The Audio Production Techniques program educates students in the fundamental concepts and skills of multi-track analog and digital audio recording by borrowing the basic and intermediate sections from the Recording Engineering and Studio Techniques program. It then adds extensive education in advanced digital audio technology—including advanced, in-depth training in ProTools—and applies this knowledge and skill to the creation of recorded audio products through the recording, mixing, editing and manipulation of sonic elements in both the analog and digital domains. By establishing a strong foundation in the theories of sound and the techniques of professional recording, students gain valuable insight to the advanced skill set required in the modern day recording environment, which integrates both digital and analog technologies into one seamless system. This program prepares graduates for a wide variety of employment opportunities, including record production, audio production for radio, theater, commercial jingles, music beds, and a vast number of other areas that require basic recording skills along with advanced digital editing and manipulation of audio. Additionally, the linear and non-linear editing skills taught in this program will substantially enhance the employment status of studio recording engineers and live sound engineers.
As an Audio Production Techniques student, you will work hands-on with the finest professional microphones, learn the ins and outs of magnetic recording, signal processing, and the signal flow and operation of large-format professional API 24×8 and SSL 9072 J recording consoles, including hands-on recording and automated mix. You will be trained by the experts as you gain practical, hands-on experience on modern Artist Series and Icon digital consoles as you mix in both stereo and surround.
This intensive, hands-on learning experience includes four recording and mixing projects. One of these will be your own personal project, where you will choose the music and artists, and bring all of the analog and digital concepts together to record, edit, and mix the music yourself in the ProTools digital environment. We also teach using a variety of plug ins including MCDSP, Izotope, and Waves.
The Audio Production Techniques program can be taken individually, in combination with other Component programs, or as part of Omega’s Comprehensive, Audio Engineering for the Music Industry, or Audio Engineering for Film and Television programs. The program duration is approximately 44 weeks for daytime students and 52 weeks for evening students. Successful graduates also have the opportunity to receive Avid ProTools Certification in Music Production.
The Recording Engineering and Studio Techniques program provides training in the concepts and skills of professional multi-track studio recording and mixing. Using a carefully crafted curriculum of lecture and hands-on training, this program establishes a solid foundation by teaching the scientific principles and concepts associated with sound and audio recording, and then applying these principles with hands-on activities in world class professional recording studios. The result is a thoroughly trained and exceptionally competent recording engineer, qualified to work in any professional studio, and capable of performing at the highest standards of the recording industry.
As a Recording Engineering student, you will begin by gaining an understanding of the fundamental physics of sound, including harmonic series, frequency response, dynamic range, phase characteristics, hearing contours and basic measurements; and progress though the conversion of sound into electronic signals through the use of microphones. You will learn to understand all of the various types of microphones, their construction, principles of operation and sonic characteristics, and apply the secrets of microphone selection and technique to capturing the most accurate and pleasing sounds. Through both lecture and hands-on application you will master the operation of signal processors, such as reverbs, harmonizers, compressors, limiters, equalizers, gates and all of the other devices which have become standard tools of the recording engineer. You will come to know the many types and configurations of professional recording consoles, understand the principles of signal flow and learn the principles and practice of mix automation. You will receive intense and extensive hands-on training on some of the finest large-format consoles found in the industry, including the split-configuration 32-channel API 24×8, the 72-channel SSL 9072, and the 60-channel Neve VR analog consoles; and the Avid Artist Series and 48-fader, dual operator ICON digital consoles.
You will receive instruction in the scientific theory and principles of both analog and digital recording, and you will apply your understanding by engineering both analog and digital recording sessions and mixes, including sessions in which both analog and digital are synchronized and used together in the same recording. You will become expert in the theory and practice of magnetic recording, including the alignment and calibration of tape recorders; as well as receiving training in digital recording systems, including Pro Tools training for recording, mixing and basic editing. You will also apply this knowledge to the digital mastering of compact discs and dvds. We also teach how to use plug ins from MCDSP, Izotope, Waves, and more.
During the course of instruction, you will do at least four recording sessions and mixes, in both stereo and surround sound. One of these will be your own personal project, in which you choose the musicians and the music, and personally engineer a major recording session and automated mix. You will have access to any and all of the studios, fine microphones and top-of-the-line professional equipment in the world-class Omega Recording Studios.
By the time you graduate from the Recording Engineering and Studio Techniques program, you will understand all of the technologies associated with a modern, professional recording studio, and will have become proficient in the operation of millions of dollars of the finest equipment in the industry. You will be qualified to work in any professional recording situation, and ready to add your talent and training to those of the artists and producers in the production of music, advertising, or any of the other vast types of audio recording projects.
Each of the programs at the Omega Studios’ School has been carefully crafted to provide a clearly defined vocational objective. However, a highly motivated student desiring the strongest educational foundation for a career—and the greatest possible choice of jobs in audio recording and production—should seriously consider enrolling in all the courses offered by the Omega Studios’ School. We refer to this combination as the Comprehensive Recording Industry Program.
The Comprehensive program combines the curricula of the Audio Engineering for the Music Industry and the Audio Engineering for Film and Television programs. It prepares students for careers as audio engineers in virtually any position in the music, motion picture, or television industries. In the same way that elective courses contribute to a student’s major educational focus, the intensive and multi-faceted education resulting from the Comprehensive program will provide the student with a diverse range of skills and an even greater potential for successful employment. Omega’s Comprehensive graduates are the most highly qualified candidates available, with skills and training to handle any audio engineering job or task, anywhere.
Jobs in audio engineering are changing fast, spurred by the rapid development of audio and computer technology. Variety, flexibility, and the ability to combine skills is the name of the game in achieving success, as the many different disciplines in audio for the music and motion picture industries increasingly overlap. Omega’s Comprehensive graduates are prepared to handle all of these requirements. They are especially successful in finding employment, thanks to the thoroughness of the training they receive in the Comprehensive Recording Industry Program.
The Audio Engineering for the Music Industry program provides training in every aspect of audio engineering for the music industry. Our music production school prepares students for careers as recording engineers, live sound engineers, record producers, and a wide variety of other music industry positions where thorough training in audio and an understanding of recording technology is essential. By utilizing all of the Component programs in their entirety (which are described in detail here) this program provides students with the depth of knowledge and the wide variety of skills required for success in today’s music industry.
As an Audio Engineering for the Music Industry student, you will start with the basic physics of sound, and progress through the theory and practice of analog and digital recording, mixing, operation of large format recording consoles, signal processing, microphones, multi-system synchronization, and all other technologies of twenty-first century recording. You will master the theory, operation and programming of synthesizers, samplers and sequencers for electronic music production, with applications for both recording and live performance. You will apply this knowledge and skill to the creation of recorded audio products through the editing and manipulation of sonic elements, and acquire in-depth training in digital technologies, including training in ProTools. You will also apply these same skills to sound reinforcement for live musical performances, including concert, theater and festival applications. And you will gain the industry knowledge, key legal concepts, and business practices and customs essential for building a successful career in music, recording and broadcasting. Upon completion, you can also receive Avid ProTools Certification in Music Production.
Jobs in the music industry are constantly evolving and changing as technologies become more powerful and cross over into new areas of music production. Tasks that once were divided among several engineers are now increasingly handled by a single, more qualified individual. For instance, MIDI has become a record production tool in every style of music, as well as in live sound reinforcement. Digital audio has become a major factor in electronic techno-music production. Producers are combining analog and digital recording to achieve higher quality and unique sounds. As the different disciplines in the music industry continue to become mixed and combined, our students are especially successful, thanks to the “cross-platform” training they receive in the Audio Engineering for the Music Industry program.