On November 9th, Tekserve and IK Multimedia gave a special seminar at IAR for our students.
Tekserve is New York’s premiere authorized Apple store and service provider, offering audio, video, and graphic solutions for creative professionals at all levels.
IK Multimedia is best known for its next-generation music software designed to take advantage of rapidly-evolving personal computer processors, revolutionizing the way people compose and play music.
Tekserve’s Karriem Shabazz spoke first about the most effective ways to set up computer gear for an audio project. He also shared helpful tips on how to run a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) session. Tekserve’s audio department head Chris Payne and sales rep Mike Solera joined Karriem for the Q&A session that followed. For both Chris and Karriem, it was a homecoming of sorts, since both are IAR graduates.
IK Multimedia’s Ian Williams demonstrated SampleTank and Miroslav Philharmonik, two of the company’s popular plug-ins, on his laptop. He also explained how IK’s computer modeling code requires less CPU horsepower than some other well-known sample and synthesizer plug-ins, which allows for a smoother-running DAW session with fewer crashes, if any.
One of the highlights of the evening was when Ian called on a student in the audience to play some guitar licks while he demonstrated the use of IK’s AmpliTube guitar plug-in, which is a guitar amp simulator that generartes very realistic emulations of popular amps, eliminating the need to purchase them.
Concluding the evening was the announcement that IAR students purchasing IK Multimedia software from Tekserve will receive special pricing.
On November 2nd, recording engineer Gabriel Pinheiro, a Grammy nominee and Brazilian Film Academy award winner, conducted a “Brazilian Percussion” class at IAR.
Gabriel discussed and demonstrated samba instruments and microphone choices, emphasisizing how to record samba and how it is mixed for a typical Brazilian recording. Assisting him were IAR instructors Dan Gaydos and noted percussionist Gary Fritz.
Gabriel began his career in 1996 at Mega Studios, one of the biggest recording studios in Rio de Janeiro, working mainly with the Neve V2 and SSL 4000 large-format consoles. He moved on to post-production within the company, working on films, documentaries, and TV ads.
Leaving Mega Studios to work as a freelance engineer at various studios throughout Rio, Gabriel returned to audio-post as a mixing engineer at VideoFilmes, one of Brazil’s most important film/documentary companies. There he won the Brazilian Film Academy award for Best Sound.
In 2001, he became the chief engineer at Biscoito Fino Records studio. He has recorded more than 35 albums, along with 4 DVDs and two film soundtracks, and he was nominated for the Latin Grammy award for Best Engineer in 2004.
On October 27th, IAR held its first highly anticipated A.F.P. (audio-for-picture) awards festival, which was a huge success. The event was hosted by festival creators (IAR staff member) Nell Gwynn and (post-production audio teacher) Dan Gaydos.
The standing-room-only event for IAR students showcased the audio post creative lab projects of fourth quarter students and included screenings of movie trailers for Lara Croft Tomb Raider and Saw II, movie scenes from Sin City, Speed, Lord of the Rings, and Chicken Little, TV commercials for Playstation2, Travelocity, and Volkswagon, and animation. Students were responsible for creating and mixing Foley, ADR, sound effects, and music for their projects.
1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place prizes were awarded, as were outstanding achievement awards for the following categories: Engineering for Audio Post, Production Sound, Music Supervision, Sound Effects, and Creative Work.
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the festival, and a special thanks to James Garvey (IAR Tech Support) for his technical ingenuity.
IAR is pleased to welcome a new addition to our faculty, Phil Painson, who will be teaching Digital Music Production.
Phil is a drummer, beat programmer, recording engineer, and producer who studied Business and Electrical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology and is also a graduate of the Center for Media Arts in New York.
Phil began his recording engineering career working at New York’s legendary Greene Street Recording Studio and Avatar (formerly known as Power Station). He has worked behind the console with such well-known artists as Public Enemy, Tricky, Nas, Roy Ayers, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Dave Matthews Band, Common, and Pete Rock, among others. Currently, he is engineering and collaborating with The Last Poets.
His own music has been released on Interscope Records, and he recently released High Life, a movie soundtrack, on GP Music. When not making music, recording, or producing, Phil enjoys running and is a sci-fi buff.
IAR and IARecords congratulate IAR student Rick Warren on winning The Next Level 3 new artist competition held by IARecords on October 20th. Rick was chosen as the winner out of eleven artists and bands by audio industry professionals from Inside Connection magazine and Disc Makers, who judged the event before a sold-out crowd at Arlene’s Grocery, New York’s legendary rock venue on the Lower East Side.
Other performers, all of whom gave outstanding performances, included Nidia, Chris Reck, The Sean Carolan Project, Channels the Auxiliary, Meets West, EMZ KEYZ, Impulse, 23, GBU, and Tony Haynes.
We would like to thank everyone involved in making the Next Level events such a success, with special thanks going to the panel of judges for taking the time to participate.
“I’d like to thank IAR and IARecords for giving me and other aspiring artists and bands the opportunity to perform. Arlene’s Grocery is such a great venue for this kind of event,” Rick said.
Stay tuned for information on The Next Level, Volume 3 album, participating artist/band bios, and future performances.
IAR teacher Jonathan Appell recently did the post-production audio for Ray Ellin’s film The Latin Legends of Comedy.
Part stand-up comedy concert and part documentary, the film captures the struggles and successes of the first Latino comedians who, over the course of twenty years, broke into and became pioneers of New York’s stand-up comedy scene. The comics (Joey Vega, J.J. Ramirez, and Angel Salazar), dear friends since the beginning of their careers, give stellar performances which demonstrate why they are the top Latino funnymen in the country.
The film, which won the Best Jury Award for a documentary at the Boston International Film Festival, has received great reviews and has been picked up by 20th Century Fox.
Congratulations, Jonathan!
Luiz Tornaghi graduated from IAR in 1993 and, after spending two more years in NYC, returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1995 to work at Visom, one of the main mastering studios in Brazil, where he eventually became Chief Engineer. Visom recorded and mixed at 96 kHz as soon as the technology became available, which gave Luiz the opportunity to work on the cutting edge, creating some of the first masters in 5.1 for DVD, DVD-audio, and SACD. Of special importance was a project he did in 2001 in which he transcribed and restored (from acetate records) 12,000 Brazilian songs that were recorded from 1902 until the 1950s.
Over the years, Luiz has had the privilege of mastering and mixing for some of Brazil’s foremost artists, including Maria Bethania, Ivan Lins (for which he won a Latin Grammy for Album of the Year in 2005), Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Joao Donato, Francis Hime, Paulinho da Viola, and Simone, among many others.
Today, Luiz is a partner in the mastering studio Batmastersom, which has a 5.1 system with B&W 805 speakers and does all processing with computers. In Luiz’s words, “we are finally at a point where, if you are very careful about every aspect of your system, you can have an all-digital signal path with enough quality to get any job done and have the invaluable advantage of instantaneously tweaking details anytime throughout a project.”
IAR is extremely proud to announce our new in-house radio station, IARadio.
We have just finished construction of a new student-run radio facility which enables our students to gain first-hand experience in radio production, recorded interviews, and IAR student event announcements.
The facility is equipped with a 16-input analog mixing console, Apple iMac Intel Core 2 Duo workstations, Pro Tools MBOX2 DAW, M-Audio Monitors, DBX CPU-controlled audio distribution system, turntables, DJ Mixer, and Shure SM57 microphone.
Currently, IARadio is broadcast throughout the school and features IAR student and alumni content exclusively, including original music compositions, mixes, and the latest album releases (Fluid, The Next Level Volume 2) from IARecords, IAR’s indie record label, as well as student radio segments which will feature music of the students’ choosing from our music library.
In the near future, you will be able to play, directly from our web site, IARadio’s audio content as well as view live streaming video content coming directly from the station.
Since graduating from IAR in 1991, Gonzalo Blanco has been involved in the communications industry on various levels, leading to his current position as Audio-Visual Coordinator for Lehman Brothers, a premier global investment bank that was founded in 1850.
Joining Lehman Brothers five years ago as Audio-Visual Technician, Gonzalo was promoted to Coordinator a year ago. He works on all in-house events and is in charge of web-casting, video conferencing, and the training of new technicians in the audio-visual department.
“IAR has helped me to succeed in several ways; I learned so much about the types of equipment we use at Lehman Brothers, concepts which have enabled me to train new technicians and to troubleshoot equipment. My education at IAR helped me to ease into my first position and has carried me through to this day,” he said.
His advice to current students: “Always keep an open mind in terms of the types of communications fields out there that may interest you. Look for what you enjoy doing, and always try to excel in your field. Take what you have learned from IAR, apply it to your position, and always share your knowledge with your colleagues as they, too, will have something to share with you. That’s how you learn and grow.”
2005 IAR grad DJ Yonny, aka Jonathan Avila, recently contacted us to let us know that he has been promoted to Executive Producer of the morning show at one of New York’s biggest radio stations, Power 105.1FM.
Shortly after graduating from IAR, Jonathan began interning at the station, where he became the Associate Producer of the Star & Buc Wild Show before taking on his current position. On occasion, he is also the weekend mix DJ.
Applying the knowledge he gained at IAR, Yonny is responsible for sound effects, instrumental music, music beds, new music content, and promos. Some of the artists he has booked are Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Loyd Banes, Jim Jones, and Bow Wow.
“I chose to attend IAR because of the location, program, and experienced faculty. Jake Ninan had the most impact on me. He taught digital technology in a way that was easy to understand. As a student in 2005, I became involved in the Remix Live events, Producing Your Song demos, and IAR Open Houses, paving the way for other students to perform and participate in the school’s events.” His advice to current students: “Be proactive and learn from others. This is your dream and passion; take your own initiative to pursue your career goals. Once you start working somewhere, be inquisitive and, most of all, network. Talk to people, ask questions, meet new people, and show interest in other areas. Don’t limit yourself.”
IAR is pleased to welcome a new addition to its renowned faculty, Bob Kirschner, who will be teaching post-production.
Bob’s passion for music and sound goes back to elementary school, where he played violin, piano, and trumpet. In high school, he discovered electronic music and played synthesizers and keyboards in progressive rock bands. He went on to study music and recording engineering at NYU.
In 1986, while freelancing at NYC recording studios, Bob started City Sound Productions. Working in conjunction with Downtown Avid since 1993, the business has provided music recording and audio/video post-production services on projects involving Yoko Ono, Bill Laswell, Jamaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, The Pet Shop Boys, Men Of Vizion, Garland Jeffreys, Maxi Priest, and Kid Creole and The Coconuts, as well as many local independent artists and producers.
Bob has played keyboards with NYC bands Uptown Atomics and The Fluid Foundation. He has also served as composer and performer for the Paradise Opera theater company, producing modern rock operas using pop and experimental electronic scores.
As an audio post-production engineer, Bob has worked on spots and long-form programs seen on Bravo, CNN, ESPN, Food Network, FOX, MSG Network, Oxygen Network, YES Network, and NHK Japan. He has worked on numerous independent features and shorts for theatrical and festival release and has mixed projects in 5.1 surround sound for DVD.
Bob’s first solo album of instrumental electronica/ambient music is entitled Sonic Snow.
On September 29th, IARecords, the Institute of Audio Research’s indie record label, released the student compilation album, Fluid. This is the first compilation of songs released by IARecords which highlights the achievements of our students in electronic music production. The songs are the product of student collaboration in the last two quarters of their MIDI Applications and advanced ProTools computer classes.
Some of the students came into the school with no previous musical experience, and most did not have any previous technical experience until beginning the IAR curriculum. The results of their achievements are reflected in this CD. All of the music demonstrates, for each student, personal levels of achievement significantly beyond where they were when they started. Not only were they able to accomplish full and competent productions, they also developed their musicianship by creating their first full-length compositions and learning about song structure and orchestration.
IAR teacher Flavio Gaete, who is originally from Caracas, Venezuela and holds degrees from Boston University (M.M., Viola Performance) and Berklee College of Music (B.M., Music Synthesis), described how he came up with the idea for Fluid. “Throughout many of my advanced ProTools courses (where I focus on MIDI as well as mixing techniques), I’ve had the pleasure of guiding the students in their journey to becoming independent producers. They comprise a vast mix of backgrounds; some come from foreign lands, some are into jazz, others are into alternative rock or hip-hop and house music, some have previous musical experience, and others have none. But most, if not all, of them were utterly inspired to work on their own music. They started with a couple of phrases or ideas or even whole verses. At the end of their last course, they managed to finish complete songs, which included not just the songwriting, but also the production, mixing, and mastering. The result of their efforts is reflected in our first compilation CD of music made almost entirely on a desktop computer. I present to you, Fluid!“
Congratulations to Flavio Gaete and the IAR students/featured artists on Fluid: DJ Ivan C, Heidi Harris, Shaman Isaac, Billy Joe Jones, Yong Kim, and Henry Miranda. For more information, please visit IARecords.
June 2004 IAR grad Jim Feeney is set to join Megadeth on GIGANTOUR, which kicks off September 4th, as the sound monitor for the band Lamb of God. The tour encompasses 25 cities across the United States and Canada.
Jim, who has been working as the assistant engineer at The Machine Shop recording studio in Hoboken, NJ since May 2005, was the assistant engineer for Lamb of God’s latest album, Sacrament, which hit #8 on the Billboard charts, as well as Halifax’s Inevitability of a Strange World.
Have an awesome time on the tour, Jim, and congratulations from IAR!
Since IAR teacher Maria Fernanda Ulibarri (“Uli”) released her first solo album, Simple, on May 30th, the single “Esperandote” has reached #14 on the charts of Bang Bang Radio, Latin America’s largest Internet radio station. Also, the album is now available for download at Apple’s ever-popular iTunes Music Store.
Congratulations, Uli!
2006 IAR alum and Mexico native Mauricio Vazquez recently contacted IAR to tell us that one of his musical compositions, Tombeau, is going to be performed at the Milano Musica Festival in Milan, Italy this October.
In 1998, Mauricio earned a degree at the Conservatory of Milan, perfecting his compositional skills under the guidance of maestros such as Franco Donatoni, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, Luis De Pablo, Luca Francesconi, and Salvatore Sciarrino. Simultaneously, he studied audio electronics and psychoacoustics. He then moved to New York for further audio education at the Institute of Audio Research.
Milano Musica’s Association of Contemporary Music, in describing his compostion, refers to the “multifaceted stimuli naturally reflected in his production, in which the elements of Mexican musical culture are filtered by western tradition. His music boasts of gestural elements and is distinguished by a particular predisposition for colors that are very strong and contrasting among one another.”
Currently, Mauricio has an internship at Phillip Glass’s studio, The Looking Glass, a state-of-the-art recording facility located in New York City. Congratulations, Mauricio!
1995 IAR graduate Scott McIntosh was recently featured in a Mix article online. Here are the details:
Mixer Scott McIntosh, who graduated from IAR with a degree in audio engineering and production, has joined Headroom Digital Audio in New York City, which serves the film, television, and advertising industries. Before joining Headroom, Scott spent several years as a mixer and sound designer at McHale Barone. He has handled projects for major advertising agencies including BBDO, Publicis, Hill Holiday, JWT, and Lowe Worldwide. He has also mixed commercials and other projects for Verizon Wireless, Canadian Club, Heineken, Cingular, Lipton Iced Tea, Saab, Malibu Rum, and others.
"Finding an engineer of Scott's caliber was no easy task. It took over a year to find just the right guy to fill that chair," said Headroom founder and president Jerry Plotkin. "His creativity, expertise, and chill vibe put Scott in great demand. He will be a strong addition to the Headroom team."
For more information, visit Headroom Digital Audio.
Recently, IAR contacted alum Peter Mohen, who has been involved in some fascinating work since graduating. Here’s what he had to tell us:
Upon graduation from IAR in 1971, Peter began a 13-year stint at Warner Brothers Music, where he worked as a music consultant and recording engineer in their demo studio at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. There, he pursued his passion for music by working closely with artists and songwriters in the production of new material for WBM’s music publishing division. Eventually, he was given responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the WBM recording studio. In addition to his function as recording engineer, it was his job as music consultant to suggest song ideas from the music catalog for recording artists and producers who were looking for new material to record.
In 1984, Peter left Warner to work in live concert sound at Radio City Music Hall. “Once, during a rehearsal, as I stood in the dark on stage adjusting a mic, an incredible thing happened. As the few people around me began to play, it dawned on me that I was standing in the middle of the great band U2, as they burst into an incredible version of their song, New Years Day. Needless to say, that was an experience I’ll never forget,” he recalled.
During that same period, Peter also apprenticed at Unitel Video on W57 Street, mixing audio for original VJs Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, and Julie Brown on MTV. “This really was my first experience mixing TV audio, and I found that I enjoyed mixing sound to picture.”
In 1986, he was hired as an audio technician at M.T.I. Studios on Park Avenue. There, while working on programs for Lifetime Television, he learned how to operate a boom mic, and he had the opportunity to work with such notables as Bill Cosby, Doctor Ruth, and Regis Philbin.
In 1994, Peter found himself at the White House doing field audio. Then, in 1995, he migrated to the Washington, DC Bureau of one of the world’s leading news outlets, CNN. Of all the positions he’s held there, from Master Control Operator to Technical Director, working in audio is what he loves to do best, and that’s just what he was selected to do last year for the launch of The Situation Room, hosted by Wolf Blitzer.
He was already working seven days a week, mixing not only The Situation Room but also Larry King Live, when Hurricane Katrina hit, devastating the Gulf Coast. CNN immediately began extensive coverage of the event, and Peter remained at the console throughout the duration. His efforts, along with those of his colleagues, were rewarded recently when CNN won a Peabody Award for significant and meritorious achievement in broadcasting.
Currently, Peter is a Primary Audio Mixer at CNN, which means he’s responsible for managing the audio content of complex, live network shows. This includes microphone set design, integration of remote sources, telecommunications hybrids, mixing microphones and music into network programming, and utilizing Euphonix Max Air digital audio consoles, ENCO DADpro32 music servers, and ProTools digital audio workstations. “This position requires a thorough understanding of advanced audio technology as well as a command of digital audio systems. The audio designer must posses the ability to work efficiently and independently, while collaborating with other members of the control room staff, under what can often be extremely high-pressure conditions, to create quality media content. I am also consulted by CNN regarding the acquisition, installation, and implementation of new audio gear.”
“Years before the explosion of digital technology, the education I received at IAR gave me a strong foundation in audio engineering, which I still draw from today. The principles and concepts I learned then are useful now in understanding digital signal processing and complex modern audio systems. In the ever-changing world of broadcast news, I call upon my IAR training every day.”
“Given the opportunity to speak with current IAR students, I would tell them to keep their minds open to new ideas and to look for opportunities to explore different aspects of their craft. In the exciting arena of modern technology, flexibility and open-mindedness are key to recognizing potential solutions to a given challenge. Also, interning is a valuable means of exploring different jobs. It’s important to study hard, work hard, and find a way to have fun with what you’re doing.”
IAR would like to thank Peter for taking the time out of his busy schedule at CNN to speak with us.
|
Latest News
News Archives
|
