INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Mladen Milicevic, Office - Xavier Hall 312, Tel. 338-4575
Email: MMilicev@lmu.edu
WEB: http://www.lmu.edu/acad/personal/faculty/mmilicevic/

COURSE OUTLINE:
RECA 350 is primarily a lecture course intended to familiarize students with the technical aspects of the recording process. Above all, and most importantly, you are going to develop the skills to think logically, to understand the concepts, and apply them appropriately to given situations. Because we believe that a recording artist needs to have a thorough understanding of his or her tools and materials before he or she can be truly creative with them, this course is a prerequisite to all upper division Recording Arts production courses. The course content of RECA 350 is designed to fulfill two important functions. On a general level, the objective is that you develop a fundamental understanding of the capabilities and limitations of various generic types of recording equipment (i.e. microphones, recorders, signal processing devices, etc.). More specifically, the goal is to thoroughly prepare you to meet the technical challenges you will encounter in subsequent RECA production courses, by orienting you to the specific equipment we have in our multi-track studio. This class is definitely not about memorizing audio facts, running audio equipment, and pushing buttons--it is about creative thinking. Technical classes are offered at the technical colleges not the universities.

SECTION #1
You will acquire the understanding of different types of microphones, their properties, and applications. Microphone techniques will be introduced in general terms. You will learn the basics of analog tape recording process and gain the understanding of distortion, noise floor, and noise reduction systems. This will be followed by an introduction to the signal flow and the use of analog mixer, as well as the "patching" of audio equipment in the recording studio. This section will be followed by Examination # 1.

SECTION #2
This section will concentrate on understanding of basic principles of audio signal processing. You will be introduced to the workings and applications of: VGA (variable gain amplifiers) namely--compressors, limiters, expanders, and gates; as well as digital multiple effects processors--concentrating on reverb and digital delay. In addition, we will cover analog filters as applied in sound equalization. You will also learn about the basic functions of loudspeakers and their practical applications in achieving "referential" quality sound. This section will be followed by the Examination # 2.

SECTION #3
This section will concentrate on an introduction to the basic principles of digital audio, dealing with digital theory. You will acquire the understanding of a linear digital recording system through the covering of topics such as: sampling theory, quantization, Dither, LPF, S/H, A/D and D/A converters, multiplexing, error correction, record modulation. This section will be followed by the Examination # 3.

ESTIMATED COST FOR THE CLASS:
You will have to spend $ 30 for the textbook and $ 5 for the Course Handbook.

TEXTBOOK:
The text for the course is Modern Recording Techniques by Huber and Runstein (SAMS Audio Library) ISBN 0-672-30639-5. Please buy the book as soon as possible and be sure to get the FOURTH edition. Bring your book and Course Handbook with you to EVERY CLASS.

Since you are enrolled into the Recording Arts Program - DO NOT SELL YOUR TEXTBOOK - you are going to need it, for more advanced classes but also later on in professional life!!!

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE WWW:
This class will be computer intensive to some extent. If you have a home computer and a modem, you are urged to get an Internet provider and install Netscape or any other WEB viewer so that you can access the World Wide Web. Otherwise, all of the computer labs on campus have access to the World Wide Web. You will be asked, on a regular basis, to search the INTERNET for material relevant to this class and for your own information. You should visit RECA 350 class WEB-PAGE where you will find on-line all the materials relevant to this class.
http://www.cla.sc.edu/art/faculty/milicevicm/classes/

EMAIL:
Every student enrolled in this class is required to obtain an E-mail account and submit it to me by the end of first week of the classes. If you already have an E-mail account just drop me a note with your E-mail address. If you do not have an E-mail account you should apply for one A.S.A.P. All students should receive an e-mail account from the Student Help Desk located on the lower level of Hilton Business Center. Returning students will maintain their accounts from last year and new students will need to go in person (with ID) to have an account created. Each student will complete and return a short application form. Accounts are created within 2-3 days, after that a representative from the Student Help Desk will contact the person and give him/her a login name and a password. For more info, you can call 8-7777, option 3, 3. You can also contact the Student Help Desk via e-mail at: stdnthlp@stdntpop.lmu.edu

E-MAIL PROCEDURES:
Every week on Friday, I am going to ask you a question via e-mail. You have to answer that question by the deadline set in the question message. If you are late, your answer is not going to count at all. There are certain procedures you MUST follow when answering these questions, if you don't do so I will simply disregard your answer altogether. This is what you have to do:

Your e-mail answer MUST have the following header:

TO: Mladen Milicevic
FROM: Joe Smith
SUBJECT: RECA350 Answer to Q#4

You MUST also sign your e-mail message by typing your FULL name at the end of your answer message. If you need to ask me something besides your answer to the question, you have to send me a SEPARATE
e-mail message. When I receive your answer I will send you a confirmation message which you should save and keep by the end of semester. This is for you to have a proof that I have really received your message.

In case you experience problems with your server, i.e. your message gets bounced back for some reason - DO NOT DELETE THOSE BOUNCED MESSAGES, they are your proof that the server did not work properly.

ATTENDANCE:
Attendance will be taken at each class meeting. Absence from more than 10% of the scheduled class sessions, whether excused or unexused, is excessive and GRADE PENALTIES will occur according to these rules: If you miss 10% of the classes your FINAL CLASS GRADE will go down for the whole lettergrade. For every additional 10% you will lose another lettergrade. There are lots of things that I am going to talk about which are NOT covered in your textbook. Class participation is mandatory. I will take five minutes at the beginning of every class to randomly check your familiarity with the material that was assigned as reading or discussed in class.

BEHAVIOR:
Students are expected to behave according to the LMU Academic Honesty and Integrity as outlined in Undergraduate Bulletin, page 39.

EXAMINATIONS:
There is no way that you can miss an exam!!! No make up exams will be given!!!

Examinations and projects will stay with me and you will only see them in the classroom or in my office only.

GRADING:
Grading for the course depends on three examinations which all count 90 % plus E-mail questions which all count 10%

GRADING PENALTIES
There is absolutely NO smoking, eating, or drinking allowed in the classroom (STUDIO L). I will take 5% off your final grade for every student caught and for all the students in his/her presence.

GRADING SCALE:

A 97% - 100% superior

A- 93% - 96% outstanding

B+ 89% - 92% very good

B 85% - 88% good

B- 81% - 84% better than average

C+ 77% - 80% above average

C 73% - 76% average

C- 68% - 72% below average (this is not a passing grade in courses requiring a minimum grade of C )

D 64% - 67% poor

F 63% - below failure

YOU CAN SEE YOUR GRADES ON THE WWW
As the semester progresses I will add all the grades that you receive to your confidential personal web page. You may access this page by entering your 8-digit password at the end of this URL:

http://www.lmu.edu/acad/personal/faculty/mmilicevic/classes/reca350/grades/*******.htm

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
Last day to drop this class with a grade of "W" is Friday, October 30. I am strongly advising you to do so if you perform poorly on the first exam. I HAVE NEVER HAD A STUDENT THAT FAILED THE FIRST EXAM AND, LATER ON PASSED THE CLASS. So, get out while you can, without penalties on your GPA.

If you do not get your E-mail account set up and send me an E-mail massage by the end of the first week of classes-YOU WILL LOSE 10% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE AUTOMATICALLY!!!

EXAMINATION SCHEDULE: 

1. Microphones, ATR, NR, Audio Mixer
2. Signal Processing, Amplifiers, Monitor Speakers
3. Introduction to Digital Audio

READING SCHEDULE:

 Section 1:

1. Chapter 4 - Microphones: Design and Techniques
2. Chapter 5 - The Analog Audio Tape Recorder 
3. Chapter 12 - Noise Reduction
4. Chapter 10 - The Audio Production Console

 Section 2:

1. Chapter 11 &emdash; Signal Processing
2. Chapter 9 - Amplifiers 
3. Chapter 13 - Monitor Speakers

 Section 3:

1. Chapter 6 &emdash; Digital Audio Technology
   
   
   
   

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