I really enjoy teaching 540 Intermediate Sound, which is now offered only in the summer. This summer's session just ended, and I'm very happy to say that it went extremely well.
The course used to be taught in the fall as well, when the semester would have 15-16 class meetings. In the summer, the semesters are shorter and usually have 12-13 class meetings. Due to a scheduling fluke, this summer semester had only 11 class meetings, and I was seriously concerned that they class would not be able to handle the workload in such a short time, especially with a group of students that included a wide array of backgrounds: production majors, animation majors, undergraduates, graduates, students who had had Tom Holman's 507 sound and/or 508 sound, and students for whom this was the first sound class.
Amazingly, the class pulled through very well and got all the work done in an extremely short period of time, and no one would up left behind. It's been typical in the past that a couple of people who leave this class end up being interested enough in sound that they consider it as a career choice. Others end up working in the sound department at school, or on the sound design for their own thesis projects. Students who are serious about sound should consider doing sound in a 546/547 level project (you'll always learn more working on a real project), or take 554 Advanced Sound with Tom Holman, which is offered in the spring. 546/547 will teach production sound, dialogue editing, and mixing on the Euphonix console, none of which was covered in 540. 554 will teach advanced and 5.1 mixing techniques on the Euphonix console.
I am always open to options for making the class better, and I hope that any students who have suggestions will feel free to e-mail me. Thanks for a very enjoyable semester.
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