AES New York 2011
Workshop Details
Thursday, October 20, 9:00 am — 10:30 am (Room: 1E11)
W1 - CANCELLED
Thursday, October 20, 11:00 am — 12:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
W2 - Capturing Height in Surround
Chair:
Paul Geluso
Panelists:
Tom Ammermann
Gary Elko
Brett Leonard
Jens Meyer
Wilfried Van Baelen
Gregor Zielinsky
Abstract:
While a great deal of development has gone into reproducing audio in the horizontal plane, the next step in immersive audio moves into the vertical dimension. New transmission formats, recording techniques, microphone configurations, and processing methods are needed to fill this demand. At this workshop new methods to capture and create height information for a true 3-D listening experience will be presented by a panel of music producers, engineers, and researchers. Production techniques to capture Z axis information for later reproduction in surround playback environments with height channels will be presented. Post-production methods to create 3-D ambiance including up-mix algorithms for 2.0 and 5.1 to Auro 3-D and mono to 5.1 and 8.1, up to 22.2. will be discussed as well. Recordings made using these technologies will be demonstrated during an additional workshop (see Workshop 12) at NYU on Saturday.
Thursday, October 20, 2:30 pm — 4:00 pm (Room: 1E10)
W3 - Got Metadata? Historical, Cultural, and Future Issues of Information Association for Archiving Audio Materials
Chair:
Thomas Ross Miller, New York University - New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
Holger Grossmann, Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT - Ilmenau, Germany
Chris Lacinak, AudioVisual Preservation Solutions - New York, NY, USA
Abstract:
Metadata is an integral component of preservation and an essential part of the audio object. Sound recordings without associated metadata are incomplete and might not be properly interpreted, understood, or managed. Meaningful access depends on effective linkage to information stored as metadata. This workshop explores the past, present, and future of metadata standards in archives and preservation. Tom Miller discusses methods and problems involved with studying and digitizing ethnographic wax cylinders and other cultural resources trapped in archaic media. Chris Lacinak analyzes recent studies and advancements focusing on embedded metadata, or metadata stored in the file itself. Holger Grossman offers new ways of globally linking cross-cultural digital music catalogues for purposes of licensing, sales, and ethnomusicological research. The presentations touch on conceptual issues as well as technical approaches to extracting and associating descriptions such as: delineating segment borders, categorizing annotations from a diverse array of sources, the use of personalized tags, and the evolution of music similarity rankings. We will consider the possibilities for capturing and interrelating different semantics of cognitive music perception, sociomusical effects produced by the algorithmic analysis of style, hybrid techiques combining personal classifications with automated systems, and the future of standardization.
Thursday, October 20, 4:30 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
W4 - Sound Quality Evaluation
Chair:
Frederik Nagel
Panelists:
Søren Bech
Poppy Crum
Schuyler Quackenbush
Nick Zacharov
Abstract:
The workshop aims at discussing current practices of listening test preparation, execution, and evaluation. It will cover the choice of test items, the selection of participants, and, last, the means of test design and statistical evaluation. Questions such as "What are naive or expert listeners?" "What is a convenience sample and what can we learn from the results?" "What is the difference between small and intermediate artifacts?" "What kind of statistics can be applied when the sample is small? Might other test methods be more adequate?" "Which characteristics should the items under test have?" exist but are hardly topics of publication in audio research. These issues are expected to be discussed among the participants and resulting in proposals to solve the existing problems. Eventually, this workshop aims at providing researchers with a better understanding what happens during listening tests and giving guidelines for a better listening test practice.
Thursday, October 20, 4:30 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E15/16)
W5 - Producing Across Generations: New Challenges, New Solutions—Making Records for Next to Nothing in the 21st Century
Chair:
Nicholas Sansano, New York University - New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
Jason Goldstein
Dan Knobler, Mason Jar Music
Jesse Lauter
Bob Power
Dan Romer
Jonathan Seale, Mason Jar Music
Tony Visconti
Abstract:
Budgets are small, retail is dying, studios are closing, fed up audiences are taking music at will … yet devoted music professionals continue to make records for a living. How are they doing it? How are they getting paid? What type of contracts are they commanding? In a world where the “record” has become an artists’ business card, how will the producer and mixer derive participatory income? Are studio professionals being left out of the so-called 360 deals? Let’s get a quality bunch of young rising producers and a handful of seasoned vets in a room and finally open the discussion about empowerment and controlling our own destiny.
Friday, October 21, 11:00 am — 12:30 pm (Room: 1E10)
W6 - Pound of Cure or Ounce of Prevention? Audio Asset Restoration, Migration, and Preservation
Chair:
Ed Outwater, EO3 Consulting - Ketchum, ID, USA
Panelists:
Chuck Ainlay, Engineer/Producer
Jeff Anthony, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services
Rob Jaczko, Berklee College of Music
Patrick Kraus, Warner Music Group
Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer
Abstract:
The task of properly archiving entertainment assets today goes well beyond safely storing film cans, tape boxes, hard drives, data tapes, or whatever physical format houses the content to be preserved. This is especially true in the case of music assets, where audio asset restoration, migration, and preservation are becoming more and more important as the recording industry undergoes a basic transformation in the way it operates. In today’s up-loadable, down-loadable, cloud-based, e-delivery-centric music marketplace, the ability to preserve and prepare music assets for secure and immediate delivery directly from the Archive is a key capability, transforming it not only into an ultra- secure repository for valuable music assets, but also quite often the first link in today’s digital supply chain. The desired end- product in either case, so important in a market increasingly focused re-packaging and re-releasing content, is an asset that can be successfully utilized for commercial or, perhaps ultimately, for cultural purposes. To keep pace with this rapidly changing marketplace, it has become necessary to utilize not only secure physical storage, but also digital migration, restoration, electronic delivery, and other studio operations to archive effectively.
This workshop/panel discussion will be a review and discussion of a basic set of principles and procedures involved in “rescuing” valuable assets that have not been properly archived, and, following that, a corollary set detailing “how to” properly archive audio assets from the outset. It will be presented by a panel of industry experts with differing perspectives and experiences related to archiving.
Friday, October 21, 2:00 pm — 3:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
W7 - Highly-Directional Microphones for Sound Recording
Chair:
Helmut Wittek, SCHOEPS Mikrofone GmbH - Karlsruhe, Germany
Panelists:
Gary Elko, mh acoustics
Christof Faller, Illusonic LLC
Michael Militzer, Microtech Gefell
Klas Strandberg, Telinga
Abstract:
Times are changing quickly with regard to highly directional microphones both in theory and in practice. Most systems aim at optimal speech transmission and intelligibility in communication applications. However, there are also new approaches that sound engineers can consider using for certain recording purposes as well (e.g. the Eigenmike® array, the KEM 970, and the SuperCMIT). Along with improved communication microphone solutions, they will compete with conventional methods such as short and long interference tubes as well as parabolic mirrors.
So which method fits which application best? Can these new microphone types be used for applications such as music recording, location sound, nature recording? Each has different advantages with regard to frequency response, directivity, flexibility, price, robustness, predictability of results, and practicability. The workshop will compare them on the basis of technical data, practical experiences and sample recordings.
Friday, October 21, 3:45 pm — 4:45 pm (Room: 1E08)
W8 - The Mobile Generation of Music Creation and Production
Chair:
Jay LeBoeuf, Imagine Research
Panelists:
Mark Ethier, iZotope
Michael Gitig, Gobbler
Henrik Lenberg, SoundCloud
Abstract:
Thanks to mobile devices, cloud computing, and innovative software algorithms, we are seeing a further democratization of the music creation and production process. Users of innovative iPad/iPhone applications, cloud-based audio sharing and collaboration sites are turning virtually everyone into a content producer. This panel explores the products, technology, and external factors that are enabling this revolution.
Friday, October 21, 4:30 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E13)
W9 - Neodymium; Coping With The Consequences of Supply and Demand Elasticity
Chair:
Spiro Iraclianos
Panelists:
John Ebert, Yungsheng
Alexander King, Ames Laboratory
Stan Trout, Molycorp
Abstract:
The use of Neodymium Iron Boron magnets has been increasing over the last few decades to address the demands of compact high energy motor applications. Loudspeakers have been adapting the “super magnets” to delicately balance the size/performance ratio demands in today’s marketplace. In recent months, the availability of Neodymium has been shrinking while the cost of the magnets, which use the rare earth element, has skyrocketed. The workshop will serve as a forum for industry professionals, from all aspects of the value chain, to gather and collectively discuss and begin to address the facts and myths surrounding the global issue which has caused significant paradigm shifts in the way we think about the future of the industry.
Saturday, October 22, 9:00 am — 11:00 am (Room: 1E08)
W10 - What Every Sound Engineer Should Know about the Voice
Chair:
Eddy B. Brixen, EBB Consult
Panelists:
Henrik Kjelin, Complete Vocal Institute - Denmark
Cathrine Sadolin, Complete Vocal Institute - Denmark
Abstract:
The purpose of this workshop is to teach sound engineers how to listen to the voice before they even think of microphone picking and knob-turning. The presentation and demonstrations are based on the "Complete Vocal Technique" (CVT) where the fundamental is the classification of all human voice sounds into one of four vocal modes named Neutral, Curbing, Overdrive, and Edge. The classification is used by professional singers within all musical styles, and has in a period of 20 years proved easy to grasp in both real life situations and also in auditive and visual tests (sound examples and laryngeal images/ Laryngograph waveforms). These vocal modes are found in the speaking voice as well. Cathrine Sadolin, the developer of CVT, will involve the audience in this workshop, while explaining and demonstrating how to work with the modes in practice to achieve any sound and solve many different voice problems like unintentional vocal breaks, too much or too little volume, hoarseness, and much more. The physical aspects of the voice will be explained and laryngograph waveforms and analyses will be demonstrated. Eddy Brixen will explain essential parameters in the recording chain, especially the microphone, to ensure reliable and natural recordings.
Saturday, October 22, 9:00 am — 10:30 am (Room: 1E10)
W11 - Max for Live: A Discussion of Community-Driven Software Development and its Relevance in Today's Creative Landscape
Chair:
Stefan Brunner, Max for Live Product Manager, Ableton AG
Panelists:
Michael Carter, Preshish Moments
Bruce Odland, Sound Artist/Composer/Wooster Group
Rob Sussman, Cycling '74
Abstract:
Two years after the release of Max for Live by Ableton and Cycling ‘74, an ever-growing community of developers are deciding to leverage this platform, paving the way for new software and hardware interoperability inside and outside of Ableton Live. A panel of creative professionals, ranging from artists to producers, will discuss the creative potential of the community-driven Max for Live platform in developing hardware and software solutions to enable projects large and small. The panel will present an in-depth look at a series of Max for Live devices that reflect the Max for Live’s diverse spectrum of uses, ranging from new creative avenues of sound manipulation to enabling easy cross-media performance applications.
Saturday, October 22, 10:00 am — 1:00 pm
W12 - Creating, Enhancing and Reproducing Surround with Height Information
Panelists:
Tom Ammermann
Paul Geluso
Brett Leonard
Lasse Nipkow
Wilfried Van Baelen
Gregor Zielinsky
Abstract:
Listening demos that support Workshop 2 “Capturing Height In Surround” will be presented at the NYU Steinhardt James L. Dolan Recording Studios. Classical, jazz, electronic, and rock recordings that incorporate hight information for a true 3-D listening experience will be presented. New technologies including Auro 3D, Illusonic’s 3-D room signal generator, Space Builder, and new height capturing microphone techniques developed at NYU will be demonstrated.
Several recordings originally produced in Auro 3D will be presented. All microphone set ups will be shown and discussed including photo and video documentation of the recording sessions. Spatial impression through decorrelated room signals and additional room signals generated by Illusonic’s 3-D room signal generator will be demonstrated as well. Space Builder is the culmination of a research collaboration between McGill University and NHK Broadcasting for the design and implementation of a flexible, realistic ambiance designer for the 22.2 audio standard that accompanies NKH’s Ultra High Definition 4320p broadcast standard. Works mixed by Richard King and George Massenburg using Space Builder will be presented in NYU’s multichannel sound research lab.
Saturday, October 22, 11:00 am — 1:00 pm (Room: 1E08)
W13 - Authentication of Forensic Audio—Then and Now
Chair:
Jeff Smith, National Center for Media Forensics
Panelists:
Eddy B. Brixen, EBB Consult
Jonathan Broyles, Image and Sound Forensics
Catalin Grigoras, National Center for Media Forensics
Abstract:
The authentication of recorded events is a common request of forensic audio examiners during the course of formal litigation. With the transition of recorded media moving away from analog cassette tapes, forensic scientists working in this field have had to work creatively to address new challenges. This workshop will not only present a historical overview of forensic tape authentication as it has been employed since the Watergate scandal, new and emerging techniques and methods will be presented for addressing challenges in the digital domain. Attendees of this workshop will expect to learn a general overview of audio authentication, the nowadays challenges facing forensic audio specialists, and the scientific developments in this field.
Saturday, October 22, 11:00 am — 1:00 pm (Room: 1E11)
W14 - Loudness Wars: The Tides Have Changed
Chair:
Thomas Lund, TC Electronics
Panelists:
John Atkinson, Stereophile Magazine - New York, NY, USA
Bob Katz, Digital Domain - Orlando, FL, USA
Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering Studios - Portland, ME, USA
Susan Rogers, Berklee College of Music - Boston, MA, USA
Abstract:
2011 will go down in history as the year when ITU-R BS.1770-2 was introduced, and the sample peak measurement got retired. The old measurement is responsible for the ruining of 15 years of music heritage at the source, while the new one takes away the loudness advantage squashed productions had over dynamic content. Picking up where the panel left last year, you can expect an updated tour de force in listening examples, theory, and discussions. Find out how the changing tide will influence you when heard from a perceptual, a mixing, a mastering, and a consumer perspective. From Bach to Beyoncé, Monty to Matrix, headphone to HD playback.
Saturday, October 22, 2:00 pm — 4:00 pm (Room: 1E08)
W15 - Mastering In An Ever Expanding Universe 2011
Chair:
Joe Palmaccio, The Place . . . For Mastering - Nashville, TN, USA
Panelists:
Vic Anesini, Battery Studios - New York, NY, USA
Adam Ayan, Gateway Mastering - Portland, ME
Dave Kutch, The Mastering Palace - New York, NY
Gavin Lurssen, Lurssen Mastering - Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Mendelson, Georgetown Masters - Nashville, TN
Michael Romanowski, Romanowski Mastering - San Francisco, CA
Mark Wilder, Battery Studios - New York, NY
Abstract:
Mastering continues to evolve in both form and function. The panel, made up of today's top-tier mastering engineers will discuss this evolution. Technique, technology, best business practices, and aesthetics will be discussed. Panelists will present their own point of view on specific topics. Audio samples and visual aids will be used to demonstrate the thoughts and techniques of the various panelists. At the conclusion of the panel presentations, attendees will be invited to join the discussion and interact with the panelists.
Topics to be discussed include: Preparing a Mix—Best practices for how to deliver mixes to mastering. The DAW—Far beyond a digital editor, computers, storage, and cloud based tools have radically changed the tool-set of ME's and mix engineers. An examination of how to optimize the workstation to achieve the best sonics will be presented. Loudness—A demonstration of why loud mixes are not the same as high quality mastering. The Client—With continued decentralization of the music business, "the client" is no longer represented by a small list of major record label roles. As "who is the client?" expands, education becomes a critical component of running a successful business. A discussion of servicing and maintaining the client will be presented. The Artform—Beyond the technical creation of production masters, aesthetics play a lead role as ME's consider their individual approach to mastering. Get inside the head of a mastering engineer to learn what drives his creative decision making process. The State of Processing Audio—Have computer software and processing finally given the mastering engineer a technical, subjective, and creative equivalent to purpose built analog tools. Formats—CD, DVD, Downloads, and Vinyl are only the beginning of format options today. As the number of deliverable formats expands, so does mastering studio workflow. What represents a master and how is it best delivered.
Saturday, October 22, 2:45 pm — 4:45 pm (Room: 1E11)
W16 - Recording Surround Sound Music
Chair:
Morten Lindberg, Lindberg Ltd. - Oslo, Norway
Abstract:
Balance Engineer and Recording producer Morten Lindberg presents 2L's approach to music in extreme surround sound. Playing original 5.1 masters in 352.8 kHz/24 bit, showing photos and stage layout from recording sessions, and discussing the resources behind "the Nordic Sound." Morten Lindberg has produced nine GRAMMY-nominations since 2006. Six of these in categories “Best Engineered Album" and "Best Surround Sound Album."
Saturday, October 22, 4:00 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
W17 - Low-Delay Audio Coding for High-Quality Communication
Chair:
Manfred Lutzky, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Panelists:
Bernhard Grill, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Milan Jelinek, VoiceAge Corporation
Sascha Spors, Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, Technische Universität Berlin
Abstract:
After many years of narrow-band (300 Hz–3.4 kHz) voice communication history, a strong trend toward higher speech and audio quality for communication has emerged. Driven by the industry, enhanced services and products become available, such as wide band audio for mobile phones, room telepresence systems, and Apple's iPhone/FaceTime mobile videoconferencing. This workshop presents latest research results on the requirements for these applications from the European research project TA2. The underlying key technology is discussed, i.e., new low delay codecs—standardized by MPEG and ITU-T—providing high quality with full audio bandwidth and stereo transmission even at low data rates. Finally, one of the most promising ongoing standardization activities, the 3GPP Enhanced Voice Service (EVS) is presented as an outlook from a technology and service perspective.
Sunday, October 23, 9:00 am — 11:00 am (Room: 1E11)
W18 - Panning for Multichannel Loudspeaker Systems
Chair:
VIlle Pulkki, Aalto University - Helsinki, Finland
Panelists:
Jan-Mark Batke, Technicolor - Hannover, Germany
Craig Jin, University of Sydney - Sydney, NSW, Australia
Sascha Spors, Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, Technische Universität Berlin - Berlin, Germany
Abstract:
Amplitude panning is the most used method to position virtual sources over layouts where the number of loudspeakers is between two and about forty. The method is really simple, it provides a nice spatial effect, and does not color the sound prominently. This workshop reviews the working principle and psychoacoustic facts of amplitude panning for stereophony and for multichannel layouts. The panelists will describe some recent improvement suggestions to amplitude panning, which target some shortcomings of amplitude panning in spatial accuracy. A lively discussion is assumed on pros and cons of such processing.
Sunday, October 23, 11:00 am — 1:00 pm (Room: 1E08)
W19 - Listen Professionally or Train Your Ear!
Chair:
Sungyoung Kim, Yamaha Corp. - Hamamatsu, Japan
Panelists:
Jason Corey, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Kazuhiko Kawahara, University of Kyusyu - Fukuoka, Japan
Atsushi Marui, Tokyo National Institute of Fine Art and Music - Tokyo, Japan
Sean Olive, Harman International - North
Abstract:
It has been generally accepted that critical listening ability is essential for audio engineers. Compared to traditional training methods, recent training programs provide multiple trainees with fast acquisition of such listening ability through a systematic curriculum optimized for the required task. Moreover, due to the fast processing power of personal computers, an individual can access and experience these programs without hardware limitations. Considering the interests and growth of ear training in the audio and music communities, it is timely and important to have a chance to share and discuss the opinions from the experts about necessary features and methods that assist trainees in acquiring the critical listening ability with efficiency, both for personal and group training. For this purpose, the workshop invites panelists from all around the world, who will share their in-depth experience, know-hows, and insights in ear training. While the workshop locally aims to guide the attendees of the workshop to better understanding the concept of ear training and practical tips, it also globally aims to consider the importance of "listening" in the current video-oriented society.
