CAS Quarterly

80 S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y equipment, including apps available on phones, into my teaching. This has made sound mixing more accessible to the students as they continue to exercise their amazing creativ- ity under challenging circumstances. Some have been directing actors over Zoom. Others have roped in their family members as actors in their stories. Recently, the students—many of whom initially went to their homes overseas—have returned to work on their small COVID-19 compliant shoots. I have been demonstrating equipment use via Zoom and attending their shoots remotely. However, to really gain the skills of sound mixing, there must be a practical element to learning and practicing in the field. It's not enough to know how to switch the gear on; there are also the aspects of listening through the headphones, on the set. Plus, there are the aspects of working on a crew and collaborating with the rest of the people on the set and understanding the dynamics of a set. To become a great mixer, a student needs to have a "Journeyman" experience to build on their classes. Tod: Yes, mostly in-person. We started in class in September, then we went to Zoom in November, and came back to in-person. The most difficult to teach is hybrid, which is some students in person and some on Zoom. The Zoom students got the short end of the stick. I think, to a certain level, you can teach online, but when you get into the workshops you need to be in-person. You need to record sound, hear it, and get comfortable with the technology. Mark: First, yes, I am teaching in multiple situations virtually; primarily with the Zoom platform. I've taught in Italy, AMPAS, and Maine this way, as well as chaired large-scale information forums, also on Zoom. Philosophically, "fully educated" is a bit challenging for me to respond to because it is an ideal I don't recognize. I believe we must continue to learn new things till we stop breathing. Segovia was still practicing in his 90s because he wanted to improve, grow, and stay relevant. It seems to me the primary element of a complete education lies within the student, not the institution or the faculty. Again, like a musician, practice is key. Day in, day out, always retracing the steps of what is known and adding to it as an ongoing proposition. So, my answer is yes, learning online can lead to a "full education," only if it is in combination with all the other necessary elements. Chris: I continued to teach beginning sound during the pandemic when we were only teaching online with Zoom classes. But Tom and I canceled our advanced sound class because there was no way for the kids to get their hands on the equipment. I do not think one can be fully educated online. A motivated student will learn no matter what the cir- cumstances are. But so much about teaching is the human thing—the interactive nature of one-on-one teaching and small groups: encouraging students to take risks, encouraging students to listen, encouraging students to have the patience to do things a new way or a harder way because it will be a better way. Reminding students to have faith in themselves and their own gut feel- ings. Do you have any specific techniques you use to open up students' ears to become good listeners? Mark: Yes. I use several exercises to move in this direction. Mainly, the first objective is to develop listening skills that can determine what is being heard and what is the directionality. We do location scouts and assign detailed reporting on what var- ious elements are in any given environ- ment. We apply this for various exterior and interior locations. It is a good entry point for learning quick analysis for both emphasis and mitigation. It also opens the door of discussion of acoustic treatment of environments: the understanding and control of acoustic wave energy in practi- cal work situations and ways to use or avoid organic sound elements. I then add to this the dissection and Mark Ulano CAS " IT'S ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVE FLUENCY WITH YOUR TOOLS, BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL MISSION IS TO CONSISTENTLY ACHIEVE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS, THEIR STORY, AND THE AUDIENCE. " —MARK ULANO CAS

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