Department Focus - Audio Engineering
For this month’s Department Focus, we caught up with Lecturer Dave Paterson from our Audio Engineering Department. From entry level NC Sound through to BSc (Hons), Perth College UHI provides modules in studio recording and production; live sound reinforcement; and sound design for film television and gaming/multimedia - to equip students for an ever-changing dynamic creative industy.
He explains:
“The facilities we have are some of the best in Scotland - not just in education, but in a commercial sense. There are not many studios in Scotland that have been designed specifically for recording by such a high profile firm as Eastlake Acoustics. The recording rooms are of the highest quality, and we have also equipped the studios and theatre with some of the best and most current technologies available in the audio industry. This is really important to us, as we want our students to step seamlessly into employment after their time with us. Of course, the music industry has been through some fundamental changes in the last ten years, but we have evolved our programmes to reflect what industry requires.
“We now have two virtual reality systems available to students who wish to explore the potentially huge opportunities that this technology will provide. In recent years, our year four students have produced virtual reality ‘soundscapes’ to accompany 360 video and have even created their own gaming environment to showcase their talents. Another huge shift in the audio industry is the move to digital. Yes, digital audio has been around for a long time but it’s only relatively recently that the technology has been available to send multiple audio streams along a normal ethernet cable. Now in the college, we have ethernet adaptors that allow us to stream 96 channels of audio along a single cable. This has opened up a host of areas for our students to explore. For example, by combining a 360 microphone able to record in all directions, we can transmit a fully immersive sound experience over ethernet to our virtual reality suites so that when someone puts on the VR headset, they will feel that they are actually attending the event as the sensors in the headset will adjust the sound to give a sense of directionality. Turning your head will make the sound change just like a real concert.
“Now, on to the broadcast suites that are available to our students. The broadcast industry has a significant presence in Scotland - there are many TV production companies, radio stations and an increasing amount of game developers. Our students have many opportunities to develop the necessary skills in order to confidently compete in these industries. Students in year three will have built up sufficient knowledge and skills in previous years to be able to submit soundscapes that fully comply with the latest broadcast standards. We are also introducing more specialist game audio development software and we hope to have a comprehensive package of modules that will take our students from beginners to competent operators during the NC, HNC and BSc. This culminates in completing an industry-recognised qualification at year three of the degree.
“I haven’t even mentioned the theatre yet. The theatre can host both music concerts and an increasing number of musicals. Like the studios, it has the same equipment you would find in theatres or at music festivals. The theatre is always very busy with events so please keep an eye out. The next musical by our students is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and, as usual, will be very popular.
“You can see we like to keep our students very busy. We want them to be challenged and we want them to find their own passion. We value individual development by encouraging our students to develop their own unique skillset in such a vast, complex and ever evolving industry. To encourage this, we have a major project at year four where the students can choose their own project by building on their knowledge. Recent projects have included communications systems using Raspberry Pis; loudspeaker design; album production; sound dubbing for TV; and a very unique immersive album cover that can be viewed on an iPad.”
