Most of the media we experience today relies on one or many digital tools in its making.

If you've ever had the question "How did they do that?" while watching a video, movie, or TV show — animated or live action — or while listening to music, these kinds of lessons might be right for you.

What you can learn

I work with students who want to learn more about:

• 3D Animation

  From Disney to video games, short films to commercials, CGI has permeated our mediascape for a long time now, and I love to teach the basics of this media. I use and teach Blender, a free and open-source program used by professionals and amateurs alike. For an example of what's possible in Blender, see the 2024 feature film Flow. I teach basics of 3D objects such as modeling, rigging, lighting, materials, effects, and physics simulations. Build a character for a video game! Make an animated version of your cat! Do a music video for a friend! I'll break it down with ya.

• Photography

  Light (photo-) drawing (-graphy)! Take those photons and make em last forever! Photography can be art, commerce, research, and much more. I teach how to master the tools of the trade: cameras and lenses, lights, and digital editing software, as well as the tools of the mind: composition, visual communication, and process. I can also show the basics of film photography, although I do not have developing capabilities at this time.

• Videography

  Videography is all about capturing a moment in motion, and can be exceptionally rewarding. I teach the basics of using a camera for video, from using the best of whatever equipment you have to polishing a finished video in editing software, and everything in between. We'll do projects like music videos, fake (or real!) advertisements, short films, and more!

• Sound Effects

  BOOM! Bzzzzrt. Ka-Pow! Did reading those onomatopoeias do the trick? Heck no. You gotta HEAR it! I can show you how to build satisfying SFX for your project from the most unlikely of places. Sound effects are all about texture, layering, and processing. I'll teach how to use audio equipment to capture sounds, then how to edit and layer those sounds together, and finally how to process the individual recordings and the sound as a whole in a professional Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Let's get cracking!

• Audio Recording & Editing

  We have the technology to change moving air into an electrical and then a digital signal and reproduce it with almost perfect accuracy from speakers. Don't tell me you're not at least a little bit fascinated by that! I would be so happy to show you how to use microphones and spaces to make recordings that sound a certain sorta way, and then edit those recordings with software to make them sound even cooler. Maybe layer some different sounds together? Maybe make it sound so weird it doesn't sound at all like what you recorded? Whatever your aim is, I want to help you make your sound come to life! I teach about Engineering: microphone types, mic placement, the influence of space, cables and audio equipment, and Mixing: audio software (Digital Audio Workstations, or DAWs), balance and effects, audio editing, and more.

• Synths + Digital Music

  Knobs and cables! Weird noises and tones! Is this a soundtrack? Sound effects? Standalone music?... Yes! Synthesizers come in many shapes and sizes and even more different kinds of insides. If you want to demystify technical mumbo jumbo and make something weird, you have come to the right place. I teach on all sorts of concepts of synthesis including oscillators, envelopes, LFOs, effects, CV, MIDI, modular synthesizers, samplers, and more. After some time with me, rows of knobs, buttons, and switches will no longer be scary — they'll be an exciting and inviting canvas for you to paint on! Come on over and get your nerd on.