Sound Design

1999

Department chair and professor of sound design, Savannah College of Art and Design; adjunct professor of sound, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; associate producer and sound designer for Sky Boy Interactive

Developing and launching the world's first interdisciplinary bachelor of arts and masters of fine arts degree offering in sound design here at SCAD in 2003.

• Electronic Music Foundation
• Game Audio Network Guild

Exhibitions (Excerpt):
Audio-visual performance
Jepson Center for the Arts, Savannah 2012

Sound installation
SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, 2010

Experimental film
SXSW Film Conference and Festival, Austin, Texas, 2002

Interactive sound, video sculpture installation
Exhibited at Eighth International Symposium on Electronic Arts 1997

"The most powerful inspiration for my teaching would certainly be the great educators of my past. The teachers in my life have profoundly shaped my character and the quality of my work. I aspire to have that same effect on my students every time I enter the classroom."

• SNDS 105 Desktop Audio
• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 223 Intermediate Sound Design
• SNDS 225 Sound in Media
• SNDS 260 Sound Art
• SNDS 314 MIDI Technologies for Sound Design
• SNDS 330 Modular Synthesis and Audio Programming
• SNDS 335 Audiovisual Synthesis
• SNDS 355 Sound for the Web and Interactive Media
• SNDS 440 Postproduction Sound
• SNDS 701 Sound Design for Film and Video
• SNDS 711 Audio Signal Processing
• SNDS 762 Modular Synthesis

Akers' lifelong pursuit of creative expression through sound and image has manifested in a variety of forms and media. Akers' current body of work centers around a series of audio and visual performances where he attempts to fuse the popular roles of the DJ and VJ, while honoring the tradition of synaesthesia in 20th century painting, filmmaking and music composition.

2001

Pro Tools Expert Certified

Co-founder of the sound design program at SCAD; Pro Tools Expert Certification in Post Production and Icon Operation; author of "Designing Sound for Animation"

Audio Engineering Society

"Designing Sound for Animation," Focal Press, 2005.

"I am inspired to teach students to perceive and respond to the more sensitive aspects of sound design as it relates to media. I want to develop their skills to facilitate creative vision for an effective soundtrack."

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 212 Music for Motion Pictures
• SNDS 316 Advanced Sound Design
• SNDS 400 Surround Sound
• SNDS 402 Recording Studio I
• SNDS 404 Recording Studio II
• SNDS 421 Advanced SFX and Foley
• SNDS 711 Audio Signal Processing
• SNDS 703 Sound Design for Animation

2008

Recording engineer, The Record Plant, Larrabee Studios; engineering construction and audio post-production, Vidtronics; production mixer, credits on "Will & Grace," "Mad About You," "My Wife and Kids" and "Hannah Montana"; adjunct professor of audio production and advanced audio production, Moorpark College, Moorpark, California

Seven nominations for Outstanding Sound Mixing by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Prime-Time Emmy Awards; Winner of Prime-Time Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing, "Mad About You," 1994 and 1995; Nominated for the MPSE's Golden Reel Award, "Mad About You," 1994; Outstanding Faculty Adviser for Student Clubs, SCAD Student Association, 2010

Cinema Audio Society, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Audio Engineering Society

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 225 Sound in Media
• SNDS 316 Advanced Sound Design
• SNDS 331 Location Sound

2008

Acting company, Eureka Theater; acting company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre; resident sound designer, American Conservatory Theatre; sound designer, Mark Taper Forum; sound designer, New York Public Theatre; lecturer, University of Washington

LA Theatre Critics Circle Best Sound Design for a Dramatic Production; DramaLogue Best Score for a Dramatic Production; Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Best Musical Score; Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Best Sound Design

Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829

"In our highly technological profession, it is important to remember that the tools we use do not create art. We must master them so they can be used to realize our own ideas. The field of sound design challenges students to become proficient in a wide-ranging skill set that includes sophisticated hardware and software. I want my students to meet that challenge but also to become adept in connecting to the creative impulse that generates great design."

• SNDS 105 Desktop Audio
• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 230 Sound Design for Radio
• SNDS 440 Postproduction Sound
• SNDS 719 Sound Design M.A. Studio I
• SNDS 723 Sound Design M.A. Studio II
• SNDS 739 Sound Design Seminar
• SNDS 755 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio I
• SNDS 765 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio II

"Sound propagates thinking. It is the sound designer's obligation to promote auditory perception as an integral part of the artistic experience. Immersion, emotion, alienation and inspiration all directly connect to what our ears decode."

2002

Institute sound facilities coordinator, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California; production consultant, chief audio engineer, Japan America Theatre and Japanese-American Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California; audio consultant, sound designer and musician, Merce Cunningham Dance Company and John Cage Foundation, New York, New York; sound design production supervisor, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Los Angeles, California; sound design supervisor and faculty, Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut

Audio engineer/touring assistant for Morton Subotnick; audio consultant for Getty Museum, Los Angeles; worked with John Cage, David Tudor, Takehisa Kosugi and Merce Cunningham; produced "Rainforest," a CD and historical retrospective of Tudor's distinguished work; audio consultant for "The Pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Los Angeles (city of sin)"; performed electronic music with David Tudor; Paris Opera, Paris, France; Theatre de la Ville, Paris; Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sadler's Wells Theater, London, England; John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; Palais des Papes, Avignon, France; Festival d'Arles, France; Cannes Film Festival Theater, France; The Canary Islands; India; Canada; Italy; Germany; Switzerland; Sweden; Austria; Spain; The Netherlands

Judith Stark Foundation Award

Audio Engineering Society, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, American Federation of Musicians, Broadcast Music International, The Electronic Music Foundation, Robert Wood Dance Company

"I have always loved the art of passing on knowledge. I began as a piano teacher, then moved on to becoming a teacher of electronic synthesis, recording studio techniques and into the world of theatrical and film sound design. My inspiration for teaching comes from the many fine mentors that I have had the privilege of knowing.

"However, knowledge out of context is useless. Keeping me inspired is a tough job. I owe my family a high level of credit for keeping me connected and current in an ever-changing world. They inspire me in so many ways. I also garner a high degree of inspiration from my colleagues in sound design at SCAD, as well as the ambitious students in my classes who work very hard and produce amazing results! Watching young students grow artistically is truly inspiring."

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 223 Intermediate Sound Design
• SNDS 314 Technologies for Sound Design
• SNDS 404 Recording Studio II
• SNDS 420 Sound Design Senior Studio
• SNDS 440 Postproduction Sound
• SNDS 703 Sound Design for Animation
• SNDS 711 Audio Signal Processing
• SNDS 718 Music Mix and Mastering
• SNDS 719 Sound Design M.A. Studio I
• SNDS 723 Sound Design M.A. Studio II
• SNDS 726 Music Theory for Sound Designers
• SNDS 739 Sound Design Seminar
• SNDS 751 Audio Systems Engineering
• SNDS 755 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio I
• SNDS 764 Electronic Music Production
• SNDS 765 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio II
• SNDS 790 Sound Design M.F.A. Thesis

"I love sound, physics and philosophy. Life can get complicated as you grow older, but I try to remember to give thanks."

2006

Professor of electronic and computer music, Music University Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria; visiting professor of music of the 20th century and new media, Cologne, Germany; lecturer of electronic and computer music, Technical University Berlin, Germany; program director of the art festival Aspekte Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

Compositions performed at numerous festivals in Europe, Asia and the United States; two books about electronic and computer music published

Composition grants from the art department of the Austrian government in Vienna; Award Sonic Circuits of the American Composers Association, St. Paul, Minnesota; First Prize Competition Award for Computer Music, Braunschweig, Germany; Award of the Competition of Radio Art SACEM, Paris, France; La Muse en Circuit Paris Composer Commission, France; Prize of the City of Varese at the International Competition for Electroacoustic Music "Luigi Russolo," Varese, Italy; Studio Les Ateliers UPIC/Centre de Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX) Paris Composer Commission, France

International Computer Music Association, Electronic Music Foundation, Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States, German Society for Electroacoustic Music

Publications

• Elektronische Klänge und musikalische Entdeckungen (Electronic Sounds and Musical Discoverings), Reclam Stuttgart (Germany) 467 pp, 2nd revised and extended edition 2010 Soundscapes - Elektronische Klangerzeugung und Musik (Electronic sound generation and music), Lied der Zeit Musikverlag Berlin, 232 pp, 1990
• "Computer Music." in: Holger Schramm (Ed.): Handbook Music and Media (In German language) 
Research Project of the Institute for the Science of Journalism and Media Research of the University Zürich (Switzerland)
UVK-Verlagsgesellschaft Konstanz, 2009, p. 277-296.

Presentations

• 2008 "About the Relationship between visual structures and sound structures and some options for their transformation into each other" Guest Lecture, European Course for Musical Composition and Technologies (ECMCT) 
July 7, 2008, Technical University Berlin (Germany)
• 2006 "Hearing Pictures and Seeing Sounds." (Conference Paper Presentation at the Electronic Music Midwest Festival) Oct. 13, 2006, Lewis University Chicago
• 2006 "From Text to Texture to Structure: A Unique Approach to Media Composition." Guest Lecture, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), 
May 17, 2006, Los Angeles/Valencia.
• 2006 "Research and Composition in Audio Art" Guest Lecture, Columbia College Chicago,
 Feb. 27, 2006, Chicago.

"I regard teaching as a very important part of my own development and responsibilities as an artist. Because most of my teaching has been in the context of sound art theory and practice, I consider myself and my students as engaged in a collaborative exploration of the medium of study, rather than viewing teaching merely as a transfer of knowledge and experience between student and teacher. My general teaching approach is to facilitate learning by encouraging students to develop self-directed learning techniques."

• SNDS 100 Sound Synthesis
• SNDS 105 Desktop Audio
• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 260 Sound Art
• SNDS 314 MIDI Technologies for Sound Design
• SNDS 330 Modular Synthesis and Audio Programming
• SNDS 335 Audiovisual Synthesis
• SNDS 355 Sound for the Web and Interactive Media
• SNDS 702 Sound Design Resources and Analysis
• SNDS 719 Sound Design M.A. Studio I
• SNDS 723 Sound Design M.A. Studio II
• SNDS 736 Sound Art
• SNDS 739 Sound Design Seminar
• SNDS 755 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio I
• SNDS 760 Sound Design for Linear Digital Media
• SNDS 762 Modular Synthesis
• SNDS 765 Sound Design M.F.A. Studio II

"I am primarily interested in ideas, particularly ideas that have direct relevance to contemporary life. My interest in contemporary technology is related to that, as I find it impossible to deal with the contemporary issues without reference to contemporary technology. So I have focused on creating electronic environments that integrate computer-generated sound, musical instruments, pictures, text, dance, acting, physical materials, light and video.

"Contemporary technology is full of promises and myths. Media culture in general plays on our hopes and desires for technology with a multitude of pledges and assurances. I try to develop a critical view at these promises by using this technology in new and unusual ways. The resulting works are personal meditations on our common emotional and intellectual alienation, our decaying and new evolving ideas, landscapes and our cultural interaction processes. A consistent theme in my work has been the inner contentment with the world of reality, imagination, dream or the subconscious, in spite of the real barriers of communication or language."

ruschkowski.net

2006

Lecturer, California State University Long Beach; lecturer: Sherwood Oaks Experimental College; lecturer, Berklee School Of Music; lecturer, Santa Monica College; lecturer, University of North Carolina School of the Arts; lecturer, Savannah College of Arts and Design; recording engineer, A&M Records; sound consultant, Lorimar Productions; sound editor, Pacific Sound Services; supervising sound editor, Sony Entertainment/Columbia Pictures; supervising sound editor and editor, Sound Dogs; CEO and sound designer, Interactive Cinema Entertainment; supervising sound editor and owner, Granite Sound; sound designer and editor, Soundeluxe "Skyline"

Working as a recording engineer at A&M Studios and a sound supervisor at Columbia Pictures/Sony Entertainment

Golden Reel Nominations: Best ADR "Bram Stoker's Dracula"; Best Sound Editing "Mad About You"

Motion Picture Sound Editors, Audio Engineering Society

Produced and recorded Richard Boulanger's Fulbright scholarship-winning "Temporal Silence"

"My high school music teachers inspired me. Walter Downy had me teach music classes while I was still in high school. That started my interest in teaching. Henry Lewy, record producer, and others were generous with the knowledge they shared when I was an apprentice engineer. I always believed that teaching was a natural extension and obligation of a professional career."

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 316 Advanced Sound Design
• SNDS 345 Voice In Cinema

"We spend our lives hearing but very few really listen. I feel that through sound we have an intimate connection to the feelings of the world and people that surround us. The study of sound is developing an intellectual and semantic relationship to the experience of sound. Through that understanding we can design an artistic sonic interpretation of musical and entertainment compositions that enhance and clarify these art forms."

imdb.com/name/nm0803143/

2008

Sound editor on films including "Gremlins," "Top Gun," "Die Hard," "Speed" and "Ocean's 11"; supervising sound editor on films including "Predator," "Edward Scissorhands," "Beauty and the Beast," "Batman Returns," "City Slickers 2" and "Dolores Claiborne"

Winner of the 1992 Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing

Motion Picture Sound Editors' Golden Reel awards for sound editing on "Top Gun," "Speed" and "Die Hard," and for supervising sound on "Beauty and the Beast" and "Predator," along with many past nominations

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Motion Picture Sound Editors; Cinema Audio Society; Local 700, Motion Picture Editors' Guild; Local 839, The Animation Guild; University Film and Video Association

Publications

• Book illustrator and editor of textbook's DVD documentary short "Watch Yer Ears!"
• Book, "The Foley Grail," by Vanessa T. Ament, (pub. by Focal Press, Feb. 2009)
• Editor, "Moviesound Newsletter," 1989-1993

Presentations

• 2000. Presentation and panel - Motion Picture Sound scholarship and practitioners' conference, Iowa University
• 2008. Presentation and panel - "Now Hear This II, An Evening on Animation Sound," Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, California
• 2005. Presentation and panel - International conference on games development and education, Business College Nowy Sanc, Poland

"Anyone should observe that we all live inside a media culture and that young people listen passionately to the sounds of Web videos, movies and games. They have easy access to more powerful media-making tools than any previous generation. Students benefit from the professional experience and aesthetic guidance of SCAD faculty."

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• SNDS 225 Sound in Media
• SNDS 320 Sound Effects and Foley
• SNDS 355 Sound for the Web and Interactive Media
• SNDS 440 Postproduction Sound
• SNDS 445 Advanced Dialogue Recording and Editing
• SNDS 709 Postproduction Methodologies
• SNDS 729 Theory and Practice in Sound Design

"Sound design is not necessarily the name of a job. It is a phrase that describes a standard of complementary aesthetic and technical qualities - the intelligent and deliberate organization of smaller elements of live and recorded sound - into a coherent and powerful form of communication."

moviesoundnewsletter.com

2006

Director, digital media technology, West Georgia Technical College, LaGrange, Georgia; audio visual specialist, Harrah's Casino and Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri; TV production specialist, Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, North Carolina; digital filmmaking instructor, School of Communication Arts, Raleigh, North Carolina; multimedia director, The Body Shop Corporation, Wake Forest, North Carolina; audio/visual director, Aveda Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota; assistant art director, The GEON Corporation, Los Angeles, California

The Body Shop Int. producer/director for learning and development series of training modules for international debut of new cosmetic line; Aveda Corporation technical director for business theatre, live event, congress of hair designs, six consecutive years of annual productions; West Georgia Technical College director/developer, digital media technology, digital filmmaking program and dual enrollment program for AP-level credit/coursework

California Institute of the Arts: History of Experimental Film and Video, teaching assistant to Gene Youngblood; TV Production Workshop and Cinematography Studio, teaching assistant to Kris Malkiewicz; Film Grammar, teaching assistant to Alexander Mackendric; Advanced Documentary Workshop, teaching assistant to Terry Sanders; California State University, Long Beach: Intermediate Performance Art Workshop, teaching assistant to Rachel Rosenthal University of California, Los Angeles: videographer for renaissance dance, European tour, teaching assistant to E. L. Thomas

Founding member of Cancer News Today

"The philosophy behind any modern approach to the arts, and to education in the arts, must be interdisciplinary. I believe that it is one's duty as a teacher to present a creative balance between the instruction of the technical skills, an exposure to the dynamic facets within the arts and direction to shape the individual artist's expression. This joining of a highly demanding technical practice and a constant search for the unique storytelling voice is a tremendous part of the realization that all filmmakers must attain. One must give the student the tools to learn, allow the students the freedom to make mistakes, find the resolves, and they will ultimately benefit from the educational experience. Going beyond one's limitations establishes a new standard with every experience and sets up a path for the student to constantly improve the work. I firmly believe that when teaching at an undergraduate level, it is important to be a positive and supportive force in the student's life. I want every student to have the best possible academic and artistic experience. I have an overriding concern that all students learn to how to learn. The process of problem solving and critical thinking is an essential life skill, and it can be greatly enhanced by applying oneself to the task with great commitment and dedication."

• SNDS 201 Introduction to Sound Design
• FILM 101 Introduction to Video Production
• TELE 205 Television Field Production
• TELE 450 Television Producing Field Internship I
• TELE 451 Field Internship II
• TELE 452 Field Internship III
• TELE 453 Field Internship IV

"As of late I have been involved in the investigation/creation of several video installation projects that use an extended figurative dance loop superimposed over layers of video feedback all set to project and display on timed delayed projected surfaces that reveal a trance/diminishing layer of translucent image. This video installation draws upon the influences of such pioneers in the video art world as Bill Viola and my mentor at California Institute of The Arts, Ed Emshwiller. I have always maintained a keen interest in the history of experimental film and video, and I would like to extend this language of visual poems into the new media environment."