Empowering Future Sound Engineers: Mark Thomas Discusses Advancing Audio Education in India

by  Komal Darji Industry Watch | July 1, 2024 | Interview

SOUND.com Mark Thomas

In an exclusive interview with EVENTFAQS Media, Mark Thomas, Audio Engineer at Sound.com sheds light on his pivotal role as Curriculum Curator at Eventech Academy, where he spearheads the development of cutting-edge sound design courses. With a focus on bridging theoretical knowledge with practical execution, Mark emphasizes foundational principles, industry trends, and hands-on training crucial for aspiring audio professionals. Collaborating closely with industry veteran Warren Dsouza, Founder & Managing Director, Sound.com Mark discusses their approach to crafting a comprehensive curriculum that meets the evolving needs of India's audio industry. 

As the Curriculum Curator, what key elements did you prioritize when developing the course content for the sound design class?

As the Curriculum Curator for the sound design class, I prioritized the following key elements when developing the course content:

- Foundational Knowledge: Ensuring students have a strong understanding of the basic principles of Line array theory.

- Technical Skills: Providing hands-on experience with industry-standard workflows such as using AutoCAD for design and various prediction softwares for modelling different scenarios and loudspeaker deployments.

- Industry Trends and Practices: Keeping the curriculum up-to-date with the latest trends, tools, and best practices in the Live Sound industry to ensure all attendees can start implementing these immediately on their productions.

- Collaboration and Communication: Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and effective communication within teams, as sound design often involves working with other stakeholders such as Artists, FoH engineers, Production Managers etc.

- History and Theory: Including a brief overview of the history of sound design to provide attendees with a well-rounded understanding of the field's evolution and context.

- Feedback and Assessment: Implementing continuous feedback and assessment mechanisms to help students improve their skills and understanding throughout the course.

How did you approach the challenge of making complex topics like line arrays and subwoofer deployment accessible to a diverse audience with varying levels of expertise?

As far as complicated topics like Line arrays are involved, we spent the opening hour of the Sound design class tackling this topic which is quite theoretical. We simplified it as much as possible by using basic diagrams/animations, and breaking up all Line array behaviors into specific frequency bandwidth based behavior for better/simpler understanding. As far as the class requirements we had to give everyone a basic understanding of the speaker type while engaging the advanced users with some theory if needed which was done on a case by case basis.

Subwoofer deployments were only covered in theory with all forms of deployment being showcased in prediction software. However for more practical deployment/ understanding of the subwoofer topics we will be covering that in the next class which will only cover deployment/optimisation of sound systems on site.

In your opinion, how will this course help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical execution for audio professionals in India?

The academy offers a comprehensive curriculum that combines classes with theoretical lessons and practical training while being brand agnostic. This ensures students not only learn the theoretical foundations of audio engineering, but also gain hands-on experience applying that knowledge.The academy also encourages students to practice whatever they've learnt, apply it on site, get feedback on their applications and then come for the next class upon gaining some insight after actually trying out the concepts that were taught. 

This real-world performance experience helps translate theoretical knowledge into practical execution. The academy's faculty members have extensive teaching and practical touring experience, allowing them to effectively bridge the gap between concepts and application for the attendees. The positive student testimonials indicate the faculty's ability to make the learning process engaging and impactful.Overall, the Eventech Academy's focus on blending theory, practical training, networking opportunities, and experienced instruction can equip aspiring audio professionals with the holistic skills needed to succeed in the industry.

Can you share some insights into the practical applications of sound design techniques covered in the course, particularly how they relate to large-scale events like Diljit Dosanjh Live or BMW Joytown?

All large scale shows have a lot of challenges in achieving the best sonic experience. Some practical applications such as using the line length of the PA to get directionality at lower frequencies, using various forms of eq overlays/tilt eq to get various tonal shaping options are some of the techniques that can only be learnt on such large scale shows which we execute on a regular basis. We wanted to share that knowledge with the attendees so that even at a smaller scale they can start using these workflows to their advantage. 

How did you and Warren Dsouza collaborate to ensure the course content was both comprehensive and aligned with the current needs of the audio industry in India?

Warren and I spend a lot of time talking about the current needs of the audio industry at large. There is a growing need for education at a higher level. We realised that many audio engineers are still using techniques and making deployment mistakes that stem from lack of understanding of basic principles or due to lack of experience. Also most systems engineering training has always been done by brands which mostly execute a training format used worldwide but does not cater to the unique challenges of the audio industry in india. Gathering inputs from various tech/audio engineers/rental owners we meet on shows/meetings we are shaping the curriculum to meet their upskilling requirements for future training modules/courses.