AES New York 2018
Wednesday, October 17, 9:30 am — 10:30 am (1E15 +16 SE)
SE01 - AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee Town Hall
Moderator:Leslie Gaston-Bird, Mix Messiah Productions - Brighton, UK; Institute of Contemporary Music Performance - London, UK
Panelists:
Ezequiel Morfi, TITANIO - Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
Piper Payne, Neato Mastering - San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Terri Winston, Women's Audio Mission - San Francisco, CA, USA
The AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee strives to ensure diversity in the AES worldwide and the audio industry as a whole by improving accessibility, welcoming diverse genres, embracing emergent audio fields and research, and radiating inclusiveness to all gender and gender identities, races, physical abilities, ages, and nationalities. At this Town Hall, committee chair Leslie Gaston-Bird will give an update on the activities of the committee to date and field questions from audience members.
Wednesday, October 17, 11:00 am — 11:45 am (1E15 +16 SE)
SE00 - How Next Generation Audio Innovations Will Reshape the Mobile Device Experience
Presenter:Jyri Huopaniemi, Nokia - Espoo, Finland
Sound has been a fundamental building block of mobile telephony and mobile devices since the very beginning of the connectivity era. Significant advances have since been made in the quality and variety of audio-based applications. However, there are areas where audio has not yet reached its true potential. In this talk we focus on areas of mobile audio that are currently gaining consumer attention: communication, immersion, and user-generated content.
Today, people are telling their stories with technology, and they are increasingly using mobile devices to capture the full richness of their lives; in pictures, videos, and sounds. We discuss solutions and opportunities which allow consumers to capture and share audio with depth, direction, and detail.
The use of voice has quickly expanded from person-to-person communication in voice and conference calls to voice-based control. The rapid emergence of intelligent assistants places significant new requirements on the quality of sound capture and rendering. In parallel, the basic function of mobile devices, namely voice calls, has undergone significant improvements in quality. We offer a glimpse to some of the challenges and future opportunities in voice-based applications and immersive voice and audio services.
Wednesday, October 17, 12:15 pm — 2:15 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE02 - Opening Ceremonies / Awards / Keynote Speech
Presenter:Thomas Dolby, Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, MD, USA
Awards Presentation
Please join us as the AES presents Special Awards to those who have made outstanding contributions to the Society in such areas of research, scholarship, and publications, as well as other accomplishments that have contributed to the enhancement of our industry.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS AWARD:
Eddy B. Brixen
Edgar Choueiri
Linda Gedemer
Matt Klassen
Andres Mayo
Valeria Palomino
Alberto Pinto
Daniel Rappaport
Angieska Roginska
Lawrence Schwedler
Jeff Smith
Nadja Wallaszkovits
FELLOWSHIP AWARD
Gustavo Borner
Christopher Freitag
Leslie Ann Jones
Hyunkook Lee
Andres Mayo
Bruce Olson
Xiaojun Qui
Rafa Sardina
Frank Wells
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL AWARD
David Bialik
The Keynote Speaker for the 145th Convention is Thomas Dolby.
Thomas Dolby – musician, technologist and educator – has a 35-year career of technical innovation. Perhaps most widely known for his seminal song and music video “She Blinded Me with Science,” Dolby blazed the trail for electronic music creators with his recordings and imaginative videos. He is also known for his work as a producer, as a composer of film scores, as a technical consultant on emerging entertainment platforms and as a filmmaker. Since the Fall of 2014, Dolby has held the post of Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Thomas Dolby’s AES Keynote address will focus on next-generation sound technologies, in particular adaptive/non-linear music and audio for games, VR/AR, “hearables” and other new media platforms. The title of his speech is “The Conscious Sound Byte.”
A big difference between "real" and "electronic" sounds is that electronic sounds have zero awareness of each other.” Sound bytes blindly follow orders, and fire off (usually) as instructed by a human. Yet musicians playing "real" instruments listen, resonate, and respond to the music, the room, and to each other, in a matter of microseconds.
In the hands of master arranger or programmer, this is not a problem. Many of the nuances of real music can be simulated quite effectively as processor speed, bandwidth, and resolution improve. But as entertainment becomes more interactive, with games and augmented reality and "wearable" technologies, it is increasingly vital that electronic sounds and music learn an awareness of the context in which they are playing.
Soon, all the accumulated craft and skills of a century of post-production legacy will have to operate in real time, controlled not by the programmer, but by the users themselves via the choices they make. Is it time for us to reconsider why our sound and music files are so “dumb” and rigid?
Wednesday, October 17, 3:30 pm — 4:30 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
Geoff Emerick Tribute
Wednesday, October 17, 4:45 pm — 5:45 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE03 - Smalls Change – Deconstructing a Record with Derek Smalls
Presenters:Derek Smalls, Formerly of the Band Formerly known as Spinal Tap - London, UK
CJ Vanston
Legendary Bass Player Derek Smalls (Derek Smalls - Formerly of the Band Formerly known as Spinal Tap) discusses his latest solo album featuring multiple superstar guest musicians and full orchestra, with Producer/Co-Songwriter/Musician CJ Vanston.
Thursday, October 18, 10:45 am — 12:15 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE04 - Platinum Latin Producers & Engineers
Moderator:Andres A. Mayo, Andres Mayo Mastering & Audio Post - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Presenters:
Rafael Arcaute
Gustavo Borner, igloo music - Burbank, CA, USA
Eduardo Cabra, (Visitante)
Andres Levin, Music Has No Enemies - New York / Havana; Habanico - New York/Havana
Eduardo Pereyra, Mamma's House Studio | Romaphonic Studios - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rafa Sardina, Fishbone Productions, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA, USA
The Platinum Latin Panel brings every year some of the finest audio professionals. Multi-platinum record producers and GRAMMY winners, the presenters will tell you all about producing great music for the Latin market.
Thursday, October 18, 12:30 pm — 1:30 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE05 - Lunchtime Keynote: The Distribution of Independence: From the Green Line to the Blockchain
Presenter:Rich Jensen, Independent - Seatttle, WA, USA
The origins of the Sub Pop Record label lead back to an Independent music policy, called “The Green Line,” put in place at a tiny community radio station serving Olympia, Washington, in the mid-1970s. Fifteen years later Sub Pop achieved international fame for promoting Seattle-based bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney during the Seattle grunge movement. The label has a history of irreverence, innovation, and a cultural sensitivity that has made it a role model for other so-called Indie labels and artists around the world. In his keynote address, former “Sub-President’”and early Sub Pop recording artist Rich Jensen explores opportunities the new digital technologies such as Blockchain, Smart Contracts, Music Metadata, and the Creative Passport to offer to unleash artists and their communities today into a world that seems hungry for their guidance and inspiration. If Sub Pop had those technologies at its disposal in the 1980s, how would the world be different today?
Thursday, October 18, 1:00 pm — 4:00 pm (1E13)
SE06 - DTVAG Forum
Moderator:Roger Charlesworth, DTV Audio Group - New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
Tim Carroll, Dolby Laboratories - San Francisco, CA, USA
Stacey Foster, Saturday Night Live
Jackie Green, Alteros - Stow, OH, USA
Scott Kramer, Netflix - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sean Richardson, Starz Entertainment - Denver, CO, USA
Tom Sahara, Turner Sports Vice President, Operations and Technology, Turner Sports - Atlanta, GA, USA
Steve Silva, Vice President of Technology and Strategy, Fox Networks - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jim Starzynski, NBCUniversal - New York, NY, USA; ATSC Group - Washington D.C.
Television in Transition: Expanding Possibilities for Audio
The entire television consumption and distribution ecosystem is being transformed at breakneck speed. Ubiquitous and cheap wireless and broadband networking; smart TVs and mobile devices; and massively-scalable cloud computing are building a completely new entertainment distribution system practically overnight, upending the traditional broadcast model, and changing viewing habits forever. This transition from “hardwired” to “virtualized” distribution is expanding the possibilities for television audio innovation, further raising the bar on ultimate quality of premium viewing experiences, while presenting creative challenges in translating these experiences to an ever-widening range of devices.
“The rule book for television distribution is being completely re-written. The migration away from traditional broadcasting to IP delivery will continue to accelerate the uptake of advanced encoding solutions and sophisticated audio services. This transition creates new challenges in providing quality and consistency across an ever-widening range of device and environments. Please join the DTVAG for a discussion of these and other important television audio issues.”~ Roger Charlesworth, Executive Director, DTV Audio Group
Forum topics will include:
Chasing Quality
The advent of affordable consumer 4K and HDR on TVs and other devices is transforming the home viewing experience. Combined with the story-telling power of premium episodic content, upscale home viewing is supplanting cinema as the ultimate Hollywood entertainment consumption experience. Audio has been front and center in this transition as more and more premium content becomes available in Dolby Atmos. Is this trend sustainable? How are broadcasters and others responding to the demand for premium audio content?
Surround Virtualization
An important aspect of next-generation audio systems is the ability to virtualize surround presentations over a range of devices and environments. Consumers are already being offered increasingly sophisticated immersive-audio-capable soundbars and TV sets; what are the prospects for enhanced surround virtualization on headphones, earbuds and mobile devices?
Infrastructure and Workflow for Next-Generation Audio
Next-generation audio services greatly increase network operations payloads with additional immersive channels, alternate languages, accessibility features, and all their attendant metadata. Can linear routing systems keep up with these demands or is SMPTE ST 2110 IP media infrastructure arriving just in time to save the day? If so, where are we on the attendant standards and operating protocols to make next-gen audio work in the IP domain? We will debate the issue and take an expert look at the standards crafting work going on behind the scenes.
The Wireless Spectrum Crunch Marches On
Carriers are quickly rolling out services in their newly-acquired 600 MHz blocs making life difficult for wireless mics and other low-power users in many parts of the country. As the rollout in open blocks continues, stations are beginning to exit their existing allocations and head for new frequencies in an already over-crowded 500 MHz TV band. What is the long-term feasibility of operating in what remains of the UHF TV band, and are there practical alternatives on the horizon?
Presenters and Panelists Include:
Roger Charlesworth, Executive Director, DTV Audio Group
Tim Carroll, Senior Director Technology, Sound Group, Office of the CTO, Dolby Laboratories
Stacey Foster, Coordinating Producer, Saturday Night Live
Jackie Green, President and Chief Technology Officer, Alteros
Scott Kramer, Manager Sound Technology, Netflix
Sean Richardson, Executive Director and Principal Audio Engineer, Starz Entertainment
Tom Sahara, Vice President Operations and Engineering, Turner Sports, Chairman Sports Video Group
Steve Silva, Consultant Technology Strategy, Fox Networks Engineering and Operations
Jim Starzynski, Director and Principal Audio Engineer, NBC Universal, Chairman DTV Audio Group
The DTV Audio Group Forum at AES is produced in association with the Sports Video Group and is sponsored by: Calrec; Dale Pro Audio; Dolby Laboratories; Lawo; Sanken; Plus 24
Thursday, October 18, 2:45 pm — 3:45 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE07 - Al Schmitt—On the Record
Presenters:Maureen Droney, The Recording Academy - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Al Schmitt, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Al Schmitt is a multiple GRAMMY Award winning engineer and producer; a music legend whose career spans more than six decades. In fact, Al has received the most GRAMMYs ever awarded to an engineer. He’s worked with such iconic artists as Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Toto, Diana Krall, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini, Tony Bennett, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, and so many more. In this wide-ranging discussion with Maureen Droney, Managing Director of the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, Schmitt will share stories from his life in music along with practical tips and sage advice about what it takes to become one of the most in-demand talents in the business. This discussion also commemorates the release of Al’s autobiography: Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music (Hal Leonard).
Thursday, October 18, 3:45 pm — 4:45 pm (1E21)
SE08 - Mastered by Bob Ludwig: An Exploration of his Career and Techniques
Presenters:Jett Galindo, Bakery Mastering - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering Studios, Inc. - Portland, ME, USA
Jett Galindo of Bakery Mastering hosts a conversation with legendary mastering engineer Bob Ludwig of the famed Gateway Mastering Studios. Ludwig’s career began during an era when mastering technology looked very different than it does today. The interview explores Ludwig's perspective on all things mastering including how he has navigated those changes, his observations about what has changed, exploration of technology old and new, and insights into how he approaches his work. We’ll hear a sampling of some of his work and learn, what does "Mastered by Bob Ludwig" mean?
Thursday, October 18, 4:45 pm — 5:45 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE09 - Music Mavens: Managing Legacy Studios in Challenging Times
Panelists:Paula Salvatore
Candace Stewart
Moderator:
Ellis Sorkin, owner of Studio Referral Service Inc., 1980–present and recording engineer A&M records, 1973–1980
The recording process has changed. What you were once able only do in a commercial recording facility, to some extent, is now possible to do in your home or bedroom. But throughout the world there are still new commercial facilities being built every day and there are numerous legacy studios that are consistently busy and booked. This panel discusses how these grand palaces of production continue to thrive in a new recording environment and how these studios have adapted to changing workflow and new technologies. Hear first-hand from industry leaders on what they are doing from a strategic standpoint and how they are keeping these facilities going for artists, and the music industry in general. Topics covered also include: Why live acoustic spaces matter and how they enhance any production; how 5-star service still exists and how these top professionals select, manage and train their staff to deliver the highest service and treatment that their clients have come to expect.
Thursday, October 18, 8:00 pm — 9:00 pm (Off-Site 3)
SE10 - Organ Concert (20:00 – 21:00)
Church of the Ascension
36–38 Fifth Avenue and West 10th Street
Organist Graham Blyth’s concerts are a highlight of every AES convention at which he performs. This year’s recital will be held at the Church of the Ascension. The program will be:
Grand Dialogue in C — Louis Marchand (1669 - 1732)
Partita on "Sei Gegrüsset Jesu Gütig — J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
Toccata in G — Theodore Dubois (1837 - 1924)
Chorale No.2 in B min — César Franck (1822 - 1890)
Pastoral & Final from 1st Organ Sonata — Alexandre Guilmant (1837 - 1911)
The most outstanding recent development in Ascension’s
musical life has been the building, installation, and inauguration of the Manton Memorial Organ. Designed specifically for Ascension and built by one of the world’s finest artisans, Pascal Quoirin of St. Didier, France, the new organ made its debut in late 2010 following an extensive renovation of the church interior and a long, careful installation process. With two consoles, one electric-action and one mechanical-action (“tracker”), 95 stops, and 111 ranks, the organ is tailor-made to perform the eclectic repertory favored at Ascension. It is the first French-made organ ever installed in New York City and was made possible by a generous grant from The Manton Foundation.
Friday, October 19, 12:30 pm — 1:30 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE11 - Lunchtime Keynote: Prince Charles Alexander
Presenters:Prince Charles Alexander, Berklee College of Music - Boston, MA, USA
Paul "Willie Green" Womack, Willie Green Music - Brooklyn, NY, USA
Hip-Hop: The Early Adopter of Emerging Technologies
Hip-Hop is well known for pushing boundaries musically but also has a long history of embracing new technology. From drum machines to samplers to computer based recording and editing, Hip-Hop artists have a legacy of embracing cutting edge technology to drive forward not only their music but the industry at large.
This keynote discussion with recording and mixing engineer Prince Charles Alexander (The Notorious B.I.G., P. Diddy, Destiny's Child, Aretha Franklin) explores Hip-Hop's innovating role in the fast paced world of music technology. Moderated by Paul "Willie Green" Womack.
Friday, October 19, 2:45 pm — 3:45 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE12 - Studio Stories—Remastering Jackson Browne's “Running On Empty”
Moderator:Kevin Reeves, VP, Studio Operations North America - UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP - New York - Nashville - Los Angeles
Presenters:
Reuben Cohen
Danny Kortchmar, Legendary GRAMMY nominated guitarist, songwriter and producer (Jackson Browne, Don Henley, James Taylor)
Gavin Lurssen
Ron McMaster, Capitol Studios Mastering - Hollywood, CA, USA
This panel focuses on the recently re-mastered release of Jackson Browne’s iconic LP “Running On Empty" on vinyl, the relevance of working on historical recordings, and revamping the aural experience using and vintage and modern mastering techniques to satisfy the current consumer audio expectations for these recordings. The album was recorded and mixed by the late Greg Ladanyi on tour, live and on stage, or in locations such as backstage, on tour busses, and hotel rooms.
Friday, October 19, 5:15 pm — 6:15 pm (1E10)
SE13 - METAlliance—The Mission
Moderator:Jim Pace, The METAlliance - Los Angeles, CA, USA; Massenburg DesignWorks - plus24
Panelists:
Chuck Ainlay, METAlliance - Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Ed Cherney, Edward Cherney Company - Venice, CA, USA
Frank Filipetti, The Living Room - New York, NY, USA
George Massenburg, Schulich School of Music, McGill University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Elliot Scheiner, Producer - USA
Al Schmitt, Los Angeles, CA, USA
The mission of the METAlliance (a group of globally recognized and award winning engineers) is to promote standards of quality in the art and science of recording music. The panel will discuss their ongoing efforts and provide examples of their efforts and contributions to current and future professionals who aspire to carry forth the craftsmanship music deserves.
Friday, October 19, 6:30 pm — 8:00 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE14 - Heyser Lecture
Presenter:John Meyer, Meyer Sound Labs - Berkeley, CA, USA
The Richard C. Heyser distinguished lecturer for the 145th AES Convention is John Meyer.
Taking the Room Out of the Loudspeaker: New Tools for Transparent Reproduction
With few exceptions, loudspeakers are not used in a free field environment but rather in an enclosed acoustical space. This is inherently problematic as an acoustical space behaves in a manner similar to that of loudspeakers, making it difficult to separate the problematic characteristics of each using common measurement tools or subjective listening tests. John Meyer’s lecture will review the history of loudspeaker measurement tools as used both in the free field and in acoustical space, including Richard Heyser’s pioneering TDM methods and Meyer Sound’s own SIM (Source Independent Measurement) systems. A key focus will be on a new multi-component studio monitor that exhibits absolutely flat amplitude and phase response from 27 Hz to 20 kHz. Because this system effectively “takes the room out of the loudspeaker” it opens up possibilities for correlating new objective testing techniques with subjective listening observations. The lecture also will discuss a new test signal known as M-Noise, which effectively mimics the dynamics of music and avoids inherent weaknesses in the use of pink noise with third-octave analyzers when testing loudspeaker systems used for music. The retrospective will touch on other benchmarks in the quest for linear sound amplification, including the early Glyph large-horn systems, the Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound” and the HD-1 high resolution studio monitor, a trusted near-field reference that remains in Meyer Sound’s product line 29 years after its introduction.
Saturday, October 20, 10:45 am — 12:15 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE15 - Platinum Mastering—Past, Present, Future: Changes in Audio Mastering Technology/Aesthetics
Presenters:Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering Studios, Inc. - Portland, ME, USA
Andres A. Mayo, Andres Mayo Mastering & Audio Post - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ron McMaster, Capitol Studios Mastering - Hollywood, CA, USA
The world of mastering changed dramatically in the past 10+ years due to two facts:
—Music production became a global business, with modern productions involving far more virtual collaborations than physical meetings
—Streaming changed the rules again and led artists to produce singles, much more than entire albums.
So now, mastering just one song for a producer on the other side of the world that you will never meet in person became regular business. How do mastering engineers face these completely new challenges? How do they stand up in the myriad of mastering studios worldwide offering similar services in online platforms? What are the new parameters to consider in order to be competitive?
Saturday, October 20, 12:30 pm — 1:30 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE16 - Lunchtime Keynote: Please Make My Job Easier
Presenter:Greg Wells, Producer, mixer, songwriter - USA
What makes a device an intuitive tool instead of a burdensome product you have to deal with to try and get the results you are looking for, for your creative project? Some tools inspire artists, engineers or producers to do or try new things, others can make your life difficult.
Multiple GRAMMY-nominated producer, musician and mixing engineer Greg Wells (Adele, OneRepublic, Keith Urban, Katy Perry, Twenty One Pilots) addresses this topic from both a creative and technical standpoint in this keynote address
Saturday, October 20, 2:45 pm — 3:45 pm (1E15 +16 SE)
SE17 - Cracking the Creative Process
Presenters:Michael Beinhorn
Frank Filipetti, The Living Room - New York, NY, USA
An exponential evolution of innovative recording technologies together with seemingly unlimited access to recorded music has generated an amazing era of music creation and consumption unlike any in history. However, with all this emphasis on technology and so much less on individual expression, we feel that something essential is getting lost in the process. Join Frank Filipetti and Michael Beinhorn for a frank, no-holds-barred conversation about the creativity crisis … and how to crack it.