AES San Francisco 2010
Technical Tour Details
Thursday, November 4, 8:30 am — 1:00 pm
TT1 - Dolby Laboratories
Abstract:
For the first time in over a decade, the tour of Dolby Laboratories (Dolby.com) includes both the world headquarters in San Francisco and the Brisbane manufacturing facility. Starting at the Brisbane facility, the tour will feature odd-form pick-and-place and selective solder robots, and flying probe test equipment. The tour will then proceed to Dolby world headquarters in San Francisco and showcase in state-of-the-art listening rooms the latest technologies for high-end home theater, PCs, mobile phones, and games. Demonstrations of 7.1 audio with 2-D and 3-D content will take place in the world-class Screening Room.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Thursday, November 4, 9:30 am — 11:30 am
TT2 - Fantasy Studios
Abstract:
Fantasy Studios at the Zaentz Media Center (fantasystudios.com) is one of the Bay Area’s largest recording and post-production facilities, with a rich history in their nearly 50 years at this location. Noted artists ranging from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Will.i.Am have recorded acclaimed albums at Fantasy Studios: sound and scores for Oscar-winning films like Ratatouille and The English Patient have been produced in this landmark building. The studio manager will lead this tour, featuring all three recording studios and one of the building’s theaters.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Thursday, November 4, 2:30 pm — 5:30 pm
TT3 - Outpost Studios
Abstract:
Outpost Studios (outpostfilm.com) is San Francisco’s largest lock-to-picture Dolby 5.1 control room/mix stage featuring a Euphonix console with Protools HD|3, and a large Foley stage. Included in this tour, Supervising Sound Engineer Dave Nelson will use examples of effects, music and dialog for a live in-studio demonstration on how he breaks these elements into stems for a film soundtrack, and to create sound design and music. Dave pioneered the act of recording Foley directly into ProTools which has since become the industry standard.
They have an extensive Foley warehouse, which includes props of artist Marnie Moore and the Saul Zaentz film center. Outpost handles all aspects of audio for post-production, from shorts and indies to award winning feature films, including Foley recording for Sophia Coppala’s Lost in Translation.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Thursday, November 4, 2:45 pm — 5:00 pm
TT5 - Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Abstract:
Visit the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, home of the San Francisco Symphony. This is the world-class concert hall component of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. It was built in 1980 to give the San Francisco Symphony a permanent home and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Pietro Belluschi, along with acoustical consultants Bolt, Beranek and Newman. Its modern design is visually elegant both inside and out. Acoustical renovations under the direction of Kirkegaard Associates were completed in 1992, resulting in substantial improvements not only to the acoustics but also to the hall’s beauty. This tour will demonstrate and discuss the technical aspects of
the hall's acoustical design.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Thursday, November 4, 3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
TT4 - CBS Interactive
Abstract:
CBS Interactive (cbsinteractive.com) is the digital division of CBS Corporation and includes CNET, TV.com, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, MetaCritic.com, GameSpot, Chow, The Insider.com, Money Watch, and BNET. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s SOMA district, their headquarters includes media production and distribution facilities for the entire content distribution network.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Friday, November 5, 9:00 am — 12:30 pm
TT6 - Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
Abstract:
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
A behind the scenes tour of this innovative community theater in the heart of Berkeley’s Art District, just across the bridge from San Francisco. Berkeley Rep (berkeleyrep.org) has a long relationship with Meyer Sound, providing a state-of-the-art listening experience for an annual audience of 180,000, between their two stages; the 587-seat Roda Theater and the 400 seat Thrust stage. Winner of a Tony award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, this non-profit has been home to emerging talent since 1968. Several shows developed at Berkeley Rep have gone on to Broadway, including Green Day’s Tony award winning American Idiot and Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking.
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
This non-profit community arts organization (thefreight.org) recently celebrated it’s 41st year moving into a newly built, eco-friendly, 18,000 square foot performance venue and teaching facility, in the middle of Berkeley’s Art district. The 440-seat listening space was created for traditional and acoustic music. Collaborating with Meyer Sound from the design phase, the Freight offers an acoustically exceptional listening experience in every corner, with an extensive arrangement of Meyer’s loudspeakers throughout the venue, including a M’elodie line array, 600-HP subwoofers under stage, and a sprinkling of front and side fills to ensure even sound. A Soundcraft Digital Vi4 console controls the audio mix, with a Meyer’s Galileo loudspeaker management system.
Berkeley Repertory Theater and Freight & Salvage are on the same street, combined as one tour.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Friday, November 5, 9:15 am — 12:00 pm
TT7 - Polarity Post Studios and Crescendo! Studios
Abstract:
Polarity Post Studios
In continuous operation since 1985, Barbary Coast resident Polarity Post
Production (PolarityPost.com) is a five studio audio postproduction house focusing on stereo and surround mixing for TV, radio, video games, film, and the Web, as well as ISDN patches and full service localization, and has a client list including Apple, CBS, Electronic Arts, Disney, and Chevron. The tour will include a demonstration of the Penteo Stereo-to-5.1 conversion process that has been used in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and the major motion picture Watchmen, as well as digital TV programming and SACD. Developed by John Wheeler at Penteo Surround (PenteoSurround.com) the process separates a stereo source into panorama-based slices for 5.1 surround masters which can also downmix back to stereo with no sonic artifacts.
Crescendo! Studios
Crescendo! Studios (CrescendoStudios.com), one of San Francisco’s premier audio post facilities, is located in the historic Barbary Coast waterfront district and was designed by WSDG in an Italian motif. The twin Roma and Firenze studios, along with the Dolby 5.1 surround equipped Venezia studio, marry state-of-the-art technology with old world aesthetics. All studios are built around Pro Tools HD Accel systems with HD video playback available facility wide. While touring Crescendo! Studios, AES members will experience the blend of surroundings, service, and staff that have made this studio a resource for media professionals for almost 15 years.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Friday, November 5, 10:00 am — 12:30 pm
TT8 - Grace Cathedral
Abstract:
Designed in French Gothic style by Lewis Hobart in 1928, Grace Cathedral (GraceCathedral.org) is the third largest Episcopal cathedral in the nation. The nine second RT60 nave features Duran Audio steerable-array columns and the renowned 7000 pipe Aeolian Skinner Organ. Known internationally for its unique acoustics, the Cathedral has hosted performances by jazz and rock legends such as Duke Ellington, Art Garfunkel, Vince Guaraldi, and Carlos Santana. This tour is led by Novo Group, the systems designer, and includes live demonstrations of the challenging acoustics and details about the design process.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Friday, November 5, 2:00 pm — 5:45 pm
TT9 - Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA)
Abstract:
Stanford University's CCRMA (ccrma.stanford.edu) is a multi-disciplinary facility where composers and researchers work together using computer-based technology both as an artistic medium and as a research tool. Past courses have included “Auditory Remapping of Bioinformatics,” “Psychophysics and Cognitive Psychology for Musicians,” “Orchestration and Timbre Analysis,” and “Perceptual Audio Coding.” This is a rare opportunity to tour the entire three-story facility located in “The Knoll” on the Stanford campus, which includes a large space with multichannel sound for teaching, concerts, and acoustic experimentation, as well as the “Listening Room”' that features full-spherical loudspeaker arrangements that enable new research in synthetic acoustical space. Graduate students and staff will be on hand to demonstrate some of their latest work.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Saturday, November 6, 10:30 am — 1:00 pm
TT10 - Studio Trilogy
Abstract:
Designed by John Storyk of WSDG, Studio Trilogy (StudioTrilogy.com) includes three state-of-the-art control rooms, four integrated isolation booths, and one of San Francisco’s most versatile large tracking rooms. The facility, located in the creative heart of San Francisco’s SOMA district, features the only commissioned SSL 9000K console in Northern California, Pro Tools|HD 3 systems, classic Studer analog 2" tape, and a full complement of vintage and modern instruments and gear. The newly re-opened studio is owned and staffed by veterans of the Bay Area studio scene, having held positions at Different Fur, SF Soundworks, Crescendo! Studios, Russian Hill Recording, Nu-tone, Studio 880, and Talking House.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Saturday, November 6, 2:15 pm — 5:15 pm
TT11 - Studio 880
Abstract:
Newly relocated to a completely restored 1886-built Victorian mansion on the small bay island of Alameda, Studio 880 (studio880.com) includes an art-deco themed 7.1 mix theater and victorian-gothic tracking room. During the tour, legendary producer/mixer John Lucasey (Ne-Yo, Keith Urban, Norah Jones) will discuss the aesthetics of studio design and ambiance, in this rare glimpse inside one of the most unique recording studios in the Bay Area. Lucasey previously designed and built the original award-winning Studio 880 in Jingletown, Oakland, which is referred to in Green Day’s Grammy award winning album American Idiot, and the setting of their Tony award winning Broadway musical.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Saturday, November 6, 2:30 pm — 6:00 pm
TT12 - Studio D Recording and Loudville
Abstract:
Studio D Recording
The 5.1 surround sound enabled Pro Tools HD|3 Accel system and collection of classic preamps, compressors and eq’s makes Studio D (studiodrecording.com) a perfect balance of cutting edge and vintage, attracting artists like Carlos Santana, Train and Kenny Wayne Shephard. During the tour, studio owner and head engineer Joel Jaffe will conduct an on-site demonstration of surround mixing and different ways to mix a track, examining placement, mics used and overall mix results.
Loudville
Loudville (loudville.tv) is a step in the future, with combined professional audio and video for live-streaming or archival and editing. With an oversized audio control room which can double as a live performance sound stage and robotic HD video cameras from every angle, this world class recording studio is able to stream live at any time. The Avid D-Command console is wired to talk to the video control room for smooth sound-to-picture integration. Loudville plans to stream their portion of this technical tour live through their website.
Studio D Recording and Loudville are in the same complex, combined as one tour.
Price: $40 Members / $50 Nonmembers
Sunday, November 7, 9:00 am — 12:00 pm
TT13 - Tiny Telephone Studio and Women's Audio Mission Studio
Abstract:
Tiny Telephone
Tiny Telephone (tinytelephone.com) was opened by John Vanderslice in 1997 to provide affordable recording to SF's independent music community. Situated in the Mission District in a gated, private compound, the 1700 sq. ft. studio offers a Bob Hodas-tuned control room, a discrete Neve 5316, a Studer 827, and the city's most comfortable couch. Tiny Telephone engineers have worked with a variety of artists ranging from Modest Mouse to Death Cab For Cutie and Elvis Costello.
Women's Audio Mission
Women's Audio Mission (womensaudiomission.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts. In a field where women are chronically under-represented (less than 5%), WAM seeks to "change the face of sound" by providing women with hands-on media technology training, career counseling, and job placement. The tour will be highlighted by a visit to WAM’s recently redesigned studio.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
Sunday, November 7, 1:15 pm — 2:30 pm
TT14 - Hyde Street Studios
Abstract:
Hyde Street Studios (HydeStreet.com) will open their doors for a tour of this historic location. Recording studios at 245 Hyde Street in San Francisco have been capturing music by seminal recording artists such as Jefferson Airplane, the Dead Kennedys, Tupac Shakur, and George Clinton since 1969, when Wally Heider helped create San Francisco's early music scene. Shortly after Wally Heider left in 1979, Hyde Street Studios took over as one of San Francisco's premier recording studios, and is still going strong as they enter their third decade. The tour will begin in Studio A with its vintage Neve 8038, continue to Studio D with its AMEK APC1000, and end at FreqLab Recording (FreqLabRecording.com), which recently installed a SSL 9064J console.
Price: $35 Members / $45 Nonmembers
