AES Student Blog
Sponsors of the 134th AES Student Recording Competition in Rome: TASCAM
We present to you another big name of audio equipment kindly sponsoring the upcoming Student Recording Competition in Rome. We are deeply grateful for their support and very exited to give away some awesome prizes to the winners!
Posted: Sunday, March 17, 2013
Sponsors of the 134th AES Student Recording Competition in Rome: ECLIPSE TD
This post is about one of the companies sponsoring the upcoming Student Recording Competition in Rome. We are deeply grateful for their support and very exited to present some awesome prizes to the winners this year!
Eclipse TD is a Hifi loudspeaker manufacturer based in Japan, selling their renommated products all over the world. Some of their famous users are Brian Eno, Jim Anderson or Michael Nyman. In May, one of the student recording competition winners will become a new user too!
Posted: Friday, March 15, 2013
Student Competition Deadline Reminder!
https://secure.aes.org/events/competitions/?ID=10
https://secure.aes.org/events/competitions/?ID=11
Posted: Monday, March 11, 2013
AES 134 ROME: Student Competition Registration Now Open!
Registration for the AES 134 Student Recording and Student Design Competitions is now available!
Participants must first register as a Student for the AES 134 Full Program here.
To sign up for the Student Recording Competition, first read the official rules here, then visit https://secure.aes.org/events/competitions/?ID=10
To sign up for the Student Design Competition, first read the REVISED official rules here, then visit https://secure.aes.org/events/competitions/?ID=11
The deadline for Recording Competition entry is March 17th, 2013.
The deadline for Design Competition entry is April 1st, 2013.
May the best engineers win!
Posted: Sunday, February 17, 2013
Student Recording Competition Finalist and Award Winner: Alexander Choeb
We are happy to post some interviews with the student recording competition winners of the AES133 in San Fransico. Congratulations again!
silver award winner of category 1 (traditional acoustic recording): Alexander Choeb
SDA: Tell us a little bit about you.
Alex: I was born and raised in Southern Germany. Currently I am enrolled in the Tonmeister study programme at the University of the Arts Berlin. Since I am a musician as well, I try to achieve a broad expertise in audio production from classical music to Jazz and Pop.
SDA: Tell us about the production of your competition entry. How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry? Stories? Inspirations?
Alex: My competition entry (piano solo) was a demo recording made at the Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada, in March 2012. Most of the work on it was done during the 3-hour-recording session by working together with the player to get her best performance on tape. From the technical point of view it was a pretty simple recording: Two spaced omni microphones and a little bit of reverb. Not a fancy approach at all.
SDA:What initiated your passion for audio?
Alex: Since I have been a musician for most of my life, I was fascinated by the possibilities of audio recording and production and its impact on our listening habits.
SDA: How did the AES help you on your way of being a successful audio engineer?
Alex: Getting honest feedback is the best way to learn how the industry works.
SDA: What are your highlights of the AES133 in San Francisco?
Alex: The Student Recording Competition! There is so much to learn from all the other students and from the judges - you really should not miss it if you have the opportunity to attend a AES convention.
SDA: What is the best recording of all time?
Alex: There is no such thing as one recording on top of a million others. It's a matter of music, time, taste and technology.
SDA: Do you play any instruments?
Alex: Violin, Piano, Drums.
SDA: Where do you want to be in 10 years?
Alex: Tough question! I hope that I will still try to learn as much as possible and to develop my knowledge and my skills as an engineer.
Posted: Friday, February 15, 2013
'Up your Output!' AES British Section Student Event
The AES British Section is having a student event 9th March 2013 at the SAE Institute, London, E8 4DD.
The summit is taking place from 11am - 7pm, followed by post-event social until late! This free one-day event is exclusively for AES student members and will include:
-lectures from some of the UK’s leading experts
-career advice from high-profile companies in the audio industry
-exhibitors
-lots of free tea and coffee
-post-event social with free drinks
-special guests
more details will follow soon!
www.aes-uk.org/up
Posted: Saturday, February 2, 2013
Central Indiana Audio Student Workshop 2013
CIASW 2013 — Just two weeks away!
Scheduled for February 16, 2013, the conference is a chance for audio enthusiasts in the Midwest to mingle, network, and learn more about the art and science of audio. Attendees will have access to a full day of presentations and demos by folks like Mark Rubel of Pogo Studios, educator and author Gary Gottlieb, Daniel Porter of Auralex, and Marc DeGeorge of SSL. Recording critiques, business tips, career seminars, and a whole lot more! And it's all FREE for students, pros, and hobbyists!
The event will be held at Indiana University – Bloomington.
Learn more and register at http://centralindianaaes.org/
Posted: Thursday, January 31, 2013
Student Recording Competition Finalist and Award Winner: Pouya Hamidi
We are happy to post some interviews with the student recording competition winners of the AES133 in San Fransico. Congratulations again!
silver award winner of category 2 (traditional studio recording): Pouya Hamidi
SDA: Tell us a little bit about you.
Pouya: I moved to Toronto, Canada from Iran at the age of 12 to pursue my composition and piano performance career. I got a Bachelor's degree, double majoring in Composition and Piano Performance at University of Toronto. During my studies at U of T I composed the music for a number of independent films, some making it to international film festivals. I also founded an 8 member rock/electronic group called Sacred Balance similar to Radiohead and Massive Attack, composing and arranging the music for it with the singer/songwriter Chloe Charles. I also co-founded a quartet called Ladom Ensemble, inspired by Persian and Balkan music consisting of accordion, cello, hand percussion, and myself as pianist and composer.
At an intersection in my life, I chose what path to focus on: sound recording at McGill. It has become a passion and a real educational journey being at McGill University's excellent graduate sound recording program. I've done some projects and research on 22.2 surround sound and started an audio/video series called Audiolens (www.audiolens.ca) that aims to have studio quality sound with live video performances.
SDA: Tell us about the production of your competition entry. How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry? Stories? Inspirations?
Pouya: The recording is my first entry in the AES student competition. The recording was done by contacting my good friend Maneli Jamal (www.manelijamal.com) who lives in Toronto to see if he was interested to have his songs recorded and produced by me at McGill university. He is a super-talented finger-style acoustic guitarist who makes sounds from the guitar that seem impossible to do with two hands. One of the sonic focuses of the recording was to capture the diverse playing technique that involves making percussive sounds by hitting the body of the guitar and using both hands to play melodic content. As a producer I worked with Maneli a few weeks before the recording at his home in Toronto, going through all of the songs that we were going to record, working on things like phrasing, dynamics, and form. I find the pre-production meetings (before stepping inside the studio) had a very positive influence in the outcome of the recording.
The recordings were done during freezing winter nights in Montreal. We could only get the studio during the overnight slot from midnight to 7am. Staying focused and sane was critical! The temperature in the studio would fluctuate session by session and, as we know, this not only puts strain on the acoustic instrument but it also affects the positioning of the microphones. So every session we had to use our ears to make sure we matched the sound of the other songs we were recording.
SDA: What initiated your passion for audio?
Pouya: My passion for audio was initiated by listening to a lot of music. I was always fascinated by the way sounds were translated to electric signal and reproducible in speakers. Also I liked the way it is a creative art where there is no one right way to record and it can be individualistic.
SDA: How did the AES help you on your way of being a successful audio engineer?
Pouya: A big part of being a successful audio engineer is being influenced by other inspiring audio engineers. The conventions are a place to see this in action and hear about the latest technological advances in the audio world. AES also has a wealth of resources that can be easily accessed on their website. Their competitions also provide a great opportunity to get useful feedback from world renowned guests and also to be motivated and rewarded for our efforts.
SDA: What are your highlights of the AES133 in San Francisco?
Pouya: The many informative lectures and the student competitions. Meeting many other people who have the same passion for audio. A highlight was especially having the privilege of playing a mix I did in 9.1 as part of a presentation of other surround mixes and getting inspired by other people's effective approach to this medium.
SDA: What was your funniest experience as an engineer so far?
Pouya: When an artist in the studio was too hot (the temperature wasn't adjustable) and had to take off their pants to compensate.
SDA: Can you tell us your biggest mistake you made during a production?
Pouya: When I set up all of the studio for an overnight session then realizing that it was the following night!
SDA: What is the best recording of all time?
Pouya: Very hard question to answer. It's like what is the best composer. Every good recording has a special flavor. I like Mark Spike Stent's work on Bjork, Muse, and Massive Attack albums.
SDA: Do you play any instruments?
Pouya: I play the piano, violin, and other keyboards.
SDA: Any other hobbies?
Pouya: I'm into watching films, especially a lot of documentaries recently. I also enjoy bicycling. Last summer we did some bicycle camping. And I like camping and mountain hiking.
SDA: Where do you want to be in 10 years?
Pouya: I would like to be part of a studio that records diverse artists. I also like to be a producer that works with various bands and collaborate on live and studio projects.
Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Recap: AES 133 Student Design Exhibition
Hey, folks! Check out these awesome projects from the AES 133 Student Design Exhibition!
Get ready! The AES 134 Student Design Competition is coming soon. Check back for more information.
Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Student Design Competition Finalist and Award Winner: Marc Messier
We are happy to post some interviews with the student design competition winners of the AES 133 in San Fransico. Congratulations again!
honorable mention of category 1 (Undergraduate): Marc Messier
SDA: Tell us a little bit about you. Where are you from? Where and what do you study?
Marc: I am originally from Fall River, Massachusetts. I currently study Electrical Engineering at the University of Miami.
SDA: Tell us about your Design Competition entry. What were your inspirations? How long did it take to implement your concept? Any interesting stories?
Marc: My Design Competition entry started out as a project for my Electronics class. The assignment was pretty open ended: design something cool using the material covered in class. I had always wanted to design an analog audio synthesizer. My friend Jordan and I started out by playing around with a lot of different designs for oscillators and distortion effects, and the project grew from there.
SDA: What initiated your passion for audio software or hardware design? What was your first project?
Marc: I have been playing guitar since age six. I got really into electric guitar in high school. I loved playing with effects pedals. I didn’t understand how they worked though. To me, it was magic. That’s how I got into electrical engineering. Believe it or not, this was my first real hardware design project.
SDA: What is the biggest mistake you made during a project?
Marc: I generally feel that I should have spent more time researching other designs and implementing them to get a feel for what I was going for when I work on a project. Being a full-time engineering student involved with various clubs and organizations, it can be difficult to make time for such research projects though.
SDA: What are your highlights of AES 133 San Francisco?
Marc: I had a lot of good experiences during the AES 133 San Francisco Conference. I was thrilled to be a finalist in the Design Competition. I also got to spend time meeting other students who had a lot in common with me. I learned new things from the various sessions on product design. Overall, it was a great experience, and I think I’ll be attending many more AES Conferences to come.
SDA: How has the AES helped you on your way to becoming a successful engineer?
Marc: AES helped me out by giving me networking opportunities to meet people in the fields where I want to be one day, establishing a design competition where I can both showcase my talents and meet other passionate students in engineering, and bringing in distinguished speakers to provide learning experiences to students like myself.
SDA: Any other hobbies?
Marc: I have always been into music, but a new hobby that I am beginning to foster is traveling. I enjoy going to different places and experiencing the lifestyles of others. I spent some time in Mexico over the summer and Portugal this winter. I have had positive experiences.
SDA: Where do you want to be in 10 years?
Marc: I want to be working for a well known technology company on the west coast in 10 years. I’d like to have a job that involves traveling to different cities around the world.
Posted: Friday, January 18, 2013
