JULY GUEST LECTURES AT OIART

Each year, OIART welcomes a wealth of industry experts to meet and teach our students. Here are some of the highlights of OIART guest lecturers over the past month:

Vic Florencia - Juno Engineer of the Year 2006

Vic Florencia delivered a special mixing clinic for OIART students. He broke down a track and discussed his approach to processing and polishing a final mix. Vic won the Juno for Engineer of the Year in 2006 for his work with Esthero and Danko Jones. He shared both his technical knowledge and his approach to the industry and client service. Vic's other engineering and mixing credits include Nelly Furtado, Joss Stone, Sean Lennon, Marc Jordan and Hillary Duff.

Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) - Producer

Musician and Producer Steve Berlin has been a fixture on the alternative music scene since 1980. Though he is primarily known as a member of Los Lobos, producing and performing on their hit soundtrack for the film La Bamba, Steve has produced albums for Faith No More, Ozomatli, Angelique Kidjo, The Crash Test Dummies, Great Big Sea, Nathan Wiley and numerous others. As a musician, Steve has performed with the likes of REM, John Lee Hooker and Sheryl Crow. He also worked on Paul Simon's classic "Graceland" album and acted as horn arranger for the Dixie Chicks' multiple Grammy winning album, "Taking the Long Way". Steve also produced the albums "Phantom Power" and "Music at Work" with Canadian icons the Tragically Hip.

Steve discussed his history in the music business, from the Los Angeles punk scene of the early 1980's to playing with Los Lobos, and his inspired approach to record production. He deconstructed several songs including "Fireworks" from Phantom Power and others by Faith No More, Los Super Seven, and Nathan Wiley to illustrate his creative approach to capturing great performances.

Phil Manning - Manager, Westbury National Show Systems

Phil Manning is the warehouse manager at one of Canada's largest live show companies—Westbury National Show Systems. Phil discussed professionalism in the workplace, and how one's personality, motivation, and ethics contribute to a long and prosperous career in the audio industry. Phil also addressed approaches to finding audio employment and moving up the ladder.

John Hunter - Live Sound, Air Canada Centre, Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors

John Hunter, an OIART graduate from 1999, returned to his alma mater to talk about his career in live sound in Toronto. John performs all the in-house mixing for Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors games.

John is also responsible for sound in the venues in the new Toronto Distillery District. John's entertaining and informative lecture covered the technical requirements of sound reinforcement and the ultimate goal of making the client happy.

Michael Edward Jackson - Television Mixer

Michael Jackson's career in audio spans over 30 years, with stops along the way at PYE studios in London, England, Alliance Atlantis, TVOntario and CTV. Each year, Michael gives our students a five-part lecture series on the finer points of dealing with clients and technical challenges in the studio and post production world.

Lively and filled with stories and detail, Michael presented a breakdown of the archetypes of clients, employers and co-workers a graduate might encounter in their audio career.