Graduation season is upon us. Many students are exiting their safety net of High School (and even traditional College) in hopes of steering themselves towards an exciting life built on doing what they’re passionate about. If you’re here, reading this, it’s likely that your passions are based on music… on sound… on audio… on being able to make a way for yourself making sonic magic happen for your clients.

The world of Professional Audio is far wider than most can imagine. While most people see it as the Music Industry, the truth of the matter is that the “music” side of things is just a piece of the amazing opportunities that exist. Let me give you a few things to think about:

• Ever wonder who made your car door “ding” when it was open?
• Ever wonder how the sound of your videogames came to life?
• Ever wonder how hundreds of sounds make their way through your television?
• Ever wonder how that helicopter whizzes around your head at the movies?
• Ever wonder how you’re hearing everything at a concert?
• Ever wonder how that voice does that “thing” on your favorite song?

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Capture. Contour. Edit. Combine. Collaborate. These are just a few of the words that we use to describe the process of dealing with audio, at the professional level.

Historically, the “sounds” we’ve heard were captured in the traditional environment of a large recording space, connected to a control room with tons of equipment, that allowed Audio Engineers to commit those sounds to an analog tape recorder, and played back, repeatedly, until the client was satisfied with the sonic result. That “result” may have been a song on an upcoming record, the score for a certain scene of a theatrical release, pre-recorded audio for television broadcast, and maybe even the sounds of footsteps in a creepy scene of a movie.

Although that romantic notion of being in that kind of “environment” still exists in large scale, the times have changed, and technology has made massive progress in the ease of dealing with professional audio, from the convenience of your personal computing device, like your computer... and, even your phone! That’s right, it is possible to be an audio professional in today’s day and age, if you’re using the “right tools.”

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Moved by the Op-Ed that Virginia Foxx (R, North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District) wrote for The Wall Street Journal, I would love to take the opportunity to lend support to her point of view and help substantiate “how often misused words generate misleading thoughts.” Please take a moment to read it for yourself:

By Virginia Foxx  Dec. 31, 2018 6:22 p.m. ET

I know how it feels to be the only woman in a room of powerful men. I also know how it feels to be tuned out because of how I look or where I’m from. For these reasons I’m sympathetic to those who are passionate about changing culture for the better by promoting “inclusive” language. But the focus on inclusivity hasn’t extended to the way we talk about education.

Education has always been the key to opportunity in America, rightly called “the great equalizer.” But the sociologist Herbert Spencer once noted “how often misused words generate misleading thoughts.” By placing descriptors like “vocational” and “technical” in front of the word “education,” we generate misleading thoughts about the types of people who enroll in such programs.

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If ever there were two words whose meanings have been blurred, in the Audio World, it’s MIXING and MASTERING. Most “listeners” don’t truly concern themselves about the process, rather they just enjoy the music coming out of their speakers. For that matter, this process of MIXING and MASTERING happens in all disciplines of Audio (Music Production, Video Game Audio, Post Production, Live Sound Reinforcement, and Broadcast Audio), but it is typically “invisible” to the listener. However, there are a few exceptional “listeners” that find themselves wanting to pursue their passion in music (or sound), and do not realize that they might be misusing the terms that truly represent MIXING and MASTERING.

Music Production Sound Engineering

Although MIXING and MASTERING happens in all disciplines, let’s focus on Music Production to accurately define the terms.

Since most consumers are never part of the entire process of “making a record,” but trust me when I tell you, it’s quite the process! Imagine this: An Artist has created/written s song and wants to record it so that they can distribute the song to their fans (and hopefully gain new fans!). If they are a notable Artist, they’ll contact their Producer, and set the wheels in motion. The Producer will listen to the song and piece together a plan of action, which might include: booking a studio, booking musicians, enlisting the help of an Audio Engineer, and making sure that there’s enough time and talent to make it all happen.

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Audio Production is an often-misunderstood phrase. While most quickly assume that these words mean the “making” of music, the reality is that these words are more of an “umbrella” for all the efforts that go into a finished product.

There is so much more to “audio” than merely music. It’s everywhere around us. Every Video Game, every movie, every concert, every live stream, every record, every television show… there are scores of experts dealing with the audio side of the event. Oh, the things we take for granted…

Most consumers don’t put a lot of thought into how they’re actually “listening” to what they’re hearing. If it’s a favorite song of theirs, they assume that the artist(s) must have entered a recording studio, the lights must have dimmed, and moments later “the song” was born of sheer magic.

When a movie is being viewed, we try to wrap our heads around the story, but fail to realize that the sound effects, and musical orchestration, evokes the emotion that the viewer must live through, in order to convey the atmosphere that the movie-makers originally envisioned.

In watching a sporting event on tv, we fail to rationalize how we HEARD the swoosh of the basketball passing through the net, or that the sounds must match the visuals that are being passed from one camera to another.

I’d bet you don’t think about the two different concerts that are happening at once, when you go see an artist perform live. That’s right… there’s a team of experts controlling the sound for the audience, and another team controlling the sound on stage, so that the artists can hear themselves over the roar of the crowd.

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The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu), an institution for audio engineering education, is proud to announce that its students recently had the opportunity to practice mixing live audio and video feeds from FOX SPORTS in the school’s 42-ft. remote-production mobile broadcast trailer during a three-game Arizona Diamondbacks home stand versus the Seattle Mariners Aug. 24-26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

“Our students received the raw feed from FOX and were provided the opportunity to train in our state-of-the-art 42-foot mobile broadcast trailer,” said Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “The feeds included all the behind-the-scenes audio discussions and directions between the directors, broadcast crews, producers, engineers, and videographers. With all the background streaming in simultaneously, our students had the opportunity to experience what a broadcast is really like and to practice mixing the audio and follow directions amid the chaos of a live broadcast. This opportunity was devised to boost potential careers in broadcast audio in a real-world setting.”

The CRAS 42-ft. remote-production mobile broadcast trailer was located adjacent to the Mobile TV Group–MTVG HDX-31 truck on the broadcast pad at Chase Field. Fred Domenigoni, freelance senior audio engineer for FOX SPORTS ARIZONA, assisted CRAS staff with the help from Mobile TV Group engineers.

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As a “regular person,” there is so much that we take for granted, as far as education is concerned. We go through our days expecting that those we trust to our homes, our health, our vehicles, and our education are EXPERTS in their field. Every home we walk through, we assume that it must have been built well, by EXPERT craftsmen. Every visit to the doctor, we expect that their title carries it with the kind of EXPERTISE that will keep us happy and healthy. Every vehicle repair, we never really question their ABILITY, and suspect that it all must be fine. These expectations of expertise surround us daily, however, we never consider the EDUCATION of these EXPERTS, and how they took their new knowledge and made their way to the “expert level.”

In today’s world, EDUCATION is CRITICAL. If you really want to rise to the level of your DREAMS, you’ll have to gain the kind of knowledge it takes to be taken seriously in that field, and hat all starts with a proper EDUCATION. In your search for the “right” education, there are many things that you will need to take into consideration. Is this educational facility State licensed and Nationally Accredited? Does this educational facility have an excellent reputation in your chosen field? Will this educational facility foster and nurture your goals? Is an education at this facility TRULY the launch pad you need to spring from, to reach your goals? Will you have the opportunity of “touching” your education with a “hands on” approach to learning? Does this educational facility make part of their “success criteria” an INTERNSHIP/EXTERNSHIP?

The choices in education are vast. REMOTE learning is the essence of “online training,” and while it may convenience your life to take courses like these, the ability of “making real,” and “touching” the education are miniscule, because there is little-to-no application of the newfound knowledge. ON-SITE courses lend themselves to student-instructor interaction and networking with others either working in your chosen field or looking to.

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What to do, what to do? With the traditional start of a “school year” right around the corner, many people, just like you, are looking to find the education that will get them nearer their dreams. Depending on what YOUR dream is, you’ll research educational facilities that nurture your wants, and there are many of them out there. As you do your research, you’ll also find that many of these facilities are multi-year schools. While there are great things to say about a multi-year education, the one drawback is that the employment field keeps taking on new employees, while you’re busy taking on your education, and will continue to do so, until you’re ready to be employed.

This is where Trade and Technical Schools come into the picture. With a Trade and Technical School, YOU might be able to start living your dream far sooner than a series of “gen-ed-filled” years. You immerse yourself in the subject, amass an employable intellect, prove your abilities with hands-on training, and can quickly enter the working-world… but, is it WORK if you’re living your DREAM and fostering your PASSIONS?!

If you’re still reading this, then obviously your interests are piqued with Audio. Yes, AUDIO! While some put forth the kind of effort to become “the Artist,” there are others, like YOU and I, which are cut from the cloth that excels at being “on the other side of the glass.”

Have you ever stopped to consider all the sounds that you hear? Ever stopped to think about where you’ve heard those sounds? How EXACTLY did those sounds get to your ears? What does it take to make all those sounds to come together? These are the kinds of questions that The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS) focus their attention on, so that YOU can start living your DREAM in as little as 11 months!

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Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences Students Recently Had the Opportunity to Practice Mixing Live Audio & Video Feeds from FOX SPORTS ARIZONA in the School’s 42-ft. Remote-Production Mobile Broadcast Trailer During a Phoenix Suns Home Game

From pit row at NASCAR races to the diamond at Major League Baseball games to the court at NBA games, Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu) students continue to have top-shelf opportunities to learn from the very best audio engineers and producers in the industry while on-site in real time.

Most recently, 12 CRAS students had the chance to practice mixing live audio and video feeds from FOX SPORTS ARIZONA in the school’s 42-ft. remote-production mobile broadcast trailer during a recent Phoenix Suns NBA home game versus the Los Angeles Clippers at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

“Training during a live professional sporting event such as NBA game is the chance of a lifetime for the next crop of professional audio engineers,” said Robert Brock, CRAS Director of Education. “The complexity, speed, and accuracy required for such a live broadcast was an eye opener for them. Dan Siekmann, Phoenix Suns V.P. of Broadcasting, was our initial point of contact and also toured our mobile broadcast unit. We are very grateful for his help in allowing our students this tremendous opportunity.”

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