mitc Recording Central

Figure 1 Recording Central

A feature of the new Green Center for the Performing Arts, Recording Central is an integral hub for many of mitc’s operations.  The room is equipped with three desktop computers, one iMac, an audio conversion rack, a DVD burner, and many backup supplies.



Figure 2 Digital Audio Workstation

The three personal computers serve as digital audio editing stations, where any audio processing can be requested.  So much work on audio is done in this room that it has been dubbed “the editing room” by some mitc workers.  Mixing, effects, mastering, producing (CD labels, inserts), scanning, copying, and burning are constantly requested by professors and students to assist in everyday audio needs.


Figure 3 Audio Conversion Rack

                The most frequently used workstation connects to an audio conversion rack, which is mainly used for media conversion (link).  Information on Digital Audio Tapes (DAT), phonograph records (LP), tape cassettes, and Reel-to-Reel tapes can easily be digitized and processed for further use.  The conversion rack is a powerful asset to mitc’s digital audio operations.



The iMac is used more for recording purposes.  All performances hosted by DePauw’s School of Music are recorded on a Mac notebook, using ProTools LE, and then later transferred onto a backup network.  This Mac is used to work on the audio of these performances and print their respective media, CD labels and inserts.



Finally, recording central is equipped with a DVD burner, adding the copying and burning of clients’ DVD’s to mitc’s growing list of media services. 

The Future of Recording Central

In the near future, recording central will be implemented as the location from where all School of Music performances are recorded.  It will have four iMac stations equipped with ProTools LE connected to the major performance venues of the building, Thompson Recital Hall and Kresge Auditorium.  There will be a video camera and television monitor connected to the venues as well, creating a highly efficient method for performance recording:  recording technicians will watch the recital from recording central and pinpoint the recording times to a precise T, making any and all necessary audio adjustments.  It is a grand and auspicious system that will revolutionize mitc’s recording and digital audio features dramatically and thus further marry music and technology at DePauw University.