Here is brief update on some of my recent workshops and seminars. We have just successfully completed the UFVA Conference, held at Chapman University (Orange CA). On Saturday, Aug 17th, I will be presenting on a panel being held as part of the Holly Shorts Film Festival in Hollywood CA. I am co-presenting with Woody Woodhall CAS on the topic of audio for cinema. Woody is covering the post production side of things, and I will be discussing location sound recording.
The University Film and Video Association (www.UFVA.org) consists of professors (generically speaking, those who teach college) who instruct film & video production, and new media at colleges and universities all across the US and Canada. Once a year, the membership gathers during the summer for a week to discuss the craft of teaching, as well as to present academic or technical panels & workshops, and to screen/review each others films (the academic equivalent of publish or perish).
The Conference is hosted by different colleges each year so as to provide a variety of destinations and not only favor one geographical region. For 2013, the Conference is being held in Orange CA at Chapman University.
I am fortunate in that I have been teaching as an Adjunct at Chapman now for my second year; along with being an Adjunct Professor at California State University Northridge (for over 15 years).
I presented a workshop on Production Sound: The Multitrack Workflow on Wed, July 31 at 10:30am. It dealt with explaining what (students) should do when recording two, four, or eight-plus tracks: proper use of live mono or dual-mono composite mixes, plus ISO backups. I also touched on the hierarchy of mic techniques (boom, plant, lavalier, wireless) and explained the selection & use of shotgun mics.
Later during the conference, I was on Joel Krantz's workshops dealing with DCP, and the Avid to ProTools Workflow. Another audio topic in the conference that I took part in was the Foley workshop (presented by David Bondelevich CAS and Matt Meyer). On Saturday, I was pressed into doing two additional (ad hoc) workshops on sound, a result of popular request from many attendees during the conference. One workshop was on using mixing panels, and the other one dealt with rigging lavalier microphones.
Homeland Security
During May, I had the honor of teaching a workshop on basic audio recording for (overt) video production for law enforcement and homeland security that was held in the Bay Area (San Francisco region). The following day, I participated in a panel to discuss the merits of covert audio surveillance in conjunction with street cams. (Sorry, but I cannot answer any readers' questions related to this seminar, so don't ask.) I only included mention of this event so that the readership knows that I am active in the industry as an Instructor/Consultant.
National Association of Broadcasters
As many of you know, I was forced to cancel my participation in this year's NAB Show on account of a medical ermergency. I was supposed to have spent the week doing workshops and demo's on behalf of Audio Technica US. I was all packed and ready to drive out to Las Vegas, but symptoms similar to a cardiac issue required a visit to the ER the evening before my scheduled departure. Turned out, eventually, to have been a false alarm -- nothing wrong with the heart. But it took a couple days in the hospital and some follow up observation to be sure. (We finally came to the conclusion that the symptoms were caused by side effects from a medication I am on.) But by the time that I was cleared to travel, the show was mostly over.
I was touched by all of the concerned emails and phone calls that I received from show attendees who were shocked to NOT see me in the Audio Technica booth. Thank You all for your concern and best wishes.
I will be there next year!