Peter Dowdall on Sound Engineering

.forum - week eight.



Engineer and Producer, Peter Dowdall, who has worked on the like of Britney Spears (above) came to the Electronic Music Unit last Thursday.

Dowdall spoke about his life and time spent in the Sound Engineering / Production industry. A lot of his ideas on the topic were not new to me but it is always useful to go over things - like the importance of Autotune – and also to hear that the production techniques are fairly universal (he has worked primarily in the United States).

One thing that really stood out was the fanatical and fastidious organisation which Dowdall puts into his work in the studio. It really was amazing just hearing how Dowdall goes about planning his recording sessions to the finest detail, and his numerous contingency plans should problems arise. This pre-session preparation was almost like he was planning a trip to the moon – this was the main ethic of this field of work that Dowdall impressed upon me.


.sources.

Dowdall, Peter 08.05.08, "Sound Engineering and Production," Forum of EMU, Adelaide University.

---