Sound Production students to see everything the industry has to offer
Classes will visit HBO, Mercy, other production studios
Sound Production students at the Center for Career Services are about to embark on an exciting second half of the school year, one filled with opportunities to learn more about the industry and enjoy real-life, hands-on experiences.
The class’ big plans start this month with a visit from a local production company. Next month, the students are scheduled to tour two live production studios and visit a university. This spring, they’ll provide their own sound production for live shows both on and off campus.
“These are real, hands-on experiences that you wouldn’t get at another school,” junior Zach Rechtschaffen of Scarsdale said.
First, Sound Production students will be given an opportunity to learn more about the industry from representatives of Corporate Audio Visual Services, a specialist in technical and creative services for live and virtual events located in Elmsford. The class also has three field trips planned in February: one to HBO studios in Manhattan, one to Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, and another to Alchemy Post Sound in Peekskill.
The trip to HBO headquarters was a stop in past years for the Sound Production program, but this will be the first trip to HBO since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They’ll have an opportunity to see people working on high-level, exclusive content and see how they work — how they have deliverables and need to meet deadlines, and do so at the highest level,” Sound Production teacher Sean Harty Rivera said.
The visit to Alchemy Post Sound will give students a first-hand look at a studio that works on Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) and Foley sound effect techniques, which are used on television shows and movies that appear on major streaming services. The studio also handles gaming audio, which is popular with students.
“When you think of Sound Production, you first think it’s just music,” said Aurora Johnson, a senior from Alexander Hamilton High School. “But when you are in this program and go on these trips, you see that there are so many more opportunities that people don’t realize. We get a look inside the industry.”
At Mercy University, Sound Production students will have an opportunity to work in Mercy’s studio with Mercy professors. The Center for Career Services recently entered into an articulation agreement with the university that allows Sound Production students to earn credits prior to enrolling at school.
After seeing and doing so much first-hand, Sound Production students will provide audio services for TV/Video Production’s first-ever film festival and a culminating event for Fashion Design & Merchandising.
All of the experiences in the coming weeks and months will have the students prepared.
“It’s great for us to be able to see the industry from the inside and see just how many different parts of the field there are,” said Ymonni Thomas, a senior from Woodlands High School.