audio education

Snyder Presents at 141st Audio Engineering Society Convention

blog · 2016-09-26

At the 141st Audio Engineering Society Convention hosted in Los Angeles from 28th September – 2nd October 2016, Ohio University Lecturer Kyle P. Snyder presented his peer-reviewed paper, Understanding Project-Based Learning in the Audio Classroom: Using PBL to Facilitate Audio Storytelling.

According to Snyder:

One of the more prevalent buzzwords in education today, project-based learning is a natural fit for the audio engineering classroom. With students that thrive by working toward a common goal or “learning by doing,” this constructivist framework is worth examining as implemented by educators. This paper discusses project-based learning as implemented in an audio engineering classroom to facilitate audio storytelling and provides recommendations for faculty looking to implement project-based learning into their curriculum.

Paper Session Files:

Also at the 141st Convention, Snyder will co-chair MIDI Makes Music, MIDI Makes Money and MIDI Makes Careers! along with the Student, Education, & Careers track which contains dozens of events.

The 141st AES Convention will bring 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 Featured By Mix Magzine & Others For Design Of MDIA Post Production & Critical Listening Studio

blog · 2016-09-04

Preparing audio engineers and content creators is key to the curriculum at Ohio University’s (Athens, Ohio) Scripps College ofCommunication, School of Media Arts & Studies (MDIA). And now, thanks to pro audio supplier Vintage King L.A. and Yamaha Professional Audio Steinberg staff, the school now houses a 32-fader NUAGE DAW advanced audio post-production system in their Steven L. Schoonover Post-Production andCritical Listening Lab with a companion classroom containing 30-plus seats of Nuendo 7.1. The college also boasts a second 16-fader NUAGE system in theirImmersive Media Initiative facilities.

Kyle P. Snyder, Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator within theSchool of Media Arts & Studies who has a long history of system design,initially began to research a new state-of-the art system, one that was more appropriate for an educational environment than their previous system and one that could handle the ever-increasing influx of students within the music production curriculum. “Looking around initially at other controllers that would work with ProTools, I stumbled upon NUAGE which remembered from when it was first launched at AES by Yamaha,” states Snyder. “It had a great presence,and I thought it would be a very interesting work surface though I was concerned about its reliance upon Nuendo. However, as I continued my research it became evident that the most important decision was our software platform for teaching. We made the decision that adopting Nuendo as an editing platform,which isn’t necessarily normative but is absolutely the superior tool was the way to go. This allows us to focus more on technique, backed up by the trademark Yamaha stability that NUAGE brings to the table.”

The facility also houses a 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 offer a Rupert NeveDesigns 5088 analog-centric music recording and mixing studio with tracking rooms alongside two other control rooms, including the brand new post/listening lab and a mixing/mastering facility.

Snyder said the Yamaha Steinberg sales representative offered to send over a demo system and came out to assist with their tech expertise when necessary. “I was blown away by how easy it was to set up,” Snyder says. “Just knowing things were going to work easily was critically important. With the help of a few students, we set up the NUAGE demo unit within 5 minutes. The system is a game changer for post sessions making them very easy. I was very impressed with how Yamaha and Steinberg developed the system. Working with everyone at Yamaha has made it so much easier and helped us through the transition process. This is the kind of corporate support you just don’t see often.”

The 16-fader NUAGE system is installed as part of the ImmersiveMedia Initiative (IMI) within Ohio University’s Game Research and ImmersiveDesign (GRID) Lab. The IMI was created for students to produce game and virtual reality content. These same students are also shooting video in 360—they have already produced a 16-minute short film–using green screen for motion capture,and more. “There is absolutely no better software for creating audio for virtual and augmented reality than Nuendo,” notes Snyder.

In both the large lab and singular studio, Nuendo works nicely;several students can be in front of the system in the studio and with the added Nuendo seats, the others can work over the network down in the classroom lab and send their part of projects into the studio, adding in vocals, dialogue,and sound effects. The class as a whole can be working on different projects through to the final mix stage, thanks to the Nuendo network.

With their critical listening classes, Snyder said faculty are very excited about the capabilities of the system and can feed RDL Format-A viaDante right out to every desk. Using Radio Design Labs RDL TP-HA1A stereo headphone amplifiers for personal listening purposes, classes can listen via their own headphones and playback from NUAGE via headphone amps at their own pace. “NUAGE is very much what previous products we’ve owned were trying to achieve, so we are really proud to finally be able to offer this superb monitoring and networking environment to our students with our new Dante systems.NUAGE with Nuendo work extremely well, very seamless. It’s really something else.”

Article originally published by Mix Magazine. Similar stories can be seen at Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Yamaha Pro Audio,ProSoundWeb, ProSoundNetwork, and Sports Video Group.

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 Presents at 26th Audio Engineering Society UK Conference

news · 2015-08-28

At the 26th Audio Engineering Society UK Conference hosted in Glasgow, Scotland from 26th August – 28th August 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, and sat on a panel discussion regarding internships / work placements.

Paper Session Files:

The conference provided a forum for sharing ideas on teaching and pedagogy in the broad range of areas typically found in audio education. It brought together academics, industry professionals and students and featured an engaging and lively series of presentations and panel discussions.

Snyder Hosts 2015 MDIA High School Media Workshop

news · 2015-07-28

This year marked the second annual High School Media Workshop, which took place from July 8-11, and welcomed students from eight states and an international student from Vietnam. The workshop introduced students to the latest techniques and equipment in audio, video, games & animation, and storytelling/producing.

“It was wonderful to see so many students completely engaged over the three days,” said High School Media Workshop Director Karen Riggs. “Now in our second year, we grew from 55 to 62 students and have even gone international. A key asset for us was our MDIA student ambassadors. Workshop participants said they benefited greatly from one-on-one time with our college students.”

During the workshop students spent most of their time in Core Sessions that focused on each of the four media groups: audio, video, games & animation, and storytelling/producing. In these focused classes taught by School of Media Arts & Studies professors students received hands-on experience using the tools and equipment in the media labs.

Keaton Kreps of Athens, Ohio heard about this workshop from a peer last year, which led him to register for the workshop. He said that even though there are a lot of students here who are Athenians he enjoyed meeting students from states as far away as North Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Illinois. Kreps found all of the workshop sessions interesting but enjoyed working on audio and sound editing the most.

“We had a lot of long three-hour class sessions during the workshop, my favorite one was where we did music and editing,” said Kreps. “One of the coolest class sessions we had we did sounds for a short film. We learned how to do sounds while watching a video and editing. One of my favorite parts was creating a song with everyone in the group.”

Student Hang Le Thi Minh from Ha Noi, Vietnam had been eagerly waiting to attend the workshop since she had first heard about it, but was unable to until she was old enough. This trip was her first out of her country.

Quick Links:

Athens News Article (PDF Archive)

“The High School Media Workshop had a profound impact on the way I see my passion and future career,” she said. “The experience I had here was definitely worth my 22 hour flight.”

Students who came for the workshop were about to have a look at what college life was like at Ohio University and wrapped up the week with a farewell banquet and a screening of their projects.

“An incredible aspect of the High School Media Workshop is that students attend not only to experience what the School of Media Arts & Studies has to offer within its curriculum but also for that first college experience, including one-on-one mentoring to help focus their passion and future career goals,” said High School Media Workshop Associate Director Kyle Snyder. “After several days experiencing a variety of required and elective workshops, it’s gratifying to hear students tell us we’ve opened their eyes to new possibilities and that they now know what they’ll be majoring in upon acceptance to the Scripps College of Communication.”

For more information, including pictures, on the 2015 High School Media Workshop please visit http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/hsmw-news. To see coverage of the workshop on Twitter visit #OUHSMW.

Original article by Claire Berlin