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Snyder Integral to OU Install Of Yamaha Nuage

news · 2016-10-11

Now in his fifth year of teaching in the School of Media Arts & Studies at Ohio University, Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator Kyle P. Snyder has been hard at work with his colleagues Josh Antonuccio, Eddie Ashworth, and Jeff Redefer transforming the Music Production curriculum within Scripps College of Communication to prepare students for real world studio jobs. “What I find most rewarding about working with students in our field is seeing their evolution from day one through graduation,” Snyder says. “It’s tremendously rewarding to see that evolution over our brief four years together, which really gives you a phenomenal glimpse into how big an impact we have upon their careers.”

Snyder’s approach to the school’s studio facilities, is making the biggest impact on outbound students, as he opts for durable gear that allows as many hands on as possible at one time. With this in mind, the OU professor recently worked with Vintage King’s Chris Bolitho and Greg Fraser to bring in a Yamaha Nuage workstation and Nuendo software for a state-of-the-art mixing room. We recently caught up with Kyle Snyder to talk about why he choose this particular desk, how he uses it in tandem with an analog console and what his students think about the work surface.

What influences the decisions you make when purchasing equipment that students will work on?
What’s interesting about purchasing for student use is you certainly want the solution to be intuitive at some level, however, the biggest selling point for me tends to be durability. With the Nuage, we found a solution that was well suited for our needs and happened to be built by Yamaha so I knew it could stand up to the rigors of touring, let alone student use.

In addition to the Nuage, you also have a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 in the school’s studio space. How do you use both work surfaces?
We start students learning on the Rupert Neve 5088 and with the Neve Porticos and then we bring them into here, the Nuage and Nuendo room, which has channel strips built in. That’s a fantastic teaching moment to take students from an analog room through a hybrid mixing room into a completely digital Nuage/Nuendo room that’s backed up with DANTE and show them the way the workflows can work and complement each other.

Talk about the Nuage room’s set-up and how you utilize the desk to teach students?
We [wanted] it to be the best post-production teaching facility that it possibly can. In doing so, we’ve situated the Nuage in the center of the room, sort of like a Hollywood cutting stage with 20-25 seats around it, so faculty can be at the mix position teaching students, but students can be up discussing with faculty how the mix should work. Students can get up and be a part of the mixing process and that’s really powerful.

There are so many options when it comes to digital workstations, how did you come to decide on the Nuage?
In searching for a new control surface, I remembered seeing the Nuage on the AES floor years ago back when it launched. I pulled up the info online and saw we could control Pro Tools and that Nuage was very affordable so it was an easy sell. However, we started to dig into Nuendo since we’d need to run it for the VST connections and we were just blown away by all the features offered by the DAW. Our reaction was that it was, finally, a professional piece of software.

What has been the students’ reaction to working on the desk?
Students have been amazed with how intuitive the control surface is and how flexible the unit is for working. In class we’ll frequently split the desk and have students mixing side by side – it’s a phenomenally effective tool.

If you’re interested in learning more about the install and use of the Yamaha Nuage at Ohio University, check out the video below or read the original post by Vintage King.

Original Article by Vintage King

Snyder Featured By ProSoundNews For Design Of MDIA Post Production & Critical Listening Studio

news · 2016-08-14

Preparing audio engineers and multimedia content creators for the future at Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication, the faculty and facilities of the School of Media Arts & Studies (MDIA) demonstrate a great deal of forward thinking, attests Kyle P. Snyder (see original article in ProSoundNews), Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator.

Last month, Snyder and his colleagues christened their new post production and critical listening studio within the multimillion-dollar Steven L. Schoonover Center for Communication. The new studio, a Walters-Storyk Design Group facility with system engineering by Snyder, was created to teach conventional as well as bleeding-edge audio production techniques. As such, it’s a most exciting time in this relatively small corner of Ohio University, a campus boasting over 20,000 students. At OU, you’ll find Snyder teaching alongside Josh Antonuccio, Eddie Ashworth and Jeff Redefer in their new studios.

“We’re training students for jobs that do not yet exist but will in 18 months,” predicts Snyder of new audio production professions. “We’re fortunate to reside within a very progressive college with a lot of really interesting things going on. We’re able to take risks. Right when we were thinking about what equipment to put in here, the post-industry was breaking wide open with new possibilities. I think we’re living at an intersection where students are getting ready to move into amazing careers.”

The Schoonover Post-Production and Critical Listening Lab is centered on a 32-fader Yamaha Nuage control surface and Dynaudio BM15A 5.1 surround monitoring array, featuring nine Foley pits, an ADR stage, projection capabilities for post-production mixing, and more. The MDIA Sound Studios already offered a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 analog-centric music recording and mixing studio with shared live tracking rooms with another control room; today, the complex features the same 5088 alongside two other control rooms, including the brand-new post/listening lab and a mixing/mastering facility.

Committed to teaching Nuendo as a preferred DAW for post production (while also teaching Pro Tools and Adobe Audition techniques), the program carefully researched all workstation and work surface options for the new facility, resolving to Nuendo and Nuage, respectively, for a variety of reasons. “When we were setting out to create a new post-production room, we initially selected one of the more mainstream post-production platforms—a rational choice,” says Snyder. “Looking at budgets and long-term functionality, we determined that it wasn’t feasible.

“We determined that the Yamaha Nuage control surface provides expandable and future-proof functionality, and as a team, we started looking at all the components surrounding Nuendo and Nuage, realizing how Nuendo is astonishing software. For our money, it feels professional and works phenomenally well with world-class support. As a faculty, we are committed to teaching techniques, not a piece of software. We just wanted to have the best tools to teach post-production; we’re pretty sure that’s Nuendo and Nuage.”

Considering potential job growth in gaming and audio for multimedia content, virtual reality is at the top of the curriculum list, explains Snyder, further supporting his college’s significant Nuendo/Nuage investment.

“There is absolutely no better software for creating audio for virtual and augmented reality than Nuendo. For example, Oculus and Microsoft have adopted Nuendo and the Nuage mixing systems for internal use. In addition, our college recently launched the Immersive Media Initiative to develop a virtual and augmented reality production curriculum at the Ohio University GRID Lab. Their post-production facility also features Nuendo and Nuage. On campus, we have 30-plus seats of Nuendo and, now, two Nuage rooms.”

Snyder is careful to emphasize the new studio’s role as a place to collaboratively listen as well. The studio features a number of Radio Design Labs RDL TP-HA1A stereo headphone amplifiers for personal listening purposes that use the rooms Dante network. “It’s a critical listening and post-production room,” he notes. “It’s a tall mixing stage with the Nuage surrounded by 20-plus seats, so the students can actually sit around the film mixing stage, getting into the sweet spot to be part of the mixing process. It’s a great room for critical listening. That, and all the seats have head-mounted headphone jacks; every single seat is the best seat in the house, if you will. So it really is a dual-purpose room.”

While many bachelor of science degrees in audio production disciplines are found within schools of music and even engineering departments, Snyder feels that his college of communication provides a unique angle on teaching audio production. “It gives us a lot of freedom with our curriculum,” he explains. “Having that freedom means we can better teach students to be responsible, media-savvy, forward-thinking [content] producers and audio engineers. We want them to have a broad taste, as in the world today, there’s more media created than ever. Our philosophy, looking at it all holistically, is that there will always be jobs in audio production, but you have to know what those jobs are and how to go out there and get them. Because we’re in a media school that teaches audio, video, games animation, screenwriting, producing, digital storytelling—all this—students will know how to produce audio for games, video, animation and beyond, leaving the school well-prepared for the future.”

Original article by Strother Bullins of ProSoundNews

Snyder Hosts Record Number Of Students For 2016 High School Media Workshop

news · 2016-08-14

Students in the 2016 High School Media Workshop work on sound effects in the new Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab with High School Media Workshop Associate Director Kyle Snyder and MDIA student Michael Warning (both seated at the Yamaha Nuage control surface).

The School of Media Arts & Studies High School Media Workshop, which took place from July 13-16, welcomed 92 students, the largest group to date. The workshop introduced students to the latest techniques and equipment in audio, video, animation & games, film sound and storytelling/producing classes taught by School of Media Arts & Studies professors.

“Fantastic workshop experiences in our first two years have resulted in buzz among past students, parents and high school teachers, leading to this large enrollment increase,” said High School Media Workshop Director Karen Riggs. “Some parents told us they discovered the workshop while doing a Google search–growing interest is leading to prominence in search results. This year, with our excellent faculty and student staff, we delivered the highest-quality workshop in our short history.”

During the workshop students were divided into four different cohorts, where they rotated through the same program, providing a sampling of the entire MDIA curriculum. Emily Gayton, a senior from Olean, N.Y., had visited Ohio University for college tours before but this was her first time attending the High School Media Workshop.

“I came in with an open mind,” said Gayton. “I wasn’t sure what medium I wanted to do, so being able to work with these programs and get a grip on what I already know was helpful. This media workshop has done a lot helping me to figure out where I’m going. I love writing and learning the format for screenwriting and how to do things professionally was really helpful. I feel that I can bring two things that I love doing together, media and writing.”

This summer, workshop participants were able to get hands-on experience in several newly completed MDIA studios and labs.

“It was truly gratifying seeing students interacting and engaging with our just opened and cutting-edge facilities,” said High School Media Workshop Associate Director Kyle Snyder. “Their imaginative use of the new spaces is precisely what we hoped for throughout the design process and I couldn’t be more proud.”

One of the most anticipated classroom spaces to be utilized was the Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab, located in Schoonover Center Room 448. This lab allows students to create and listen to sound in an acoustically pristine environment and have the capability for state-of-the-art audio post production for moving images, including film. During the workshop students were able to create sound effects for an animation clip in the Foley room, a studio that includes nine Foley pits and various props to create the needed sounds. During the workshop, students created the sound of a cardboard box opening, an individual walking across different surfaces on crutches, and the clicking of a video game remote control.

“The Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab is awesome, because not only is it a really new space, but it’s a lot bigger than what we had before and it feels a lot more purpose built,” said MDIA music production senior Michael France, who assisted with the workshop. “It’s really hard to act out sounds along with a film, for example it’s really hard to time walking, but the workshop students were great and they picked up on everything quickly. Many of them came to the workshop with just one interest, but I think they learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes. Specifically, in the 448 lab, I think a lot of people learned just how much sound replacement goes on in movies and film.”

The workshop ended with a farewell banquet and a screening of student projects created during the week.

“We screened and shared their videos, recordings, film sound projects and animations at our banquet on the final evening of the workshop,” said Riggs. “It was beyond impressive to see what they produced in short bursts of activity. They’re obviously going to become leaders in the creative industries, and we’re looking forward to seeing them here as first-year students.”

For more information on the 2016 High School Media Workshop, visit mediaschool.ohio.edu/hsmw. See photos as well as projects from the 2016 workshop on the workshop blog.

Original article by Claire Berlin

Snyder Presents at 140th Audio Engineering Society Convention

news · 2016-06-13

At the 140th Audio Engineering Society Convention hosted in Paris from June 4 – 7, 2016, Ohio University Lecturer Kyle P. Snyder chaired a roundtable discussion featuring expert guests titled, European Audio Education: Possibilities and Challenges.

In this panel session featuring invited experts from across the continent, we discussed a variety of topics germane to European audio education including:
• Educational opportunities that are unique to Europe with a focus on exchange / internship opportunities.
• Challenges unique to both European educators and students including suggestions from both the panel and audience.

Guests included Mark Drews, Nyssim Lefford, Theresa Leonard, Denis Vautrin, and Nicolas Verastegui

Snyder Plays Integral Role In New MDIA Facilities

news · 2016-04-09

Students in the School of Media Arts & Studies are able to explore a wide range of courses that match their own interests and talents that will prepare them for a career in media. The school has several state-of-the-art facilities and labs and teaches students how to use the tools of the trade, from software to audio equipment, allowing them to graduate with plenty of hands-on experience.

All MDIA students have access to a classroom and lab wiki, known as the MDIA Sound Studio Manual, a website updated by faculty that allows students to see the spaces in real time and have updates and classroom information at hand almost instantly. Students can see when a classroom or lab is being used by a class or is available, view equipment operation manuals and they can access a list of available audio equipment and computer software. Students even have access to the sound effects servers through the Studio Manual.

“Students can see information from when rooms are occupied to the specific technology and software offered in each classroom paired with relevant support materials, it’s really an ideal teaching tool,” said Kyle P. Snyder a lecturer in the School of Media Arts & Studies. “Students can even see what field equipment is available including quantities and manuals. This tool came about because there is a seemingly infinite amount of information that needs to be conveyed which required a central repository. The Music Production & Recording Industry (MPRI) faculty realized if we put everything online students could have this available at all times. There is little information that students can’t find on the Studio Manual. It’s really fantastic.”

One of the first classrooms all Media Arts & Studies students will experience is Schoonover Center Room 346, the MDIA Lab. This collaborative classroom seats about 30 students in small “pods”, six students to a pod, with projector screens on two walls. In this classroom audio and video students work alongside one another on joint projects learning the basics of production. The pod seating design allows for better student-to-student interaction and facilitates student engagement and productivity in the class overall according to Snyder.

“The layout increases productivity, it helps you pay attention in class, it helps you work with other people,” said Chrissy Grubb, a freshman integrated media major. “I like the ability to use all of the technology that’s on the Mac computers and I like how the desks are set up in little pods so it increases workability with other students. I also like the double layout of the projection screens so it’s a lot easier for people on both sides of the room to follow along with what’s going on.”

Upper class juniors and seniors can often be found in the Electronics Lab, located in Schoonover Center Room 351. In the course MDIA 4305 Recording Studio Design and Maintenance, taught by Associate Professor Jeff Redefer, students learn how to repair and even build their own audio equipment. Students in the course start off building a cable tester and then progress to repairing other analog equipment such as aligning analog tape machines. Just this academic year students have built analog compressors, reverb units and entire microphones.

“These are marketable skills that serve students well as they enter the workforce,” said Snyder. “Maybe they don’t want to go out and build analog recording consoles for a living but if they know how to repair things, if you are that person who can make themselves marketable by bringing other skills to the table, that’s the type of person who’s far more employable. They become one of those indispensable people with an additional skillset who’s not just a producer, not just an engineer, they’ve got that additional x factor.”

The Sound Recording Studio in RTV Room 329, while technically built in 2003, has been updated recently during the Schoonover Center renovation project. The studio contains a large and small isolation booth, a control room, and a large and small live room for MDIA students to learn the building blocks of working in a recording studio. The highlight of the studio is the large Rupert Neve 5088 Analogue Mixer, a testament to the foundation lessons the faculty teach when it comes to the digital vs. analogue debate.

“You learn on analogue because that’s the foundation of everything in a studio,” said Snyder. “Every physical channel within the analog realm is equal to one microphone on a snare drum, one guitar, etc. There is no right click, there is no menu – everything is right in front of the student. They can very easily visualize the signal path and if they can get audio to pass through an analog recording console it will be far easier for them to work across a variety of software platforms. It’s also great way for us to teach them troubleshooting.”

The studio also utilizes and teaches Pro Tools and Logic Pro software, which are industry standards. Students are also able to learn how to setup and use a wide assortment of microphones, running the gamut from from higher end to middle-of-the-road mics and even some budget microphones.

“It’s important to learn what great microphones sound like but it’s more important for students to know proper mic techniques regardless of their budgets,” said Snyder. “Because it’s not the mic; they’re learning the skills.”

The School of Media Arts & Studies has two new exciting spaces coming online later this summer. The Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab, located in Schoonover Center Room 448, will be completed in time for the 2016 High School Media Workshop in July. This lab will allow students to critically listen to sound in an acoustically pristine environment and have the capability for state-of-the-art audio post production for moving images, including film.

The MDIA Mixing & Mastering Studio, located in the RTV Building Room 315, currently offers a general use vocal booth in an outside vestibule that has been online since early spring semester which is available for MDIA student use. The remainder of the studio is expected to come online later this summer and will allow the school to book RTV 315 and RTV 329 separately, effectively doubling the amount of students that can be accommodated to work in a recording studio space. Studio spaces were designed by WSDG and audio integration plans were designed by Snyder.

To view some of these MDIA classrooms, view the photo album on Flickr.

For more information about the School of Media Arts & Studies and their facilities visit mediaschool.ohio.edu.

Image: School of Media Arts & Studies students work on different electronic equipment in Schoonover 351. Photo by Margaret Sabec. Original article by Claire Berlin

Snyder Named Audio Engineering Society Education Chair

news · 2015-11-08

Kyle P. Snyder, a Lecturer in Ohio University’s School of Media Arts & Studies was recently named Chair of the Audio Engineering Society Eduction Committee. Snyder was appointed to this position at the 139th AES Convention by AES President, John Krivit.

Snyder is excited to continue in his international service to the AES as Education Chair. According to Snyder, “the AES is home to engineers working in every aspect of audio and it’s incumbent upon us as educators to ensure we’re training students who are prepared to enter the new media economy. With more media created every day that requires high-quality audio, the AES remains a fantastic way for students to develop in their careers outside of the classroom.”

As Education Chair, Snyder’s duties include setting the multi-faceted and diverse agenda of student & career tracks for conventions and working with local, professional, and student sections worldwide to enhance their educations. Snyder will continue his work with the AES Student Delegate Assembly, comprised of delegate leaders representing more than 4,000 students worldwide, ensuring emerging engineers’ needs are met through enriching, educational experiences within the AES.

Snyder routinely teaches courses in music production, recording, mixing and mastering, critical listening, sound design for film and video, and live event production in the School of Media Arts & Studies and brings his long-standing commitment to audio education to both the classroom and his international leadership role within the Audio Engineering Society.

Snyder Presents at 139th Audio Engineering Society Convention

news · 2015-10-25

At the 139th Audio Engineering Society Convention hosted in New York from 29th October – 1st November 2015, Ohio University Lecturer Kyle P. Snyder presented his peer-reviewed paper, Case Study: Expanding Audio Production Facilities At Ohio University To Accommodate Student Needs.

Paper Session Files:

Also at the 139th Convention, on of Snyder’s students, Michael France, was elected as the new Audio Engineering Society Student Delegate Assembly Vice Chair for North & Latin America. France was elected to succeed Steven Van Dyne, a recent School of Media Art’s & Studies alumnus who was elected at the 135th AES Convention in 2013 and retired at the 2015 Convention.

The 139th AES Convention brought together the world’s largest gathering of audio professionals, offering attendees opportunities to hear from top audio industry figures while also sharing in the latest research and technology information through informative papers, tutorials, workshops and special events.

Snyder Presents At Fourth Annual Central Indiana Audio Student Workshop

news · 2015-09-13

The Central Indiana Section of the Audio Engineering Society hosted its Fourth Annual Central Indiana Audio Student Workshop, Saturday, September 12, 2015 on the campus of Ball State University, Muncie, IN in the Music Media Production studios.

At the workshop, Ohio University Lecturer Kyle P. Snyder presented the following sessions:

The Many Faces of Location Recording and The Intersection of Core Techniques

Location recording means many different things depending upon your particular craft, yet at the heart core competencies exist which are shared. Snyder discussed how techniques used, for example, in gathering ambience or recording on a film set can be applied to other location scenarios like recording an orchestra, and how these shared skills can help to broaden your engineering tool chest.

Download Presentation & Resources

Keys to Student Success Both in The Classroom and on The Job

Beneficial for educators and students at all skill levels, this panel was focused upon the success of students in audio engineering programs. Chaired by Kyle P. Snyder (Ohio University) and featuring Doug Bielmeier (IUPUI), Ian Corbett (Kansas City Kansas Community College), and Robert Willey (Ball State University), the panel examined how educators throughout the region can best-prepare students to enter the job market and also included information on what students in attendance should know as the begin their careers.

Download Presentation & Resources

AES Regions & Sections

This was an open meeting for all AES members and interested students in attendance with the intended purpose of helping local sections promote attendance and assisting in their operations. General information about the Audio Engineering Society was shared including details on ways students can get involved with the Student Delegate Assembly.

Download Presentation & Resources

For questions following the Workshop, please feel free to contact Kyle Snyder directly.

Snyder Leads Team Of Audio Engineers Instrumental In Creation Of “An Introduction to Ohio University”

news · 2015-08-29

What started out as a conversation among Ohio University faculty and administrators interested in incorporating the University’s history into students’ academic journey as a means of encouraging them to reflect on their own OHIO experience has resulted in a website offering an interactive digital history of this 211-year-old institution.

University College and University Libraries recently debuted “An Introduction to Ohio University,” a web-based, multi-media project that documents the University’s rich and distinct history – from its humble beginnings in the wilderness of the Ohio Country through its post-World War II rise to prominence.

The project, led by Sara Harrington, head of arts and archives for University Libraries, also included a partnership with a team of students in the School of Media Arts & Studies. MDIA students helped to breathe life into different primary documents through voiceovers, providing audio to accompany the text contained in the personal letters and diary entries featured on the site. The students were led by Kyle P. Snyder, a Lecturer in Ohio University’s School of Media Arts & Studies and the Scripps College of Communication.

Quick Links:

“We have a lot of tremendously interesting historical materials,” Harrington said. “This project provided us a different way of contextualizing it because it has the story of the history of the University around it.”

Excerpts from Ohio University Compass Article