Resume of Chris van Rensburg (a.k.a. Tom Kidding)
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Key Strengths

• Excellent Problem Solver
• Good Communication Skills
• Balanced Disposition
• Well-rounded
• Quick to Learn and Self-motivated
• Dry and Wacky Sense of Humor

Over the course of working on diverse projects throughout the years, I've demonstrated time and time again my strong ability to find workarounds to some of the most apparently insurmountable obstacles.

My philosophy towards programming centers around problem solving. To use an analogy, if you have good communication skills, then you can express ideas well in any language that you learn. On the other hand, if you have poor communication skills but know how to speak many languages, then you're only equipped to express ideas poorly to a larger audience. So, merely knowing a lot of programming languages doesn't necessarily make you a good programmer. I place a huge amount of emphasis on designing solutions and systems that make sense. My top-down approach to solutions design is not only informed by the keen knowledge of the various programming specialists that make up an engineering team, but specifics of implementation are also often best dealt with by the most qualified minds.

Solutions I've designed or helped design include: the Music Object API abstraction layer, the TIE (Task Interchange Event) System for Plug-in Scripting Control, the ADCM (Audio Device Contention Manager), the Script Scruncher, the Frameset Tunnelling URL scheme, and many more.

With a good number of years of work experience under my belt, and working in a diverse variety of different capacities, I've developed strong communication skills. I've honed by interpersonal skills by learning to adapt to fellow employees of diverse personality types and positions within the corporate structure. As a result, I like to think that I've gotten to a point where I can communicate very effectively in the work environment. I'm not shy about communicating my needs or frustrations, and I'm more than happy to hear out any concerns of other employees - either at my same level within a company or under my management.

My ability to communicate clearly makes me a suitable leader in project management situations. I am also quite comfortable making presentations to an audience, whether it be addressing a select group of company executives, or addressing a large public audience at a trade show. My ability to clearly express complex concepts is indispensable when writing technical documentation, and I've gained experience in writing documentation for software products, developers APIs, as well as design specifications for products and product subsystems.

Many years of experience hashing out the finer details of a product's or system's specification has taught me the value of keeping a cool head. Dealing with difficult fellow employees has also provided me with fine opportunities to develop my crisis management skills. I try to always keep my decision making pragmatic and measured. If a debate becomes a little too heated, I try to steer the focus of the decision making towards reason and common sense and away from personal agendas and emotional knee-jerk reactions. I like to think of myself as a very balanced individual, disinclined to "exploding" under stress.

I've developed a lot of skills over the years. However, the more interests one has, the less likely one is to find the time to be an expert in every field. I like to think of myself as a jack-of-all-trades and master of some. Having gained experience performing a wide variety of duties, I have a better understanding and appreciation of all the talents that comprise a successful company. This kind of respect for every individual's field of expertise comes in very handy in project management and personnel management situations.

Although I consider myself a competent and capable artist and graphic designer, for example, I've had the privelege of working alongside graphic designers who, simply put, absolutely rock. I've also had the privelege of working alongside musicians who's versatility and talent cast sweeping shadows over my own musical accomplishments. These are people who excel in their field of specialization. I have a healthy respect for the extent to which they've finely tuned their craft. I'm not threatened by excellence in fellow workers. Rather, it inspires me.

The strong ability to learn is more valuable than a mountain of knowledge. Understanding helps design effective solutions, and the finer details of implementation can be gleaned from reference manuals. In many work situations throughout my life I've been thrown in at the deep end, and it's my strong ability to pick up new processes and learn new skills that has gotten me through successfully. My versatility in learning is evidenced by the many self-taught skills that I've acquired over the years, including painting, graphic design, music composition, digital audio production, etc.

Humor is essential in the workplace. Nothing diffuses a tense work situation better than the odd well-placed witty retort. And when it comes to retortin', I can stand up proud amongst the best of them. And I take a particular shine to other like-minded individuals who possess an equally unhealthy obsession with The Simpsons and Monty Python.

Skills

• Software Engineering & Systems Design
• Technical Writing and Creative Writing
• Web Content & Interactive Media Development
• Graphic Design & Illustration
• Personnel Management & Project Management
• Music Composition & Digital Audio Production
• Training, Education, and Public Speaking

During the 5 years that I worked for Beatnik, Inc. (San Mateo), I gained extensive experience in developing JavaScript code libraries that expose public APIs, having designed and developed Beatnik's Music Object API (and its extensions) for developers to create interactive audio Web apps using the Beatnik Player technology. I am skilled in the creation of well thought out, well architected, object-oriented, and highly developer-friendly public APIs, with tons of experience as well in documenting such APIs (see the section Technical Writing and Creative Writing).

• API Design

  I have a healthy amount of experience in API design, going back to the days when I developed a sound synthesis application in Pascal and had to develop APIs for my own GUI system and extensible synthesis architecture. Later, while working for Beatnik, I designed and coded the Music Object API, a JavaScript abstraction layer for the Beatnik Player technology. In addition to the public API that exposed features to content developers, the Music Object API also offered a "less public" extensibility API designed to allow optional code modules to extend the public API with expanded functionality that would be available to developers. While working for Pulse Entertainment, I designed intra-application APIs for the client-side interface code of the Sonifier application, a client-to-server API to link the Sonifier's client-side interface code with its server-side media database application, and APIs for the Pulse.Player abstraction layer and its various companion modules.

• UI Design

  Over the years I've gained plenty of experience with user interface design. I've designed user interfaces for interactive audio Web apps (see the Online Portfolios - Interactive Audio Web Apps section of this resume), Web-based authoring tools (see the Online Portfolios - Web-based Authoring Tools section of this resume), and extensions to HTML authoring tools (see the Online Portfolios - UI Design section of this resume).

• JavaScript

  Ever since Netscape introduced JavaScript into Navigator I have been utilizing this scripting language in the design of Web sites and Web apps. I really pushed JavaScript to its limits when I was put in charge of developing the Music Object API, Beatnik's platform for authoring sonified Web content. I have also used JavaScript extensively throughout the years in my personal Web site (http://www.tomkidding.com). One of the last major projects that I worked on at Beatnik was the creation of a Script Scruncher (written in JavaScript, incidentally) that would be used to parse, compact, and obfuscate JavaScript library files. More recently, while working for Pulse Entertainment, I used JavaScript along with various Internet standards (such as DHTML, W3C DOM, CSS, CSS-P, etc.) to develop a sophisticated client-side user interface for their Web-based Sonifier application that offered drag-and-drop and windowing support. Also while working for Pulse, I developed a JavaScript-based abstraction layer and installation management system for their Pulse Player product.

• CGI / Perl

  During the years at Beatnik when I was acting as the company's Webmaster, I gained experience using the Perl language combined with the Common Gateway Interface in creating an early version of their online sales mechanism. More recently, I have also used the Perl/CGI combination quite effectively to implement certain functions of my personal Web site (http://www.tomkidding.com).

• Pascal

  Around 1992 I started on an ambitious programming project using Borland's Turbo Pascal language. The system I developed, the ToneZone I.S.E. (Integrated Synthesis Environment), employed some extremely novel approaches to sound synthesis. At that time, Turbo Pascal was not geared towards using the Microsoft Windows 3.1 GUI platform and object-oriented Pascal was just starting to come onto the radar. As it turned out, I ended up inventing my own graphic windowing and event system, as well as creating my own libraries of quasi-object-oriented "classes" emulated using a combination of data structures and their associated procedures (ie. "methods").

• Database Design & Programming

  While working for SIGMA (Songwriters' International Guild and Musicians' Association) in 1994-1995, I was responsible for the design and programming of a profession-oriented membership database system to cater to a diverse array of music industry professionals, including producers, arrangers, engineers, performers, session musicians, record labels, publishers, etc. The database was created using Borland's Paradox application, and sophisticated query and report programming was done using the Pascal language combined with the Paradox APIs. More recently, I have done much database design using FileMaker PRO, including the design of databases for task tracking, media catalogs, Web site feedback.

• Technical Writing

  During the 5 years that I worked for Beatnik, Inc., I was responsible for maintaining documentation for the Music Object API, as well as documentation for several other products, including the Beatnik ActionSet for NetObjects Fusion and the Beatnik ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver. I also wrote copy and created technical illustrations for patent applications, wrote Product Requirements Documents and Design Specification Documents, and created PowerPoint presentations for the company's product steering committee and also for several public speaking engagments at trade shows and tech conferences. Among the technical documentation that I have written are: the Music Object API Documentation, the Music Object Player Interface specification, the Beatnik Documentation Customization specifications, the ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver User's Guide, the ActionSet for NetObjects Fusion User's Guide, and the Beatnik Player User's Guide.

  To view some examples of my technical writing, see the Online Portfolios - Technical Writing section of this resume.

• Creative Writing

  I also have an extensive background in creative writing. I have been writing poetry, prose, song lyrics, philosophical rants, musings, and short stories going back as far as 1984. For more information on my creative writing, see the Online Portfolios - Creative Writing section of this resume.

I've been developing Web content and interactive media ever since there was a decent Web browser, it seems. In fact, as I think about it, memories of Netscape Navigator 1.2 start filtering up from the dark recesses of my mind. When I started at Headspace, Inc. in 1996, my official mandate was to design the very first headspace.com Web site. I continued on as the company's Webmaster until the company started to draw on my programming talents, moving me away from Web maintenance and onto development of the Music Object API.

Even as I was working on Beatnik's authoring platform for interactive audio, I was still applying my talents in Web design by developing the company's Web-based documentation (see the Online Portfolios - Technical Writing section of this resume), cutting edge Web-based authoring tools (see the Online Portfolios - Web-based Authoring Tools section of this resume), and sonified content to showcase the Beatnik technology (see the Online Portfolios - Interactive Audio Web Apps section of this resume).

In addition to my Web design work in the industry, I have maintained my own personal Web site (http://www.tomkidding.com) since 1995.

During the 5 years that I worked for Beatnik, Inc., I gained extensive experience in graphic design, creating graphical elements for Beatnik's Web site, Beatnik-sonified showcase content, Web-based documentation, Web-based authoring tools, and application interfaces (such as the Beatnik ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver). I also created technical illustrations for documentation and patent applications. While developing my own software for sound synthesis (the ToneZone Integrated Synthesis Environment), I gained experience in the design of icons, fonts, textures, and other application GUI elements.

Working for Pride Pools, a pool construction company based in South Africa, I designed pool and landscaping plans and created artist impressions for client presentations. While working for SIGMA (Songwriters' International Guild and Musicians' Association), I designed office signage, membership cards, profession-oriented membership application forms, posters, and promotional flyers. In addition to graphic art experience, I also have experience in drafting and fine art. Over the years I've also created a good number of paintings, drawings, and photomontages.

To view some examples of my graphic design and illustration work, see the Online Portfolios - Graphic Design & Illustration section of this resume.

• Personnel Management

  In the capacity of Director of Web Authoring Technologies at Beatnik, Inc. I gained experience in managing a small team of engineers. While working for Gibraltar Construction, a ceiling subcontracting company based in South Africa, I gained experience managing teams of construction workers. And, while working for Harry Goemans Nursery based in South Africa, I gained experience managing teams of laborers.

• Project Management

  While working for Beatnik, Inc. on projects such as the Music Object API, I gained experience with project management, including experience in translating MRDs (Market Requirements Documents) into product requirements, coordinating/wrestling with marketing, prioritizing product features, writing PRDs (Product Requirements Documents), delivering presentations to a product steering committee, writing DSDs (Design Specifications Documents), holding core team meetings, monitoring project progress, shifting project priorities to meet changing conditions, conducting product release post-mortems, etc.

I've been making music since I was about 22 years old. Through the years I've composed dozens of instrumental pieces suitable for video, film, and multimedia titles, as well as songs with vocals and a good handful of compositions in Beatnik's RMF format. From 1995 to 1996, while doing freelance music production work for Brett Knapp and John Hall, I gained invaluable experience sequencing, arranging, producing, performing backing vocals, recording, and mixing for pre-production demos of over forty original songs. During the 5 years that I worked for Beatnik, Inc., I gained further experience in digital audio production and the creation of music and audio to accompany interactive audio Web apps.

During the course of my long-term relationship with electronic musical instruments over the years I have also gained a good deal of experience in programming synthesizers and effects processors, including experience in...

• designing patches for Roland LA synthesizers (D-10, D-110, D-20, D-50), Roland S-series samplers, Roland JV-880, KORG M-1, Alesis Q-series synthesizers, Alesis DM5, Yamaha TX81Z, Korg Poly 800, and a few others.
• designing effects patches for Alesis Quadraverb, Boss SE-50, Boss SE-70, Boss VF-1, and Boss GX-700
• designing patches for other studio processors, such as the tc electronics Finalizer and the tc electronics Gold Channel.
• designing SoundFont samples and Beatnik Audio Engine patches

To listen to some examples of my music, see the Online Portfolios - Music Composition & Digital Audio Production section of this resume.

During the 5 years that I worked for Beatnik, Inc., I gained a lot of experience conducting Beatnik training seminars and workshops, and making presentations to large audiences at public speaking engagements. Being about the most knowledgeable person on the Music Object API at the company, I was quite often called upon to represent the company at trade shows, conferences, and conventions, including such events as MacWorld, Internet World, WebINNOVATIONS, Web99, SDMI, and many others. I was also called upon to host exclusive training sessions with some of Beatnik's high profile technology partners, such as Sony Online Entertainment, Organic, iXL, and others.

Programming & Markup Languages

• Programming Languages
  • JavaScript - 8+ years
    • AJAX - under 1 year
    • iframe-based RPC - 3+ years
    • JSON - 6+ years (since before the buzzword existed)
    • W3C DOM, DHTML - 6+ years
  • Perl & CGI, Mod Perl, Image Magick - 7+ years
  • Java (familiarity) - 2+ years
  • Pascal, Fortran, Forth, Basic (languages that got me started)
• Templating Languages
  • ASP (both VBScript & JScript) - under 1 year
  • Template Toolkit (with Perl) - 2+ years
• Markup Languages
  • HTML - 9+ years
  • WML, XHTML-MP, cHTML (compact HTML) - ~2 years
  • CSS1, CSS2 & CSSP - 5+ years
  • XML - 3+ years

Applications Experience

• Web Servers (and add-ons)
  • Apache
  • Twiki
• Database & Spreadsheet
  • MySQL
  • others - FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Excel, Borland Paradox
• Source Control
  • Perforce - 5+ years
  • Subversion (TortoiseSVN) - under 1 year
  • VSS (Visual Source Safe) - ~1 year
  • CVS (Concurrent Versions System) - ~1 year
• Other Tools
  • Bug Tracking: Bugzilla, trac
  • Project Management: Twiki w/ XP Tracking Plug-in
  • Utilities: Beyond Compare, TreeSize Professional
• Graphic Design & Illustration
  • Adobe Photoshop - 8+ years
  • SmartDraw (vector-based illustration & diagramming) - ~3 years
• HTML, Text Editors, and Internet
  • text editors - jEdit (Java-based), BBEdit, Dana
  • WYSIWYG HTML editors - Macromedia Dreamweaver, NetObjects Fusion
  • FTP - CuteFTP, Fetch, FileZilla
• Music & Audio
  • Cakewalk
  • Sonic Foundry SoundForge
  • Sonic Foundry CD Architect
  • Apple Sound Studio
  • Creative Labs Vienna (SoundFont editor)
• Utilities & Miscellaneous
  • MeetingMaker (scheduling software)
  • Shoreline VOIP client
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Platforms
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Mac OS X
  • Linux

Work History

• 2005-present: Zazzle
• 2002-2004: Pulse Entertainment
• 1996-2001: Headspace, Inc / Beatnik, Inc.
• 1995-1996: Freelance Music Production
• 1994-1995: SIGMA (Songwriters' International Guild and Musicians' Association)
• 1992-1993: Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
• 1990-1992: Gibraltar Construction
• 1989 Jan-Jul: Harry Goemans Nursery
• 1988 Aug-Oct: Pride Pools
• 1988 Jan-Dec: Ferndale Nurseries

• Overview

  In May 2005, I joined on as a senior UI engineer at Zazzle, Inc. Since joining, I've been leading development on the heavily object-oriented JavaScript framework for the DHTML-based client-side interface of Zazzle's product design tools, including UI implementation using DHTML / JavaScript / W3C DOM / iframe-based RPC and AJAX. At Zazzle, I collaborate with a team of top notch engineers and designers on defining (and then implementing) the user experience and information architecture for Zazzle's rich Web applications.

  
  
• Projects
  • Zazzle JS Framework

    I contribute heavily to the object-oriented JavaScript framework upon which Zazzle's rich DHTML interface is built.

  • Product Design Tools (client-side)

    One of the cornerstone applications showcasing the JavaScript framework in use by Zazzle is the product design tool.

• Overview

  In January 2002, I joined on as a contractor at Sonicopia (a subsidiary of Pulse Entertainment) to do development on the user interface of the Sonifier online service - a unique Web-based media integration tool comprised of a server-side media database application and a client-side drag-and-drop user interface. After a few months as contractor I was offered a full time position at Pulse Entertainment. In the close to three years that I worked for Pulse, I plied my skills on a number of key projects, adapting to the company's changing development priorities and continually learning new technologies.

  
  
• Projects
  • Sonifier

    I developed the drag-and-drop DHTML-based client-side interface for the Sonifier service. This service was comprised of a server component and a client component. The server component was responsible for production music library management, user account management, and Web page parsing and processing. The client component was responsible for presenting a user-interface for editing the sonification of pages.

    The drag-and-drop client interface allowed users to assign sound behaviors to events of elements on an HTML page. I was responsible for the object-oriented code architecture, module APIs, and design and implementation of the user interface using various Internet standards (JavaScript, DHTML, W3C DOM, CSS, CSS-P, etc.). The Pulse Sonifier technology was ultimately licensed for exclusive use by BMG's production music division Killer Tracks, and was branded as Killer Sonifier.

  • Pulse.Player Abstraction Layer

    The Pulse Player was a rich media playback platform for interactive 3D content, implemented as an ActiveX control for Microsoft Internet Explorer, and as a Netscape plug-in for Netscape-based browsers (and other browsers supporting the Netscape plug-in API). To deal with browser cross-compatibility issues, to manage the player installation process, and to simplify aspects of content authoring, I developed the JavaScript-based Pulse.Player abstraction layer - along with various companion modules to support other optional functionality (such as an audio control widget and closed captioning support). Ultimately, this abstraction layer / content authoring API also eased the strategic transition towards a Java applet based player (no software download and installation for the end user), and - even later - Flash movie-based Veepers content.

  • Docent Framework

    Screenshots (slideshow)

    Building on the Pulse.Player abstraction layer and the Pulse Veepers technology, I developed the Pulse.Player.Docent API to facilitate the creation of scripted virtual assistant interactions. The framework was designed to allow the easy definition of new interactions once a docent's user interface was built. The technologies used (JavaScript and DHTML) and the cookie-cutter solution allowed less technical members of a production crew to define new interactions and make basic UI tweaks without having to utilize the skills of a programmer, thereby significantly reducing production costs.

    The Docent framework was used in virtual assistant deployments for companies such as The Sharper Image, Progressive Auto Insurance, Charles Schwab, and State Farm, as well as government agencies such as the IRS.

    
    
  • Veepers Web Service

    Screenshots (slideshow)

    Leveraging the Veepers technology, Pulse developed a greeting card application to allow users to create talking greeting cards to send to friends and family. Essentially, users could upload a picture of themselves, their cat or dog, their baby, or even their new "tricked out" VW bug, follow a few simple facial landmark adjustment steps, and end up with a talking 3D version of their previously static 2D picture - referred to by Pulse as a Veeper.

    Audio features of the Web service allowed users to select pre-recorded audio phrases from a gallery, upload their own recorded audio, or generate audio using TTS (text-to-speech). Various other features allowed users to select a frame for their Veeper, select pre-made Veepers from a gallery, select a scene backdrop for their Veeper, or perform fun modifications on their Veeper - like "monsterizing" it.

    The Web service was licensed to a wide array of companies (see screenshot slideshow) as a tool for advertizing campaigns and building brand awareness. I did development work on the server-side application layer, the server-to-client interface API, the client-side UI system, and the CardMaker application architecture for ease of skinning and low-cost replication for new deployments. I also got my hands dirty with a number of the deployments, at times when team resources were tight or when engineering work was needed on out-of-the-ordinary custom features requested by a client.

    
    
  • Mobile Veepers Web Service

    Screenshots

    To expand its business into the lucrative mobile market, Pulse made further improvements to the Veepers Web service, including development of a content negotiation system to ensure that users are delivered the service in a way that is compatible with their devices (eg. WML, cHTML, XHTML-MP, etc.) and that Veepers are delivered in the appropriate media format. As a key member of the development team, I played an important role in development of the Mobile Veepers Web Service. Ultimately, the framework we developed made it possible to release Web service deployments that would run on both desktop Web browsers as well as a wide array of mobile devices.

    
    

• Overview

  In early 1996 I started working at Headspace, Inc. (later to change name to Beatnik, Inc.), becoming the third employee in this new phase of the company's history. Back then the company was made up of Thomas Dolby, Paul Sebastien, and myself (with Mary Coller still spending most of the time in Los Angeles). Over the years I saw the company "ramp up" from being a small group of multi-talented personnel to becoming a medium sized company with over one hundred exployees. My capacity at the company changed as well, as I transitioned from a general jack-of-all-trades role to a more focused and specialized role.

  Then, during hard times, I saw the company shrink back through several rounds of lay-offs. Finally, in the difficult economic climate of late 2000/early 2001, Beatnik could no longer spend resources on developing Web authoring technologies. As a result, Beatnik was forced to cut back dramatically and focus exclusively on licensing of its low-level C/C++ audio engine, an area of the company's technology development where the skills I'd finetuned were not critically needed. I received confirmation of my impending lay-off for my 33rd birthday, just one month after receiving my "award" for recognition of 5 years of dedication and service (see impressive hunk of glass to the right). The irony was not lost on me.

• Responsibilities

  I was initially hired to create Headspace's first Web site. As time went by, the company started to draw on my programming talents and moved me away from my Webmastering duties and onto development of the Music Object API. I eventually was assigned the title of Director of Web Authoring Technologies and was responsible for design, engineering, and documentation on several of Beatnik's Web authoring products. My various responsibilities over the years included...

  • API Design

    I was responsible for the design and coding of the Music Object API, a JavaScript abstraction layer for the Beatnik Player technology. In addition to the public API that exposed features to content developers, I was also responsible for designing the Music Object Extensibility API to allow optional code modules to extend Music Object's public API with expanded functionality that would be available to developers.

  • UI Design

    I was responsible for designing user interfaces for Beatnik-sonified interactive audio Web apps , Web-based Beatnik authoring tools (see the Online Portfolios - Web-based Authoring Tools section of this resume), and extensions to HTML authoring tools, such as the Beatnik ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver and NetObjects Fusion (see the Online Portfolios - UI Design section of this resume).

  • Webmastering

    In the early days working for Headspace, I was the company's official Webmaster and was responsible for designing and maintaining the very first headspace.com Web site. I went on to code Headspace's Beatnik product launch site, working together with graphic designers and other project team members.

  • Technical Writing

    Even after the Webmastering duties were handed over to other employees, I was still applying my talents in Web design by developing the company's Web-based documentation (see the Online Portfolios - Technical Writing section of this resume). I was responsible for maintaining documentation for several of Beatnik's products. Among the technical documentation that I wrote are: the Music Object API Documentation, the Music Object Player Interface specification, the Beatnik Documentation Customization specifications, the ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver User's Guide, the ActionSet for NetObjects Fusion User's Guide, and the Beatnik Player User's Guide. I also wrote copy and created technical illustrations for patent applications.

  • Web Content & Interactive Media Development

    For the sake of Beatnik's product documentation and feature showcases on the beatnik.com Web site, I was responsible for developing cutting edge Web-based authoring tools (see the Online Portfolios - Web-based Authoring Tools section of this resume) and sonified content to showcase the Beatnik technology (see the Online Portfolios - Interactive Audio Web Apps section of this resume).

  • Graphic Design & Illustration

    Over the years, I was responsible for the creation of graphical elements for Beatnik's Web site, Beatnik-sonified showcase content, Web-based documentation, Web-based authoring tools, and application interfaces (such as the Beatnik ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver). I also created technical illustrations for documentation and patent applications.

  • Personnel Management & Project Management

    In the capacity of Director of Web Authoring Technologies, I was responsible for managing a small team of engineers. I was also responsible for various aspects of project management, including translating MRDs (Market Requirements Documents) into product requirements, coordinating/wrestling with marketing, prioritizing product features, writing PRDs (Product Requirements Documents), delivering presentations to a product steering committee, writing DSDs (Design Specifications Documents), holding core team meetings, designing and maintaining task tracking databases, monitoring project progress, shifting project priorities to meet changing conditions, conducting product release post-mortems, etc.

  • Training, Education, and Public Speaking

    I was responsible for conducting Beatnik training seminars and workshops, and making presentations to large audiences at public speaking engagements. Being about the most knowledgeable person on the Music Object API at the company, I was quite often called upon to represent the company at trade shows, conferences, and conventions. I was also called upon to host exclusive training sessions with some of Beatnik's high profile technology partners, such as Sony Online Entertainment, Organic, iXL, and others. Preparations for public speaking engagements and workshops included the creation of slide presentations, lesson plan handouts, and, in some cases, custom demonstration and tutorial content.

    Some highlights from my various public speaking engagements are...

    • 1999-09-09 - AFI Class
    • 1999-06-28 - Web99 (San Francisco)
    • 1999-06-03 - Intel Web Developer Technology Seminar (New York)
    • 1998-10-08 - Fall Internet World '98
    • 1998-09-25 - Web98 East (Boston)
    • 1997-11-20 - North Bay Multimedia Association
    • 1997-06-19 - WebINNOVATIONS panel
    • 1996-12-05 - MacWorld panel

From 1995 to 1996 I worked independently, taking on a freelance music production job for Brett Knapp and John Hall. During this contract I arranged, engineered, and even performed backing vocals on pre-production demos of over forty original songs, including the songs: Addiction , Check It Out , Jump In and Out , Lyin' Eyes , I Really Wanna Dance , Skin Deep Love , Credit Card Baby , Caught in the Middle , Unconditional Love , Danger , Ready Steady Go , Jaded , Everybody Needs Someone to Love , Feelings: Part I , I'll Find You , Hellationship , Get Outta My House , Goin' Solo , All Fired Up , Hold On , Mission From Suspicion , Washington D.C. , Delicious Kiss , Believe in Me , Back in Your Arms , American You, American Me , Never Wanna Cry , Broken Glass , Shakin' up the Room , And So it Goes , Touch Too Much , 1-900-Man , Mix it up , Send For Me , So Gone in Love , House is Rockin' , Only Wanna Be With You , and Someone to Hold.

From 1994 to 1995 I worked for SIGMA, the Songwriters' International Guild and Musicians' Association. My duties included:

• the design and programming of a profession-oriented membership database system (using Paradox) to cater to a diverse array of music industry professionals, including producers, arrangers, engineers, performers, session musicians, record labels, publishers, etc.
• forms design
• poster and promotional flyer design
• office administration

During 1993 I cloistered myself at home and worked furiously at developing a prototype for an idea I had for software-based sound synthesis. It was this software prototype that ultimately brought me California to pursue work in the field of music-related technology. The prototype was written in Turbo Pascal and featured my own implementation of a GUI windowing system as well as my own procedural-based approximation of object oriented programming. As for the synthesis method, it was somewhat unconventional and was geared towards producing highly distinctive synthetic textures with the mind towards CPU economy.

Below, you can see a few screen captures from the application (click the thumbnails for a larger view)...

Click the audio preview button below to listen to a sampler of the wide variety of sounds that could be synthesized using the ISE CyberSynth. The sound sample file is a mono MP3 file compressed at 128kbps. Sounds are separated by one second of silence. There is no reverb - or any other effect, for that matter - applied to the raw sounds. Each sound is the work of a single oscillator (in synthesizer terms), demonstrating the timbral complexity achieved using the software.

NOTE: You'll have to forgive the white noise in the sound recordings, as these sounds were plucked from an old demo cassette tape for the software and then spliced together more recently into this MP3 recording.

During 1992 and 1993 I worked part time at Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development. My duties included assisting with public relations efforts and event coordination.

From 1990 to 1992 I worked for Gibraltar Construction, a ceiling subcontracting company based in South Africa. My responsibilities included: assisting in the design of suspended ceilings and skimmed cretestone ceilings, project planning and management, building materials management, and construction team supervision. During my term of employment I managed several large ceiling construction projects, including several government school projects.

While studying for a National Diploma in Horticulture at Cape Technikon, I worked part time during 1989 for Harry Goemans Nursery in order to fulfil the in-service training requirements of that course. My duties at the nursery included: acting as a sales representative, providing guidance on plant selection to suite the microclimate conditions of a customer's garden, checking inventory, plant propagation (from seed and from cutting), plant maintenance (pruning programmes, fertilization schedules, pest control, irrigation, etc.), landscaping, and staff supervision. A notable project for which I was solely responsible during my employ was the construction of a commercial sized greenhouse of aluminum and polycarbonate materials.

While studying for a National Diploma in Horticulture at Cape Technikon, I worked part time during 1988 for Pride Pools in order to fulfil the in-service training requirements of that course. From having no previous experience in drafting, I quickly learned how to design professional quality pool plans, landscaping plans, and artistic impressions for client presentations.

To view some examples of my pool and landscaping plans, see the Online Portfolios section of this resume.

While studying for a National Diploma in Horticulture at Cape Technikon, I worked part time during 1988 for Ferndale Nurseries in order to fulfil the in-service training requirements of that course. My duties at the nursery included: acting as a sales representative, providing guidance on plant selection to suite the microclimate conditions of a customer's garden, checking inventory, plant propagation (from seed and from cutting), and plant maintenance (pruning programmes, fertilization schedules, pest control, irrigation, etc.).

Education

• Cape Technikon - Horticulture Diploma (Soil Science, Entomology, Ecology, Landscaping, Botany, etc.)
• U.C.T. (University of Cape Town) - BSc Computer Science
• SACHS (South African College High School) - studied Computer Science as an extracurricular activity and won the school's Computer Studies prize for two consecutive years
• self-taught - the many other skills that I have developed over the years (such as music composition, painting, graphic art, etc.) are self-taught or learned in the industry

Online Portfolios

• Technical Writing (Music Object API Doc)

  Layers of the Music Object API

  Reference for Music.groovoidGroup

  Interactive Instrument List

• Creative Writing

  Over the years I've written many poems, much prose, lyrics for many songs, and my fair share of philosophical rants and musings. To browse through my various writings, select from the following URLs...

  • Poetry & Prose ---> http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?poetry
  • Song Lyrics ---> http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?12-inches-of-headspace
  • Philosophy ---> http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?profundity
  • Short Stories ---> http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?stories
  • Diary ---> http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?diary

• Technical Illustration for Documentation

  Player Test Plan

  ADCM Complex Scenario

  ADCM Simple Scenario

  Ducking System Diagram

• Technical Illustration for Patent Applications

  ELI Patent System Diagram 1

  ELI Patent System Diagram 2

  ELI Patent File Structure

  ELI Patent Flowchart

• Graphic Design for CD Release (12 Inches of Headspace)

  CD Booklet Cover

  CD Booklet Inside

  Promotional Desktop Image

  To see the entire concept behind this album release (including visual theme, Web site graphic design, navigation design, interactivity programming, digital audio samples, etc.), visit the "12 Inches of Headspace" section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?12-inches-of-headspace

• Photomontages (created using Photoshop)

  China Bloodstream

  Green Flash

  Aquiessence

  To browse through more of my photomontages (as well as artworks using various other media), visit the Artworks section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?artworks

• Artworks & Photography (sampler slideshows)

  Paintings Sampler (slideshow)

  Drawings Sampler (slideshow)

  Interactive Media (slideshow)

  Photography (slideshow)

  To browse through more of my artworks (including paintings, drawings, photomontages, plans, studies, doodles, etc.), visit the Artworks section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?artworks

• Pool & Landscape Design

  Pool Design (plan view)

  Pool Design (artist's impression)

  Pool Design (faux rock schematic)

  To browse through more of my pool and landscape plans, visit the Artworks section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?artworks

• Graphic Design for Web Layout

  12 Inches of Headspace Web site

  To see the entire concept behind this album release (including visual theme, Web site graphic design, navigation design, interactivity programming, digital audio samples, etc.), visit the "12 Inches of Headspace" section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?12-inches-of-headspace

• UI Design (Beatnik ActionSet for Macromedia Dreamweaver)

  Beatnik ActionSet Setup

  Play Musical Note

  Play Random Musical Note

  Play Random Groovoid

  Sonify Forms With Groovoids

  For further examples of user interface design, see also the section Web-based Authoring Tools.

• eCRM Virtual Assistant

  Pulse Docent - Schwab (minimized)

  Pulse Docent - Schwab (maximized)

  Pulse Docent - Sharper Image

  More Docent examples - launch slideshow

• Web Services

  Various Web Service Deployments

  Pulse Veepers - Shout Out

  Mobile Veepers

• Web-based Authoring Tools

  Music Object Methodizer

  Beatnik EMBEDifier

  Christmas EZ Sonifier

• Interactive Audio Web Apps

  Perpetual Mood Machine (splashscreen)

  Perpetual Mood Machine (screenshot)

  To experience this interactive audio Web app, visit the "Perpetual Mood Machine" section of my Web site at...

  http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?pmm

• Web Site Design & Maintenance

  All interface design, graphic design, HTML and JavaScript programming, etc. on the Tom Kidding Web site (http://www.tomkidding.com) are my own work.

I've been making music and programming synthesizers since I was about 22 years old. Through the years I've composed dozens of instrumental pieces, songs with vocals, and a good handful of compositions in Beatnik's RMF format.

In 2001, I released the album "12 Inches of Headspace". This album is a compilation of songs written and recorded during the years that I worked for Headspace, Inc. (which later became Beatnik, Inc.).

I created a dedicated section on my Web site to support the release of this album, offering downloadable MP3 previews as well as lyric sheets for the songs, promotional graphics, and general information about the album. To visit this section of my Web site, take your browser to...

http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?12-inches-of-headspace

To browse through more of my songs and music, visit the Songs & Music section of my Web site at...

http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?songs

References

Some companies that I've worked for in the past have conveniently provided me with written references upon leaving their employ. Digitized copies of these reference letters are shown below. Reference contact information for other past employers is available upon request.

• Horticulture & Landscaping

  Ferndale Nurseries (1988 Jan-Dec)

  Harry Goemans (1989 Jan-Jul)

  Pride Pools (1988 Aug-Oct)

• South African College High School (SACHS)

In the Media

In March/April of 1997, an article entitled "MIDI Rocks the Web: Interactive Music Online!" appeared in the magazine "Music & Computers". This article quite prominently featured Headspace, Inc. (the company I was working for at that time) and their recently released Beatnik and RMF technologies. I can be seen in a photograph taken of the Headspace, Inc. core group that appears in that article on page 31. Additionally, the magazine's cover featured screenshots of Headspace's OFFWORLD Web app that showcased some of my artwork for "The Mysterious Land of Kiydieng", just one of the worlds that made up the overal OFFWORLD audio-visual experience.

To view all of the scenes from the "The Mysterious Land of Kiydieng", launch the slide show.

In 1997 I was interviewed by Charles Brewer for an article that appeared in the April 1997 edition of the magazine "Interface" (a publication of IICS, San Francisco Bay Area). For the interview I was acting as a representative for Headspace, Inc. and the questions in the interview related to Headspace's recently released Beatnik and RMF technologies.