For Release: August 25, 2008
125th AES Convention Tech Tours - Diverse & Absorbing
Dolby Labs, Sony Computer Entertainment, SF Conservatory, WAM, ILM & More
SAN FRANCISCO: Always a hot ticket at AES Conventions, the Technical Tours Program provides attendees with rare, behind-the-scenes visits to significant centers of audio innovation. 125th AES Technical Tours Chair David v.R. Bowles has drawn intriguing examples from the Bay Area’s prolific and multi-faceted pro audio community. The three-day itinerary includes legendary recording and mastering studios, the Sony Computer Entertainment Center and the ILM/Letterman Media Complex.“As a producer, engineer and principal of Swineshead Productions, a classical recording company, David Bowles is keenly aware of the varied interests of AES members,” said Committee Co-Chair John Strawn. “That basic foundation, compounded by his extensive knowledge of the SF audio industry inspired an ‘A’ list of tour options. AES ‘tourists’ should queue up early, as tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.”
125th AES CONVENTION TECHNICAL TOURS INCLUDE:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2
9:00 - 10:30am - SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC / KIERKEGAARD ASSOCIATES : Founded in 1917, the SFCM is recognized as one of the world’s leading music schools. Its more than 1,200 students and faculty present over 1,500 public performances annually to 100,000+ Bay Area residents and visitors. The Conservatory’s $80 million teaching, performance, rehearsal and practice complex opened in the SF Civic Center in Sept. 2006. This tour will include a presentation by acoustical treatment experts Kierkegaard Associates.
2:00 – 5:00pm - DOLBY LABORATORIES (Premium 3-hour tour): Recognizedfor over 40 years of audio innovation and leadership, Dolby will showcase its latest audio and video technologies for high-definition packaged disc media and digital cinema.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 3
10:00 – 11:30AM - CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC AND AUDIO TECHNOLOGY (CNMAT)/MEYER SOUND: An interdisciplinary research center within the Dept. of Music at U.C. Berkeley, CNMAT is orientated towards live performance and interactivity. The Center houses programs in education, research, and composition / improvisation, and is dedicated to providing a common ground where researchers, artists, and scholars can collaborate to address problems and issues in music technology for live music-making. A Meyer Sound principal will discuss two prototype speaker arrays installed in the complex.
10:30am – 12:00pm - PAUL STUBBLEBINE MASTERING & DVD/THE TAPE PROJECT: A world-class mastering studio with credits that include classic recordings for The Grateful Dead and Santana and such new artists as Ferron, California Zephyr and Jennifer Berezan. Now deeply involved with DVD as well as traditional audio mastering, the studio recently moved to a larger, full service Mission Street complex. The Tape Project remasters recordings for analogue tape distribution.
12:30 – 2:00pm and 5:00 – 6:30pm - SINGER V7 STUDIOS: Aprolific composer / producer, Scott Singer opened Singer Studio V7 in 2006 to meet his growing needs for a full service facility capable of meeting a uniquely eclectic range of productions. From a custom Oram GP4T console to mahogany sidecars designed to accommodate a continually expanding cache of outboard gear, Singer V7 is an SF showplace.
1:00 – 3:00pm – TARPAN STUDIOS/URSA MINOR ARTS & MEDIA: World-renowned producer/artist Narada Michael Walden has owned this gem-like studio for over twenty years. During that time artists such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston Mariah Carey, Steve Winwood, Kenny G and Sting have recorded gold and platinum albums here. The tour will also include URSA Minor Arts & Media, an innovative web and multimedia production company.
2:30-4:00pm - SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA: SCEA markets PlayStation® family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PlayStation Portable entertainment system PlayStation2 and PlayStation2 computer entertainment systems for the North American market.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
9:00-11:30am, 11:00am-12:30pm, 2:00-3:30pm and 4:00-5:30pm - INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC: A rare opportunity to tour George Lucas’s storied Industrial Light & Magic complex at its new home on the Letterman Digital Arts campus on the Presidio. ILM has won 14 Academy Awards for visual effects for such classic films as Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump. Note: Maximum of 20 participants per tour.
11:00am-12:30pm - PYRAMIND – THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED DIGITAL AUDIO TRAINING: Combines a cutting-edge media and music production facility with a high-tech school offering Certified, hands-on Digidesign and Apple training. Pyramind is also the home of Outpost Studios, SF’s largest Dolby certified surround mix room, including Foley pits and ADR services.
1:00-2:00pm – WAM STUDIOS: Women's Audio Mission is a San Francisco based, 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 hands-on training, experience, career counseling and job placement to women and girls in media technology for music, radio, film, television and the internet. WAM believes that women's mastery of music technology and inclusion in the production process will expand the vision and voice of media and popular culture.
NOTE: Technical Tours tickets can be purchased at the Moscone Center Registration Desk. For a 125th AES Convention Event dates, times and locations please visit www.aes.org.
The 125th AES Convention will be held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center October 2-5, 2008.
Photo: 125th AES Technical Tours Chair David v.R. Bowles
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Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Audio Engineering Society was formed in 1948 by a group of concerned audio engineers. With over 14,000 members throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Japan and the Far East, the AES serves as the pivotal force in the exchange and dissemination of technical information for the industry.