DAD 422
Audio Production III

Schedule

Opportunities in Digital Sound Design at DSU — DSU Live runs student concerts; the Sound Design Discord is where projects and program news get shared; and Student Research Initiatives funds undergraduate work.

106 items across 16 weeks · click a week to expand

Mon 8/24
TODAY
· Introduction to the syllabus
· Listen to surround in the immersive room
  • Atmos demos
  • Some 5.1 surround
homework
· Read: Physical attributes of acoustic waves, Part I — due Wednesday, see D2L for details
Wed 8/26
TODAY
due Read: Physical attributes of acoustic waves, Part I — we discuss it today
homework
· Read: Physical attributes of acoustic waves, Part II — due Friday, details on D2L
Mon 8/31
TODAY
project Introduce Project 1: Mono Sound Walk
homework
· Project 1: Mono Sound Walk — due Monday 9/14 by class
Wed 9/2
TODAY
Fri 9/4
TODAY
lab Start the Mono Sound Walk — concept, sound map, session setup, and a short proof of concept
Mon 9/7
TODAY
off No class — Labor Day
  • Keep working on the mono sound walk
Wed 9/9
TODAY
Fri 9/11
TODAY
· Follow along with headphones
Mon 9/14
TODAY
due Project 1: Mono Sound Walk — due today by class
· Listen to mono projects in class and talk about process
Wed 9/16
TODAY
lab Experiment with different stereo micing techniques in the studio
Fri 9/18
TODAY
off No class
· Before Monday, review Binaural audio and recording and bring headphones
Mon 9/21
TODAY
· Start with a short binaural-audio recap and questions
slides Anaglyph: binaural spatialization — install it before class; the page documents every control and how to automate a fly-by
lab Binaural recording with the Zoom H3-VR and the Sound Professionals earbud mics
  • Combine binaural recordings with mono and stereo recordings rendered through Anaglyph
  • Test out Anaglyph in class — add sound effects or dialogue and experiment with automation
  • Start by comparing the bundled HRIR sets. Optional: try other SOFA files after preprocessing them with the tool linked in the Anaglyph lesson .
· Anaglyph projects, making of — gallery
project Introduce Project 2: Binaural/Stereo
homework
· Project 2: Binaural/Stereo — due Friday 10/9
Wed 9/23
TODAY
· Meet in the immersive room
lab Calibrate the immersive room as a group: measure the layout, set every channel to reference with pink noise and an SPL meter, and log the results
  • Every listening and mixing session in this room from here on happens over the reference we set today
Fri 9/25
TODAY
· Listen to ambisonics recordings in the immersive studio — in the room we just calibrated
Mon 9/28
TODAY
· Listen to ATK recording examples
  • A format — raw microphone signals
  • B format — ambisonic encoded signals
Wed 9/30
TODAY
lab Ambisonics music mix of a project from The ‘Mixing Secrets’ Free Multitrack Download Library
· Any questions about setup of the ambisonic project
project Introduce Project 3: Ambisonics — the H3-VR is available for checkout if you want ambisonic recordings in your project
homework
· Project 3: Ambisonics — due Monday 10/19
Fri 10/2
TODAY
lab Publish one minute of ambisonics: spatialize against a 360 clip, convert to ambiX, inject metadata, and upload unlisted
· Or continue with the ambisonic mix from last class — the upload lab can also happen alongside Project 3 work
Mon 10/5
TODAY
· Move to 5.1 mixing and some history of cinema sound
Fri 10/9
TODAY
due Project 2: Binaural/Stereo — due today
Mon 10/12
TODAY
off No class — Native American Day
Fri 10/16
TODAY
· Listen to binaural projects
lab Ambisonics check-in day
  • Each student presents their project and discusses their process for about 5 minutes
  • Students then give feedback and constructive comments for about 2 minutes
  • Feedback areas:
  • How well is the spatialization working?
  • If you did an original work, how did you use the stereo or ambisonic recordings?
  • How well is the automation working? Does it add to the piece?
  • Wrap up with general collaborative problem-solving related to ATK and Reaper
Mon 10/19
TODAY
due Project 3: Ambisonics — due today
· Listen to ambisonics mixes in class and talk about your process
Wed 10/21
TODAY
lab Group mix in 7.1 using ReaSurroundPan to learn how it works — in the room we calibrated on 9/23
Fri 10/23
TODAY
· Technical introduction to Dolby Atmos
· Watch the Atmos demo — how different does it sound from the 5.1/7.1 we have been using?
Wed 10/28
TODAY
lab Start mixing a song in Atmos using Logic Pro
Fri 10/30
TODAY
lab Continue mixing the song in Atmos using Logic Pro
project Introduce Project 4: Atmos Mix
homework
· Project 4: Atmos Mix — due Monday 11/16
Mon 11/2
TODAY
· Show the Like Lambs film project
· Talk about the next project
  • Atmos mix of a song
  • Atmos mix of the Like Lambs film project
Wed 11/4
TODAY
· Focus: commercial and hybrid systems
· Compare the interfaces, rendering, and export workflows of three tools
· What workflow does each tool expect? How does it render and export the mix?
Fri 11/6
TODAY
lab Supervised work session for Project 4 in Logic, due 11/16
· Bring a specific question about your mix. We will solve a few as a group.
Mon 11/9
TODAY
slides Atmos delivery: loudness, the ADM master, and binaural QC — make your Project 4 mix submission-ready before the independent work days
lab Measure your mix on the 5.1 render and bring it into spec
Wed 11/11
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14). These two days are independent work days; they don’t count against attendance.
lab Pick one thing we’ve learned recently and experiment with it on your own
· Studio A / Studio B won’t be supervised — work on laptops unless you’ve already arranged studio access
Fri 11/13
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14)
lab Independent work on the Atmos mix due Monday
· Post a progress bounce (1–2 minutes) to D2L by end of day in place of the in-class check-in — I’ll listen and reply over the weekend
Mon 11/16
TODAY
due Project 4: Atmos Mix — due today
· Listen to your mixes
project Introduce the Final Project
homework
· Final project proposal — due Monday 11/23, submitted via D2L
Wed 11/18
TODAY
lab Proposal workshop
  • Come in with specific ideas — concepts, tools, influences — for your final project, and we’ll discuss them as a class
Fri 11/20
TODAY
· Open session to talk about proposals
slides SpatGris — spatialization outside the DAW, and where the same idea runs at concert scale (L-ISA, Soundscape, 4DSound)
· If SuperCollider fits your final project, ask me for a starting point
Mon 11/23
TODAY
due Final project proposal — due today via D2L
· Each student briefly presents their proposal
  • This is a chance to get feedback and suggestions from the class
  • We’ll also listen to the influences listed in your proposal
Wed 11/25
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess
Fri 11/27
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess
Mon 11/30
TODAY
lab Final project setup session
  • Meet in small groups to set up your project and ask questions
Wed 12/2
TODAY
· Undergraduate Research showcase — Science Center Lobby, 2–4 PM
  • Our class period sits inside the showcase window, so we go as a group
Fri 12/4
TODAY
lab Midpoint critique
  • Each student shows their progress so far, playing 1–2 minutes of a mix or composition
  • Other students provide feedback and encouragement
Mon 12/7
TODAY
· Remaining students show their work
· Fill out course evaluations
· Ask any final questions or request further feedback before the final exam presentation
Wed 12/9
TODAY
off Reading / study day — no class
Fri 12/11
TODAY
due Final project — due today, submitted via D2L
· Final project presentations — 1:00–3:00 PM, our scheduled final exam slot

Final exam presentation — Friday, December 11 · 1:00–3:00 PM