AES Technical Committee

Audio Forensics

Vice Chair:	Durand Begault	(Send E-mail)
Vice Chair:	Eddy Bogh Brixen	(Send E-mail)

Current Areas Of Work

• To extend knowledge of audio forensic practice and techniques world-wide
• To identify areas requiring additional research
• To bring together professionals and students in the area of audio forensics
• To encourage publication of papers, and to arrange tutorials, conferences and workshops, within the AES
• To support standards committees on forensic audio via fostering of refereed journal publications

Mission Statement

Audio Forensics refers to engineering and scientific analysis, evaluation and presentation of audio and acoustic evidence in a judicial inquiry normally leading towards a presentation in court. The complex challenges faced by the field transcend borders and jurisdictions, and becomes increasingly complex with the proliferation of new types of digital media. In order to establish a reliable scientific basis for the procedures and analysis of the outcomes of audio forensic analysis, the technical committee meets at AES conventions to plan conferences, workshops and tutorials; to encourage dissemination of scientific information through peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and posters; to provide support to the AES Standards Committee on Forensic Audio SC03-12; and to communicate educational opportunities in the field. Presently, the technical committee meetings for audio forensics are open to all attendees.

Minutes - 125th Convention

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY

Technical Committee on Audio Forensics Meeting

at 125th AES Convention

October 3, 2008

Meeting began at 10:00 a.m.

Present: Rich Sanders; Chair, Eddy Brixen; Co-Chair, Durand Begault; Co-Chair, Christopher Peltier, Wanda Newman, Jim Wheeler, Gordon Reid, Michael McDermott, Gregg Stuchman, Charles Van Winkle, Roderick Evenson, Christoph Musialik, Rob Maher, Jeff Smith, Gabriel Wallaeh and Mikel Estrin

ACTION ITEMS

Minutes

• Minutes from the AES 124th Convention in Vienna, Austria, AES Technical Committee on Audio Forensics meeting were reviewed. Christoph Musialik moved to accept the minutes. Wanda Newman seconded. Vote was taken: unanimous approval with no abstentions.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Review of AES 33rd International Conference: Audio Forensics – Theory and Practice

• The AES 33rd Conference was successful, including over 80 participants in attendance from 14 different countries. It was noted that more attendees were from outside United States than from within, which represents a worldwide concern about audio forensic issues. The exhibitor space was well done. Gordon Reid stated that those coming from Europe all thought it was very worthwhile, including the exhibit space.

Future Audio Forensic Conference Planning

• A survey was distributed to attendees at the 33rd Conference regarding preferences for future conferences. Survey results indicated:

o Participants were asked when they would like to have another conference on audio forensics. The average respondent was interested in having another conference in 2 years. Gordon Reid stated that for the participants and exhibitors coming from Europe may have a difficult time coming to Denver every two years and that it would be nice to alternate in some way between Denver, London and Copenhagen.

? It was noted by the committee the frequency of conferences is dependent on number of planned paper sessions. The committee brainstormed ways to call for papers that would result in a greater number of submissions, including mentioning an emphasis on a particular area of audio forensics in the initial call for papers.

? The committee discussed the importance of paper submissions for the conference vs. the convention. It is important for the audio forensics field to maintain a presence at conventions, which can be accomplished by having 4-8 papers and at least one workshop.

o Participants were asked where they would prefer to hold the next conference. More than 50% of the respondents preferred to hold the next conference in Denver again. The remainder of respondents were split almost evenly between Denmark and Copenhagen.

? The committee noted that it would be more inclusive to do the next conference in Europe, especially for those who had travelled from abroad to come to Denver for the past two conferences.

? It was noted that providing consistency in conference offerings (both time line and location) may result in higher attendance.

• The committee discussed enhancement and voice identification workshops, as well as a possible focus on the topic of authenticity.

• To increase interest and participation, it may be worth pursuing advertising in various related magazines by partnering or trading advertising with other organizations/societies. It was also suggested to extend outreach efforts by including other forms of media in conference proceedings.

• The committee agreed to work toward planning a conference in Europe in Summer 2010, perhaps at the end of June – depending on the venue. Several committee members indicated that they may have more than one paper submission for the conference.

• The scheduling and announcement of conference would need to happen soon. Eddy Brixen will contact the Conference Planning Committee to request approval and coordination.

AES 126th Convention Workshops

• The 126th AES Convention in Munich is focusing quite a bit on audio forensics. The committee is still waiting to hear about the approval of the exhibition.

• Interest was expressed in conducting voice identification workshop. If approved, Eddy Brixen needs to be contacted to coordinate the workshop.

• There also was an interest in discussion about practical ideas with regard to restoration. A proposed workshop would last approximately 4 hours, perhaps split into two sessions.

• It was noted that the goal of both workshops is to invite participation from people who are not currently in the field.

• Rich Sanders will be present at the Technical Council meeting to propose both workshops.

Codex related to Voice ID

• This topic was reviewed during the last committee meeting as a possible focus for papers at the 126th Convention in Munich. The call for voice identification papers on this topic cannot be too specific; an emphasis on a broad range of work in this area must be clear.

Enhancement Effects on Voice ID and Authentication

• Durand Begault proposed that the committee develop a white paper to answer the following questions: will enhancement alter the possibility of authentication in voice identification? Will enhancement alter a transcript?

• A white paper outlining ‘best practices’ agreed upon by committee could serve as a guideline for the non-audio legal community as to certain types of non-destructive enhancement vis-à-vis transcript. It could also be revised as techniques develop. This effort could serve the larger community as well as and enhance committee members as experts. The work could also potentially lead to workshops/discussions.

• Durand will create an outline of a white paper on this topic, and distribute it to the committee for review.

Listing of Audio Forensics Articles on AES website

• The committee discussed posting a list of the titles and abstracts of papers on audio forensics that have been presented at AES Conventions and Conferences. The committee would like to include links to purchase full papers, where available.

Meeting ended at 10:56 a.m.

Rich Sanders approved 12/10/2008

Minutes - 127th Convention

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY

Technical Committee on Audio Forensics Meeting

at 127th AES Convention, New York

10 October 2009

Present: Eddy Brixen (EBB Consult), Co-Vice Chair; Durand Begault (Audio Forensic Center), Co-Vice Chair; Jeff Smith (NCMF, UC Denver); Ryan Longenecker (AES UC Denver President); Leslie Gaston (UC Denver); Jon Whelihan, Ben Scibelli (UMass, Lowell); Marisa Dery (Tamar Mastering); Deppen Sinha (ATC Labs); Mike McDermott (Frank M. McDermott Ltd.); Anibal Ferreira (Un. of Porto); Gordon Reid (CEDAR Audio); Charles Van Winkle (Adobe Systems); Olivier Attia (Audiovamix).

ACTION ITEMS

Minutes

• Minutes from the AES 125th Convention AES Technical Committee on Audio Forensics meeting were reviewed and accepted; unanimous approval with no abstentions.

Areas of interest

• The vice-chairs were pleased to see the many attendees, including new persons interested in the field and persons from many different countries. Each person related their field of interest and association.

Chair nomination

• The recent passing of Professor Richard Sanders, the chair of the technical committee, was noted. Professor Sanders' contributions to the field of audio forensics were affirmed. Vice-chair Durand R. Begault volunteered to act as interim (temporary) chair of the technical committee.

Upcoming activities

• Details of the upcoming conference (AES 39th, Audio Forensics: Practices and Challenges) to be held 17-19 June in Hillerod, Denmark, were described. It was thought that no activities be proposed for the AES 128th Convention in London so as to concentrate activities for the 39th conference.

• A workshop "Introduction to Audio Forensics" was to be presented on 11 October at the New York convention.

Chair:

Durand Begault, Audio Forensic Center. - San Francisco, CA, USA

Panelists:

Eddy B. Brixen, EBB-consult - Smorum, Denmark

Robert Maher, Montana State University - Bozeman, MT, USA

Tom Owen, Owl Investigations - NJ, USA

Jeffrey Smith, University of Colorado, Denver - Denver, CO, USA

Abstract:

This is a non-technical introduction to the field of Audio Forensics, sponsored by the Technical Committee on Audio Forensics, intended for persons new or interested in the field. Audio Forensic professionals associated with the AES will review basic methods, challenges, and history related to the field. Opportunities for education (and certification) will also be discussed.

This event is sponsored by the Technical Committee on Audio Forensics.

Committee Members

Erik Achrén	Ronny Max	Tom Owen
Mark Stebbeds	Davis Appelt	Todd Makinen
Lars Clausen	Pascal Lorenz	Kuldip Raj
Thor Legvold	Florian Raschke	Michaela Schuster
Jeffrey M. Smith	Wes Dooley	W.A. Deutsch
Eddy Bogh Brixen	Wanda Newman	Christoph Musialik
Rob Maher	Durand Begault	Anibal Ferreira
Myke Roy	Gordon Reid	Truls Birkeland
Lise-Lotte W Tjellesen	Robert-Eric Gaskell	Ryan Hansen
Robert Lusk	Ryan Cole	Margaret Luthar
Sebastian Schneider	Phil Manchester

To request membership in this Technical Committee please e-mail the Chair by using the link above.