Over 300 Visitors to Windmill Lane Recording Studios on Culture Night

This year, music lovers from all over Dublin had the unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look into Windmill Lane Recording Studios and its 40 years of music history when it opened to the Public for first time as part of Culture Night on 23 September.

More than 300 eager visitors experienced live music, interactive demonstrations on mixing in Studio 2 and the Surround Sound Studio, learnt about creating video games and films, and had demos of the studio’s state-of-the-art equipment.

Highlights of the evening included a talk from Stuart Clark of Hotpress, plus staff photographers, who gave an insight in to the world of rock and roll; and a great live performance from Moya Brennan who sang some of her most moving songs to a packed audience in Studio 1.

Paddy Murphy from Open Emotion Studios talks to Pulse College

Pulse's lecturers and tutors include a number of high profile industry experts with interesting and varied careers. In this section of our newsletter we delve into their stories to learn about their experiences and, if we're lucky, uncover some of the secrets of their success.

Paddy Murphy is the lead sound director and CEO of Open Emotion Studios Ltd. He has created music for over 11 released games including Mad Blocker Alpha, Ninjamurai and Revoltin' Youth and is currently writing the scores for another six projects. He has an extensive knowledge of Game Design and uses this encyclopedic knowledge of game design for making executive game-play and artistic design related decisions.

Before taking on the huge challenge of setting up the hugely successful Open Emotion Studios he managed a Gamestop store in Limerick for over two years, while studying video production and manipulation in Limerick Senior College… and by night he was in a band called Verfield for nearly five years. We are delighted he found the time to give us a first hand look into the Videogame industry in Ireland.

Q1. You started off your creative career studying video production and media manipulation. How did this help you go on to set up one of Ireland's leading video game companies?

To be honest at first it felt like it wasn't a really useful skill. When we started the company, I was mainly doing the composing and the main brunt of the sales and management tasks - my skills from Management in Gamestop and writing music with Verfield aided me in becoming adept with these parts of my job role. It wasn't until we made Mad Blocker Alpha and a trailer had to be created that my Video Production and Manipulation skills came into play, but I was really glad to have done it as I was familiar with programs like After Effects and Flash.

Q2. How did Open Emotions come into being in 2009?

Back in November 2009, I had just been let go from my job in Gamestop due to the lack of available hours. With nothing to lose, I approached a group of my friends with the idea of starting a small video game studio. Colm English (Lead Programmer) and Mike Naughton (Lead Artist) came on board and together we put out one flash game per month for the first few months of 2010 - this kept the roof over our heads until we received an investment from some local businessmen. After the success of Goldies Revenge, we met with Sony and they suggested we move onto PSP Minis development which is when we decided to create Mad Blocker Alpha - We took on another programmer from Dublin, Eoghan O'Donovan, who now runs the Dublin branch of Open Emotion in the Digital Hub. Our company has continued to grow since then and we now have 10 employees in total and expect to have 3-5 more by the end of 2011. I think it's our collective love of videogames that makes doing this job so easy :)

I think it's our collective love of videogames that makes doing this job so easy :)
Q3. You're the lead sound director for the company. Can you tell us what this involved?

Originally, I was less of a sound director and more of a straight up composer. However, in the most recent titles (Revoltin' Youth, I Kill Zombies) we've worked with other musicians such as George & Jonathan (a successful New York based chiptune act) and Fabrice Favre (an amazingly talented composer who has played live on tours with artists such as Serj Tankian and Scars on Broadway) and during those projects it kind of became my role to oversee all aspects of the sound and music. I will often sit there for hours just synching the sound effects to the music to make sure it all fits and it's my goal to try and discern what might be uncomfortable audibly to the player. I still like to get my hands dirty and record some tracks though and I am looking forward to being much more involved, once again, in the audio development on our next six titles.

Q4. How important is creating the musical score to the overall success of a video game concept?

Hugely important - The musical score will often set the tone for a level, area and most importantly the game itself. Without the chip-tune soundtrack, I'm not sure what we could have done in Revoltin' Youth; and Mad Blocker Alpha's disjointed soundtrack is reminiscent of the twisted world it's set in. Also, the sound effects are vital to delivering feedback to the player - i.e. you're doing great (cheer), you failed (explosion and booing) - it's the sound director's job to ensure that the player never struggles to sync the visuals up to what they hear.

Q5. In 2010 you switched focus to console games. Why the change?

We received a tremendous opportunity from Sony Europe to work on titles for the PSP and PS3 in mid 2010 so we made it our goal to deliver top notch games to those platforms. It worked out really well and we've since received further support from Sony as well as a chance to develop for their new handheld, the Playstation Vita. We have also received a publishing deal to develop a series of games to the PC platform through Steam, but I can't talk too much about that now, ha ha... Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement :)

Q6. The success of Mad Blocker catapulted you to another league, with over 2 million plays worldwide. What do you think made it so successful?

With Mad Blocker I think it was 60% luck and 40% hard work... You never really expect your first game to be picked up in the way Mad Blocker was. I think we were very lucky, but we created a game that had a lot of familiar elements (a simple falling block puzzle game) with a very unique audio and visual twist... I don't think people had really experienced a puzzle game quite like it beforehand.

Q7. This was followed by Goldies Revenge which had over 6 million plays. How do you keep coming up with new and exciting video game concepts?

In our company it's more about trying to reign in the concepts. It's the kind of work environment that just generates good ideas. We all laugh and joke and discuss silly concepts and sometimes these develop and become a great idea, and sometimes they just go back in the box. To give you an idea of how long some titles can take to come to fruition, I created something back in November 2009 which we benched as it was a bit big to tackle at that point. We are now, two years on, looking at developing that I.P. as part of the Steam publishing deal. So yeah, sometimes it's all about creating stuff, saving it up and then using the right idea at the right time.

The musical score will often set the tone for a level, area and most importantly the game itself.
Q8. You released Mad Blocker Alpha for PS2 during the height of the hacking scandal. How did this impact your company?

Strangely enough, it actually worked in our favour. We had just released Mad Blocker Alpha in the US on the 19th of April (The day the PSN crashed on PS3) and we think that we would have had very little visibility at launch. However, when the PSN went down we got a lot more attention from sites like USA Today, IGN and the BBC. When the PSN came back up, every user had access to Playstation Plus offers... including Mad Blocker Alpha, so we had a huge sales spike in the first two weeks of the PSN's return... I guess we were just very lucky :)

Q9. You bring a wealth of industry knowledge to talks you give here in Pulse. Can you tell us briefly what students can expect?

Well thanks for the compliment. I must say that a lot of my knowledge is gleaned by listening to the amazing talks at GDC Europe every year and also staying in contact with amazing people like Mark Rein (VP, Epic Games), Cliff Bleszinski (Creator, Gears of War), Brian Gomez (Lead Designer, Silent Hill Downpour) and more. Generally when I talk to a class or a group, I simply try to give people a better insight into the games industry and my favorite part of it, the game design process.

Q10. The gaming industry in Ireland appears to be a growing recruitment sector. How do you see the future of Irish games developing?

I can only see things getting better, so long as there is constant support from government initiatives, such as Enterprise Ireland's Competitive Start Fund, which helped us a lot in growing our company to the next stage and securing a publishing deal. I think it's the responsibility of the developers, people like myself and also other CEOs, Lead Programmers, Art Directors and so on to deliver knowledge and insight to students and people looking to break into the industry. If we can do that, Ireland's indigenous game sector will grow at an unbelievable pace.

Windmill Lane Recording Studios Opens Doors for Culture Night: 23 September

On 23 September, the doors of Windmill Lane Recording Studios will be open to the public from 6:30pm as part of Culture Night 2011.
There will be a range of demonstrations and talks in Windmill’s Audio and Film Studios as well as its Videogaming lab. Studio 1, meanwhile, will play host to live gigs with Moya Brennan and friends, and talks by Stuart Clark of Hot Press about the world of music. More details to follow closer to the night!
Considered ‘the Abbey Road of Ireland’, with a rich history spanning over 40 years, Windmill Lane has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of Ireland’s biggest export, U2. The Ringsend building where the studio is based has a checkered history: originally a power station for the Dublin United Tramways Company, it was later transformed into a Bovril factory, then a plush snooker hall, and now houses the studios which have hosted recording artists as diverse as Thin Lizzy, The Script and Lady Gaga.
Mark your diaries:
When: Culture Night, Friday 23 September, 6:30pm-11pm
Where: Windmill Lane Recording Studios, 20 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4

For further details on Windmill Lane Recording Studios, please contact:
Naomi Moore, Director, Windmill Lane Recording Studios
20 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4
Ph: +353 (0)1 668 5567
Email: naomi@windmilllanerecording.com
Web: www.windmilllanerecording.com

For further details on Culture Night 2011, please visit:
www.culturenight.ie

Fiachra Trench: Guest Lecturer Profile

Pulse's lecturers and tutors include a number of high profile industry experts with interesting and varied careers. In this section of our newsletter we delve into their stories to learn about their experiences and, if we're lucky, uncover some of the secrets of their success.

Fiachra Trench is a composer, arranger, producer, keyboardist and musical director. His scores for film and television include: A Love Divided, The Boys and Girl from County Clare (IFTA Nomination 2006), Dear Sarah and People's Century, and he collaborated on Pearl Harbor, Die Hard and Into the West. Arrangement credits include: Altan, Paul Brady, The Boomtown Rats, The Chieftains, The Corrs, Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy (including brass and strings on the original 'Old Town'), Paul McCartney/Wings, Van Morrison, The Pogues and Wet Wet Wet.

Ahead of RTÉ Concert Orchestra's "A Celebration of Fiachra Trench" at the National Concert Hall on September 8th, Fiachra talked to us about his early interest in music, his studies in America, and how he played at the Playboy Club on Saturday nights followed by Church on a Sunday morning…

Q1. You were surrounded by music growing up, with your mother giving you your first Piano lessons as a child. How did your parents' musicality impact on your later work?

My parents were extremely supportive of my early interest and continued to be so when it became clear that I was destined for a career in music. They were both amateur musicians, and from an early age I can remember them playing piano duets at home and at social gatherings. My mother, Bea Orpen, was a painter, a graphic designer and an art teacher/lecturer, but in her youth had thought about a career in music. She played the organ regularly at St Patrick's Church, Slane, Co. Meath, until a few years before her death.

Q2. Is piano your instrument of choice?

The short answer is yes, piano and anything else with black and white keys, but along the way I thought about taking up the clarinet and, briefly, tried out the french horn and trombone.

From secondary school in Waterford onwards I studied organ. During my years at Trinity my organ teacher at the Royal Irish Academy of Music was George Hewson; he had been my mother's organ teacher about 30 years earlier!

What was amazing to me at the concert was hearing the orchestra play right through a movement without the breaks!
Q3. Your first experience of the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra had a big impact on you. Tell us a bit about this experience.

In 1955 the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, as it was called before television arrived in 1961, played a concert for schools in Waterford. This was my first experience of "live" orchestral music and I was enthralled. The programme included Handel's Water Music and Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony. The Tchaikovsky I knew from my parents' record collection, but this was in the days before long-playing 331/3 r.p.m. vinyl: the maximum duration on a 78 r.p.m. disc was less than five minutes, so with extended works like symphonies, the music would fade at the end of a disc, the next disc on the auto changer would drop down and the music would fade up. So I came to know this music in short chunks. What was amazing to me at the concert was hearing the orchestra play right through a movement without the breaks!

Q4. With your love of music, what made you choose to study Natural Science in Trinity?

I guess at the time neither I nor my parents thought there was a steady career in music. I had notions of becoming a farmer (my father's sister was a farmer) or working in some aspect of agriculture. So I did a science degree, majoring in organic chemistry. The irony is that I am now ardently pro organic farming and anti the widespread use of chemicals in food production.

Q5. You continued your studies in two prominent American colleges, Georgia and Cincinnati. Tell us about this experience.

Much to my amazement (and, I imagine, to the Professor of Chemistry's amazement) I completed my science studies, while playing in jazz groups, working as musical director with TCD Players, studying organ and theory/composition at the Academy of Music, and winning First Prize for an original composition at the Feis Ceoil in 1962.

Upon graduating from Trinity, I was fortunate to obtain a scholarship to further my music studies for a year at the University of Georgia. This was in 1963: the year J.F. Kennedy was assassinated and the token integration of college campuses was beginning.

I then obtained a Graduate Assistantship to the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, where I studied for a further two years, leading to a Master of Music degree.

Q6. Cincinnati has a renowned Symphony Orchestra. How did this fuel your passion for music?

As a music student I was able to attend concerts by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at discounted prices and sometimes for free. I heard so much wonderful music in those two years. Apart from the symphony concerts, I also saw and heard great jazz from the likes of Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Art Farmer, Betty Carter, Roland Kirk...


Q7. You went on to find gig work while you were studying, but in two areas that couldn't be more different - one in a Church and the other in the Playboy Club! You must have some funny stories of those times.

It's true: Saturday nights at the Playboy Club and Sunday mornings playing organ for church services. Once I took some much-needed, erm, chemical help on the Sunday morning. The choir used to sing the opening hymn while processing from the back of the church. On this occasion they arrived breathless at the choir stalls; clearly my heart must have been racing and so were my hands and feet!

Q8. You then went on to do a nine-month tour of US and NATO bases. What was that like?

I was playing with an American band at bases in Germany and Italy. The band was led by Dave Matthews (no, not that Dave Matthews), a college friend at Cincinnati. We played the hits of the day and jazz and swing for listening/dancing and we accompanied touring cabaret acts. At most places we were resident for two weeks or a month, but we did three months at the NATO base in Naples and, for some of that time, played outside looking out on Capri and Ischia and the Bay of Naples as dusk fell. Magic.

Q9. You went from playing tea dances in the Empire ballroom to becoming one of Ireland's most reputed Composers and Producers, working with some of the world's most acclaimed musicians. How did you make this transition?

I came back to Ireland briefly in 1967. I still thought my musical career might be in composing concert music and on a scholarship from the Arts Council I went to London for further music studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. But the money quickly ran out, so I played with a succession of dance bands. Gradually I moved into working as a music copyist (music notation software was a few decades away) and playing keyboards on recording sessions. And from about 1970 onwards I started to work as an arranger, an orchestrator, a songwriter, a film composer, and producer. I moved back to Ireland in 1991 and have continued in most of these roles. I shall always be grateful for the experience I gained in the USA, in Europe and particularly in London.

Q10. The artists you've worked with come from very different genres - from The Pogues to Kate Bush to Wet Wet Wet. Can you tell us about the different approaches you brought to each?

Most of my arranging work has involved adding strings/brass etc. to existing tracks. (The Americans have a good word for it: 'sweetening'.) My approach does not vary greatly. I always strive to use and enhance elements within the track. Of course, the amount of enhancement can vary greatly — from minimal (for example, the strings on Thin Lizzy's "Sweet Marie" are only heard on the bridge at about two-thirds of the way into the track) to full-on Technicolor (strings, jazz brass group, chamber brass group, choir and percussion on Van Morrison's "Avalon of the Heart").

Q11. You give lectures on our degree course. How did you get involved with Pulse?

I got to know Tony and Aidan when recording string overdubs at Pulse and during my involvement with Screen Training Ireland's Film and Television Scoring Programme. They invited me to be a guest lecturer, and I have enjoyed talking about my work with students at Pulse. (I prefer to call it a 'talk' rather than a 'lecture'.)

Q12. You have an amazing new project being launched in the National Concert Hall. What can you tell us about it?

At the National Concert Hall on September 8th the RTÉ Concert Orchestra is presenting A Celebration of Fiachra Trench, a concert of some of my compositions and arrangements from the past 40 years. The guests taking part will include Altan, Paul Brady, Marti Pellow, Declan O'Rourke and Brian Kennedy.

Q13. Do you have any other exciting projects in the pipeline you can share with us?

My life-partner, singer Carmel McCreagh, and I embarked on a new career together about 15 years ago (though we had often performed at informal get-togethers before then): we formed a band, we recorded and released an album, Nice Girl, of jazz songs and originals and were thrilled when the album received four-star reviews in the Irish Times and the Sunday Tribune (see Carmel's blog for info/reviews: http://www.carmelmccreagh.com/blog). We've been playing festivals and venues throughout Ireland. Carmel will join me on stage for two songs from Nice Girl at the NCH concert. We're now working on a second album featuring new arrangements of songs by Johnny Mercer, one of the greatest lyricists of the twentieth century.

Pulse College 'Gangsters and Molls' End of Year Party

As all Pulse students past and present are well aware, every year with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, the college organises an infamous themed end-of-year party. This year, the bar in the beautiful grounds of Griffith College's South Circular Road Campus was the chosen venue.

The Party
The 'Gangsters and Molls' theme added a touch of glamour to the evening, and the party was once again a resounding success. A big thank you must go out to Lisa Fox, Michelle Dooley and Francesca De Buyl who gave up valuable time out of their studies to help with the preparations and decorations, ensuring the show ran smoothly. Students were treated to a wine reception in the Titanic Bar by Griffith College CEO Tomás Mac Eochagáin before the party got underway.

The Awards
The evening's award ceremony saw students from across all of our courses recognised for their achievements throughout the year. The engraved crystal awards were presented by Director Naomi Moore and Tutor Niall McMonagle to the following students:

Full-time Year 1, Red: Stephen Dunn
Full-time Year 1, Blue: Eamonn Conway
Full-time Year 2: Lisa Fox
Best Live Sound Year 2: Ciaran Dunne
Best Mix Year 2: Red C
Degree Year 1: Amy Millar
Degree Year 2: Richie Naughton
Part-time Year 1: David Stroud
Part-time Year 2: Shane O'Connor
Part-time Year 3: Dominic McGinley
Film: Eva Szalai
Game: Emma Kenny
The Entertainment
Bryan's band Art in Motion kickstarted the evening's entertainment, followed by the 2nd Year band led by Ross Stack. To close off the evening, an impromptu session was led by our very own Mick Garry, joined on stage by a number of talented students and tutors.

Jason Duffy: Guest Lecturer Profile

Pulse has a renowned list of high profile experts, Many of whom have interesting and varied careers, who regularly lecture on our courses. In this section of our news letter we aim to delve into their background to get tips on how to succeed in the professional environment.

Irish born drummer and renowned self taught session musician Jason Duffy has been playing music from the tender age of the age of 11. He has toured extensively with internationally acclaimed Irish artists such The Corrs, Michael Flatley, Bono, Sharon Shannon, Niamh Kavanagh, The Waterboys, Imelda May, Damian Dempsey, Sharon Corr and many many more. His career highlights include playing drums for the world famous and technically challenging “Lord of the Dance” tour. Jason is internationally considered as one of the greatest drummers to come out of Ireland. His master classes are a unique and fascinating experience for any Pulse student. We are delighted to get an insight into his successful career as a session musician

1. Your main work would be as a session musician. Can you explain what this entails?

You get called to do various different styles of music and you get to play with some amazing artists. The styles can range from playing on a movie sound track to playing on an album and everything in between really.

2. You’re a self taught musician, playing since the tender age of 11. How did you get started?

My father and elder brothers were musicians and there was always music in the house. I was going to gigs from an early age and it just started from there I guess.

3. To reach this level of skill requires amazing discipline. What keeps you motivated?

I love what I do and I’ve always wanted to do the best that I could on the instrument. I still practice and I’m still learning to this day and hopefully that will continue.

4. What are your musical influences?

Anything from Motown to Jazz to Latin, rock music, blues. I like all styles of music. I like a lot of different styles and a lot of drummers in particular. Some of the drummers would be Buddy Rich, Steve Gadd, Carlos Vega, and Vinnie Coluita.

5. You left school at 17 to play full time. It must have been quite a difficult choice, what prompted this decision?

I had already been playing gigs since the age of 14 so it was a natural progression to start playing music full time as that’s what I knew I wanted to do.

6. You have gone on to work with some of Ireland’s most renowned and diverse artists; from Damien Dempsey, Imelda May to Sharron Shannon. What was that like?

These guys are great to work for. I like a challenge of different styles and all these guys differ in their styles.

7. You come from the Duffy dynasty, Ireland’s most famous circus family. Not many people may be aware that they are renowned for being great musicians. Tell us about this fascinating legacy.

My father, the late Arthur Duffy and his brothers played music in the circus whilst performing also. In the wintertime during circus downtime they went out playing gigs. So there’s always been music in my family, going back a long time.

8. What has been your career highlight to date?

There have been many including playing with The Corrs and Bono at the G8 summit, playing with Michael Flatley from Madison Square Garden’s to Hyde Park, playing 25 nights sold-out with Michael Flatley in Wembley Arena. These are but a few highlights and I hope to have many more. I’ve been lucky.

9. You are always the lecturers’ first choice for the drum classes. What do you enjoy most about the teaching process?

I enjoy sharing whatever knowledge I have to help people who love music.

10. If students just left your class with one piece of knowledge, what would that be?

Keep an open mind and listen to as much music as possible.

11. You just got back from St Patrick Day’s in Dubai where you were playing with Sharron Corr. What future projects have you in the pipeline?

I play various festivals and shows over the summer with Sharon Shannon and Sharon Corr. I am currently working on a few studio projects that will be released next year. I’m also set to play at the Irish guitar festival in Drogheda on April 17th with Jimmy Smith and some of the world’s renowned guitar players I am really looking forward to that.

12. What is the most useful bit of advice you can give to Pulse College Graduates embarking on the career?

Just go for it and be positive.

Pulse College Launches Hi-Tech ‘Fiz Gig Summer Camps for Children

You’re never too young to learn about the exciting world of technology is the philosophy behind Pulse College’s new hi-tech summer camp ‘Fiz Gig, which will take place in the college’s world famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Ringsend, Dublin from the 13th of June. Pulse College, leaders in creative media education in Ireland, have introduced the Fiz Gig Summer Camp programme to open up the world of creative media to children and young teenagers aged 9 to 15 years. Staffed by experienced Pulse College lecturers, the week long Fiz Gig summer camps will give participants an insight into the processes and technologies involved in animation and video gaming production, as well as first-hand experience of using the technologies to create their own projects themselves. The camps will run from 9.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. Activities include web design, movie-making, online gaming and a host of hi-tech challenges.

“The Fiz Gig name represents an explosion of technology and we have designed these workshops so that they are practical, challenging and fun. We believe if children are introduced to advanced creative media technologies from a young age through hands on interactive activities, they will improve their skills and gain great insight into the world of creative media.” explains Naomi Moore, Director of Pulse College and organiser of Fizz Gigs.

Game design and technology is emerging as an exciting growth sector with computers and technology playing a bigger role in our everyday lives. The Irish games industry has grown 400% in the past seven years and it is now one of the fastest growing recruitment sectors in Ireland today. Fizz Gigs encourages the teaching and developing of young people’s creative and technological potential at an early stage and helps them to embrace this new dynamic and growing world.