Another Decade, Another Blog

It's been almost a full decade since my last blog post. Much has changed in the last 9 years. If you're one of the 5 followers of my blog, you'll likely know what that has been. If not, I'll try to provide a brief synopsis. 

Prior to by blogging days, I used to work for Digidesign as a Product Specialist. It was a really fun gig and I could have seen myself doing that for as long as Digi would let me. It late 2007, I found out, along with 200+ of my fellow colleagues, we weren't going to be allowed to enjoy the Digi lifestyle. Avid, the parent company decided to consolidate and laid off a large part of the Digi workforce. The economy took a nose dive in 2008. What was I to do?

I'd always had side projects as a freelance engineer. Mostly mastering projects for friends and family. Since I had more time on my hands, I thought I would devote more time to my freelancing. Many opportunities came my way. I got to do everything from location multi-track recording, to post-production, to mixing, live sound, as well as mastering. I thought this would work. I even began managing a band-new recording studio. Things were looking up.

Sadly, as the economy struggled, independent artists were also struggling. Fewer and fewer projects came through. I needed part-time work to supplement income. 2009 saw major upheavals with my personal life. The studio owner decided to close down and sell half of the equipment. At one point, I was working four part-time jobs to put food on the table for myself and my children. Trying to gain full-time employment during that time, was incredibly difficult. Likewise, all the available  jobs for which I was qualified, paid substantially less than a living wage. 

This was all compounded by a few of the projects I worked on failed to pay me. One was a friend whom I had worked with before. Another was a surround mixing project for a DVD where I rented a room at a studio. My pay for the project was going to be a certain percentage of the sales. I had every reason to trust this production company as I had previously worked with them. I never saw a penny from the sales. The studio from whom I'd rented the room needed payment, and I couldn't afford to pay them. A bitter taste was forming in my mouth towards pro audio.

By the time 2012 came around, I hadn't time to work on any music projects. I was working 70-80 hours per week between two jobs. I decided then I would only work on music projects for family and close friends. Anytime a project outside that criteria came my way, I politely declined. I sold most of my audio equipment and never looked back.

Fast-forward to the present day. I've moved across the country. I have one full-time job as a media technician with the Department of Music at  major university. I get make music every day when I bang on the skins before heading off to work. My family life is strong and happy. I'm half-way through an online masters program through Appalachian State University. It's been both challenging and fun. 

So, why start blogging again? In short, it fits in line with my long-term goal of starting a recording arts program at the university I work. One of the classes I'm currently taking is focusing on Professional Learning Networks (PLN) at the moment. Those networks are the relationships of groups and information gathering points to help you stay abreast of the current trends and continue learning. These networks require deliberate planning and dedication. So, as I've been planning my PLN, it occurred to me that I used to have a fairly sophisticated PLN when I was in pro audio. There are a myriad of organizations which are critical in developing the latest technologies and furthering the pro audio field. I've reconnected with some of those in earnest. As I reconnect with them, I wanted to note my experiences. My hope is that they are, in some small way, a way to assist others with their PLN's.

In the blogs to come, I plan to share stories of what happens when I reconnect with these PLN's. I want to share what I learn about how they might related to my long-term goals as stated above. 

One of my earliest mentors told me that we audio engineers never stop learning. There isn't one person on the planet that knows everything there is to know about audio. As technology in pro audio changes, there are more an more opportunities to learn. Take gaming sound design for example. I'd like learn what processes are involved in making sound effects appear to come from behind you when you're about to be attacked despite wearing headphones. Along with that is the whole field of immersive audio and what are the latest process involved to create a surround sound field. What's the future for delivering immersive audio? What codecs will we be using? I thought DSD was the bee's knees (still do), but support from Sony stopped and I now have an SACD players and few discs which are now irrelevant. Is there a new digital audio format on the horizon?

All of these are questions I want answers to. Only with the help of my PLN will I get those answers.