History of ETHOS – A New Online Educational Program in Music for Multimedia

USC – Experimentation with live web broadcasts of production work in music education – MAY 2012

While with USC, we tested the technology by including 3 live scoring sessions as part of our regular course curriculum.  (1) The  final orchestral date from the Eastwood Stage on the Warner Bros. studio lot. (2) A class session, live from The Bridge for one of Bruce Broughton’s assignments in orchestration. This time the scoring stage was turned into a classroom, plus a live recording session, with public viewing accessible via the web.

3_burials_class_photo_TIMELINE 2(3) The final test came in the form of a partnership between USC, ASCAP and Hollywood composer, Marco Beltrami.  Working within a similar framework; we invited Marco to mentor the students on the scoring process, using one of his recent feature film projects as the basis for the assignment. ASCAP provided the funding to co-produce the live recording session, which took place at Marco’s Pianella Studio in Malibu.

First Contact with EICAR in Paris – SEPTEMBER 2012

Towards the end of 2012, after being granted a visa in “competence et talents” to live and work in Paris, Brian delivered the 1st masterclass in music for film at EICAR. The primary goal was to teach filmmakers about the process of music scoring, and what they need to know to best communicate with the composer and the composer’s team of creatives.

Modular Curriculum Development Begins – JANUARY 2013

Based in Paris, the educational work with EICAR expands into a workshop series with the International Department’s filmmakers plus additional coursework with students in EICAR’s French Sound Department. Brian invites live interactive sessions with Los Angeles, including Hollywood composer, Christopher Young and executive music producer, Todd Homme. The next 8 – 10 months were dedicated to an extensive modular curriculum design for ETHOS.

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Consultation with UNCSA, and Online Education – SEPTEMBER 2013

In September 2013, Brian joined the faculty of UNCSA’s film school to initiate coursework in online education, to build a bridge between UNCSA’s students and the film and entertainment industry in Los Angeles. UNCSA student composer, Nate Fenwick Smith made the most of this opportunity to connect with Hollywood professionals, joining Matt Koskenmaki and Vanacore Productions working in music for television. Click on the image below to see a short video from that project, featuring Hollywood composer, Christopher Lennertz on the scoring stage at SONY pictures.

U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award – DECEMBER 2013

The initial proposal for ETHOS – Education Online was officially selected for a Fulbright Scholar Award in the fall of 2013, though the scope of this project exceeded the resources for final funding. During this period, several schools in the U.S (UNCSA, CSUN) and France (Ecole des Arts, 3iS, and EICAR)  expressed interest in ETHOS. Brian continued to develop these relationships, to align these schools with the initial launch of the ETHOS program.

IFC in San Francisco, formation of new ETHOS faculty – APRIL 2014

The conference was timed to include a series of faculty meetings with Steve Juliani (Music Preparation), Sean Dougall (Synchronisation and Protools Delivery), and Jesse Harlin (Music for Video Games). The IFC also served as a meeting point for possible ETHOS business and/or educational partnerships.

IFC’s 6th International Private Education Conference, Rethinking Education, Shaping the Future, brought together more than 360 education professionals, thought leaders, academics, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors from almost 230 companies representing 55 countries from around the globe. Brian introduced the ETHOS – Education Online program outline to, Daisuke Kanazawa – Minister of Education in the Republic of Rwanda, Atul Temunikar – Global Schools Foundation Singapore, and Ricardo Goto – Damásio Educacional S/A São Paolo.

The platform evolves to include an LMS plus a live, interactive class interface – June 2014

After several months of testing various options for live streaming and a way to incorporate an engaging Learning Management System, the ETHOS platform prepares for its alpha launch.

ETHOS Alpha Launch – LIVE from the Bridge in Los Angeles – AUGUST 2014

A full-day of live class sessions delivered by Hollywood professionals, direct from The Bridge Recording Studio. Courses for the day included; Composition for Film with Christopher Young, Music for Video Games with Jesse Harlin, Music Editing with Meri Gavin, Orchestration/Music Preparation with Marcus Sjowall, Mock-ups and Programming with Max Blomgren, Synchronisation and Protools Delivery with Sean Dougall, Setting the Studio with Greg Curtis, and Surround Sound recording and Mixing with Bobby Fernandez.

The return to Paris – SEPTEMBER 2014

Brian is offered another contract to teach courses in Music for Film at EICAR. This time out, he expands the ETHOS curriculum to include courses in “Scoring for Sound Designers”, “Music Fundamentals” as well as a collaborative schedule for the “Directing the Composer” workshop, to include student filmmakers and student composers.

The online faculty, guest artists and curriculum expansion – JANUARY 2015

The ETHOS faculty and guest artist roster includes more than 20 industry professionals. There is a new core curriculum to deliver a complete program learning experience in 11 total courses. Aligned with the core, we plan to offer a variety of additional courses in Music for Multimedia.

ETHOS opens an office in Paris – APRIL 2015

Classes with EICAR and all of the ETHOS live broadcasts are now based in the centre of Paris at the Labo de l’edition as part of a tech incubator, sponsored by Paris & Co.

New website with updated LMS – JUNE 2015

The new website includes access for B2B and B2C participants, course catalog, student application for admission to the program, direct access to the virtual classroom from within the LMS, and all content associated with each ETHOS course.

Official Announcement for ETHOS – Education Online, a new professional program in Music for Multimedia

The original business model, to license the ETHOS program to colleges, universities and learning institutions in the visual arts who would benefit from the addition of music. We targeted schools in the U.S. and Europe.

ETHOS is a new educational program in music for film, multimedia, video games and web broadcasting that combines aspects of classroom learning with the internet, where the traditional “on campus” environment meets a technologically driven ”online” community of professional artists, educators and students.

Unlike other “online” or “blended learning” programs, which rely primarily on pre-recorded video, powerpoint presentations or archival materials, ETHOS takes place in a “live” interactive environment, simultaneously providing all of the participants on campus and online with the opportunity to share in the learning experience, face to face, in real time. Each course includes a primary instructor, or guest artist, plus a program course moderator to monitor and facilitate a clear line of communication for everyone. In this way, ETHOS promotes direct contact between students, artists and educators, while paving the way for career opportunities within this creative community.

To take a closer look at the Ethos team and some samples of the platform in action, click on the image below to launch a short, 2-minute video introduction.

Another Round of Courses with EICAR at the Labo in Paris  – SEPTEMBER 2015

For the 1st time in our experience with EICAR, all of Brian’s coursework with EICAR is directly linked to the ETHOS curriculum. EICAR students meet for classes and private lessons in music for film, television and video games at the Labo de l’edition.

Along with EICAR in Paris, ETHOS enrolls students from ESMUC in Barcelona, and the Institute of Musik in Karlsruhe – OCTOBER 2015

ETHOS courses with Christopher Young, Jesse Harlin, Daniel Wehr, Marcus Sjowall and Mike Simon broadcast live from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Paris, Barcelona and Karlsruhe, simultaneously.

Final Class with Chris Young, LIVE from The Bridge in Los Angeles – December 2015

Award winning Hollywood composer, Christopher Young connects with each student, in a live interactive session from Los Angeles. For this assignment, the students composed an original score for a Main Title sequence for one of Chris’ previous film projects. The students were able to select one from the following list of films; The Shipping News, Spiderman 3, Jennifer 8, Drag Me To Hell, and The Man Who Knew Too Little. With the ETHOS system, everyone was able to monitor playback of the video and music for each assignment while Chris critiqued their work. The students also presented written scores (PDF) which was also visible in the virtual classroom for all to see.

Directing the Composer Workshop – February 2016

Invites student filmmakers to collaborate with student composers, and to join ETHOS to build the community online. In this version of the workshop, filmmakers were able to learn more about the compositional process, how to talk about music, pitch their projects and produce a spotting session for their original film projects.

Introducing guest artist, Mike Patterson – MARCH 2016

Mike Patterson is a director, designer and animation artist working in visual music. His animated film Commuter, along with 7 of his music videos, are in The Museum of Modern Artʼs permanent collection.
After graduate studies with Jules Engel at CalArts, Mike was brought to the attention of record executives with his Student Academy Award-winning animated short Commuter. Employing his unmistakable drawing style, he began his career in music videos in 1985 by animating the epic MTV hit Take On Me for A-Ha. He teamed up with his wife Candace Reckinger to direct a string of MTV hits that include, Suzanne Vega’s Luka, Sting’s Be Still My Beating Heart and Opposites Attract, featuring Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat, which won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 1990. Their videos have received MTV, Billboard, MVPA, and American Music Awards, and continue to appear on top 100 music video lists.

The launch of our free “Open Talks” series  – APRIL 2016

To invite prospective students to participate in a series of live discussions with any number of ETHOS faculty, guest artists, as well as other schools and organisations. These open talks sessions take place 3-4 weeks before the start of the term, to give participants a chance to ask questions, take a tour of the virtual classroom and exchange with one another.

Courses conclude with student testimonials  – JUNE  2016

Our first group of students, from EICAR in Paris, ESMUC in Barcelona, and Hochschule Institute of Musik in Karlsruhe. Click here to take a look at all of the student testimonials.

Student Profiles – connection to the industry and internship opportunities – JULY 2016

In an attempt to connect our students with industry professionals, and a variety of internship opportunities along the way, we host a student profile page on the ETHOS site. This also serves as a gateway for student filmmakers, directors and other visual artists looking for composers and music producers in the ETHOS community of creatives. Click here to take a closer look at some of our gifted composers and music producers.

ETHOS in NYC  – AUGUST  2016

We continue to extend our reach, as we invite collaboration and partnership activities between ETHOS and any number of educational institutions and organisations in the NY metropolitan area. We are available to meet with you in-person or online. To schedule an appointment, or to find out more about ETHOS you can contact Brian King in New York at; 818-259-4755  or by email; btk@ethoseducationonline.com

ETHOS proposes new Workshop Series – SEPTEMBER 2016

For arts organisations, schools or other performance venues – we now offer short-term workshops (3-5 days) with custom designs to meet your needs, working directly with your current programs and resources. We’ll meet with you to discuss the various options for subjects, content management, marketing an delivery. For more information; workshops@ethoseducationonline.com

8 different Ethos Workshops to National Sawdust – OCTOBER  2016

Together, we can design and develop any number of workshops for you. Click on the image below to take a look at a short 2:30 video teaser for this workshop series; (1) Film Music, (2) Improvisation – Ensemble Performance, (3) Music Technology, (4) Game Audio & Music, (5) Jazz Composition, (6) Visual Music – Virtual Reality, (7) Directing the Composer, and (8) Songwriting.

ETHOS joins a new tech incubator in Brooklyn – NOVEMBER 2016

IFP’s latest initiative, the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, is an incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where storytellers from multiple disciplines, industries, and platforms can create, collaborate and connect. The Media Center is a new kind of co-working space and exhibition venue designed to connect the next generation of artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs through education, events, and industry resources.

ETHOS – MEDIA CENTER proposal  – JANUARY  2017

It begins with an alignment and integration the ETHOS platform with the MEDIA CENTER ­ please refer to the short video DEMO which illustrates the following points;

• Create an access point on ETHOS for the current “classWORKS” courses
• Enter into the overall view of the MEDIA CENTER with an ETHOS calendar
• ETHOS offers LIVE STREAMING for any MEDIA CENTER course ­ event
• Public service integrates with “Salesforce” via RSVP tickets and “FREE” accounts ­
• Custom LMS plus LIVE interactive VIRTUAL ROOMS for any event or course