David Mckenna Email and Phone Number

With the retirement of the previous Head of Sound who worked here a staggering 35+ years, I finally assumed all the responsibilities related to the purchase, installation, and repairs of all the audio equipment in the department. In 2022 this was manifested by the creation of a 4K 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos Theater and in 2023 a companion 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mixing suite. Looking forward to what the future brings in this exciting new role.

In addition to all my other responsibilities I have as staff, I've also picked up a few: Manager of UCLA's Scoring Stage which includes duties as House Engineer for student Scoring sessions as the need dictates. Lead a team of graduate students in the production of instructional material for various post-production pathways through Avid and Adobe workflows. Develop partnerships with various industry and educational professionals, from Red Cameras and Hewlett Packard to USC School of Film with the annual Transforming: Hollywood conference. Research and build two 4K Color Correction suites for film students. Maintained and repaired the 16mm flatbed editing stations until they were discontinued in 2018.

The latest addition to my skill set. I am now certified to teach certification courses on the new layout of Resolve which is capable of accommodating a complete post workflow on moderately sized productions. More importantly, I can now teach Color Correction, which has been my "second love" of sorts here in post. Looking forward to sharing this knowledge with our fine film students.

After learning the 310M material directly from the author of the Pro Tools curriculum -the masterful Frank D. Cook- I then became one of the beta-testers for the new four-part exam designed specifically for the Music Expert level. Since then I have added 310 S6, 310P, and 130 Game Audio. I have gained tremendously from these experiences and look forward to passing on what I have learned to the next generation of Pro Tools "Users," "Operators" and "Experts" at UCLA and at any ALP in the Southern California area. Also trained for Media Composer 7 User by Beth Sweeney at UCLA.

While no longer for course credit, teach intro audio for music acquisition, editing and mixing in a joint venture between the Theater, Film & Television Department and the Music Department. Added an advanced class in the Winter Quarter of 2010 to further expand on those skills in a more hands-on setting for the students. Classes range between 10 and 18 students.

Maintain and update 63 digital editing workstations for film students using Adobe Creative Cloud, Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve and Pro Tools. Assist students with the litany of possible on-the-spot technical issues that arise during the post-production process from ingest all the way to final delivery. Manage the purchase, check out and repair of Shared Arts Initiative recording studio equipment checkout. Responsible for the network integrity of the post-production facilities. Consulted on the design and equipment for the 5.1 mixing room and Melnitz Hall Scoring Stage completed in Spring 2009. Consulted on a second 5.1 mix room completed Fall 2010. Managed the construction of a third 5.1 room completed Spring 2011. Managed the construction of a fourth 5.1 room, completed Fall 2016. Managed the construction of the first 7.1 mixing room in 2017.

Produced and/or engineered hundreds of projects from concept to finished product. Majority of experience in set-up, recording, mixing and finishing of musical artist demos (CDs, LPs, and singles). For music projects, almost always work in collaboration with the artists in order to best bring about their vision. Additionally provide audio restoration services, live sound F.O.H. mixing and recording, studio equipment and design consultations, and occasionally produce/write for public access radio. Established a formidable track record in sound for picture as well. Led and managed a six-person team to provide all audio aspects for a 28 minute video essay -Impressions. Conducted audio acquisition and post-production work for television commercials on the Discovery Channel and news magazine segments on KTVU (Fox Affiliate) resulting in an Emmy award (Family 2 Family, Humanitarian Award). In 2020, became an LLC to expand into writing and composing.

Interim hire for the Fall Semester at LMU's Recording Arts Program teaching two sections of Post Production Sound for Television, Documentary, and Film. Dubbed internally as "the Pro Tools class" the course focused on ear training, dialog editing, audio restoration, Foley, sound editing, sound design, and mixing. My intent was to prove that sound is the most enjoyable part of a production.

Taught full-semester audio class on the Cal State Fullerton campus for undergraduate course RTVF 210, Introduction to Audio Production. Due to success of the class, semester workload was increased to two separate lecture and lab sessions a week in Spring 2008 to accommodate a second group of enrolled students. Worked in Pro Tools iMac lab with students. Remained on call via cell phone if students working in the lab or on their home Pro Tools systems had questions or needed technical assistance that could be done over the phone. Coordinated/scheduled room use and facilities needs with departmental staff and other faculty. Students learned physics of sound, types of microphones, recording techniques, sound editing, sound manipulation with plugins, automation and mixing. Projects included creation of radio ads and sweepers, written sound analysis and recreation of soundtrack for a scene from a professional film.

Created and taught sound classes (FTV 329 Sound Mixing in Knott Studios / FTV 133 Audio Techniques) at Marion Knott Studios, a $41 million, 76,000 square foot facility with all new modern gear. Provided students with relevant hands-on experience using two medium-sized 5.1 mixing theaters, four ADR rooms, eight edit suites, Foley sound stage, a large lecture room, and a lab with 24 Pro-Tools MBox PC workstations. Worked closely with the school’s technical support team to troubleshoot problems as they arise. Student projects included written sound analysis, sound design for student films and group soundtrack recreations of a scene from a professional film. Remained on call to help students with technical advice. Provided technical, hands-on support and practical advice to complete and improve several sound rooms, including the final touches to get them into operational spaces for the department.

Intimately involved with every step of the production and recording process at a Class A recording facility, widely regarded as one of the top studios in the music industry. Lead Recording Engineer job included: recording equipment and layout set-up, setting up microphones and studio gear, quality checking the final production content, making as needed on-the-spot equipment repairs. Served as 2nd Engineer on award-winning albums for Warren Zevon (Pop), Anthony Hamilton (R&B), Ronnie Laws (Jazz), Shelby Llynn (Country) and many others. 2nd Engineer for Rob Dougan in creation of instrumental version of “Furious Angels” for the movie The Matrix: Reloaded [Warner Bros.]. As technical engineer, repaired the Trident A-Range custom recording console, calibrated outboard equipment, resoldered and reorganized virtually all of the auxiliary equipment in the building.

Directed set-up, recording, mixing and mastering for all (130-140) radio productions at KSFS using Pro Tools and Studer Dyaxis. Created the station archive which required the evaluation, screening, repairing and cataloging of 30 years of stockpiled recording collateral, including ancient sweepers, tapes, carts, cds, and sound effects libraries. Planned, developed and implemented a complete overhaul of production facilities, expanding from one production suite to three integrated production suites plus a new vocal booth. Designed tie lines and patchbays to connect all radio station rooms with other Creative Arts building theaters into a centralized hub. Supervised purchase orders and chose new computers and gear for new studios and installed all hardware and software. At any time, managed a staff of five to twelve engineers and personally trained my replacement. Vocal Talent, Writer and DJ for several shows.

Developed and taught undergraduate audio, radio and video courses. Presented guest lectures on in-the-field usage of audio visual equipment. Courses ranged from basic manipulation of sound with digital audio workstations, to intensive aesthetic analysis and application. Specifically, taught courses BECA 310 Radio Production and BECA 515 Television Center Crew. Ran lab sections for BECA 435Aesthetics of Sound and BECA 437 Digital Audio Theory and Practice. Appeared as guest lecturer multiple times over two years for BECA 335 Audio for Video and BECA 535 Advanced Audio for Video. Curricular enrichment and innovations include creation of audio emphasis for BECA 415 Advanced Television Production Workshop. First Audio Director for Bay Views, a weekly live-to-tape 1-hour TV program. Not one show for the entire 4-month season had to be edited for sound before broadcast.

Mixer and Board Operator for various Nationally-Syndicated Radio Talkshows - Rock and Roll’s Greatest Hits with Dick Bartley [KFRC FM]; Street Talk with Joe Ike [KYCY FM]; The Tom Leykis Show [KYCY AM]; David Essel –Alive! [KYCY AM]; The Bruce Williams Show [KYCY AM];On The Garden Line with Jerry Baker [KYCY AM]. Hand picked to run all three radio stations during the Y2K turnover should anything have gone wrong.