Hey. Flashpoint is definitely a hands on school. I have just finished my first year and had the opportunity to record 3 bands during my second semester. They have a great selection of mics and preamps, a Digidesign D-Control board in the main studio, which has to main rooms and 2 smaller rooms all wired in. There are 4 mini-suites for students to work on projects, plus a synthesis suite and post production suite. Everything is equipped with Pro Tools HD. When one enters the audio program, there is of course a number of audio science type classes like Fundamentals of Sound and Acoustics, but you also go right into learning the software like DAW I & II. Flashpoint Academy stresses real world experience, so things move pretty quickly. By our third and fourth month, we were involved in producing a concert production at CBS studios with industry professionals. As I look forward to year two, I see there will be classes like Studio III & IV which will be taught and run out of Gravity Studios in Chicago, Studio Maintenance and Troubleshooting, Ear Training along with being able to reserve studio time and bring on our own bands to record. Not to mention you also learn about audio for film/video, including going out on location with film students and capturing audio for films and audio for video games as well. It's really an amazing school and I would suggest calling and checking out one of their tours where as a group or individually, they will show you around the school and give you a flavor of what the school has to offer. Definitely an up and coming school.
