Wondering where a Master’s degree at dBs Institute will take you? We look back at the diverse success stories from the students who studied our postgraduate degrees.
At dBs Institute, our Master's degrees are designed to help students hone their skills to a professional level and prepare them for a long and successful career in the creative industry.
You may be considering a postgraduate degree at dBs Institute, so we wanted to highlight the diverse ways in which our Master’s graduates have applied themselves during their studies, and where it has taken them.
Professional Roles
This September, we’re very excited to launch our brand new MA Game Sound degree, but it’s not the first of its kind at dBs. Up until 2020, our Sound for Games & Apps students [now BA (Hons) Sound Design], could progress onto MSound; a Master’s degree where they could further their skills.
For Mixed Reality Programmer Lillie Simpson-Little, who graduated with First Class Honours, their passion for programming led to a role as QA Manager at Bristol’s iconic Aardman, before progressing into a Junior Games Developer Role. Lillie now works for Zubr; an innovative AR/VR agency that previously collaborated with dBs Pro on ‘Unlocking the Cage’.
Another of our MA Game Sound graduates, Victor Martinez, continues to work across audio engineering, music production and sound design. His expertise led to him teaching psychoacoustics, sound design, film music awareness, ambisonics, binaural audio and non-linear composition for video games at the University of Girona.
Professional roles for our postgraduate alumni aren’t exclusive to game audio. MA Innovation in Sound graduate Eduardo Gama, who created the incredible Aural Postcards during his studies, joined University of Bristol shortly after graduating. He continues to work at UoB as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Postgraduate Researcher, and regularly collaborates with dBs’ Dr. Emmanuel Spinelli.
Hardware and Software Development
For some postgraduate students at dBs, their Master’s is an opportunity to create something tangible that will aid creative individuals and transform how they make their art.
While studying our MA Innovation in Sound degree in Bristol, Jacob Smith and Adam Berwick developed Sonify, a wearable device that allows the user to create music from movement through an innovative combination of hardware, software and sound design.
At dBs Plymouth, Josh Ball followed suit and used his time on the MA Innovation in Sound course to lay the foundations for TLKBCK; a voice control application that integrates with Ableton Live and allows the user to control the DAW through voice commands. Voice commands range from basic to advanced, and the device knows your Live Set and can specify tracks, scenes, devices, locators etc by name or number.
At the time of writing, Josh is delivering demonstrations of the project across dBs campuses and is launching a private beta before its eventual public release.
Cutting-edge work
We’ve been left speechless countless times thanks to the imagination of our students, but few projects come close to the sheer awe caused by Sound Mind. Developed by MA Innovation in Sound graduate Mark Doswell, alongside collaborators Rory Pickering and Jim Turner, Sound Mind is an audio-visual art installation that reads a participant’s brain waves while they listen to music and renders the results onto a laser-cut ply dome with 950 LEDs embedded into its structure.
It has to be seen to be believed…
Social Impact and Accessibility
In another project that explores the human brain, recent MA Innovation in Sound graduate Jack Weallans created a stunning piece within a purely digital environment. Spurred by the question of, 'What makes us "us"?, Jack's project explores some of the most pertinent themes in both the creative industries, as well as life in general. The emergence of AI, deep fakes and taste-making driven by algorithms became the bedrock of Jack's work.
The final piece is an audio-visual project, powered by AI and game engines, that examines the human condition; the dividing line of what is real, what is artificial, and what can be used as a tool for people in recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.
For Benny Turner, his time on the Master’s Innovation in Sound degree gave him the freedom to expand upon his work in community music and music therapy. His mission was to develop multi-sensory music therapy tools more accessible, providing greater access to meaningful music-making for people with complex needs.
A world of possibilities
So there you have it. Not all, but just some of the amazing student success stories across our postgraduate degrees. What could you achieve?
If you’re interested in studying a Master’s degree with dBs Institute, make an application today and take the next step in your creative journey.