AES Student Blog

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and what do you study?

I'm originally from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, but I've been in Nashville now for 6 years. After taking time off from school to try the "artist thing," I'm now back at Belmont University with a self oriented focus on film audio as I finish my senior year for a BS Degree in Audio Engineering Technology. Belmont boasts the only Dolby Atmos surround system in any university in the U.S. (possibly world, but I'm not positive) which has been quite exciting to learn about and have (sparring) access to.

What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start? 

I've grown up playing and writing piano music since I was 4, though I never really learned to read music. My piano teacher, after my stubbornness wouldn't cease, began to foster ear training and I learned to play fully by ear.  From there I learned to play guitar, bass, drums, etc. and developed an ear for how they all fit together. Recorded bands in high school with a super simple Zoom multitrack and maybe 3 mics and from that point on my perfectionist mind was always fascinated with making things sound better and better. But it was going to an IMAX to see Interstellar in 2014 that made me realize what I believe is my purpose. That film has some AMAZING sound done by Richard King and his team to make it visceral and powerful. However, hearing Hans Zimmer's score in that film was one of the most religious experiences of my life; the powerful organ from Temple Church, the intimate piano, the dynamic and patient orchestral movements seemed so clearly to paint the gravity of reaching out into space for a new home...You may have heard this if you're a fan, but Hans was only given one page describing the film before he began the score - the page described a drama about a relationship between a father and his son - although the film was destined to be a large scale Sci-Fi production. So, his score cut right to the heart of the film denying predictable Sci-Fi motifs  - learning this jettisoned me into a new world that made me realize the depth and emotional context of film music and how it has shaped me as an engineer and composer in my life. My goal in my life is to learn how to work this way - to cut through to the heart of a film to its most central and human element. I believe it's the one thing I can do well while also helping someone else to enhance and develop their vision, which to me is everything; to me it's purpose.

Tell us about production of your submission? What is the story behind it? What inspired it? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?

Yes, this was my first entry into AES. My submission was the last 5 minutes of a beautiful film called "My Indian Rhapsody" - a successful thesis for Emerson graduate film student Abijeet Achar about a man conflicted with between love and success. For this project, I was asked to compose an original score, which ended up being 7 unique pieces that I began in January of 2016 and finished around March. I then took over most of the sound editing and fully mixed and mastered the film from March to May. I knew Abijeet from high school and when he contacted me about the project, I was incredibly excited as it is the longest and most creatively open film I had worked on to date! I was given an incredible amount of freedom to envision a score based on my own countless viewing on his cuts. As each new cut would come in, I would feel closer and closer to the film and began to take on its complex themes and meanings in my score creation. Themes that I felt I had experienced in my life; of love and loss, of following the right path, of daydreaming and feeling torn between two paths, of adoption and what that search entails, and many others - I could go on for days haha. The film is rich and incredibly well done, and made it to the semi finals of the student academy awards. I showed it to one of my professors, Dr. Doyuen Ko who won the AES Student Competion multiple times in his college days, and with his guidance I was able to select a section of the film which I remixed in Belmont's new 7.1 Film Mix Room. 

What/who made you join AES?

I joined our Belmont AES Chapter in 2013 when I came back to Belmont after taking some time off. I soon joined AES as a paying member after learning from Jim Kaiser of the endless opportunities they had for students to get involved and connected to professionals in the audio industry. I got involved as the treasurer in Belmont's chapter and now hold the current Belmont AES Chair position, though I'm sad to say I've been spread too thin been to put my full energy into it recently, though I plan for that to change as we gear towards some really exciting things next semester. I feel I haven't expressed this enough to our Belmont members, but AES is an incredible entity where you as a student can meet seasoned engineers and gain a wealth of knowledge from their experiences and I'm so grateful to be involved and have had the chance to take part in the student competition!

Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 141st AES convention in LA! 

Oh God. Haha there were so many! Walking through the showroom I got to demo some gear that I've been dying to see for years (namely Jonathan Pines showed me around the Master Bus Processor and 5060 Centerpiece by Rupert Neve Designs - I didn't think i could geek out that much). I met the head engineer  of Sony PlayStation and talked about the future of VR audio for games. Outside of the conference, I toured Universal Studios' Post Production Facitities and met re-recording engineer Jon Taylor (The Revenant, Birdman, Unbroken, Babel) through one of our amazing Belmont faculty, Dave Warburton and was able to get some invaluable knowledge from him as well as hear his mix for Unbroken (as he soloed his stems individually for us). So. Mind. Blowing. The lectures on VR Audio, Game Audio, and Sound for Picture were some of the coolest talks I've ever heard. I'd finish the day of lectures and walk my 15 blocks back to my crappy hotel with a headache and a notebook full of barely ledgible notes as I tried to capture all the info I could haha it was epic. Getting to hear other student projects and hearing comments from the judges had to be my favorite part. So valuable. It was also amazing (and terrifying) to show my submission to my peers and hear the judges' comments on my work as well - I certainly left feeling empowered and felt I had some amazing guidance for my next projects! I will certainly be back for New York and if all goes well I'll make it to Berlin this May too - to summarize, I'm hooked for life. 

To hear Kerrick's score project, click here