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DOÑA ANA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

DACC’s media technology program includes audio certification

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Among the many other programs Doña Ana Community College offers through its Creative Media Technology (CMT) program, audio certification prepares students for a variety of careers in the audio industry.

Classes provide students with hands-on training using state-of-the-art equipment and technology, said DACC instructor Jason Begin. Students learn about the real-world application of multi-track recording, mixing and editing, with emphasis is placed on the physics, theory, understanding and practical application of audio so they can work in film and television production, gaming and a variety of other fields.

“There are a lot of avenues that are available to students,” Begin said.

In 16 credit hours at a total cost of about $1,100, students can learn “the theory and practice of audio production and post-production,” according to the DACC website.

The new hardware and software that are part of CMT’s audio program are “very cutting edge,” said Begin, who has an audio engineering degree from Ithaca College and has worked for more than a dozen years in the field, He is also a musician and composer.

With audio and particularly music as his long-time vocation and even longer-time avocation, Begin is keenly aware that sound is a vital but often overlooked component in many creative endeavors, including movies, television shows and commercials, music videos and game design.

In the pie that is creative media, Begin said, sound is “the small piece that’s often missing. Sound in film is the last thing to be thought of and it’s the first thing you will notice if it’s wrong,” he said.

And yet, nothing points out an amateur production more quickly or more certainly than poor sound quality, said DACC Arts Department professor Lamaia Vaughn.

In addition to gaining the credentials to work in a creative industry that pays well, Begin said “all of my students have had a lot of fun in these courses. The kids that I work with have so much determination and talent,” he said.

“There’s a lot of talent in Las Cruces, a large artist population,” Vaughn said. “It becomes very evident in our classrooms.”

The audio program is just one way CMT has been able to successfully “cross pollinate” with the Creative Media Institute (CMI) on New Mexico State University’s main campus, Begin said, with the programs working together to prepare students to work in all aspects of filmmaking and other creative media, including animation. 

CMT classes are taught on DACC’s East Mesa campus, 2800 Sonoma Ranch Blvd. Audio courses will be available during the spring 2020 semester.

For more information, contact Vaughn at 575-639-3636 or avaughn@nmsu.edu. Visit https://dacc.nmsu.edu/cmt/new-creative-media-technology-home/cmt/.

Doña Ana Community College, DACC, Creative Media Technology, Audio Certification

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