Nicholas Schenck

Nicholas Schenck

About me

Activity

Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas Schenck
Discussion Comment
Introduction to Service Learning | Origin: ED121

I teach at a school for audio engineering, and my areas of focus are film/television sound and certification for Pro Tools (an industry standard software). Community service in this field isn't easy to explain to students, as they all seem to think they're going to make the significant jump from student to multi-award winning sound editors/mixers by next week; the reality is that they need to create a client base, a work ethic, and beyond reading texts and manuals, get their hands dirty and make mistakes.

I consistenly tell them that they should be meeting film students who need sound… >>>

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]]> ]]> One of the key lessons I learned as a new audio engineer (sound recordist, sound editor, re-recording mixer) is that people with experience don't take you seriously. The sound industry is all about "paying your dues," which someone told me very early on in my career. The best way to learn about the industry, and hone your craft, is to offer it to those who need it most as a donation. Fellow students at liberal arts colleges, musicians will always want to be recorded, filmmakers will always need sound work on their films, etc. If the students are in large enough cities where multiple schools exists, social media is an amazing way to find creatives (as they're collectively called, it seems) and pitch their abilities as someone who can only add value to a project. This gives the service learning experience on a few fronts: students are forced to be psychologists (because artists, whether directors or singers, need support, they become technical gurus (because it never fails that when you need a piece of gear to work most is exactly when it doesn't), they become creative (because the work at the student level is always lacking the experience of age and requires much more effort to accomplish simple tasks). I've found that to be the best way to create not only a sound basis for the craft, but also create a network of people who will become devout and loyal clients as time goes by and careers develop.

]]>
Nicholas Schenck

Nicholas Schenck

About me

Activity

Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas Schenck
Discussion Comment
Introduction to Service Learning | Origin: ED121

I teach at a school for audio engineering, and my areas of focus are film/television sound and certification for Pro Tools (an industry standard software). Community service in this field isn't easy to explain to students, as they all seem to think they're going to make the significant jump from student to multi-award winning sound editors/mixers by next week; the reality is that they need to create a client base, a work ethic, and beyond reading texts and manuals, get their hands dirty and make mistakes.

I consistenly tell them that they should be meeting film students who need sound… >>>

End of Content

End of Content

]]> ]]> One of the key lessons I learned as a new audio engineer (sound recordist, sound editor, re-recording mixer) is that people with experience don't take you seriously. The sound industry is all about "paying your dues," which someone told me very early on in my career. The best way to learn about the industry, and hone your craft, is to offer it to those who need it most as a donation. Fellow students at liberal arts colleges, musicians will always want to be recorded, filmmakers will always need sound work on their films, etc. If the students are in large enough cities where multiple schools exists, social media is an amazing way to find creatives (as they're collectively called, it seems) and pitch their abilities as someone who can only add value to a project. This gives the service learning experience on a few fronts: students are forced to be psychologists (because artists, whether directors or singers, need support, they become technical gurus (because it never fails that when you need a piece of gear to work most is exactly when it doesn't), they become creative (because the work at the student level is always lacking the experience of age and requires much more effort to accomplish simple tasks). I've found that to be the best way to create not only a sound basis for the craft, but also create a network of people who will become devout and loyal clients as time goes by and careers develop.

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