Center for Digital Imaging and Sound

At a Glance
Name: Center for Digital Imaging and Sound Contact: Admissions Office Major Courses of Study: Recording Arts Foundation (Certificate); Recording Arts Production-Music/Post Production (Diploma); Recording Arts Master-Music/Post Production (Diploma); iMIX Independent Entertainment Artist/Producer (Diploma) Degrees Offered: Diploma, transfer of credits to Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (U.K.) and the University of Phoenix for accredited undergraduate degree available Accreditation: Private Post Secondary Education Commission of British Columbia; registered with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Student Services Branch Main Technology Platforms: RADAR 24, Pro Tools, Neve, Amek, Studer, Tascam, Mackie, Yamaha, Roland, Sony, Genelec, JBL, Macintosh Tuition: $11,000 per year, Canadian Financial Assistance: Various commercial, proprietary and government programs available, as well as scholarship programs. Consult a Program Adviser for details.

For 23 years, the Center for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS) has offered students from around the world one-, two- and three-year programs that are intense, creatively challenging, and designed to produce highly skilled new media professionals. CDIS’s curricula is broad and includes comprehensive education in a variety of media, including audio recording arts, digital media, digital film, animation, game development and other disciplines. Altogether, CDIS offers 36 programs in nine areas of study leading to one-year certificates, or two- and three-year diplomas.

For audio, CDIS offers an extensive set of programs taught by leading professionals in a state-of-the-art technical environment. All students participate in the initial Recording Arts Foundation (RAF) program, which offers beginners a solid skill-base in the techniques and equipment used in multitrack recording, sound reinforcement, and post-production for film/video, broadcast and new media. Students train in advanced digital and analog studios using the latest technologies. The curriculum includes topics such as MIDI, signal flow, critical listening and audio/acoustic principles.

With that foundation, CDIS students can then pursue specific fields of study. Students choose either Music Production (RAP/M) or Audio Post-Production for film, TV and video (RAP/P). Linear and nonlinear digital audio theory, practice and integration are emphasized, along with technical expertise, production and project management, and problem solving/troubleshooting skills, which they apply to projects modeled after real-world scenarios. They also learn to create and publish audio for the Web and new media applications. In addition, the RAP programs also place an emphasis on the business of the media industry, providing instruction in areas such as Music Management & Marketing and Recording Studio Operations.

The majority of instruction takes place in CDIS’s new Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), opened in 2000, on the 43,000-square-foot campus. The ETC has two recording studios, a mix-to-picture surround-capable studio, and a film soundstage, as well as extensive digital video, effects and animation labs, all available 24/7.

CDIS remains a partner with its students after graduation through the, for Students with two or more years of study completed have an additional four months of access to CDIS facilities through the Graduate Access Program (GAP). Highest-level graduates are eligible to receive credit for their courses, leading to a Bachelor of Science in Management degree at the University of Phoenix. In addition, an agreement with the renowned Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, founded by Sir Paul McCartney, provides eligible CDIS Recording Arts Master Program graduates the opportunity to continue on to an undergraduate degree.

“CDIS places a profound emphasis on the basics of media technology,” explains CDIS president and CEO Niels Hartvig-Nielsen. “Graduates come out with a very ‘can-do’ approach to the technology. This attitude extends to their entire outlook on the industry: They understand they will need to work their way up through the ranks of the media business. We give them the skills and the confidence to do just that.” •