Saturday Mornings at UCLA
I decided to fill in some of the gaps of my knowledge, and took a class this past winter at UCLA Extension in Westwood Village. I’ve taken online certifications, but haven’t been in the classroom setting (with my notebook and pencils ready to go) in several years. I have to admit I was a little nervous driving to the first day.
The act of going back to school is a little strange, but I had a lot of fun with it. Class was Saturday morning / early afternoon so I would go early and get coffee, and stay late and walk around. The 3 hours of class honestly flew by, taught by composer and should-be-comedian Alex Cote. Lots of the information I already knew or had a grasp on, but there was plenty for me to pick up in this class.
The class is called Recording, Mixing, and Editing Techniques for Film Composers. Aside from lectures, we worked in teams of 2 composers on a score for a short film, and did a practice session at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, which was definitely a highlight. All in all, a great experience that I’m glad that I decided to do. Surely there will be more back to school experiences in my future, as Im a believer in continuing to learn and grow. My Mom took several classes as an adult in business and creative writing, and her continued quest for knowledge is definitely an influence on me.
Soon after finishing with my very high grade in the class, just about as high as you can get, I jumped into working on a score for a 10 minute documentary and got to put some of the templating and pre-production tools that I learned to the test. I found myself thinking back to some of the things I’ve learned, so I’d say that was a success.
Lastly, my colleagues in class were great and I met some great composers, and look forward to seeing where their careers take them.
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