Chanel Summers began her career as a pioneering designer and producer of video games, developing innovative products ranging from high-performance 3D vehicle simulations, to action/arcade platform games, to hardware peripherals while working at early industry-leading companies such as Mindscape, Velocity and Mattel Media. Recruited to Microsoft in the late '90s, Chanel was responsible for the release of that company's first multiplayer internet game, Fighter Ace, a precursor to the rise of online gaming. Chanel was subsequently selected as the company's first Audio Technical Evangelist, in which capacity she was responsible for launching innovative audio technologies such as DirectMusic (a revolutionary method of creating and delivering interactive music and sound design) and also dramatically increasing the use of Windows as a platform for audio creation. With the inception of Microsoft's Xbox game system in 2000, Chanel was tapped to help design and promote the audio capabilities of the new hardware and to create the industry's first support team for content creators: a team of graphic artists, sound designers, composers and game designers who would work with the development community, coaching game creators to take advantage of the capabilities presented by Xbox. As a result, Chanel became a widely recognized figure in leading industry organizations, as well as the published author of a number of articles and technical white papers After leaving Microsoft, Chanel co-founded Syndicate 17, an audio production house based in Seattle and Los Angeles that specializes in writing and producing original scores, cues, and sound effects for everything from films and television shows to video games and web sites. In addition, Chanel is also a highly sought-after professional drummer, recording with and performing frequently in a number of nationally touring bands, working alongside such bands as Missing Persons, The Dreaming, Smile Empty Soul, The Last Vegas, Endless Hallway, and Vast, and showcasing in festivals ranging from CMJ to SXSW. Chanel is a frequent lecturer at both music and technology industry events around the world, as well as at leading educational institutions, captivating audiences as diverse as SESAC, Trinity College (Dublin), the Dublin Institute of Technology, The Irish Music Rights Organization and the Seattle Interactive Conference. Chanel sits on the advisory board for The Academy of Entertainment and Technology at Santa Monica College and, most recently has developed and is teaching a new course at the University of Southern California's Interactive Media Division in the School of Cinematic Arts which focuses on the art and aesthetics of creating audio for video games. She has also been advising the USC faculty on the creation of a dedicated minor in interactive audio for students looking to specialize in that area.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
