Every record has a producer who makes creative decisions and guides the project through completion, but what exactly do Producers DO?
To find out, this course will examine many questions regarding Record Production and Record Producers, for example: What are the phases of a recording project, and what is the Producer's role at each phase? How do producers estimate the materials, facilities and labor costs of a recording project? How can songs be remixed to explore new creative possibilities? How much can a recording be improved through mastering? What are the pitfalls of mastering one's own material? How do Producers identify the most important aspects of a record that must be conveyed to the listener? What are the career pathways people take to become a record producer? What are the skills and qualities the best Producers bring to record projects?
Questions such as these have become all the more important in the face of new music technologies that have had a profound impact on the way records are made. The audio quality of the home studio has reached parity with the audio quality of the professional studio. This is, however, a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it has put incredible power in the hands of recording artists, allowing them to produce their own album-quality work at home; on the other hand, it has also put this power in the hands of people who may lack the knowledge and training to make full use of it. The good news is that this trend may increase the need for quailified producers to assist artists in realizing their creative visions. That's where you come in.
MTEC-330 is a capstone course: Students will draw upon the skills they have gained in previous MTEC courses, including those in MIDI Production, Digital Audio Systems, Audio Production and Studio Workshop. Project work in the course will require proficiency in Digidesign Pro Tools, MIDI sequencing software, and general engineering and production techniques developed in the Studio Workshop courses. You will use these skills to produce new creative works in the studio. At the semester's end, we will present our best work to others in a concert showcase on December 11th, 2008.