Jon gave a course on the past, present and future of how sound is handled for productions such as film or video. He began by describing the elements (stems) of a typical sound mix for a production, with emphasis on recording dialog, and the problems involved. Microphones come under scrutiny, and the frequent need for wireless mics with their attendant shortcomings. Modern on-set recording also usually involves multiple tracks and auto-mixing (such as the Dan Dugan system), timecode/camera synching, and detailed metadata (pertinent information for the file) on the recorded files. Modern productions may utilize data networks such as Dante.

One innovation beginning to appear is recording with extended dynamic range by means of 32-bit floating-point files. This offers a way to record audio with such a huge dynamic range that overload (clipping) is impossible, potentially a big help in recording where the levels cannot be predicted or have a large range. Jon enlisted an audience volunteer to scream into a mic for recording, demonstrating that it can be recorded without any overload or distortion. The downside is that the files are, of course, larger than 24-bit files. Since the physics of circuits have limitations, Sound Devices has their own patented method of implementing this process.

Following the presentation, door prizes were awarded.

• Courtesy, DigiPen; Headphone cases awarded to Everett Moran and John Sullivan
• Courtesy Rick Rodriguez: digital multimeter awarded to Ariel Kim