at our annual Holiday Party!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFOli1Z2YTgDzU5MjS5R4VfWm18Iqale6nrblpptk3r6Gp73EQ4lriOS8Lt5WpNUp_QbItEv1L5Ns2bTqhzYxglLnK89oCu-gr30UgsduvSQDtUb44B4EDv637iNLQDqc3SVSOufOb5OznSxuP5RRFuBa34iRruYZZARoN6RLHakCtqQJx0XPPyAz/s2000/IMG_6045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFOli1Z2YTgDzU5MjS5R4VfWm18Iqale6nrblpptk3r6Gp73EQ4lriOS8Lt5WpNUp_QbItEv1L5Ns2bTqhzYxglLnK89oCu-gr30UgsduvSQDtUb44B4EDv637iNLQDqc3SVSOufOb5OznSxuP5RRFuBa34iRruYZZARoN6RLHakCtqQJx0XPPyAz/w400-h300/IMG_6045.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Was the Escape Room trip part of Themed Entertainment research or team-building? Why not both?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03UjZ0NVQ1LbCF4aL172KxbZunMz_8MW4m-kjUTF-FT9J99iQkQHrWdldxG1CvAuNliO-L1NZG7QLgos0vNhgC17OPqW5ysKcm2AZZBxuPYUbOFmd0axC4I3bDA0FejALREEPejevZWAE8dDrznNcmeFrWxezZfw9CRmB3u9YEiu1Q7MLPtrHL5hm/s4032/IMG_9127.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03UjZ0NVQ1LbCF4aL172KxbZunMz_8MW4m-kjUTF-FT9J99iQkQHrWdldxG1CvAuNliO-L1NZG7QLgos0vNhgC17OPqW5ysKcm2AZZBxuPYUbOFmd0axC4I3bDA0FejALREEPejevZWAE8dDrznNcmeFrWxezZfw9CRmB3u9YEiu1Q7MLPtrHL5hm/w400-h300/IMG_9127.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students, faculty, staff, and alumni at USITT's 2022 conference.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMpYin6GE2uI5nPWrDg01GazjEFBMpVVyGRfbC8xzmuS8xohvMMFoORZdU8Z64BI2rp7NKXM3JncnCePvbbY7-SC1AhE-4a4jgeOSOk-3-oqS3m0LpumJyOsacrOnWgMllk15JFvD9WTyMxaULYtg03bYE4Z3EUNEelWDxhnRT125p3qHIMmxxjNC/s672/VWAU1753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMpYin6GE2uI5nPWrDg01GazjEFBMpVVyGRfbC8xzmuS8xohvMMFoORZdU8Z64BI2rp7NKXM3JncnCePvbbY7-SC1AhE-4a4jgeOSOk-3-oqS3m0LpumJyOsacrOnWgMllk15JFvD9WTyMxaULYtg03bYE4Z3EUNEelWDxhnRT125p3qHIMmxxjNC/w300-h400/VWAU1753.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student mixes on L-ISA at L'Acoustics' North American HQ.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-79336466052771101942022-12-06T12:35:00.004-08:002022-12-06T12:35:13.540-08:00UCI Alumnus Ning Guo wins Singapore Young Artist Award!<p> UCI alumnus Ning Guo was recently awarded Singapore's Young Artist Award! Ning is a 2019 graduate of UCI's sound design program (MFA). While at UCI, she designed and composed for a number of different shows, and her thesis focused on spatial audio solutions. She was a dynamic and creative artist at UCI, and it's clear from this award that she's making an impact in the Singaporean artistic community.</p><p>Mike and I are both very proud of Ning! </p><p>You can read more about the award and see a photo <a href="https://www.nac.gov.sg/about-us/media-centre/press-releases//six-outstanding-arts-practitioners-honoured-for-their-pursuit-of-artistic-excellence-with-singapore-s-top-arts-accolades?fbclid=IwAR15T9ux7m7kggPzP-lu7iZNJxuNrgFu0tHhMFwpoRji8oeoDZ3px6pN0LM">here</a>.</p><p>Congratulations Ning!</p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-76868942164698401442022-11-03T08:14:00.000-07:002022-11-03T08:14:41.247-07:00The Passage @ UCI<p>This past fall, <a href="https://drama.arts.uci.edu/">UCI</a> premiered <a href="https://www.facebook.com/transversaltheater/">'The Passage,'</a> a new dance-theatre play written and directed by UCI Prof. Bryan Reynolds. 'The Passage' is a play about extreme skiing and the emotional journey that the skiers undergo, including huge adrenaline highs and impossible anguish. I served as sound designer, and I did a small amount of composition as well.</p><p>Bryan came into this project with a very clear and specific musical vocabulary, even going so far as to identify which pieces of music needed to be included in each act, and in which order. Normally, my sound designer spidey-sense gets all in a huff when a director gets this prescriptive, but this time I didn't mind so much, because his specificity allowed me to focus on other aspects of the design.</p><p>This fall, our friends at L'Acoustics provided us a <a href="https://l-isa.l-acoustics.com/">L-ISA</a> system for use in one of our mainstage shows (keep checking back here for a post on <a href="https://www.arts.uci.edu/event/story-biddy-mason">The Story of Biddy Mason</a>, designed/scored by Nat Houle!). In order to allow Nat to work with the system and learn how to be effective with it before the stress of tech, we installed the system in our xMPL theatre well before she went into tech. And, since my show immediately preceded Nat's in the space, I took advantage of it and implemented it into my show. That way, not only did I get a chance to experience this revolutionary tool. but Nat and I got to work together to figure out how best she could use it when it was her turn. Essentially, I was her guinea pig.</p><p>L-ISA was designed primarily as a live mixing spatialization tool, but it's got applications in theatrical sound design as well. I was interested in exploring how best to use it, and for me, part of that experimentation involved creating alternative methods of positional input. I don't think that we've truly cracked the puzzle of how to control/program 3D spatialized sound (we're so often stuck using 2D tools), so designing this show was a research project for me in 3D tool design. I spent time this summer designing a few tools that I could experiment with to learn which tools/features were most useful to use when creating positional information. These tools all sent data to a Max patch, which reformatted it and sent it along to L-ISA.</p><p>(I've often wished that I had these positional tools available to me on a big show, where I didn't have the time to develop them. By taking the time on this show (where the director had already identified much of the initial content), I was taking advantage of a unique opportunity to prototype a new set of ideas).</p><p>I build five different interfaces for L-ISA:</p><p>1: using a <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lemur/id481290621">Lemur</a> patch</p><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/740150737?h=be365d1a23&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" title="IMG_0558" width="533"></iframe><p>2: using a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wii-Remote-Controller-Nintendo/dp/B000IMWK2G">Wii remote controller</a>: </p><p><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/743666384?h=35590132fa&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" title="IMG_0616" width="533"></iframe></p><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script><p>3: using a <a href="https://mugicmotion.com/">Mugic</a> controller</p><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/743650896?h=169f4c0cb5&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" title="IMG_0615" width="533"></iframe><p>4: using a laptop keyboard & trackpad:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyzUkePXtNHNHv9djJOXaA-64oeUTZWYoksl2G6eLpyeZjIXnPVQ6eHjso7MDDiwnbdLMLL0StbgQzKPWCznPV_KaKsNnK2N3rf2Ylbi_Q5qcF8eIkxCcQP-hgVnGiPMPpPGGrRxDrzuJJLyADgAUuX_StHxlTvuYHFewknuzv-hIkouop6_I_cPZ/s2358/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-02%20at%2011.41.03%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="2358" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyzUkePXtNHNHv9djJOXaA-64oeUTZWYoksl2G6eLpyeZjIXnPVQ6eHjso7MDDiwnbdLMLL0StbgQzKPWCznPV_KaKsNnK2N3rf2Ylbi_Q5qcF8eIkxCcQP-hgVnGiPMPpPGGrRxDrzuJJLyADgAUuX_StHxlTvuYHFewknuzv-hIkouop6_I_cPZ/w400-h211/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-02%20at%2011.41.03%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>5: working in conjunction with Purdue Prof (and general all-round weirdo genius) <a href="https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/profile/dhhuston">Davin Huston,</a> we adapted <a href="https://google.github.io/mediapipe/getting_started/install.html#installing-on-macos">MediaPipe</a> to develop a tool that used my laptop's webcam to map my hand position to L-ISA source positions.</p><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/766935467?h=0ced467026&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" title="IMG_1068.MOV" width="533"></iframe><p>All five of these interfaces delivered data to <a href="https://cycling74.com/">Max</a>, which transformed it into data that L-ISA could read.</p><p>I prototyped the tools over the summer, months before we loaded into the space, and once we were loaded in, I tweaked each of them while I built the show. I used the tools primarily while building the design in the space; once we were in tech or running the show, the positional information was either sent by <a href="https://figure53.com/">QLab</a> to L-ISA via networked cues or recorded as L-ISA snapshots that were recalled by QLab.</p><p>I don't have enough space here to write about all the things I learned while working on this project, but here are a few general observations/notes for future use:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>USE FEWER TOOLS. Have less things to pick up. Table space is at a premium. If you have to reach across the table to grab a sensor, you won't use it.</li><li>BE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONGRUENT. Want to position something front and left? It should *feel* front and left to you. Width should feel wide. Height should feel high. Intuition is fed by instinct.</li><li>WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLSET YET. L-ISA has separate control parameters for polar coordinates on the horizontal plane (radius and angle), elevation, and width. I wasn't able to build a tool that was able to intuitively incorporate all those controls. Yet.</li></ul><div>Here's a quick pro/con chart for my tools:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Lemur</li><ul><li>PRO: intuitive, clear, able to label interface elements with text, could handle ten sources at a time</li><li>CON: limited to 2D</li></ul><li>Wii remote</li><ul><li>PRO: highly intuitive, lots of buttons that are programmable to control specific parameter</li><li>CON: didn't handle L-ISA's depth spatialization well, orientation was based on a simulacrum of positional information, and I needed an older mac to connect to the Wii remote itself (current Mac OS doesn't recognize the remote). Only one source at a time.</li></ul><li>Mugic</li><ul><li>PRO: intuitive, lightweight. Next time, I'll build the controller into a glove and wear it full-time.</li><li>CON: could only handle one source at a time, could only handle transmit positional information, required a dedicated proprietary wifi network to function.</li></ul><li>Laptop keyboard/trackpad</li><ul><li>PRO: lots of buttons and surfaces to send comprehensive data</li><li>CON: not much better than L-ISA's interface. Only one source at a time.</li></ul><li>MediaPipe</li><ul><li>PRO: super intuitive. I can see future iterations that incorporate elevation and width</li><li>CON: Only one source at a time. In my iteration, I could not control elevation and width at the same time that I was controlling pan/distance</li></ul></ul></div><div>Overall, the show was a success. We got great feedback from the audience, and I'm very happy with how the show ended up. I'm particularly grateful to my sound team: Associate Designer Costa Daros, Assistant Designer Alex Fakayode, and A1 Jayde Farmer. Onward to future productions!</div><div><br /></div><div>And if you want to talk more about these ideas (and take a look at my Max patch), drop me a line!</div><p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-8188639399677454622022-09-20T13:06:00.004-07:002022-09-20T13:06:52.418-07:00Attending the American Theatre Wing Annual Gala<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Did you know that the Tony Awards were named after a woman named Antoinette "Tony" Perry? </span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">On September 12th, I was honored to attend the annual American Theatre Wing Gala in New York City. The theme was celebrating the incredible legacy of Antoinette Perry by uplifting the contribution of women to American theatre. The make-up of the production team, performers, Honorary Chairs, and musicians were in harmony with this purpose.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">I was invited as the guest of Cricket Myers who acted as one of the two Honorary Chairs for Sound Design. The second Sound Design pair was Palmer Hefferan joined by Bailey Trierweiler. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">This occasion was an exciting opportunity to meet and network with theatre professionals, to consider the progress each generation of women has made in our field, and to converse with donors who were enthusiastic about meeting the artists behind the art.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">Looking back at this experience, the most memorable portion of the night was jumping with joy when I noticed who was sitting behind the console: sound designer Joanna Lynne Staub and audio engineer Adrianna Brannon. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">We often hear today, <i>"If you can't see it, you can't be it."</i> This resonated with me at this event. </span><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">To be in the combined presence of Palmer, Joanna, Adrianna, and Cricket - four incredible female-identifying theatre artists I deeply look up to - was not only delightful but <b>encouraging</b>. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">Attending this event was a powerful reminder that those of us who have traditionally been overlooked, marginalized, and undervalued have immense power together. </span><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">We all have the capacity to thrive, learn, be a mentor, be a mentee, and stand with one another knowing we have more work ahead.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_n7XP_AdNQsKF10jSqWGBzLVRC-UKaJPtL0U31tQdSC8zEw5e-UTkHAGFOKs7UchxE70mWOPTc1O1zSubmqfMxePLBGqwMcu5nFJ2MUe4RgBzSwvi-2LGlrnEqLofcApIxvJmaBkmsJ049zzXclAwQdeqLYcrw55D5fF4MEP4HTB11q8uU0n_jX6dg/s2048/Full%20Group%20Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_n7XP_AdNQsKF10jSqWGBzLVRC-UKaJPtL0U31tQdSC8zEw5e-UTkHAGFOKs7UchxE70mWOPTc1O1zSubmqfMxePLBGqwMcu5nFJ2MUe4RgBzSwvi-2LGlrnEqLofcApIxvJmaBkmsJ049zzXclAwQdeqLYcrw55D5fF4MEP4HTB11q8uU0n_jX6dg/w345-h460/Full%20Group%20Photo.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div>Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16957960544470304559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-89039820298836796012022-07-19T19:49:00.004-07:002022-07-19T19:49:27.172-07:00Jeff Polunas to leave UCI Sound<p>We were disappointed today to learn that Jeff Polunas, our Sound Supervisor for the past 4+ years, will be leaving UCI early next month to take an <a href="https://www.kent.edu/theatredance/news/school-theatre-and-dance-welcomes-jeff-polunas-assistant-professor-sound-and">Assistant Professorship at Kent State University,</a> where he'll be teaching sound design and projections.</p><p>Jeff has an MFA from UCI in Sound Design, and he came back to work as the Sound Supervisor from a teaching position at CalState Fullerton. In addition to his work at UCI's School of the Arts, serving Drama, Dance, and Music productions, he also maintains an active freelance career, designing shows around the southern California area. </p><p>At UCI, Jeff's work as the Sound Supervisor meant that he also always worked closely with the MFA Sound Design students, supplementing their coursework and design work with a strong technical foundation and skillsets. He truly was a partner to Mike and I in the sound design program, and he leaves big shoes for us to fill.</p><p>We all wish him the best as he heads to Ohio for his new position. Kent State is lucky to be getting him!</p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-53687298821485208552022-06-02T11:25:00.001-07:002022-07-19T19:38:12.662-07:00Audio Theater links are up!Earlier this academic year, the Drama Department at UCI's first foray back to in-person production was a bill of six original audio plays. The six plays were written, directed, performed, managed, designed, and crewed by students at UCI. We performed them for a live audience but we also recorded the performances. After the run was over, each sound designer mixed their play(s) down, and then MFA2 Costa Daros mastered the six plays. <a href="http://ucisounddesign.blogspot.com/2022/01/audio-theater-our-return-to-stage.html" target="_blank">We've written about the project at length here</a>, but today I'm delighted to share with you that the recordings are finally being released! You can hear them all at <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-587201986/sets/audio-theatre-2021" target="_blank">this soundcloud link</a>.
Happy listening!Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-65945151430290786192022-04-19T10:42:00.002-07:002022-04-19T10:42:10.273-07:00BOURN KIND- Tiny Kindness Project to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival<p>It was hard keeping this news under wraps for the past few months, but I'm excited to announce that <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/bourn-kind-the-tiny-kindness-project-2022">BOURN KIND- Tiny Kindness Project will premiere in June at the Tribeca Film Festival</a>!</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4HnV_REUOikKKPDAe9Yu25LtY1V-2wVR3ZaibWD8s_aUlhmNKScKRw4P009fnY8YEbAbobd9jUuiAFbd8qEqu06jXKM5DHwPav5uJr6r5AWebVS1FypTqK99z0fXat9B1X6Bik4hOEUODGq7G3S6UhJAiez8ULpBZNsc6hZMrqqC82gIzJ0l_fmI/s12000/Bourn-Kind-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="12000" data-original-width="8100" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4HnV_REUOikKKPDAe9Yu25LtY1V-2wVR3ZaibWD8s_aUlhmNKScKRw4P009fnY8YEbAbobd9jUuiAFbd8qEqu06jXKM5DHwPav5uJr6r5AWebVS1FypTqK99z0fXat9B1X6Bik4hOEUODGq7G3S6UhJAiez8ULpBZNsc6hZMrqqC82gIzJ0l_fmI/w432-h640/Bourn-Kind-Poster.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p><p>This is the second project that director Rachel Myers and I have worked on, and the post-production audio was done entirely in the <a href="https://sound.arts.uci.edu/places_meyer.html">Meyer Sound Design Studios</a> here at UCI. I did the foley performance, editing, mixing, and mastering, and MFA student Costa Daros worked as the foley mixer. Here we are hard at work recording and mixing foley.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-2Lo3PIwck_T_qPpRNE2YD4sMz9Lj6ojlkC3aXAwhfmy2W7BVeZ0Ivp4INGpeljiLVraU24Cj8gGXaHEtiSLHzP0RXLTzIfI5OZYst7V7o9HHVf52LXUy4mM1JyrTwq7G-h8X1sDU8EisngrJrrOA1FdZRGKUTuBGdS6ILYLFPxD0WweXfMweGAx/s1440/IVDX6193.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-2Lo3PIwck_T_qPpRNE2YD4sMz9Lj6ojlkC3aXAwhfmy2W7BVeZ0Ivp4INGpeljiLVraU24Cj8gGXaHEtiSLHzP0RXLTzIfI5OZYst7V7o9HHVf52LXUy4mM1JyrTwq7G-h8X1sDU8EisngrJrrOA1FdZRGKUTuBGdS6ILYLFPxD0WweXfMweGAx/w400-h300/IVDX6193.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc9qd7HTRiaJ6eksKXVfwrHsdNH1gM1VkDDgugvjsGTw2eqnuiYNO6t6SCHGedZd633NweydOrU1rKW-YZJ08ujy8hUzaLKyXlU3hLYmXyy83JPLXPNUbwGDk3YqJSMyk-vb7Um3xxxem9Pk4a5ybunD5uSFJpg3JkXU8jqMHn8VJ-DTMvlokVeY-/s1440/HJOY5285.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc9qd7HTRiaJ6eksKXVfwrHsdNH1gM1VkDDgugvjsGTw2eqnuiYNO6t6SCHGedZd633NweydOrU1rKW-YZJ08ujy8hUzaLKyXlU3hLYmXyy83JPLXPNUbwGDk3YqJSMyk-vb7Um3xxxem9Pk4a5ybunD5uSFJpg3JkXU8jqMHn8VJ-DTMvlokVeY-/w400-h300/HJOY5285.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Congrats to everyone who made this beautiful film happen! Check it out if you can!</div></div><p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-67697652730293171472022-04-12T17:32:00.006-07:002022-04-12T17:33:58.885-07:00UCI Sound Design: class of 2025<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Recruiting students into the MFA Sound Design program is always tough for us. We can only take two students each year, and there are always terrific students out there that we have to decline. This year was particularly difficult - the number of exceptional candidates was four times higher than it usually is, which made our decision much more difficult.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">That said, Mike and I, along with the rest of the program are delighted to welcome our incoming students for this fall: Melanie Lopez and Jeremiah Turner. Melanie and Jeremiah stood out to us with exceptional combinations of talent, creativity, curiosity, professionalism, and experience. We're looking forward to working with them for the next three years!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I asked each of them to submit a short bio, so here they are, in their own words:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTGRwNNarIV7hspdosnMJG8C2o4Bx9p8kUzK_8rek5-vLYuLGM2hOtAVJYPAkA6BqOHqTHzotivtcUs_StTm8nNbBUxOLFXvmLJ1kbW-OQ6rWZgpPmGpXdzkTx8RSM4cJ7cqAflaLdIKfLjSRJD4E2AGuLmtrmnrGduVVDDZOOa_BnWwVrwd-rLs0/s2382/Headshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2382" data-original-width="2030" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTGRwNNarIV7hspdosnMJG8C2o4Bx9p8kUzK_8rek5-vLYuLGM2hOtAVJYPAkA6BqOHqTHzotivtcUs_StTm8nNbBUxOLFXvmLJ1kbW-OQ6rWZgpPmGpXdzkTx8RSM4cJ7cqAflaLdIKfLjSRJD4E2AGuLmtrmnrGduVVDDZOOa_BnWwVrwd-rLs0/w341-h400/Headshot.jpg" width="341" /></a></div></span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Melanie Lopez is a sound designer and theatre maker born and raised in Pomona, California. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She has worked for the Southern California Shakespeare Festival and is the head audio engineer for the podcast Trek Table. Sound is imperative to every story and a valuable piece of the puzzle that completes the picture. Melanie has an interest in new work development and telling authentic diverse stories that help amplify voices of different perspectives. When she isn’t creating a concept playlist and spontaneously field recording, she enjoys spending her time developing her skills as an amateur puppeteer, geeking out to sci-fi shows, and playing video games with interactive narratives. She is looking forward to her journey honing her craft as a designer at UCI.</span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><!--more--></span></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUfE98jgOnCCjZCT8dIVaJJCRdQmTOA96vKKWKtFLkzgBzeLYQzvC54x3xMJ12-oIicFLqm1fZSDyAiaQ_Jek_F7ERy7SSdWR6Guko27oK36tKMIwK8ytLj_icBVXVoJYVnMQAFb2gT_NxTNkK2bzBxjd8NfOgKW4FjHHPePCk-JBqXTZi8sq_k2N/s395/Jeremiah%20Turner_Headshot.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="395" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUfE98jgOnCCjZCT8dIVaJJCRdQmTOA96vKKWKtFLkzgBzeLYQzvC54x3xMJ12-oIicFLqm1fZSDyAiaQ_Jek_F7ERy7SSdWR6Guko27oK36tKMIwK8ytLj_icBVXVoJYVnMQAFb2gT_NxTNkK2bzBxjd8NfOgKW4FjHHPePCk-JBqXTZi8sq_k2N/w400-h400/Jeremiah%20Turner_Headshot.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jeremiah Turner is a Sound Designer/Engineer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since graduating from Louisiana State University in 2015, he has been serving as a Teacher’s Assistant and Sound Technician for LSU’s Sound Design program. Designing in the realms of theatre, and podcasting, Some of his notable works in theatre include, The Hangar Theatre’s “Stoo’s Famous Martian American Gumbo”, assistant designer for Swine Palace Theatre’s “Oil”, and LSU School of Theatre’s “Brooklyn Bridge.” Notable works in podcasting include, Dreams & Screams’ “The Somnilyte Sessions” and KB Saine’s “Black Theatre History Podcast”.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: black;"><span>When not designing, Jeremiah is a stand-up comedian. Producing and headlining shows around the state of Louisiana. He also enjoys baking and cooking.</span></span></span></div>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-32039039390426511252022-01-20T08:47:00.000-08:002022-01-20T08:47:03.020-08:00Audio Theater - our return to the stage!<p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I was going to start this blog post by talking about the impacts on UCI Sound by COVID-19, but there’s nothing new under the sun there.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It stinks, and we all know it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So let’s skip ahead.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In November 2021, UCI Sound was an integral part of the first live in-person mainstage performance at UCI since the pandemic began.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>AUDIO THEATER was a bill of six student-written plays, performed live and recorded for eventual streaming (stay tuned!).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The plays were performed as part of a single bill, and each performance was recorded.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>At the end of the run, the designers and directors chose the strongest performance, and the sound design team then prepared the recordings for streaming.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwP8oYsi9Gita4gC8N5ZbZn2w32iVmdXuMWXBtO5xiUFaISluq7539oTSKa5wNsKyo6zGy7jdld1VDk6oqrosxwDbSeTSREcOEbehKQHnZBKCYKsMQ_d_uRNZ_2UJp7_nV7TRuwYrHcUVu8tZdLznGbtSAI_IbmEc_loQc6NIcNaK4AkGgDKAIa3zy=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwP8oYsi9Gita4gC8N5ZbZn2w32iVmdXuMWXBtO5xiUFaISluq7539oTSKa5wNsKyo6zGy7jdld1VDk6oqrosxwDbSeTSREcOEbehKQHnZBKCYKsMQ_d_uRNZ_2UJp7_nV7TRuwYrHcUVu8tZdLznGbtSAI_IbmEc_loQc6NIcNaK4AkGgDKAIa3zy=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Paul Kennedy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For UCI Sound, this was a complex task.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Six plays, each with their own sonic landscape, each with their own cast.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Six playwrights, each with their own text, some of which were in more flux than others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Six directors, each with their own vision, who were serving both the audience live in the theater and the eventual streaming audience.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Five designers (four sound, one lighting – no scenic, costumes, or projections), who needed to serve their plays and support each other.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>A phalanx of stage managers, who kept rehearsals efficient, safe, and effective. Dozens of actors, plenty of staff and support personnel. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>One sound system, with one production assistant and one A1 (our two first-year MFAs). <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For pandemic reasons, we mounted these productions with actors spaced out, at microphones, in static positions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>They could look at each other and communicate over distance, but they couldn’t leave their microphone position. This gave the event more of a broadcast feeling rather than a theatrical feeling. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCp2SP-Qy4QI_ZyRRgRMg__krEsQ7rCiWmplNOV3WxR8iVsVjFcgQMovSdQM3Ypn_9L3iee6393KFm3gME8bFguUpCrShhC7a4Q5pEFgPBWJOuvJPd3kuRyfPGwPW6AGWAox1TO9LYomp5HVWI-GiMJao-6BwXQF22wI-d9XurqpEje8vao3NxBKi6=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCp2SP-Qy4QI_ZyRRgRMg__krEsQ7rCiWmplNOV3WxR8iVsVjFcgQMovSdQM3Ypn_9L3iee6393KFm3gME8bFguUpCrShhC7a4Q5pEFgPBWJOuvJPd3kuRyfPGwPW6AGWAox1TO9LYomp5HVWI-GiMJao-6BwXQF22wI-d9XurqpEje8vao3NxBKi6=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Paul Kennedy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Each console input and output was recorded for maximum flexibility when mixing/producing after the run.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Once the designers had finished mixing their pieces, they passed their final mixes off to one student who served as the mastering engineer for the whole bill.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Each of the designers has written a bit about their play and their approach to the sound design for it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So, here they are in their own words (edited slightly):</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></h3><blockquote><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">DO YOU TRUST ME? – JJ Margolis, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Do You Trust Me, written by Summer Savonna Session and directed by Cybelle Kaehler, is a nostalgic flashback story set in the late 90’s. After meeting in middle school, Leon and his best friend Ty develope a tradition of exploring haunted buildings in their town. In high school, they take their girlfriends to a warehouse prepared with alien-themed props, traps, and sound effects to scare Jess, and in that warehouse they encounter… something they do not expect.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The task of sound for this story was to help support the world and ground the vocal performance in a believable, but not wholly realistic space. Through the combination of recorded audio effects and synthesized sounds, the ‘scenery’ of the play is established. One of the most interesting challenges of this is the balancing act of building a supernatural suspense without confirming in one way or another whether there is truly anything unnatural present.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As the core of the play, the vocals stood central at all times. I used different reverb effects to bring the characters into the spaces that they flashed back to. In addition, I needed to separate Leon into both a narrator and a character. I accomplished this by isolating the lines that he spoke as narrator, keeping them clean of any aforementioned reverb and adding a tube-modeled compressor to support the warmth of those lines. Finally, I layered very subtle processing onto some of the characters as the story progressed… but that would be spoilers.</p></blockquote><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><blockquote><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">LIE IN STATE – Aerik Harbert, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As we round out a year since the January 6th insurrection in the Capitol, Lie In State, written by Meliza Gutierrez and directed by Angela Cruz, serves as a testimonial to the events of that day. Not of reality, but of possibility; it’s impossible to know the exact complexities of what it meant to be a police officer, congressperson, or innocent bystander on location that day, but Lie In State gives us a taste of their fear, hope, and humanity. When confronting the possibility of death first hand, who knows what may come to mind?</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Many of us have seen video taken on location, but there is an inherent safety in a recording because we know that we were not personally the targets of that mob. I needed to keep the feeling of danger up so that our characters never felt truly at ease, while still leaving space for them to speak their piece. There are discrete events supported by sound as protesters break into the building which highlight specific moments of danger, but the true danger in this setting is the human element, so I chose to use a persistent bed of protesters which always lived in the background.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This background detail ebbs and flows dynamically to carve space for important moments of dialogue for the actors, and it only peaks at specific moments where the increase in danger was necessary to keep stakes up as we moved from dramatic beat to dramatic beat. There are some non-diegetic elements, but overall, the sound lived within the world of the play so that the characters and audience are engaged in the same level of energy.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"></p></blockquote><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></h3><blockquote><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">WHEN WILL MI HIJA VISIT ME?</span> – Meghan Roche, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When Will Mi Hija Visit Me? written by Cindy El & directed by Leah Jackson, focuses in on a mother telling her friend the story of her daughter’s disappearance from her life. Maria is our main (and only speaking) character, and we wanted to keep her “real world” and “memory world” as separate as possible so there would be moments where the audience felt firmly in the world of Maria’s literally telling this story to her psychological space as she recounted it; that became my main focus as I designed the piece.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To achieve the “real world” moments, I used room tone and other low sound effects, like distant outdoor ambiance and a ticking clock, to place us in her kitchen. We also had live foley accompanying the very first and very last moments of the piece as Maria makes her coffee and fiddles with her spoon and mug. This took a fair amount of trial and error; we made good use of UCI’s extensive prop shop to find the right materials to make the sounds we wanted, and I auditioned a lot of different options for room tone—the ones I’d been working with initially wound up feeling much more out of place in the physical space than they did when I was making mock-ups and pulling SFX on my computer at home! But eventually we found a good balance, and the room tones in combination with EQ and reverb processing felt quite convincing in the Claire Trevor Theater.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The “memory world” also made use of EQ and reverb, but were meant to feel significantly less grounded than the kitchen FX did, and all of the SFX I used in the more involved flashback sequences also had a fair amount of that same reverb. There was also subtle tonal underscoring in a number of places to help support the most emotional moments.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The in-person presentation of this piece was a little different than what you will hear in the recording, as it also involved two non-speaking actors onstage doing movement work as Maria’s husband and daughter, silently acting out the story as she told it in a stylized and very physical manner. Because we do not get that in the recording, a few spots were trimmed down and adjusted to make the pauses in our actor’s speech make more sense.</p></blockquote><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></h3><blockquote><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">The Happiest Bunch </span>– Costa Daros, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Happiest Bunch, written by Mary Hill and directed by Mary Hill and Arizsia Staton, was a slice-of-life comedy break in our night of dramas. I wanted to embrace the endearing sitcom style, so the design was mostly realistic with some exaggerated moments to heighten the comedy like Martha's murmuring and our moment within their phone conversation. Overall, the sound helped to bring the piece to life and give the characters something to react to during their performance.</p></blockquote><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"></p><blockquote><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">Nearer By Far </span>– Meghan Roche, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nearer By Far, written by Erica Clare Bogan and directed by Dylan Seeley, was another one-actor play. It takes place in a submersible unit—essentially a very tiny submarine designed to go deep in the ocean—and is told in the form of the taped journal entries recorded by one-half of an underwater duo who were there doing undisclosed scientific research. Early in the piece, however, we learn that the other half of the team was killed, and our main character has to figure out what went wrong, and how to survive on her own.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">From the beginning of our discussions about this piece, we knew that we wanted to lean into the “found tape” aspect of it, using vocal processing to really compress & affect our actor’s vocals in a way that emulated the feeling of listening to an old recording & adding in sound effects that were very specific to starting and stopping a tape recording. This came less from a desire for realism, but instead as a way to heighten drama and show the passage of time between journal entries. I also made heavy use of various drone styles—more easily heard in-person, with our beefy subwoofers and lovely Meyer speakers, than on the average computer speakers, but still present nonetheless—for the drama piece of things. They shifted subtly from entry to entry, but all throughout there was also a separate drone that faded up very slowly and imperceptibly as it went, which made the dropout of almost all of our atmospheric sounds at a power outage moment late in the piece all the more emotionally affecting.</p></blockquote><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></h3><blockquote><h3 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">The Informant </span>– Costa Daros, Sound Designer</h3><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Informant, written by Grace McCarney and directed by Lucas Nelson, was the retelling of a woman's involvement in WWII to her granddaughter. As she narrates the story, the characters she talks about come to life and take over the dialogue for her. I designed the sound in order to help divide these worlds of the story being narrated by her future-self from the story taking place in real time. This gave us the opportunity to incorporate live foley into the design which helped the characters around the woman create the world she talked about.</p></blockquote><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Right now, we’re putting the finishing touches on the mixes and mastering them. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Once the elements are in the can, we’ll be streaming them over the nets!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’ll post again then. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-58780880141733667672021-03-08T13:38:00.001-08:002021-05-15T19:41:48.921-07:00UCI Sound MFA, class of 2024<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every year when we interview potential MFA students for our Sound Design program, Mike and I always lament how hard it is to choose just two students from a qualified pool. There are generally three or four students that are strong candidates, and it can be an excruciating decision to select which students to invite to join us for three years. Part of selecting two students means necessarily saying 'no' to many more, including the few top-ranked alternates. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year was much harder, due mostly to COVID-19. Because our industry is basically at a standstill, many folks are deciding that now is a good time to get their degree. The number of qualified interested students shot up 500% this year. Instead of a pool of three or four top candidates, we had nine. And, while in a normal year, we'd invite those three or four applicants to campus to sit in on classes, meet with faculty/staff/students, tour the facilities, and generally get to know us, this year UCI's campus is virtually shut down to outsiders. So, we pivoted, scheduling Zoom sessions so that all nine top applicants could sit in on classes, meet with faculty, staff, students, get a portfolio review, etc. It was a bit of a logistical nightmare and something I hope we don't have to repeat next year, but it gave us a chance to meet so many students that we'd never have gotten the chance to meet before. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It also made our decisions harder, because while the number of excellent applicants increased, the number of people we could accept didn't. We still had to choose two. So while we're thrilled with the two women who are joining us this fall, we also want to publicly say that we wish we could have taken more of you! Those applicants who are reading this - we wish you all the best and look forward to seeing your careers grow!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year, Mike and I are thrilled to welcome to the UCI Sound Design MFA program two extraordinary designers. I've asked them to write their own bios. Here they are:</span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEVUJl-FYhVN3RR3Zr3ZN7N1umcxn1L6UMTtjEsfzEjVxN4wPnN3SDz1xpd4PDC8DuX7PaSOKsyxP1K74m-b67LOeG369yeBq_1J_JL022yyS7E1q5GMpszdRGWLNu2KtkNi0XGaaWsQ/s1578/NMH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1184" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEVUJl-FYhVN3RR3Zr3ZN7N1umcxn1L6UMTtjEsfzEjVxN4wPnN3SDz1xpd4PDC8DuX7PaSOKsyxP1K74m-b67LOeG369yeBq_1J_JL022yyS7E1q5GMpszdRGWLNu2KtkNi0XGaaWsQ/w300-h400/NMH.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Natalie Margaret Houle</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><i>Nat is an audio engineer and sound designer born and raised in the Hudson Valley in New York. She is thrilled to be joining the community at UCI after graduating from SUNY New Paltz in May 2021 with a BA in Theatre Arts: Design and Technology with a minor in Music. She designed and composed for Lauren Bone Noble's one-woman show FURY! at the Denizen Theatre as well as productions like She Kills Monsters, Cadillac Crew, and The Killing Fields at New Paltz. As an assistant designer, she had the opportunity to work at Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre. In the world of broadcast, she has been a NABET-CWA union member for five years primarily working on Good Morning America. In 2020, she was elated to become a Pat MacKay Scholarship recipient. Outside of sound, she enjoys a Chinese tea practice, yoga, transcendental meditation, and hiking.</i></span></p><p><span></span></p><!--more--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvo1yfY9NB3RP6CD5zhGFKIo357rcEReVJmZxFOhSqwjmrBqEWOhA9r8fFHFCEfhK3QsyQ7ChRRgzogcZGD2BeOiEnIwwOFEw2llCcXHM3VdSddxV0UvYjrI65aagh7BwXbk9PRaA09o/s1410/picture.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="1240" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvo1yfY9NB3RP6CD5zhGFKIo357rcEReVJmZxFOhSqwjmrBqEWOhA9r8fFHFCEfhK3QsyQ7ChRRgzogcZGD2BeOiEnIwwOFEw2llCcXHM3VdSddxV0UvYjrI65aagh7BwXbk9PRaA09o/w351-h400/picture.JPG" width="351" /></a></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Theresa Ramos</b></span></p><i>I’m Theresa Ramos. I'm going to be graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Bachelor's degree in Theater tech and design. I was born and raised in Las Vegas. A few reasons why Sound design is my passion are it can make or break a show, you get to be in the audience and watch them fall into the story and having power over a sound system. My most memorable production which I was the assistant sound designer for is Bowell because I was able to go to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This production also gave a quote I live by which is "Preserve any openness of the heart." Some of my hobbies include watching stand-up comedy, cooking, and watching cheesy tv shows.</i></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span></span></p><!--more--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">We're delighted that Theresa and Nat are joining us in the fall. They come from wildly different backgrounds and have different interests, but they're united in their passion and dedication for all things sound. They've each taken full advantage of the opportunities they've had and have grown exponentially because of it. Mike and I are looking forward to working with them for the next three years.</span></p><p>As we're ending our recruitment season, we want to thank Jeff Polunas, our Sound Supervisor, and all of our grad students who spent time getting to know the applicants (and letting them get to know us). Mike and I take the rest of our team's thoughts very seriously, and the continued success of our program is due in part to the investment of the current students in the future students. </p><p>Onward and upwards!</p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-34148186052185141882021-01-29T10:25:00.002-08:002021-01-29T10:27:08.116-08:00The KELLER<p><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In order to have a fully functional adequate Sound Shop, the concept of the SWIFT (Sound Workshop for Integrated Fine-Arts Technology) needed to be reimagined. Since the SWIFT has now been renamed the Keller (in honor of BC Keller), this was the perfect opportunity.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When I came on board to attempt to fill in BC’s shoes (let’s face it, anyone who knew him, knows this is impossible to do), the first thing I noticed was the sound shop was in chaos and needed some direction, since it was almost two years since a full-time sound supervisor was part of the CTSA. As evidence of the photos below, you can see there was some infrastructure and equipment being housed in those infrastructure elements. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5YXO5KUgdP5G2Bf-mNoGt20fWANRjlOMfcsQNMjiNRfwzbOS4GUjAfmzfW6ae0Hf3NhivxX8LxImfeaIqT7E1JiujAmXoKoeoqOG5B_Wz18lj3o5lKg0R6xN30-L-gPwCkZ_GfqifPo/s2048/IMG_1422.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5YXO5KUgdP5G2Bf-mNoGt20fWANRjlOMfcsQNMjiNRfwzbOS4GUjAfmzfW6ae0Hf3NhivxX8LxImfeaIqT7E1JiujAmXoKoeoqOG5B_Wz18lj3o5lKg0R6xN30-L-gPwCkZ_GfqifPo/s320/IMG_1422.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1NeCsmhXOdj9mQKbWvFTX6KoDubW8sXWFowIOwYVAfRoCPILV7KsYPqIOA0jWOejzxv3jXxkkQPGxG5eb7zHAGbSqxKBps9f56-FfurkkrMUuOuGORPghsWoTXQaM66gGFYR3fdhRas/s2048/IMG_1423.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1NeCsmhXOdj9mQKbWvFTX6KoDubW8sXWFowIOwYVAfRoCPILV7KsYPqIOA0jWOejzxv3jXxkkQPGxG5eb7zHAGbSqxKBps9f56-FfurkkrMUuOuGORPghsWoTXQaM66gGFYR3fdhRas/s320/IMG_1423.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2b0_Bv7dknFffnOQhbEfTiK4wUsfTNvO7dsl73aOfa8yp2aB9tZsgKXpkhGjMIBVLb45Qi0OPjBjDXLxx9tDMf1fpzMhtNkjRZBJ2aSdya2zPRaD6y3__SX7bpEKRMBhkgBv66ivisQ/s2048/IMG_1424.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2b0_Bv7dknFffnOQhbEfTiK4wUsfTNvO7dsl73aOfa8yp2aB9tZsgKXpkhGjMIBVLb45Qi0OPjBjDXLxx9tDMf1fpzMhtNkjRZBJ2aSdya2zPRaD6y3__SX7bpEKRMBhkgBv66ivisQ/s320/IMG_1424.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN83fnpxb9p0SV7wwneGRmIjJVKFNpmwpglgD5UyHQeF57XPlPCAZdJebC4T86valoBtR10Lidbeq6Gl_JaraVUYiuDXL3IRK7VppyWXMZT8bYCKl9UwGygapyfgDw8u1-SNOY7ndprmY/s2048/IMG_1425.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN83fnpxb9p0SV7wwneGRmIjJVKFNpmwpglgD5UyHQeF57XPlPCAZdJebC4T86valoBtR10Lidbeq6Gl_JaraVUYiuDXL3IRK7VppyWXMZT8bYCKl9UwGygapyfgDw8u1-SNOY7ndprmY/s320/IMG_1425.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A change was needed and a drastic one at that. The Sound Shop needed to feel renewed with a sense of new found purpose. Over the course of the next 15 months, I devised a plan to slowly implement changes and improvements to how the Sound shop will function. The first was to determine a new layout that will allow the most flexibility and storage capability. I kept BC’s idea in keeping the center clear for a prep area and rearranged and purchased new equipment infrastructure to improve the layout. I removed the old tool chest and donated it to the xMPL booth, removed the old test rack and any storage containers that didn’t match the new esthetic. I decided to keep the long Shelving unit, Wireless cabinet, rigging cabinet, workbench, storage bins rack and filing cabinet. I proceeded to purchase a second matching storage bins rack, replace the mic cabinet with a different cabinet, purchase a new shelving unit, add a new cabinet and purchase a tool chest. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This gave the new layout a new look and allowed for more storage. I was able to add the new storage equipment in the Sound Shop and actually gain 12 square feet of floor space. Once the new layout was implemented, the SWIFT or Sound Shop, was no longer and The Keller was born.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When you now walk into the Keller, there is a new standard in how the Sound Design program operates and runs for each production. Since the implementation, the shows are pulled faster, more efficiently and have a place to live before the equipment gets loaded into a venue.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I will now give a photographical tour of the Keller since we live in COVID times and only authorized people may be on campus.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>THE TOUR<br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When you open the door to enter, there are three cabinets on the left, rigging, microphones and wireless. Continuing on is the workbench, with the long storage shelves along the back wall now. On the right is the electronics cabinet and two units of storage bin racks followed by the tool chest. Immediately on the right is the computer station.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwJ-5Kzkm6shmkRUCg7CCBGUldtGZ2PbuQ13uaz3nMmaa0SYJgMMkeO32ak6BKHYGw16zdRiHXBupH-KuZ-El89cA6VF6dK0QJQzDbyQaadP8hm2Jsm6TocGTMBPs2Mwb2y9G5-4nVI4/s2048/00+Keller-Entrance+Door.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwJ-5Kzkm6shmkRUCg7CCBGUldtGZ2PbuQ13uaz3nMmaa0SYJgMMkeO32ak6BKHYGw16zdRiHXBupH-KuZ-El89cA6VF6dK0QJQzDbyQaadP8hm2Jsm6TocGTMBPs2Mwb2y9G5-4nVI4/s320/00+Keller-Entrance+Door.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>RIGGING CABINET<br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Rigging cabinet is now fully organized and labeled. Speaker manufacture bolts and smaller hardware are separated out in bins or drawers. It’s now easy to grab what is needed for a show pull and have it. This is also where the bolts, screws and washers are stored by size.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7mxJVa3QBZZXrh7A3osMhyphenhyphen48n37OplBLJrBeWBNLJiNq-UPJMnKrsIYWRs7Ab4VwEj30XQB2hfqe1YBIUfV6C1fJd_eKeF4tRC_qYdq3MObAXKUntxfJ9LGahso2ljUprr-lC8gtd70/s2048/01+Keller-Rigging+Cabinet.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7mxJVa3QBZZXrh7A3osMhyphenhyphen48n37OplBLJrBeWBNLJiNq-UPJMnKrsIYWRs7Ab4VwEj30XQB2hfqe1YBIUfV6C1fJd_eKeF4tRC_qYdq3MObAXKUntxfJ9LGahso2ljUprr-lC8gtd70/s320/01+Keller-Rigging+Cabinet.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">MICROPHONE CABINET</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The microphone cabinet is the latest addition to the Keller. Each microphone model is grouped together in its own bin so it is convenient to see what is in stock and how many of each are available for a project. There are currently empty bins, which leaves room for more mics in the future. Various mic hardware is also stored in the door to make mic mounting on non-stands more convenient.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDy4F9jhWFq70UM0P8ZfKxLbeYJhXwQaUN7DbW1r4tPE1Uw9_S3FpxJWJV1t6nbyTwNIvebyG9uIyNsltfOHG1Nxj3Mm18zSuouJkxilhr89sttQkgbLiSCi8MZiKTSKlJuyVXlzzN87c/s2048/02+Keller-Mic+Cabinet.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1626" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDy4F9jhWFq70UM0P8ZfKxLbeYJhXwQaUN7DbW1r4tPE1Uw9_S3FpxJWJV1t6nbyTwNIvebyG9uIyNsltfOHG1Nxj3Mm18zSuouJkxilhr89sttQkgbLiSCi8MZiKTSKlJuyVXlzzN87c/s320/02+Keller-Mic+Cabinet.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">WIRELESS CABINET</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The wireless cabinet contains the mic elements, wireless mic transmitters and any in-ear monitor units for wireless speakers. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkruyiSvNwt9R7Jqpqy6xAWmQk4-axDITDJNsi2Wy2C8__CQ_pJQPca8jgUaU8ARqu1ZWTlHePZpXAYjZZpmONi3s2u12rgAZ90kNNyo7SzUeQwI2CkNsyxTeEPg8fnu0VNu7zOn6yHuA/s2048/03+Keller-+WX+Cabinet.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkruyiSvNwt9R7Jqpqy6xAWmQk4-axDITDJNsi2Wy2C8__CQ_pJQPca8jgUaU8ARqu1ZWTlHePZpXAYjZZpmONi3s2u12rgAZ90kNNyo7SzUeQwI2CkNsyxTeEPg8fnu0VNu7zOn6yHuA/s320/03+Keller-+WX+Cabinet.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">WORKBENCH AREA</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The workbench is full functional and equipped with a soldering station, carbon filter and vices to assist in repairing equipment. The desktop also includes the test rack, which contains a cable tester, Clear-Com unit and mixer. Above the workbench is Akro-Mils drawers for various components, adapters and parts. To the right of the workbench is the repair shelving unit. The top shelf is for cable that needs repaired, the next shelf is for mics and smaller equipment. Below that shelf is for rack gear that needs repaired. The bottom shelf is for Clear-Com units and larger equipment.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ__Nf3Kr5D0T1qjK4KsNWM5ExuZEwCwIhwy4Hb6lOdgY6MVegSnSaAaVL457xyOECjLixqooHWWE2c1KnnKJy_CagYLtngPOlerLREAicziNSSQj7YW5pWk0KLHqVqbzNw8YS_79-wQ/s2048/04+Keller-+Workbench.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ__Nf3Kr5D0T1qjK4KsNWM5ExuZEwCwIhwy4Hb6lOdgY6MVegSnSaAaVL457xyOECjLixqooHWWE2c1KnnKJy_CagYLtngPOlerLREAicziNSSQj7YW5pWk0KLHqVqbzNw8YS_79-wQ/s320/04+Keller-+Workbench.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">SHELVING UNIT </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Along the back wall is the long storage shelving units that stores our computer monitors, Clear-Com units. Since we now do custom racks for each production, our rack making equipment is also in this unit. This includes panels, panel connectors, vents, lacer bars and blank panels. Above the rack making section is the tech table supplies and computer keyboards and mice. The very top is where the spools of various cables are stored to build new cables. There is still plenty of room and many empty bins to be able to store future equipment on this unit.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw4G_u0WROmhx_m8Ln4ORcMKD6tAN915cGxjEzsqr-Ek4rUocOnVvDUPSG5ovPK_dXGXlS5RbF7Vucf1cdU1owtRtuxpa16OK42KTL2BdiXsX7EJPMcKJWVlG_F72ogAFT0QC3H8bQ6U/s2048/05+Keller-+Shelving+Unit.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw4G_u0WROmhx_m8Ln4ORcMKD6tAN915cGxjEzsqr-Ek4rUocOnVvDUPSG5ovPK_dXGXlS5RbF7Vucf1cdU1owtRtuxpa16OK42KTL2BdiXsX7EJPMcKJWVlG_F72ogAFT0QC3H8bQ6U/s320/05+Keller-+Shelving+Unit.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">ELECTRONICS CABINET</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The electronics cabinet is for storing of the smaller networking switches (non-rackmountable), wireless routers, MIDI, Yamaha Cards and video equipment.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeDf8tZGbl_3XkFmNnKJ9Bu8mgWyD0MdLMcE8sfXgSGrqF0b16HsXDSo_KzXz-L3c_heUxKTWUo_So201uY7MrQ9nBLo61STJHBCEU_MClHHI25vcYvFUVyf9t7_0H4uYlr2Tv3IwJEI/s2048/06+Keller-Electronics+Cabinet.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeDf8tZGbl_3XkFmNnKJ9Bu8mgWyD0MdLMcE8sfXgSGrqF0b16HsXDSo_KzXz-L3c_heUxKTWUo_So201uY7MrQ9nBLo61STJHBCEU_MClHHI25vcYvFUVyf9t7_0H4uYlr2Tv3IwJEI/s320/06+Keller-Electronics+Cabinet.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">STORAGE BINS RACK</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The storage bins rack are for storing various equipment for easy access. This includes XLR turnaround cables, RS232 cables, adapter cables, Computer Cables and other miscellaneous cables. On the top is for connectors to make new cables and to the right is power adapters for equipment.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIfuCqoXzjpDoidqw8JeHDPYvIOyC6rQae2yXfRb70cg9LZo8nPX_sL3gYLBMjYBfpjJxM1Do_PspG24ozT50W0eq8hsVUjXQCcRE8emhUiV-3vPzarKYeTNpYIlJrj0fO6d3_GIEGEQ/s2048/07+Keller-Gray+Bin+racks.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIfuCqoXzjpDoidqw8JeHDPYvIOyC6rQae2yXfRb70cg9LZo8nPX_sL3gYLBMjYBfpjJxM1Do_PspG24ozT50W0eq8hsVUjXQCcRE8emhUiV-3vPzarKYeTNpYIlJrj0fO6d3_GIEGEQ/s320/07+Keller-Gray+Bin+racks.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">TOOL CHEST</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The tool chest has many drawers to keep tools organized for use in the Keller. These tools are are only for the Keller as we have a separate tool chest for load-ins and strikes. There are also empty drawers for future tool storage.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiOYsFyZ5OIQ2UU42OuWwgRZc_lQG0gIGepbHkrXPjeAExr5zfGMVetXMibgT5mlTNeKunJfEmNxWBXSHBfNi2mHI0Oh2SqC-lAq36szFw40OtboLXSbrKRh8nEP1M7Z8oV7Vidvjyh8/s2048/08+Keller-Tool+Box.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiOYsFyZ5OIQ2UU42OuWwgRZc_lQG0gIGepbHkrXPjeAExr5zfGMVetXMibgT5mlTNeKunJfEmNxWBXSHBfNi2mHI0Oh2SqC-lAq36szFw40OtboLXSbrKRh8nEP1M7Z8oV7Vidvjyh8/s320/08+Keller-Tool+Box.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: medium;">COMPUTER STATION</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The computer station is equipped with a Mac mini on the left and a PC on the right. This flexibility gives us the ability to run any software needed in the shop. Both computers are connected to the 42” HDTV so the display can be seen across the Keller. This is helpful in pull lists and checking out equipment. The Keyboards and mice are wireless, so it is also easy to move the keyboard around the Keller. The PC also has a wireless scanner which helps assist in the checking out and returning of equipment. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOa02NWPVxmvSIU2Pjs5g3vNqT1sc-kLQwyzNq_l6LbfOoAU6LYEEwh1viiVFrzfCuppJplnDSxlCr0SQrNCvANnzJ92Ud7sfYIWN5X-mrHVuMsjCXgg9J7fsFtLfj4wBPyP7YBarkPA/s2048/09+Keller-Computer+Station.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOa02NWPVxmvSIU2Pjs5g3vNqT1sc-kLQwyzNq_l6LbfOoAU6LYEEwh1viiVFrzfCuppJplnDSxlCr0SQrNCvANnzJ92Ud7sfYIWN5X-mrHVuMsjCXgg9J7fsFtLfj4wBPyP7YBarkPA/s320/09+Keller-Computer+Station.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So there you have it. You have witnessed the death of the SWIFT and the birth of the KELLER!</p>Jeff Polunashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10363533892576633462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-60123919049541704932020-12-15T16:12:00.000-08:002020-12-15T16:12:00.505-08:00Track and Field 2020<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: cambria; font-size: 13.2px;">In my Trends in Modern Sound Design class, we often do an iterative hot-potato project called Track and Field. It's an opportunity for the students to work on efficiency, conceptualization, and workflow. Here's how it works:</span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">1) On the first day, each student brings in a 30-second piece of audio of their own creation. The audio can be anything, from field recordings to original music to a short narrative. Students bring in both a rendered audio file and individual stems, and may spend no more than 60 minutes in the studio working on it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">2) Each submission gets passed to another student, then uses the original material as the starting point for their own work. Again, they must limit themselves to 60 minutes of studio time and 30 seconds in duration, but other than that, they can do anything they want. Students turn in both a rendered audio file and individual stems.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">3) We repeat that over and over, with a matrix set up in such a way that each student usually gets to work on each thread.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">This quarter, I had eleven students, so there are eleven threads. I've taken each thread and strung each iteration together in sequence, so you can hear how one thread changes as different designers get their hands on the material. Enjoy!</span> <div><br /></div><div>(side note: Thread 7 featured some prominent commercial music, so SoundCloud won't let me present it to you. Your loss!)<br /><div><br /></div><p>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1179255550%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-bjjp4RsGROB&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></p><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/vrojr" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="vrojr">vrojr</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/vrojr/sets/track-and-field-2020/s-bjjp4RsGROB" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Track and Field 2020">Track and Field 2020</a></div>
<div></div><p></p></div>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-84040083258907314672020-12-01T14:45:00.004-08:002020-12-10T10:54:49.446-08:00Teaching D-Mitri Remotely<p>Every fall, in our Digital Audio Systems class, I teach our first-year sound designers a two-week intensive overview on the <a href="https://meyersound.com/product/d-mitri/" target="_blank">Meyer Sound D-Mitri system</a>. D-Mitri is a powerful tool for live sound that combines the functions of a digital mixing console, a sound content playback device, a multi-channel sound spatialization tool, a room acoustics enhancement tool, and a show control hub all into one package. D-Mitri systems are found in large scale sound installations around the world, from theme parks to Broadway to more. The ubiquity and capabilities of D-Mitri are so large (as is the learning curve, frankly), that we typically have a number of second- and third-year students join us for the D-Mitri training to refresh their skills.</p><p>UCI has a small D-Mitri system, and we use it both as a teaching tool and in production. When we teach with it, we roll the rack into the <a href="http://sound.arts.uci.edu/places_meyer.html" target="_blank">Meyer Sound Design Studio</a> and patch eight D-Mitri outputs directly into our eight-channel loudspeaker system so that we can learn and work with it while experiencing its spatialization capabilities in real time. D-Mitri programming happens through software called CueStation, which functions in a client-server capacity. Multiple users can be logged into D-Mitri at the same time, each working on a different aspect of the programming. Our D-Mitri classes typically involve everyone in the studio, sitting at their laptops, all wired into D-Mitri with a nest of ethernet cables.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDIZiOTIL8RElLNFqvJbfGc441aG6LESGht2ZJdtf_O2FXm2PElcjbXY9ZPPjFuygcgU9ehIx9_sNL3BQNIJ9L34Du0vXsm_wV1xCS2AP9OhC7f4lvHOfiObvbV8vNaY4RmQPUbgsNUo/s630/IMG_MSDS_G203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="630" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDIZiOTIL8RElLNFqvJbfGc441aG6LESGht2ZJdtf_O2FXm2PElcjbXY9ZPPjFuygcgU9ehIx9_sNL3BQNIJ9L34Du0vXsm_wV1xCS2AP9OhC7f4lvHOfiObvbV8vNaY4RmQPUbgsNUo/w400-h266/IMG_MSDS_G203.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Meyer Sound Design Studio, in the before-times.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Of course, we can't do that this year. We could have delayed the training module until we were able to meet safely, but I don't know when that will be, and I'm honestly tired of delaying things because of the freaking pandemic. I didn't want to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, to paraphrase Voltaire.</p><p>So, in a pandemic, how do you teach a class that requires both client-server access AND the ability to perceive spatialized sound? In order to solve this, I needed to think through a number of different challenges. Here they are, how I thought through them, and how I eventually solved them.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Physical Locations</h2><p>We knew that the D-Mitri rack would need to live in the Meyer Sound Design Studio. The studio is currently cleared to be occupied by three people, but I was uncomfortable coming to campus for in-person class (I'm teaching all of my classes remotely this term). Plus, I know how important the refresher is to our more senior students, and I didn't want to cut them out of the experience. So, each student would be remote, logging in with their computers (with wired connections, preferably). I came into the studio to teach the classes so that I could take care of any issues that came up while teaching that I couldn't deal with remotely.</p><p>Even though I'd be teaching from the studio, I expected that I'd need to be able to remote into the host computer in order to tweak details from home. Early in the quarter, while testing, I found that if I were on campus, I could screenshare with the host computer (an iMac that we call Chalkboard), but when I returned home, I couldn't screenshare with Chalkboard at all. After consulting with our IT department, we determined that we needed a more robust screensharing tool. We installed<span style="color: red;"> <a href="https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/">TeamViewer</a> </span>on Chalkboard so that I could control the host computer, restart failed connections, etc. TeamViewer mostly worked like a champ, though there were a few times where I couldn't log on to Chalkboard at all. </p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Connecting CueStation to D-Mitri</h2><p>The easiest way to share a CueStation screen with the students was to just share my laptop's desktop via Zoom, but if I did that, they'd just be watching me click things, which is hardly useful when teaching a tool. The students needed to be able to control CueStation on their own in order to get their (virtual) hands on the (virtual) machine. I asked Richard Bugg with D-Mitri about how we might address this issue, and he noted that D-Mitri systems can be controlled from around the globe using a proxy server. The folks at D-Mitri use this feature to troubleshoot systems without having to fly halfway around the world, but it was just as useful for my needs. Richard walked me through the steps to set it up and spent some time doing some testing with me. The proxy server required Chalkboard to be running CueStation, but as long as it was running CueStation and the proxy server was active, I could have up to eight clients logged in at the same time. Sometimes it took a while to get all students onto the proxy server at the same time. The folks at Meyer use the proxy server to do maintenance on machines that are difficult to get to, not to teach D-Mitri to a class, so they don't typically have the user count that we did. </p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Monitoring</h2><p>So, we've figured out where everyone would be, and we figured out how everyone can control D-Mitri using a proxy server. How can we send spatialized sound to the students so that they can all monitor the D-Mitri environment well?</p><p>My first thought was to build a SpaceMap (D-Mitri's spatialization tool) replica of the Meyer Sound Design Studio's loudspeaker configuration, take the eight outputs of D-Mitri into a DAW, place them into a 5.1 session, stream the six-channel output over the net, and then have students monitor with 5.1 headphones. But, we ran into a number of challenges with this idea. First, I couldn't find a reliable six-channel sample-accurate streaming tool. We've been using <a href="https://audiomovers.com/wp/" target="_blank">AudioMovers</a>, which does a great job with two-channel signals, but in testing, multiple two-channel instances did not sync to each other (there are rumors of a >2-channel upgrade, but I haven't tested it yet). Also, six channels of audio is three times the bandwidth of two channels, which could impair networks in dorms and homes. Finally, I was hoping to avoid having to seek out funds to buy enough 5.1 headphones to outfit the class. So, back to the drawing board.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEk_jUSzGOQ-T8R7KSuGm2INnMSntnAbw7b04326DggQq5G9ZSZUYg5LbByXAuUVxmB9L_HL5-PI2I4QO8_Y7lqP_1e1ekNL8s5pC9IXyUY8jT2lgiogUCzS5gWsMCRIX3Vz9aI7jDdc/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.04.52+AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="SpaceMap of the Meyer Sound Design Studio" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEk_jUSzGOQ-T8R7KSuGm2INnMSntnAbw7b04326DggQq5G9ZSZUYg5LbByXAuUVxmB9L_HL5-PI2I4QO8_Y7lqP_1e1ekNL8s5pC9IXyUY8jT2lgiogUCzS5gWsMCRIX3Vz9aI7jDdc/w395-h400/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.04.52+AM.png" title="SpaceMap of the Meyer Sound Design Studio" width="395" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spacemap of the MSDS studio.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I solved my problem in the next iteration. I still took the eight channels from D-Mitri in to my DAW, but instead of mixing to 5.1, I mixed to binaural. I initially used <a href="https://www.noisemakers.fr/binauralizer/" target="_blank">Binauralizer by Noisemakers</a> to render each D-Mitri input relative to the loudspeaker's position in the room, though I shifted to the <a href="https://www.dearvr.com/products/dearvr-micro">dearVR Micro</a> plug-in due to better low frequency management. The DAW mixed all eight inputs together, and then I used AudioMovers to send a two-channel stream out to the students. I cut the audio bandwidth by two-thirds and removed the need for 5.1 headphones! <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKD4-xOcEKKhOrQ9qmCR2EJ1Aohv7-KI5oPSmyrtKxzehbqANmUb7Ho_cvdlX_mdV93pApX8_yi3y3kN2rztxavvCQQSSImlMH-020eVXeUD2nThR0bDVIg8VqYKGjxTxNECxC99gBiE/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.05.25+AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="ProTools Session Set-Up" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKD4-xOcEKKhOrQ9qmCR2EJ1Aohv7-KI5oPSmyrtKxzehbqANmUb7Ho_cvdlX_mdV93pApX8_yi3y3kN2rztxavvCQQSSImlMH-020eVXeUD2nThR0bDVIg8VqYKGjxTxNECxC99gBiE/w400-h225/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.05.25+AM.png" title="ProTools Session Set-Up" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ProTools handled the binaural routing.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The eight iterations of NoiseMakers, positioned relative to their corresponding spatialization position." border="0" data-original-height="1541" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-t0GzP8-BB7pK1WEQpj8xHkOfWkXCUvzDuNTIkypwS2Er-eojKX6Cc7uHqK52ZZztSlxoN0qS407y6gUAG65flB3avEAH56NPi_8fK_BjP_MFOrcVtIAzP1jF1-68zWomHUT6aW_gh4/w400-h301/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.17.40+AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="The eight iterations of NoiseMakers, positioned relative to their corresponding spatialization position." width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eight binauralization plug-ins spatialized the sound.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-t0GzP8-BB7pK1WEQpj8xHkOfWkXCUvzDuNTIkypwS2Er-eojKX6Cc7uHqK52ZZztSlxoN0qS407y6gUAG65flB3avEAH56NPi_8fK_BjP_MFOrcVtIAzP1jF1-68zWomHUT6aW_gh4/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-10-16+at+10.17.40+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Ultimately, the students were able to listen to high-quality spatialized audio with a relatively low latency. It wasn't the same as being in the room, but it was pretty close.<p></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Returning to the Studio</h2><p>We spent four two-hour sessions learning the basics (and some details) of D-Mitri remotely, and on the fifth and final day of the module, the two students and I met in person in the Meyer to review their work in person. They had created a spatialized sonic event from their apartments, but they presented their work in person, through the eight-loudspea<span style="color: #444444;">ker system that we have in the Meyer. This gave us an additional opportunity to discuss how well the binaural monitoring situation translated into actual meat-space monitoring. <span>Their work more or less translated well, but we note that monitoring a sound panned to the center of the room revealed itself differently in speakers than in headphones. Via headphones, all eight ambisonic channels were being addressed, which imaged the sound to the center of our image. But in the studio, having all eight speakers firing didn't image to the center. It either imaged EVERYWHERE (if you were sitting in the sweet spot in the room), or to whatever speaker you're closest to (if you're not in the sweet spot). </span></span></p><p><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts</h2><p>You won't catch me yearning to do this again if I have the option to teach in person, but overall, I'm pleased with the results. If I have to do this again, I'd need to address these issues:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Input source. I was using a single channel of audio from ProTools as an input source. I set ProTools to loop playback but sometimes the session would stop on its own. Next time, I'd use a different, more reliable input source. An FM radio would be a nice low-tech tool.</li><li>Remote Access via proxy server. It wasn't as solid as I would have liked it to be. In fact, on the first day of class, no one could connect except me. </li><li>AudioMovers wasn't designed to stream audio 24/7 for 3 weeks, and it occasionally failed. When that happened, I had to log into the computer, restart the transmission, and send the link around again. I had to do that once a day or so. Not a deal breaker. Just a thing to note.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Overall, this was a huge success! If you're thinking about doing something like this, let's talk! I'd be happy to share my thoughts and brainstorm other/better solutions!</div><p></p>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-62283789279604751432020-04-18T14:47:00.002-07:002020-04-18T14:47:43.025-07:00Welcome to the Class of 2023!So, we usually do this earlier in the academic year, but like everyone else on the planet, we got pre-occupied with Covid-19 response. Now that our 'new normal' is feeling settled, I'm able to get back to some of the things that weren't quite as pressing before.... which leads me to this:<br />
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Mike and I are proud to welcome our incoming first years students to the UCI Sound Design program: the class of 2023:<br />
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Costandina Daros is a soon-to-be graduate of Western Michigan University. Throughout her undergrad, she has worked on several productions in both the Theatre and Dance Departments, her favorites including Sound Design for Jesus Christ Superstar and Tribes. In her summers, she has worked at The Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre in Logan, Utah and The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown, Kentucky. In her time at UCI, she is looking forward to exploring new ways of using sound to enhance storytelling.<br />
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Aerik Harbert hails from West Virginia by way of Maryland, where he currently works at Towson University. Before his job at Towson, Aerik worked at the Hangar Theatre and Baltimore Center Stage. He is a graduate of U. Maryland Baltimore County.</div>
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<br />Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-90701133878359475402020-01-21T23:28:00.000-08:002020-01-21T23:32:32.735-08:00Field Trip: Warner Brothers Studios<br />
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Once you hear it, there’s no mistaking what you’re supposed to see – the oafish Patsy clomping together two coconut halves, always two steps behind Arthur as popularized in the 1975 cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But where did that idea come from? Where did this style of sound design emerge?</div>
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Sound effects first became incorporated into the “talkies” in the late 1920s with the work of audio pioneer Jack Foley. The field he developed – the art of creating and recording live sound effects (often with unconventional materials) in sync with a finished reel during the post-production process – revolutionized motion pictures in the early years of cinema and continues to permeate the industry today. This type of work is rarely required within the scope of traditional theatre (unless it is a specific choice for the production), so it was a real treat for the MFA sound design students when we had to opportunity to explore the sound stages at Warner Brothers Studios, taking an in depth look at one of their Foley facilities.</div>
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This field trip (coordinated by Professor Vincent Olivieri as part of DRAMA 255: Trends in Modern Sound Design) began on the cool morning of December 6, 2019. After we carpooled up to Burbank, we left our vehicles with the valets and made our way past the multiple ongoing studio tours to the commissary where we grabbed a quick bite to eat and some hot joe (side note: they have a killer breakfast spread). After a few minutes to take in the enticing aromas of scrambled eggs and bacon, we headed back outside to meet our host Alyson Lee Moore, an accomplished Foley artist with over thirty years of experience in the industry, half of which she has spent with Warner Brothers. She is also a two-time Emmy award-winning Foley artist (a recent win shared with the department for their work on HBO’s Barry) with numerous Golden Reel nominations from Motion Picture Sound Editors.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One "street" of the studio</td></tr>
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Alyson first took us around the various sets situated about the lot – a small township built out of scenic skeletons and optical illusions meant to be filmed from specific angles. Each unit is highly configurable – some even had false walls (they were quite convincing, even up close) creating striking visual partitions within the spaces. Everywhere we looked, there were full crews of carpenters, electricians, and stagehands hard at work preparing for the next set. At times, I felt a bit like a pedestrian on a construction site, but no one seemed to mind us: they are likely used to random people walking about. We also spotted some unique staged statements scattered about meant for quick selfies from tourists. We obviously had to take a few for ourselves…</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MFA Sound Design Students, 2019-2020</td></tr>
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Next, we headed into the museum on the lot where technical aspects from titles in the Warner Brothers catalog were on display – from the beautiful gowns worn by Lady Gaga in A Star is Born (2018) to a scenic reproduction of Central Perk from Friends (1994-2004) or the forced perspective table used in The Hobbit (2012). Towards the end of our stroll through the museum we exited off into a small enclosed room. Here, the audio from the film Gravity (2013) was played in a stemmed format so that we could listen to the sound effects, recorded dialogue, and soundtrack independently. Afterwards, we listened to all three together to hear how the tracks were crafted to complement each other – the spatialized mixing in ProTools really brought everything to life. We concluded in, where else? The gift shop!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costume pieces and props from <i>A Star Is Born </i>(2018)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many stages located on the lot</td></tr>
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Next, Alyson took us around for a peek at some of the various sound stages while we waited for the working Foley artists to go to lunch (we didn’t want to disturb them while they were working). There were dozens of various sizes (some akin to aircraft hangars), and most of them had full crews within loading in the next production or striking the previous one. Each stage has a unique placard located next to the entrance with a comprehensive list every title that had been worked on in that space. Then, we meandered through the main properties storage facility on-site which, to me, looked more like the best stocked antique store that you could ask for. Alyson said that this was a frequent haunt for her, as many of the items required for Foley could normally be considered props. We finally came full circle, ending up back at the commissary where we departed for the recently vacated Foley studio.</div>
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The Foley studio, which was underground in the post-production facility, was comprised of a main room where all of the actual Foley would take place, a kitchenette-style area with large tubs for water work, a smaller side room dedicated for storage, and a control room complete with studio-grade recording equipment. From Alyson’s description, three artists would be working in the facility for a given project – two Foley artists and a mix engineer. She also let us in on some of the more… unique sounds that she has had to come up with over her career, like the use of semi-frozen gelatin to capture the likeness of footsteps on an alien planet. The main space was full of odds and ends (all noisemakers), a pit full of sand, gravel and debris, and some great shotgun microphones. After she fielded our questions for a bit, we had a chance to make some noise of our own. Then, we headed upstairs towards the daylight and contemplated lunch. </div>
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As the day ended, we headed out with Alyson to one of our favorite cafes right as an afternoon downpour swept over the city. We spoke more with her about some of the specifics of her work, but also what she enjoyed doing in her free time, ongoing hobbies, and the ever-present question of work/life balance. Something that I found insightful is that although longer hours are sometimes inevitable, her daily schedule was fairly regular with hours from around 8 am to 5 pm. After the rain let up a bit, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Irvine.</div>
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All in all, it was a fantastic day full of spectacle and even more insight into a boundlessly creative line of work. Throughout the tour, one descriptor kept coming to my mind that perfectly encapsulated the career and underlined its inherent connection to live theatre - <span style="text-align: right;">resourcefulness.</span></div>
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I’m incredibly grateful that we had a fantastic quarter in our Trends class last fall and that so much of it was able to be spent out in the field or exploring other industries within sound design; this final excursion was the perfect cherry on top.<span style="text-align: right;"></span></div>
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Biggest of thank yous to Vincent Olivieri, Alyson Dee Moore, and all the wonderful folks at Warner Brothers.</div>
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Photos by Garrett Gagnon, Vincent Olivieri, and Meghan Roche.</div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com03400 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505, USA34.1521337 -118.33663434.0470477 -118.4979955 34.2572197 -118.1752725tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-8795661820946733932020-01-21T17:55:00.001-08:002020-01-21T18:04:30.319-08:00Field Trip: Backstage Disneyland<style type="text/css">
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<span class="s1">When I told friends and family that my class was going to get to go on a backstage tour of Disneyland to learn about their audio & other tech systems, I think they may have thought I was reading them a page from my dream journal. I have had a longstanding love of theme park history and design that started when I was a kid visiting Disneyland--asking Cast Members (the Disney term for "employees") annoying questions, using terrible dial-up internet to scour the ‘net for ride show scripts, reading every book on Imagineering that I could, and eventually keeping lists and notes and spreadsheets about how the park has changed over time and how it might operate. (Okay, maybe it was a little bit of an obsession. It's fine.) </span><br />
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<span class="s1"><i>(Ah, I should quickly interject here that I'll be using a lot of parentheses in the post ahead--I was perhaps a touch too excited in revisiting the trip & wound up with a lot of vaguely-related sidenotes...sorry about that!)</i></span><br />
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Getting to combine theatre tech with this longstanding fascination is something I was looking forward to for weeks, so I am happy to report that when the day finally came, it somehow managed to surpass my already-high expectations.<br />
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Because Disney has some somewhat strict policies re: secrecy of backstage magic, there’s a limit to what I can share, but here’s a breakdown (sorta) of the day:</div>
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<li><span class="s1">We started out at TDA (Team Disney Anaheim, a giant complex of what seemed to be primarily administrative buildings) and met our host, Jerry, who is an Entertainment Manager for Technical Services and whose history with the company goes back almost 25 years across a variety of roles! (We also discovered that I have photographic proof of having met him while he performed one of these roles in the late 90s, which was WILD, but due to Disney Magic reasons I’m not sure if I can share much more about that here, unfortunately…</span></li>
<li>We saw where the fireworks get shot off every night behind ToonTown--for the last 15 years or so, Disneyland has been using a somewhat unique technology to set off their fireworks which significantly reduces both the smoke and noise produced by the show. (If you’re at all interested in the history of their fireworks show and how they used to be set off, as well as how Disney pioneered the use of music synchronization with pyrotechnics, I highly recommend giving this podcast episode a listen: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1DRHSCuqyI" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span class="s2">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1DRHSCuqyI</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">) </span></li>
<li>We also saw where the parade floats are all kept when not “on-stage” and learned how audio gets distributed to (and from) them. (There were a number of Entertainment and Imagineering employees also gathered in the warehouse to test out a future parade addition, but that one is definitely going to need to stay a secret for now.)</li>
<li>The very first steps we took “on-stage” were somewhere most of us hadn’t had a chance to see yet: the brand-new Galaxy’s Edge expansion! It was gorgeous, the complexity of the audio alone was kind of mind-blowing, it really contributes a lot to the storytelling the land is able to pull off. I got to talk to a Stormtrooper who snuck up on me and accused me of having Rebel <span style="text-align: center;">sympathies (<i>and</i> who, we learned, uses a crazy sophisticated system to talk to people in a way that allows them to personalize every single interaction while keeping a consistent voice, more Disney magic I probably shouldn’t divulge here) AND try the infamous Blue Milk. (It was $8, VERY sweet, and had a texture that turned out to be deeply polarizing among those who sampled it.) </span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backstage photos at Disney are very against the rules, so this is, unfortunately, <br />
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<li>We visited the venue for Mickey’s Magical Map in the large outdoor Fantasyland Theatre venue (which, fun fact, initially started out as a teen night club in the 1980s, more info on that here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgJ0N99eGg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span class="s2">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgJ0N99eGg</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">) and got to take a peek into the booth of the theatre before watching the show, chatting a bit with the show’s audio technician and stage manager. It was a good show, but because of the noise of the nearby passing train and our lovely VIP seats (which had our backs against a pretty reflective wall) the overall mix of the show was pretty loud. It took us a minute to recover. (I personally loved watching the little kids get totally enthralled in the action onstage, though.)</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the show to start! (I think? I am just now noticing that Garrett and <br />
Jack are very focused on <i>something</i> up front...)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Lunch! We took a break from walking around the park, and grabbed a bite backstage at one of the Cast Member eateries backstage.</li>
<li>AUDIO CENTRAL. Okay, again, not sure how much I can divulge here, but the bulk of the audio for the park (especially for parades and other outdoor shows, area music, etc.) is controlled from one very fancy room sitting right above one of the guest-accessible levels of a Main Street, USA building. And when I say fancy, I mean that it sort of resembled a TV show art director’s idea of what a theme park command center might look like--shades all drawn, two people behind glass at giant control desks with many monitors flashing different numbers and graphs, a wall of video feeds and light-up maps of both Disneyland and Disney’s Californa Adventure…et cetera. (I just found an old Disney Parks Blog post about Audio Central that is relevant here, though it is 5 years old and they have since doubled the size of the facility and apparently updated a ton of the gear. Check it out: <a href="https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/03/behind-the-sounds-inside-audio-central-at-disney-california-adventure-park/">https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/03/behind-the-sounds-inside-audio-central-at-disney-california-adventure-park/</a>)</li>
<li>Backstage at Frozen in the Hyperion Theatre in Disney’s California Adventure! Because it was a “dark day,” we did not get to see any action happening, but it did mean that we got to walk around the entire theatre without worrying about a huge time crunch. We saw the set-pieces and crazy costumes backstage (sidenote: the troll costumes are TERRIFYING without any actors inside of them), learned how some of their very intense automated lighting tracking worked, and walked all around the house of the theatre--clapping and marveling at how remarkably acoustically dead of a space the designers of the theater managed to make.</li>
<li>Finally, we got back to Disneyland and walked through the park to see parts of the Christmas parade that was running at the time. It was pretty neat to see in action all of the technical elements we had even learning about all day, and a nice way to put a bow on the end of the day.</li>
</ul>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This blog post is now approximately 4 times longer than I was told it should be, so I’m going to go ahead and wrap things up now. TL:DR? Theme parks are very cool and very technologically complicated! And we got to go learn about it for a day!</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
I leave you now with a photo of these two outrageously photogenic Disneyland ducks:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmS6VRxOIy-YcN19lKNz-ozj-sV2dZxt326_txAfCMop-MWEGUOKM3esZQqhuLEXe6GHqRwj0U6bL_W_ZfnGx6RqhDHpqu01amSioX1Nek6g9uG_YINpi1YG4MQso-oBVTNzR3zHnoms/s1600/oJ5AWyrIQEieG1Vft48ucw_thumb_4bc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmS6VRxOIy-YcN19lKNz-ozj-sV2dZxt326_txAfCMop-MWEGUOKM3esZQqhuLEXe6GHqRwj0U6bL_W_ZfnGx6RqhDHpqu01amSioX1Nek6g9uG_YINpi1YG4MQso-oBVTNzR3zHnoms/s400/oJ5AWyrIQEieG1Vft48ucw_thumb_4bc2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's amazing how advanced Disney's Audio-Animatronic tech <br />
has gotten over the years!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Meghan R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11810493597423575960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-64939755156818349822020-01-19T23:30:00.002-08:002020-01-19T23:33:55.129-08:00CompanyLots of Company! Life is Company! Love is Company!<br />
<br />
...Sondheim wrote a hell of a show in <i>Company</i>. The unique Sondheim harmonic structures, overlapping vocal lines, and thick orchestration do not escape this show. I have only had the privilege of designing a Sondheim show twice before (<i>Gypsy</i> and <i>Into the Woods</i>), so I was thrilled at the opportunity when I learned I was going to be designing <i>Company</i> as the season opener.<br />
<br />
When I was thinking through an outline for my design process, there were a couple specific challenges to overcome and goals to meet.<br />
<br />
First of all, the show was in the Irvine Barclay Theatre (IBT), which is a fantastic 750-seat proscenium theatre, and our usual venue for the season opening musical. However, as this venue is also its own business entity, we don't get to call the shots in the same way as we might in a UCI educational venue. We couldn't configure the equipment with as much flexibility. We had very strict hours during which we could work; being forced to leave the theatre at midnight during tech week is both a wonderful and terrible thing! And lastly, we didn't have free access to the venue until load-in, so a lot more guessing and relying on CAD drawings are necessary to put the design together before load in.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jfo4wmpPVVthSlSNv8nShGBQoRAHO1Y38KVrAdxLm47XcU55WxYRivRjxqrZ-h8osg0CbU1jGaHQigPzcAws7U_P4ke2_kMHNBvVyBdMsaRrlCT11jvIf0nIprB7XBpQ9N0x-voU5RY/s1600/IMG_20191030_165721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jfo4wmpPVVthSlSNv8nShGBQoRAHO1Y38KVrAdxLm47XcU55WxYRivRjxqrZ-h8osg0CbU1jGaHQigPzcAws7U_P4ke2_kMHNBvVyBdMsaRrlCT11jvIf0nIprB7XBpQ9N0x-voU5RY/s320/IMG_20191030_165721.jpg" width="320" /></a>Secondly, some of my design goals caused some challenges around what gear our shop was able to supply. In a venue the size of the IBT, I wanted arrays, rather than point-source boxes, as my main system. And, being a musical theatre production, we used a left-center-right speaker position as is typical of most amplified musicals. Our main line array cabinet of choice at UCI is the Meyer M1D. We have 16 of these boxes, so I opted to use 8 per side for the L and R hangs. We were then fortunate to receive a little extra funding and rent the newer Meyer LINA system as the center hang (10 LINA cabinets).<br />
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<br />
My overarching goal of this design was to create a great sounding, reliable musical theatre system. Immersive audio and surround sound are hugely popular explorations in modern sound design, but for this show I wanted to instead focus that energy on perfecting the fundamentals. The show also did not call for a huge amount of additional sound content and effect. I added some NYC soundscapes from time to time, as well as a few incidentals where called for, but for the most part, anything more complex started to step on the score's toes.<br />
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The Barclay has a few in-house QSC KLA12 boxes per side, but given some of the restrictions mentioned above, we had much more control bringing in our own M1D arrays. Being able to rent the LINA array for the center vocal system meant that I had an amazing level of quality to work with. The groundplan, section, and array drawings show where I ended up with the system.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeBjHQFzZ7CN8d_DZzQNqFMs_SFD-VFTzjPo0nkWyzGYrDyd6uLU8d7jzax2k0v_5Vye0iVD2Nr7_PQIPbJPOVJXXv5iz6AobhLAqEf2p6ewO50b3wY1RtTcuLCKKvwW6ojSu6VQ2Nok/s1600/COM+Final+Drafting+V1+10-20-19_Page_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeBjHQFzZ7CN8d_DZzQNqFMs_SFD-VFTzjPo0nkWyzGYrDyd6uLU8d7jzax2k0v_5Vye0iVD2Nr7_PQIPbJPOVJXXv5iz6AobhLAqEf2p6ewO50b3wY1RtTcuLCKKvwW6ojSu6VQ2Nok/s320/COM+Final+Drafting+V1+10-20-19_Page_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rm0sXCeg9YNHFv-AYeBo9j2CiuhmSaqTWOucO2KAMFpkfmYDXm2UTi1lNx-T0We97KYP08DkTdO17I1YOKp48Bbel8bj1zao2RZ_KMLF1Vq6lbn9fFH4eMqbApMo48zevZ1lUlUwvik/s1600/COM+Final+Drafting+V1+10-20-19_Page_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rm0sXCeg9YNHFv-AYeBo9j2CiuhmSaqTWOucO2KAMFpkfmYDXm2UTi1lNx-T0We97KYP08DkTdO17I1YOKp48Bbel8bj1zao2RZ_KMLF1Vq6lbn9fFH4eMqbApMo48zevZ1lUlUwvik/s320/COM+Final+Drafting+V1+10-20-19_Page_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, the system also includes front fills, balcony fills, and "side fills," which were two Meyer UPJs hung immediately next to the LINA array, but focused toward the far outside sections of the orchestra level closer to the stage. This is the area the LINA didn't quite cover within a 6db tolerance. With those UPJs and the front fills (Meyer UPMs), the orchestra level had even coverage everywhere except for about 4-6 seats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84d1x1gl8MeoHrtWco0Uj3o81LFOEvHThfhAfoYFPW_REeLrbkrZbk0gsM4Xo01kI-wSYys77SEohaE5Ph9EwwIgh7llKWe_yjqORFysM5v9wWzg5-09CszYvgpRkc9B4B3zO_UAA0uc/s1600/IMG_20191104_165914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84d1x1gl8MeoHrtWco0Uj3o81LFOEvHThfhAfoYFPW_REeLrbkrZbk0gsM4Xo01kI-wSYys77SEohaE5Ph9EwwIgh7llKWe_yjqORFysM5v9wWzg5-09CszYvgpRkc9B4B3zO_UAA0uc/s400/IMG_20191104_165914.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Arrays and front fills just after the truss went up.</span></td></tr>
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In the last year, we have also acquired a slew of new equipment to fold into our designs. The main impetus was the old and decrepit nature of our former large-format mixing console. The Avid VENUE from years past was falling apart physically, and becoming quickly outdated as an educational tool. We're now using an Allen & Heath dLive system, consisting of the dLive DM48 MixRack with S7000 surface, and several digital snakes (DX32 and DX168) for expansion. This system finally allows enough I/O to handle most modern designs without restriction. The following shot of the tech table shows the control software for the dLive system. It also shows the Allen & Heath IP8, which is an amazingly versatile fader bank that gives me control of the system in a much more intuitive way without being at the console.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFRSQiU2qumYw6G8Vng2rgvpzlsneVtzKqp77skHABHBMq6m6aV6Bdm7bulh2jZ1Le9RLD-KfkphLfmCxZx1VjRpru6vDygEGapWkzbOB-QqFQkBusGL-HZTc9lgecipeJFcv5EDOuM8/s1600/IMG_20191110_144523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFRSQiU2qumYw6G8Vng2rgvpzlsneVtzKqp77skHABHBMq6m6aV6Bdm7bulh2jZ1Le9RLD-KfkphLfmCxZx1VjRpru6vDygEGapWkzbOB-QqFQkBusGL-HZTc9lgecipeJFcv5EDOuM8/s400/IMG_20191110_144523.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The wireless mics used on performers were the Shure UHF-R series that have been so ubiquitous in the last decade (or two...). We were able to use DPA 4061 microphone elements on all of the UR1 body packs, double miking our lead, "Bobby," since he is so rarely offstage. The fantastic A2 crew, trained by assistant sound designer Kyle Causey, was always keeping tabs on the status and performance of each mic, such that we didn't have any major incidents during the run of the show. They were using Wavetool, which is on the screen of the iPad in the previous picture. It's a software that combines the RF monitoring of Wireless Workbench with audio monitoring capabilities to let them look and listen for each microphone on a computer, iPad, or iPod Touch anywhere on the deck. This was our first show using Wavetool, and it proved to be an awesome update to the A2 workflow here!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdWewv5WWUNYoaN5rJ4GLcNE8K8W_6FUwcl4WOzr20E61YoMUfaFR-C25C3oc7IbJM3T9ZwA3cQQAPdsNjJzstN-c3vYjsnshX4Mf3bu-ibV0Sdxm3GeSgWqh86b4qe6cR7q4G3EaBbY/s1600/IMG_20191110_144548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdWewv5WWUNYoaN5rJ4GLcNE8K8W_6FUwcl4WOzr20E61YoMUfaFR-C25C3oc7IbJM3T9ZwA3cQQAPdsNjJzstN-c3vYjsnshX4Mf3bu-ibV0Sdxm3GeSgWqh86b4qe6cR7q4G3EaBbY/s320/IMG_20191110_144548.jpg" width="320" /></a>Another purchase we've made in the last two years is Waves SoundGrid. This is an external FX processing server that loops into the console via an expansion card - it allows us to add any Waves plugins to the live effects chain in the console! In this case, I was able to use Waves plugins like their DeEsser, RVerb, TrueVerb, C6, and a few others to augment the limited processing the board can do. At the far end of the FOH table picture is the monitor with control software for SoundGrid. In front of the S7000 is our mixer/A1 JJ Margolis, who was thankfully able to put up with me during this whole process! The picture was candid for JJ but less so for Amin, our QLab operator.<br />
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The orchestra was the last major piece of the [sound] puzzle, and in this case, they were located on stage, between the NYC buildings and the actor platform. Having the new digital snakes with the Allen & Heath equipment made it so much easier to integrate the orchestra into the system. Because of the orchestra's location, there was a pretty large distance from them to the audience, so amplifying them and keeping their stage sound level under control was more manageable than I anticipated. The actors had the advantage of being closer to the orchestra at all times (though we still used a full stage monitor system). And, I actually found it much easier to get a consistent orchestra/vocal blend throughout the audience since the orchestra was not immediately in front of the front row! I didn't snap any up-close pictures of the orchestra, but this might give an idea of their relation to the audience:<br />
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I was lucky to have mixed the season opening musical the year prior, <i>Legally Blonde</i>, with Jack Bueermann as designer. That show was also in the Barclay, so I was able to get a grasp on how to work best in the space and what might work best when it came around to designing <i>Company</i>. Because of the extra obstacles that working in the Barclay introduces, I tried to be ahead of the game in as many areas as possible. I was able to start thinking about system design options the previous Spring, and got the bulk of the drafting completed before we came back to the Fall quarter. I was met with a constant feeling that I was missing something, or something was bound to go wrong, but in the end the preparation paid off, and the team was able to get every piece of the puzzle together. I was able to enjoy working in the Barclay and felt rewarded by the success of the show.<br />
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Assistant: Meghan Roche<br />
Assistant: Kyle Causey<br />
Mix engineer: JJ MargolisGarrett Gagnonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00551648517483699783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-87983843915527110472020-01-15T21:51:00.000-08:002020-01-16T05:45:24.913-08:00Field Recording, Crystal Cove State Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT61J3zZkYGUOtT0ZUeJSzReXbu3HAgFIuvEenTwiwE7BkAFO1oJZ64qU2YTWdRYe2YE0C_iDHyjyqNxXKvotV6HKAN3HOAkrC_UF43dq3Uap1aeHYfpy_80WjOi2Z2M2oxGjfhZNQ2M4/s1600/IMG_3508.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT61J3zZkYGUOtT0ZUeJSzReXbu3HAgFIuvEenTwiwE7BkAFO1oJZ64qU2YTWdRYe2YE0C_iDHyjyqNxXKvotV6HKAN3HOAkrC_UF43dq3Uap1aeHYfpy_80WjOi2Z2M2oxGjfhZNQ2M4/s400/IMG_3508.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZELFuwJTAgdj_akaDd53toAc5OH0veaZ6NvWxhJkRX3JyfUVvP14myIb4z8rYPH0Hv6-M79zhHyVi0Qa9MIKnuCF32Vr3pyi7w3LlZIX0P3iJGtY4vbiOB0SyL9pwkxsRDWbmcTUrlQ/s1600/DSC_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZELFuwJTAgdj_akaDd53toAc5OH0veaZ6NvWxhJkRX3JyfUVvP14myIb4z8rYPH0Hv6-M79zhHyVi0Qa9MIKnuCF32Vr3pyi7w3LlZIX0P3iJGtY4vbiOB0SyL9pwkxsRDWbmcTUrlQ/s400/DSC_0070.jpg" width="400" /></a>Last fall, I took the students in my Trends in Modern Sound Design class (all six MFA designers, and a few music PhD students) to Crystal Cove State Beach to do some field recording. We divided the class into three groups: one group made b-format and spaced pair recordings, one group made co-incident pair stereo recordings, and one group made close-up mono and other recordings. We talked about how to plan for a field recording trip, but each group of students had to plan, prep, pack, and carry their own gear.<br />
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We started out at the central section of the beach, where there are few cafes and lots of people. Some groups chose to wander far from the people to get some isolated sounds, but others chose to embrace the public and get some 'folks at the seaside' recordings.<br />
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After that, we packed up and drove the north edge of the park, which was virtually deserted except for a few seagulls. We hoped to get some sounds of sea spray on rocks, but the surf was decidedly down that day. Oh well. At least we got a great sunset!<br />
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The student are now madly editing the sound effects and editing metadata. Once that post-production process is complete, the sounds and metadata will be uploaded to our sound effects server so that the UCI Sound Design community can have access to it in perpetuity. Once all that is done, I'll share some examples here!<br />
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<br />Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-75592528058952275982020-01-09T14:11:00.000-08:002020-01-16T05:45:56.196-08:00Track and Field 2019<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">In my Trends in Modern Sound Design class, we often do an iterative hot-potato project called Track and Field. It's an opportunity for the students to work on efficiency, conceptualization, and workflow. Here's how it works:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">1) On the first day, each student brings in a 30-second piece of audio of their own creation. The audio can be anything, from field recordings to original music to a short narrative. Students bring in both a rendered audio file and individual stems, and may spend no more than 60 minutes in the studio working on it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">2) Each submission gets passed to another student, then uses the original material as the starting point for their own work. Again, they must limit themselves to 60 minutes of studio time and 30 seconds in duration, but other than that, they can do anything they want. Students turn in both a rendered audio file and individual stems.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">3) We repeat that over and over, with a matrix set up in such a way that each student gets to work on each thread.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;">This quarter, I had nine students, so there are nine threads. I've taken each thread and strung each iteration together in sequence, so you can hear how one thread changes as different designers get their hands on the material. Enjoy!</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982721&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982712&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982706&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982700&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982694&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982682&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982676&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982670&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe>
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/740982658&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="40%"></iframe><br />
<br />Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-79761279236481079782019-01-24T14:55:00.005-08:002019-01-24T14:56:16.556-08:00Are you a Sound Designer/Engineer headed to USITT in Louisville in March? This year, Sound will be included in the Portfolio review sessions, so if you want to schedule a time for some pros to give you advice/feedback, here's your chance! <a href="https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084ca9ab28a0f49-sound5">Apply here</a>!<br />
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Anyone is welcome to present, at any level of your career. Maybe you're prepping a portfolio for grad school, or maybe you're prepping a portfolio for a tenure review? Maybe you're about to graduate and want to give your portfolio a last bit of polish before hitting the job market?<br />
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Maybe you're just looking for a little career advice?<br />
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Sign up using the link if you want to present. I'll be looking at each presenter and assigning them a pair of respondents based on what the presenter is interested in.<br />
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And, if you are interested in being a volunteer respondent, please email me at olivieri@uci.edu.Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-89371366953258542592018-12-12T12:17:00.001-08:002018-12-12T12:17:42.533-08:00Track and Field, 2018In my Trends in Modern Sound Design class, we sometimes do an iterative hot-potato project called Track and Field. It's an opportunity for the students to work on efficiency, conceptualization, and workflow. Here's how it works:<br />
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1) On the first day, each student brings in a 30-second piece of audio of their own creation. The audio can be anything, from field recordings to original music to a short narrative. Students bring in both a rendered audio file and individual stems, and may spend no more than 60 minutes in the studio working on it.<br />
2) Each submission gets passed to another student, then uses the original material as the starting point for their own work. Again, they must limit themselves to 60 minutes of studio time and 30 seconds in duration, but other than that, they can do anything they want. Students bring in both a rendered audio file and individual stems.<br />
3) We repeat that over and over, with a matrix set up in such a way that each student gets to work on each thread.<br />
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This quarter, I had ten students, so there are ten threads. I've taken each thread and strung each iteration together in sequence, so you can hear how one thread changes as different designers get their hands on the material. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542376516%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-oe88i&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542376495%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-8KZJJ&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542381133%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-ZnQo1&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380914%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-uKxnw&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380911%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-amjbh&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380893%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-WfTjR&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380875%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-0NNLh&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380854%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-JKBo0&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542380812%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-y8OSm&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/542376390%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-5z2Ta&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe>
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Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-7591679008118505122018-12-11T10:19:00.002-08:002018-12-11T10:19:47.948-08:002018 Film Sound ProjectsEvery fall, all of the Sound Design MFA students take a course called Trends in Modern Sound Design. The structure of the course is very loose, designed so that we can examine interesting avenues of sound design without having to stick to a strict course outline.<br />
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Over the past few years, one of the projects that I've done with the students is a film project. The class is divided into groups, and each group is given two 60-second clips of film. One of the clips has more dialogue, and the other has more sound content. The student groups are tasked with replacing all of the audio in the clips. This includes re-recording dialogue, recording and/or editing sounds, and creating and/or editing music. It's a big project that takes most of the quarter, and while each group is responsible for their own final product, they help each other out with big foley sessions, dialogue sessions, and walla sessions. Towards the end of the class, we watch the videos and engage in a discussion of the final work.<br />
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We don't spend a lot of time in class preparing for the project. We talked a little bit about spotting (ie identifying sonic events) and DAW organization for film projects, but this project really is designed to encourage the students to find their own solutions. And, when we review the final work, the conversation is generally more about the creative impact of their work than about the technical implementation.<br />
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Here are the videos from this year's project! (and, I should note that I did not secure rights to use these film cli<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ps. All the work was done for educational purposes only. If you are or represent the rightsholder and want me to remove the clips, please let me know and I'll do so immediately).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Special thanks to the members and friends of the UCI Sound community who lent their voices to this project: Ezra Anisman, Jack Bueermann, Hailey Byerly, Toni Fajt, Garrett Gagnon, Joanna Hui, Caroline Jones, Joseph King, Hunter Long, Sophia Metcalf, Hunter Moody, Joaquin Palting, Malik Proctor, Andrew J. Tarr.</span><br />
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<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303763355" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303763355">True Romance (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303763321" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303763321">Triplets of Belleville (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303763278" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303763278">Hacksaw Ridge (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303763191" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303763191">Get Out (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303763109" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303763109">The Conversation (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/303762945" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/303762945">Arrival (UCI Sound replacement project)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user8497592">Vincent Olivieri</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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</style>Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-4551711543325129122018-06-12T12:06:00.000-07:002018-06-12T12:06:22.069-07:00Sound Art: final projectsThis term, I taught a class in Sound Art. The course itself lent itself to self-direction. Each week, students would read for an hour or two on a sound art-related topic of their choosing. When the class met, we would incorporate their readings into the discussion. Our topics ran broad, from the definition of sound art, to social responsibilities (or lack thereof) of artists, to the role of virtuosity in artmaking, to the technical tools for implementation of sound art.<br />
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Additionally, students worked on three projects, the last of which was a sound art piece of their own creation. Last week, the students presented their final work. I won't go into the details of the pieces, except to say that they had a huge range. One student created a balloon-festooned sound walk. One placed contact microphones on a campus bridge and used the inputs to create new content. One created an interactive sculpture using mirrored cubes, hyperdirectional loudspeakers, and QR codes. The pieces were varied and very interesting. Here are some photos!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwICZQfLFMJNNqfivAOicWS7WTeLyTcHDy_CisP0zyi_oJ4XczApKzYkfzb486Z9RUYj9ZlpxUycK2XVPlJzJ3MLyLUy6xve9heVxUenAJHxwAZ066-etUJB0rdA4af7sjtWIVQcq5kNs/s1600/IMG_4347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwICZQfLFMJNNqfivAOicWS7WTeLyTcHDy_CisP0zyi_oJ4XczApKzYkfzb486Z9RUYj9ZlpxUycK2XVPlJzJ3MLyLUy6xve9heVxUenAJHxwAZ066-etUJB0rdA4af7sjtWIVQcq5kNs/s400/IMG_4347.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Vincent Olivierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928347242320155010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949681345983943846.post-74436275364131175372018-04-24T21:27:00.000-07:002018-04-25T17:55:20.717-07:00PLUMAS NEGRAS - Thesis in ReviewJust over a month ago, we opened and closed our production of Juliette Carrillo’s Plumas Negras, a beautiful 3-act play about three women in one family with each act focusing on an individual and their respective struggles they faced in their time periods. This show was a very large undertaking that involved a lot of new challenges that I had never encountered before, and I’d like to share my process, thoughts, and reflections with all of you now that I’ve had time to reflect but really it's more like take a break from AMERICAN IDIOT and come back to this.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Vincent Olivieri</td></tr>
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<b><u>The music</u></b>:<br />
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From the beginning of the process, I had started talking with Juliette about the importance and the function of the composed music within the world of the play. It had to serve two functions: carry the emotional weight of the characters by creating character themes that intertwined to form a larger melodic theme that we come to know as “Plumas Negras”, and use voices to create the distinction between the two different worlds we have presented within the play: the ancestral world, a world inhabited by souls long gone from the world of the living who take the form of crows, and the world of the living. One further point was that no music was to be electronic - all of the sounds used to create the music are to be natural, acoustic, of this earth. In pursuing this theme of earthiness and naturalism that remained a constant theme throughout the entire design process for all departments, we had landed on the decision to have all of the music be played live. I had never composed music for live musicians to play, so this was definitely going to be a challenge.<br />
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Research process for music and the design of the show became an ethnomusicological foray into exploring traditional Mexican and Mexican-American music and instruments. Given that we traverse time periods throughout the show, genres and musical tastes shift so it was wonderful to be able to listen to traditional folk music, moving through norteños, corridors, mariachi, and banda to name a few genres.<br />
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In the past but largely unrelated to this show, Juliette had worked with renowned South American harpist <a href="https://www.alfredo-rolando-ortiz.com/">Alfredo Rolando Ortiz</a> (who teaches in Corona, CA) and entertained the idea of having harp within our show musically in some form. I took this point of inspiration and delved into uses of the harp within South American countries to start and continuously moved north to uses within Mexico. Having found the traditional folk ensemble of conjunto jarocho, I used this as a starting point for one avenue of composition and used the harp to represent the ancestral world of our crows. Guitar to represent the world of the living came easily - it is an instrument that is one of the most accessible to learn, and true to form, one could find a field worker playing melodies on their sun-beaten guitar taking recluse in shade from the sun during a break from a day’s work, much like the world of Plumas. Two of our wonderful cast members, Ernest Figueroa and Amilcar Juaregui (AJ), within the show played guitar, and Juliette had<span id="goog_1401640265"></span><span id="goog_1401640266"></span> asked Alfredo if he would be able to perform, but due to scheduling conflicts he was unable to; however, unbeknownst to us, he recommended one of his students with whom he had great trust in, <a href="https://www.nagelvisdesigns.com/">Nina Agelvis</a>, who studied here at UCI perform instead (who also happened to be our Honors undergraduate in Lighting Design!).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harp: Nina Agelvis - "Crow's Lullaby"<br />
Photo: Fernando Penaloza</td></tr>
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I had begun by throwing proverbial spaghetti at the wall for musical ideas of the main theme, taking inspiration from traditional folk melodies, to popular genres, to soundtracks such as Disney Pixar’s Coco (which is a fantastic film and you all should go watch it if you haven’t seen it. Or go watch it again and cry because it’s that good). What I ended up landing on was a mix of all of these, creating the threads for each character theme to expand upon as we progress through the show so that when the theme reprises at the end, it will resonate that much stronger within the hearts and ears of each audience member. Think of the music from Disney Pixar’s UP, and the use of the theme to highlight events of both happiness, sadness, and anything in between so that over the course of the entire film the music carries the weight of the narrative, taking the listener on a musical journey similar to that of the characters. It is this concept that has formed the core of my compositional process, and this production was no exception to that model.<br />
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I was in rehearsal essentially everyday for the last 3 weeks leading up to tech, working and developing the music with Nina, and our wonderful guitarists, and seeing how the action on stage blended with what I was trying to do musically. Without this level of interaction, the music would have fallen flat for sure, and wouldn’t have become another voice within the world.<br />
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I also had the task of composing a folk melody, sung a cappella. The lyrics were written by Meliza Gutierrez, the actress playing Concha within the show, and I referenced slight melodic themes found from other pieces within the show to create the melody we hear. This piece is heard twice in the show, at the beginning with only half of the melody heard, and at the end of the show where we hear the entire melody.<br />
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As far as existing period music found within the show, popular music of the time was selected with the thought in mind of what these workers would listen to, and I asked each cast member if there were any songs that their parents or grandparents would listen to, drawing on popular artists from the time. It was definitely a heartwarming and touching feeling to see families in the audience remember songs that their parents or grandparents might have listened to, perhaps in a similar way to how our characters did. These pieces played out of practicals on the set, a gramophone, and a transistor radio in their respective time periods.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crows inspecting the phonograph. Photo: Fernando Penaloza</td></tr>
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This piece in particular found its way into our hearts:<br />
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L51Pi3vy2o<br />
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In the end, I had composed 7 pieces for the show. But I must give the utmost of praise and gratitude to Ernest, Amilcar, and Nina. I created skeletons of each guitar piece, with the intentions musically in tact but left the true voice of the music to be carried by the performers themselves for their musicality and knowledge of their instruments were far greater than anything I could ever hope to achieve on my own. This wonderful collaboration allowed the music of the show to really come alive as it was given life from multiple people. All of the music in order can be found here:<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/505550352&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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<b><u>The System</u></b>:<br />
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The space for this show was the Robert Cohen theatre, our small black box space able to be configured in any way. And in every way it went. It started out with a three-quarter thrust, to shifting to the playing space in one corner, back to three-quarter thrust, and eventually landing in the alley configuration seen. Regardless of the configuration however, my main design intention was to take advantage of a more realistic sound spatialization and changing the acoustic character of the space using a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VRAS">Virtual Room Acoustic System</a> (VRAS), no integrated as part of Meyer Sound's <a href="https://meyersound.com/product/constellation/">Constellation</a> system. Thus, aside from the main address system, the space was treated largely the same.<br />
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In order to achieve realistic spatialization, movement, and VRAS, I had to go with Meyer Sound’s Digital Audio Platform - Matrix-3 system. We have the newer D-Mitri system here at UCI but not nearly enough outputs nor the processor for VRAS to achieve the design intentions of the show. Thus, I went back to our good ooooooold friend Matrix-3. What resulted was a very large system comprising of a few layers in the system: Overheads, Mains, Surrounds (audience listening height +2ft), and ground surrounds, in addition to a truck engine/exhaust system to make a real 1940s Ford F1 come to life. A large system no doubt, and loading in was further complicated without the aid of a sound supervisor (we have Jeff Polunas aboard now which is fantastic!) so generating paperwork from a logistical supervision standpoint in addition to the technical documents became a good time commitment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Fernando Penaloza</td></tr>
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To function properly, VRAS needs multiple microphones spread out across the space evenly ideally. The signals that the microphones are redistributed to every speaker in the system where the outputs of the speakers are then picked up in the microphones again, and are redistributed further. These seemingly random generated signals are what we hear as reverberations, and help our brains correlate what we see visually to what we hear. i.e. in a large cathedral we would expect to hear a very reverberant space to match the size of the room we are in. The power of VRAS allows us to control what we hear, and thus a space can transform almost in an instant from a completely dead space to sounding like a cathedral. We were fortunate in that this show’s configuration allowed for the microphones to be lower than they would have been in a proscenium show as the trim heights of the mics did not intrude onto the visuals of any scenery. This allowed me to have greater control of gain before feedback, and not push the microphones as loud as needed. VRAS needs the entire space to be treated as dry as possible, eliminating any naturally occurring reflections within the room; thus, each wall of the theatre was covered in curtains, as well as any bit of floorspace not being used for action was carpeted. To our benefit (but not to our lungs because dust), the dirt border / stage acted as a fantastic absorber of sound with its very porous and thick base to absorb a large amount of frequencies and foot noise.<br />
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<b><u>CUESTATION</u></b>:<br />
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I had used Cuestation (Matrix-3 once again) in my previous main stage here, Our Class, but only really for its fantastic Spacemap tools. I wanted to expand upon that tool, but also took on the challenge of running the entire show off of WildTracks, Cuestation’s playback method within the software itself.<br />
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This presented a number of challenges. I had never programmed a show solely in cuestation, and nor had I used Wildtracks this extensively before. What resulted in was a lot of time spent in tech, and many many hours after tech concluded, cleaning up programming and refining the bajillion ways you could execute a single cue. Working in QLab would have been much faster for all of the cues and updating them respectively, but the amount of knowledge and I had gained from using Cuestation surpasses any ease I would have got from simply programming within QLab.<br />
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Thanks to the control Cuestation allowed, I had 256 busses at my disposal to configure matrixes for assigning channels. What this allowed me to do was put our class experiment of Wave Field Synthesis and Source Oriented Reinforcement (SoR) into practice. Our harpist, Nina, would be playing essentially in one of the seating sections, and a concern would be listening levels for the audience bank directly across from her and the furthest away. The conundrum was that she couldn’t play so loud so as to deafen those sitting next to her just so those furthest away could hear. Thus, the idea of WFS came to mind, by subtly reinforcing Nina’s sound so that way everyone will still localize to her position. We took the same calculations and formula from our class, calculated the distances in 3D in Vectorworks and implemented the amplitude and delay adjustments to a “harp bus” within the software, that whenever assigned the output of the microphone capturing Nina’s harp would automatically be matrixed to her exact location. It worked incredibly well and was easily audible from any spot in the theatre without making any one area too loud.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nina's Harp SoR Calculations</td></tr>
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<b><u>VRAS</u></b>:<br />
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I did a fair amount of research reading up on as many VRAS document I could find, and it was A LOT of math that reminded me of all those years of calculus and physics. It also gave me the same “I want to bang my head against this wall” feeling as I delved further in the rabbit hole. However, once we were in tech we set up a matrix for each microphone and added in the attenuations to each speaker. A 12x27 matrix can make for quite the headache, but in the first test run nothing blew up and we heard an echo, progress!<br />
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From there it became constantly fine tuning the reverb, EQ, and attenuation values until we had landed on a good base to move from. Each scene of the play had VRAS treatment, lending our ears to take us to the different locations of the play, the open fields of Salinas - slightly distant, a cramped office interior - dry with a short echo, and the drifting world of the crows for example. While challenging, it was definitely rewarding and added a new dimension to the play.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-tech descriptions and planning of VRAS and Spacemap</td></tr>
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<b><u>SPACEMAP</u></b>:<br />
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I have always loved Spacemap and the power it has at creating multichannel panning and movement of sounds. Plumas was no exception, and a fair amount of cues took advantage of Spacemap and with its series of triset mapping. In particular, I found the overhead plane and passing trains to be the most effective uses of Spacemap, achieving a very realistic image of sound moving from one location to another.<br />
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<b><u>CRITIQUE</u></b>:<br />
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As is the norm for any UCI show, all of us in team sound watch the production together and give a critique following the show, providing our thoughts and feedback to the designer. Plumas functioned similarly but with all thesis projects, an outside industry professional comes to watch the show and impart their words, comments, and criticism as well. Sound Designer and Composer <a href="http://www.kariraeseekins.com/about/">Kari Rae Seekins</a>, was my thesis critic and gave me invaluable feedback and thoughts. Most of which I wish I could go back in time and implement, but whenever is a show truly perfect? We always can have something to go back and tweak ad infinitum.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of critique with Kari Rae Seekins <br />
Photo: Vincent Olivieri</td></tr>
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From my fellow peers and mentors, I received equally strong criticism in both positive and critical manners, which I appreciate greatly.<br />
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I would like to thank my wonderful assistant, Hunter Moody. This show would not have been possible without your help in every step of the process, ranging from shop and load-in tasks, wave field synthesis calculations, Spacemap programming, and making sure I was a human who got some sleep and food. Thank you for everything!<br />
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<b>In retrospect</b>, I would have taken advantage of Cuestation's 256 busses more efficiently, which would have drastically saved time in programming, allowing me to create content and treat fades much more elegantly. Curation of some sound effects would have also taken a stronger presence, as some smaller sounds fell to the wayside in favor of increasing the robustness of the system. It was not a perfect show by any means as far as the actual content I created sonically; however, in an academic setting that allows for the exploration and education of new technologies and challenging one’s own limits, I feel truly thankful to have had the opportunity to learn so much and be a part of this fantastic production. Plumas will forever hold a spot in my heart, not only for what I learned but for the story and message that it told, giving the stage to a group of people unfortunately not seen in the limelight as often as they should, and letting their voices and stories to be told. Let fly.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyepy9E-83c/WuADILttdUI/AAAAAAAAAfU/aIuseO4yqmE3lInK1PQhX1GK4IZ8mLLgACLcBGAs/s1600/DSC08867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyepy9E-83c/WuADILttdUI/AAAAAAAAAfU/aIuseO4yqmE3lInK1PQhX1GK4IZ8mLLgACLcBGAs/s400/DSC08867.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Fernando Penaloza</td></tr>
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- Jordan<br />
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