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EXPO2000 ReportIn case you missed this year's Expo a few weeks ago, we didn't record it. We lack the time to transcribe all those hours,unfortunately. So, on the whole, you had to be there. An exception is David Moulton's presentation. David kindly gave us a copy of his PowerPoint presentation, which will soon be on our web site, http://www.paudio.com. Also, at Surround 2001 this Friday and Saturday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Bob Ludwig will be repeating his extremely instructive report on DVD authoring and mastering. Otherwise, below is a brief recap, which may prove useful. Next year's Expo, by the way, will be Wednesday, November 14. Mark your calendar! Don't let anything keep you from attending! {;-)REPORT on Parsons Audio Expo, November 15, 2000 ******************************************** More people than ever, two or three hundred of them, came early and stayed for much or all of the day. Both the presentations and the exhibits were well attended. We suspect that the word is getting around that this is an excellent occasion for learning about products, and for hearing some remarkable professionals show and tell about their work. Among the presentations: Jim Hilson of Dolby Labs, on the state of surround at Dolby. Jim's presentation was attended by numerous broadcasters, post facilities, and studio engineers, who find themselves facing increasing numbers of surround projects. As usual, he brought everyone up to date re the state of Surround, which his company has much to do with. Andy Munitz of Sony Professional Audio, on development of Sony’s DRE-777 sampling reverb. Andy described the workings of the DRE, and the lengths that Sony went to in order to capture the real ambiences that the device makes available to its users. In addition to a number of the world’s leading performance venues (symphony halls, etc.), it incorporates some remarkable ambiences recorded by Sony engineers in out-of-the-way places. One notable locale was deep within the stone walls of Paul Winter’s favorite offshoot of the Grand Canyon! David Moulton, on a new approach to loudspeaker and control room design. In the course of eighteen years of research and development, David has come up with a new loudspeaker design. Sausalito Audio Works, where David is Vice President, is presently turning the design into a complete range of consumer and professional loudspeakers for its first licensee, Bang & Olufsen. In his presentation he illustrated the science that underlies the speakers, beginning with fresh understandings of how we hear, and of how loudspeakers work in rooms. He went on to show related concepts that form the basis of inexpensive but effective control room designs. For anyone interested, his PowerPoint presentation for the Expo, 100+ slides in all, is posted at the Parsons Audio web site, www.paudio.com. Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering, on his experiences authoring and mastering in 5.1. Bob has presented at a number of Expos, keeping attendees informed about the pleasures and perils of his work. This time he gave a presentation that thoroughly illustrated the cutting-edge technology, processes, and work flow that Gateway utilizes while authoring and mastering DVD’s and surround-encoded CD’s. He also vividly described the issues that our industry faces as it ventures further into such projects. At this point, very few audio facilities are producing DVD’s. The Expo audience for Bob was full of facility owners and engineers who know that such work is in their future. They came somewhat in the spirit of would-be settlers gathered to hear an advance scouting report about the realities of that technological frontier. As always, Bob was generous in sharing the lessons that he and Gateway have learned. Bobby Owsinski of Surround Associates, on the state of surround today. Another frontiersman in surround sound, Bobby reports on that subject (and others) for many trade magazines, and has engineered and produced numerous surround projectsfor artists. At the Expo he relayed many insights that he has gained while in the studio — practical tips that had attendees taking notes. Karl Winkler of Neumann, on microphone technology and applications. Notwithstanding his employ by Neumann, Karl has over the years developed a presentation about microphones that is far more than a low-key sales pitch. Instead, it is a comprehensive study of traditional and cutting edge mic technology, and a thorough overview of how microphones are used today. Karl gives similar presentations around the country. They are useful to anyone who uses mics. Watch for an opportunity to experience it! Curt Wittig, with his latest surround project. Curt Wittig, recent Grammy engineering nominee and past master of surround recording, brought the multitrack version of his new CD: a musical production of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. He spelled out the issues he faced, the tools he used (Soundfield mics, multitrack recorder, workstation, and a notable contribution from Lexicon’s new 960L), techniques applied, intricacies of the mix, etc. Judging from what we heard, the piece could become a Christmas classic. Jeff Largent of National Boston Video Center, with surround projects. Jeff Largent is a sound designer with extensive experience (and two Oscars and five Emmy nominations) working in Hollywood for Sony Entertainment, Warner Bros., Columbia Studios, and others. At RumbleStrip, the audio division of National Boston, numerous surround projects have been coming his way. They include everything from broadcast spots and programming (for The Discovery Channel and others) to corporate pieces for which the client wanted to take advantage of the impact of surround. At the Expo he showed an assortment of videos and deconstructed the audio design work that he had done for them.. Tom Bates, on remote recording. The evening session, the crowning presentation for this year’s Expo, was Tom Bates’ concerning remote recording. He brought a wealth of examples from his long career. He began by showing several stunning pieces of soundtrack work. One was an expressionistic video recently produced in Germany using Native American music and performers. The next, the soundtrack that Tom engineered for Franco Zeffirelli’s La Traviata (with Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas), sounded so good through our hall’s Genelec 1037’s that the audience would willingly have sat through the entire two-hour video. (It was one of his eight Grammy-winners.) Other examples included work he has done with Paul Winter, Pete Seeger, a variety of gospel and jazz artists, and a sublime chorus of Tibetan nuns whose convent sits atop a mountain in Nepal. When Tom contacted the nuns a few years back, preparatory to going to Nepal to do the recording, he asked them if they had electricity there. They didn’t know; couldn’t say one way or the other. (Such is the light that sunshine by day, and moonlight and candles by night, can cast upon the soul?) It turns out that they did, but he and his crew had to haul in a load of battery power, just in case. Hardships faced! All the examples that he played served the purpose of Tom’s talk, which was to show challenges that he has met while recording all kinds of music, in all kinds of locations, in all kinds of circumstances. No written report can begin to do justice to the content of his presentations, much less to the skill, devotion to musical artistry, and dedication that he brings to his work. They were clearly on display, ennobling to all who attended. See you next year, we hope! END the invitation:
You're invited! At the Expo:
exhibits by leading manufacturers, with their product specialists, from noon until 6:30pmProduct specialists from more than forty manufacturers (see partial list below) will show their products and technologies, and will be available to discuss your needs with you. As usual, the Expo will give you the year's best opportunity to see the equipment, to gather information, and to seek the recommendations and guidance of experts, in a friendly and unhurried atmosphere. This year, you'll be able to learn about consoles, recorders, workstations, misc. software, signal processors, drives, fiber networks for DAWs, converters, mics, speakers, wiring, etc. All of the exhibitors have significant product news, including: Tascam's newest multitrack recorders, Yamaha's latest digital console, Digidesign's Pro Tools 5.1, Sony's groundbreaking new console and sampling reverb, Lexicon's 960L digital reverb, etc. Atlas/Soundolier - http://www.atlas-soundolier.com listening/learning sessions These sessions are always a highlight of the Expos. There's nothing like learning in person from accomplished professionals. Sound systems (stereo in Henderson Hall; surround in the Garden Room) courtesy of Genelec. in Henderson Hall details: the Henderson Hall sessions 11:00am -11:45am, Jim Hilson of Dolby Labs, on the state of surround at Dolby. Recently returned from helping NBC produce the Olympics in Sydney, Jim will report on the many fronts where Dolby surround technology is at work. They include broadcast, music production, etc. He will include some discussion of the fast-emerging DVD-A format. 11:45am - 12:15pm, Andy Munitz of Sony Professional Audio, on development of Sony's new sampling reverb, plus latest news re the DMX-R100 console. A sampling reverb is an interesting concept. The reality, via Sony, is even more interesting. Andy Munitz will review what Sony's engineers have done. 12:15 - 1:45pm, break for lunch & exhibits. Product exhibits (see listing below) will be downstairs in Babson Hall, and upstairs in the Garden Room and Hoffman Room. A wide variety of food is available a block away, in downtown Wellesley Hills. 1:45 - 2:30pm, David Moulton, Sausalito Audio Works, on a new approach to loudspeaker and control room design. Among other accomplishments, David is VP of Sausalito Audio Works, with whom he has developed a new design of loudspeakers. The design is the product of years of groundbreaking research and development. The first licensee for his design work is Bang & Olufsen, for whom Sausalito Audio Works is preparing a complete range of loudspeakers for consumer and professional markets. At the Expo he will deliver a successor to his standing-room-only presentation at the recent AES Convention. It will delve into why we hear the way we do, how loudspeakers behave in rooms, and how our listening rooms should be designed. His approach is both fresh and controversial. If you work with loudspeakers, this session is sure to interest you. 2:30 - 3:15pm, Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering, on his experiences authoring and mastering in 5.1. Founder of Gateway Mastering, and one of the world's leading mastering engineers, Bob has long been a major player in the our industry's progress towards better audio. In recent years Gateway has mastered notable surround projects. It was also one of the first facilities anywhere to become fully equipped to author and master DVD's. Bob has authored and mastered projects for many of the world's leading artists, producers, and engineers. In the process, he has acquired much experience with surround, and much love for it. It is always a pleasure to hear him talk about his work. details: the Garden Room sessions Lexicon product specialist Steve Frankel will demo the new 960L digital effects system at 12:15, 1:45, and 5:45; perhaps another time in mid-afternoon. In addition, there will be several presentations in the Garden Room. several will use the surround system there. 1:00 - 1:30, Will Eggelston of Genelec, on his company's fine studio monitors. Genelec has manufactured high quality loudspeakers for many years, and is a leading brand in recording, production, and broadcast facilities around the world. Will knows the speakers inside out, and will share some of his knowledge. evening presentation: Tom Bates on Remote Recording, 7-9:00pm in Henderson Hall (food from 6pm).Tom is always an engaging and informative presenter. Few people are as knowledgeable as he about audio engineering and production, and fewer still have his gift for communicating what he has learned. We're fortunate to have him as a 'regular' at our Expos. This year, in the Expo's evening event, he will talk about remote recording, accompanied by audio examples. Remote recording is the work that he knows best. He has enjoyed great success in it, winning many awards. We will hear from him about the realities of the business of remote recording, including what the jobs are and where they come from. He will discuss how to set up studios in the field, especially high quality monitoring. He will describe how he goes about his work, from setup through the final mix. He has learned lessons that will interest anyone who works with audio. As usual, this evening Expo event will also serve as the November meeting of the Boston Chapter of AES. back to learning Copyright 2002, Parsons Audio. We welcome your questions, comments, and contributions >>> Webmeister@paudio.com. |
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directions. The Community Center driveway is across from where the Route 9 West exit ramp meets Route 16. There's plenty of parking around the building and the church next door. From most directions, easiest access to Route 9 West is via Rte. 128/95. Take 128/95's Exit 20B, Rte. 9 West. It's a few miles south of the Mass Pike. The Community Center's phone # is (781)235-4172. The PDF version of this invitation includes a map. We'll be glad to send you one --