LuckyTimeProductions

About Me

Digital Media Diversity

Audio production is a very fulfilling area to work in. It's where I can incorporate my musical background along with my interest in sound synthesis. It also provides a convenient palette from which I can launch radio psa campaigns, craft radio productions, or even tweak archival audio projects.
Multimedia productions encompass so many different mediated forms--from photography to animation, audio to video, and text to video effects. It requires different skills and consistently provides me with both challenges and opportunities. It is also the driving force behind my personal mantra, "...always keep learning..."
Archival productions not only require a different skill set, but they demand a different world-view. Many people starting out in this area simply focus on the restoration process. They digitize elements and destructively move forward rather than taking the time to properly preserve the initially digitized elements. This becomes vitally important in a digital world where the software apps available tomorrow may have greater powers of restoration. But that only works if they can be applied to the untouched, original digital copies. Archival productions also provide the opportunity to breathe new life into almost-forgotten historical elements of the past.

My Bio

Thanks for reading my bio. I've been involved in communication, computers, electronics, & music technologies throughout my life. I started taking piano lessons when I was five. I built my first synthesizer when I was 16, and I started programming my first MIDI-configuration the year MIDI was introduced (1981). And there weren't any apps available for that back then--you did your coding in assembly language. Painstaking, time-consuming, code!!!
But I digress...
I've always been intrigued with synthesizers and electronic music (thank you Bob Moog & Wendy Carlos for getting me started). This was especially unique in the 60's and 70's when (by using electronic synthesizers) you could actually be the 1st person to create a sound that no one else had heard. (...and that was without any of the special medications that were available in those days.)

As often as possible, I tried to collectively apply all of my interests and hobbies. It was for this reason that I've played in various bands. From 1975 to 1997 I worked in rock bands, wedding bands, bar bands, and dinner-cruise bands. Each had their unique strengths and weaknesses. In 1986 I was hired as the music coordinator and organist for the SUNY Plattsburgh Men's Ice Hockey program (which I did for 23 years).
It was radio the provided the leap to digitally editing audio (goodbye razor blades & china pencils). The emergence of digital audio editing software and the simultaneous development of the Internet prompted the acquisition of new skills and opened up many different opportunities. It also occurred as I made the jump from the corporate world (Tandy) to the academic world (SUNY Plattsburgh).
Although the challenges are more unique, it makes me happy to see students not only succeed, but to actually enjoy what they do. I've tried to stay active in the production aspects of my job--since I never want to ask students to do something I haven't already done (or wouldn't be prepared to do, myself). At this point in my life I should be looking for a beach to retire to (but my daughters wouldn't allow that). Instead, I'll keep teaching and looking for those unique production projects that are waiting around the next corner of technology I've yet to explore...

Light Reading

In case you need more to read, might I recommend some of the stories/articles I've written. (It may seem narcissistic, but heck, you're already here...)

Sound-On-Sound Magazine, Sounding Off - Does the Future of Vinyl Rest in a Taco Bowl?

Sound-On-Sound Magazine, Sounding Off - Reel to Real: the True Impact of Audio Archival Processing

Graphic Design & Publishing Center (TM) - 10 Simple Presentation Tips for Professionals

Graphic Design & Publishing Center (TM) - Taking it to the Top: A Short Survey of Top Level Domain Options

Graphic Design & Publishing Center (TM) - 5 Steps to a Stand-Out Website

Looking Back from the Looking Glass - A Ghostly Tale