BU student impresses top music producer

3 July 2012

BU student Daniel Knight catches industry professionals attention at FoDI event.

The work of Creative Technology and Design student Daniel Knight has captured the attention of a top music producer.

Tony Platt, Owner of Platinum Tones Productions was at the Festival of Design and Innovation as part of an accreditation board. He was incredibly excited about Daniel’s product OSCar, a modular control surface which personalises control for musicians, DJs and performers, and how this reflects on the course.

Platt started his career as an engineer at Island Studios, but moved into production in the 80s, working with the likes of Motorhead and Iron Maiden.

He said: “What caught my eye specifically about this particular project is that I have actually been looking for something that does what he has set out to achieve. He has come up with a modular design which is very simple and very straight forward, but what it shows is the value of the way this course is constructed. It is leading students towards conclusions that are relevant to the industry. If you have a student in his third year of this course who has designed, innovated and invented something that is very functional and very relevant to the industry it just shows how valuable this course is.”

Tony was so impressed by the product he asked Daniel when the product would be on the market because he wanted to be one of the first people to own one.

He continued: “This whole exhibition is very much a jewel in the crown of the course and the way the course functions. It should be celebrated quite greatly. The Uni should be very proud of what these guys have been doing.”

When asked what advice he would give to the students as they go into their chosen careers he said: “Get as much enthusiasm as possible; apply yourself as much as possible. It is not something you can half do and there are no shortcuts. Enthusiasm is definitely the thing that will carry you through because at times there will be high spots and low spots, it’s a rollercoaster ride in the music industry. To get yourself through the bad times you have to be very positive about the good times.”

Daniel was equally complimentary of the course and the festival which supported his creativity and gave him the knowledge to develop his idea into a functioning product.

He said: “FoDI has been amazing. It has been so enjoyable and there has been a nice sense of team work. It has been a long road, but we have had so much help from supervisors and other students. A lot of courses teach you all the technical stuff, how to build a programme, the one thing this course does is give you a commercial background. I think it is evident by the exhibition itself. It’s a slick, professional exhibition that shows we have more than the basic technical skills, I think that’s the thing that will help me most in the future.”