kylie grace snyder

audio engineering, technology, and miscellany . . .

student resources

MDIA Summer 2013 Audio Course Opportunities

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With spring break rapidly approaching, registration for summer session courses is currently open at Ohio University with advising season just about to kickoff. I’ve always been a major proponent of summer courses. They give you the opportunity to focus on just a few courses at a time, many which may be electives that focus on a particularly interesting area of research or study that may not be offered again. This summer the School of Media Arts & Studies is offering several interesting courses and I’m very excited to be teaching one of the offerings in second summer session.

I’m particularly excited to be teaching Recording Music on Location in the second summer session. It’s a course that I feel audio students of all levels can benefit from which will include approaches tailored to both modern and classical genres for interested students. The only requirements are a basic understanding of audio (which can always be waived) and a desire to record great audio in often challenging settings (this is required). We’ll be working from the excellent Recording Music on Location by Bruce and Jenny Bartlett and there will be several independent projects that will be enjoyable for students at every level of ability. I don’t know about you but suddenly I’m excited for the summer!

Download Poster (pdf) 

Options for Students Seeking Seasonal and On-Campus Opportunities

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Once production students reach their junior or senior year (at the latest), it’s time to be thinking about ways to best-utilize the summer to prepare to step in to the professional world. Personally, I encourage you not to wait that late but opinions vary. Summers are the perfect time to gain more of that on-the-job experience you’ve been craving throughout the regular semester, and there are countless avenues through which you can pursue this experience.

All that said, it’s that time of year where I’ve been getting numerous questions regarding summer / seasonal / on-campus opportunities, so I thought it might be easiest to write up a comprehensive list which can be shared (and updated). Given my personal expertise, this list focuses largely upon opportunities which cater to various art and music organizations. So, if you’re looking for recording studio, music business, or live sound internships this article will be far less useful. My apologies, it’s just that this specific topic needed some fairly specific explanation. For those areas, just swing past my office, or you can always try a little creative Googling. Of course, to all my audio educator and recording industry friends who are reading this, you’re more than welcome to chime in with suggestions in the comments to make this lengthy list more well-rounded.

Some Brief Advice

Before you head out in search of that perfect job / other opportunity you can expect to need at least three basic things. While you might already be prepared, these seem worth mentioning:

  • Samples of your work
    • For audio, I can’t recommend SoundCloud enough.
    • I’ve had amazing luck with Vimeo. Please don’t use YouTube.
    • If you have production or other documents that you want to share, be sure to give Scribd a look.
    • At the end of the day, you may want to create a professional place for all your work. I love having my own webpage, but it’s a lot of work. If that sounds like something you’re interested in then I’d consider a WordPress site hosted with a company like a FatCow, as they treat their customers well and are very inexpensive.
      • As an alternative, for a very clean and professional landing page, check out About.me which makes it possible to create a professional homepage in a matter of seconds.
  • Professionalism
    • Please make certain that you have an email address that conveys your professional status, like FirstMiddleLastname@gmail.com. Also, some free business cards from VistaPrint won’t hurt you either (or punch it up with something from Moo!)

Now, without further ado, all those possibilities!

Ohio University On-Campus Opportunities

  • PACE Jobs
    • There are several great audio-related jobs available in PACE (Program to Aid Career Exploration) with several WOUB staff members and programs. If you’re eligible, just search for “audio” or “production” and you’ll find them. These are great opportunities to add to your reel while getting paid!
  • School of Music Recording Engineers
    • These students record performances for the School of Music. The jobs are only posted when there are openings and there are usually only 4 on staff including the head engineer. However, this is the type of job that gave me my start, so when positions are available I’d urge you to take advantage. If you’d like more information, I can put you in touch with the appropriate person.
  • Audio Engineering Society Student Section
  • Other
    • If you found this article and you’re not and Ohio University student, that’s ok too! Your school might not have opportunities that are exactly the same, but if you try looking for the same kinds of jobs in similar places, that will give you a great start!

Summer / Seasonal Opportunities

When it comes to summer or seasonal opportunities, it pays to plan ahead if you want to land a specific placement. I’m personally a huge proponent of The Banff Centre Work Study programs, as well as the University of Stavanger post-baccalaureate program, and the opportunities offered by the Interlochen Center for the Arts. However, there are countless opportunities available depending upon your interests.

Below, I have focused primarily upon art and music organizations who offer internships or other employment opportunities. These links could become outdated quickly, but you can always start searching again via the organization link . I’ve also included below several lists of festivals and summer programs which can be a handy way to start any search.

  • Continuing Education Opportunities
    • The Banff Centre – (direct link) (organization link)
      • The Banff Centre is a great opportunity for students wishing to further both their education and their career though their acclaimed work study program in areas like audio engineering and post production. For more information, please contact me.
    • University of Stavanger – (direct link) (organization link)
      • A unique post-baccalaureate program, this affords students the opportunity to further their studies outside the USA and their comfort zone tuition free. This highly competitive program accepts applicants each winter, typically though mid-December.

Other Employment Resources

If you’re looking for general internships or freelance work, here are a few sites that you should definitely check out.

Hopefully, you’ve found this useful and have made it this far! The process of finding the right opportunity for you can be daunting, however don’t forget that we’re always here to help. If you’d like recommendations on which opportunity might be the best fit, or want to talk all of this out in general, just swing past my office or send me an email.

Radio Drama Internship at Ohio University in Partnership with WOUB

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There was a time, before images graced our televisions (or televisions even sat in our living rooms), that radio dramas were the primary source of entertainment throughout the land. A dramatic performance including an array of music, sound effects, and dialogue; the actors themselves conveyed the writers intent in lieu of visual elements.

I’m pleased to be leading a group of Ohio University Media Arts & Studies students this Fall Semester of 2012 – 2013 in an internship / independent study to complete several of these radio dramas, an ongoing content initiative of the WOUB Public Media. Students will work with WOUB to complete dramas that are currently in progress; recording vocal actors, designing and recording sound effects, and much more. Completed radio dramas will be aired not only on WOUB-AM but also published on WOUB.org, an opportunity we’re especially proud of.

To any students out there who are interested, there is still a possibility to participate. Just get in contact with me by 12:00pm Friday, September 7.

For all my other loyal fans out there, I hope to be sharing some great student work with you via WOUB.org in the very near future!

Photo: Alex Jennings and Christopher Hampton of BBC Radio 4’s
recording of White Chameleon. Image by Catherine Ashmore.