BY EXPERT USERS, Noon until 6:30PM

The listening/learning sessions are always a highlight of the EXPO. They're given by some of the audio industry's leading professionals. All the presenters are highly experienced, accomplished, passionate about audio, and excellent communicators. The listening systems will consist of Genelec loudspeakers, among the world's finest. This schedule is subject to change; watch here for updates.

Presentations will take place in the Dedham, Terrace, and Poolside Rooms, and in the Digidesign demo rooms (Midland and Patio). Also, of course, there will be informal presentations at each product exhibit you visit, customized to suit your interests.)


THE SCHEDULE

IN THE DEDHAM ROOM

The Dedham Room is off the Conference Center lobby.

12PM - Paul Lehrman (Mix Magazine, Tufts Univ.) on ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN;

1PM - Alex Case (Univ. of Massachusetts Lowell) on REVERSE ENGINEERING: LEARNING FROM SOME VINTAGE EFFECTS;

2PM - David Budries (Yale School of Drama) on CONCEPTUAL SOUND DESIGN;

3PM - David Moulton (Sausalito Audio, Moulton Labs, columnist for TV
Technology, Golden Ears author, etc.) on AUDIO-FOR-VIDEO: THE END
USER EXPERIENCE;

4PM - Bob Ludwig (Gateway Mastering & DVD): A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW (David Moulton, Interviewer);

5PM - TOM BATES, with another of his spellbinding recordings from the wide world of music.


IN THE TERRACE ROOM

The Terrace Room is down the hallway to the left of the Conference Center lobby, not far from the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby. Just follow the signs.

12PM - Bob Moses (THAT Corp.) on HOW NOISE HAPPENS;

1PM - LIVE SOUND PANEL DISCUSSION, with Tom Bates, Brad Berger (Berklee College of Music), David Budries (Yale School of Drama), Steve Colby (Evening Audio: Boston Pops, Tanglewood, etc.), Martin Dombey (Yamaha product specialist; recording engineer), Frank Farrell (Digidesign; veteran live engineer), and John Sage (Boston College); moderated by Paul Lehrman (Mix Magazine, Tufts University);

2PM - AUDIO FOR GAMES PANEL DISCUSSION, with Eric Brosius (Harmonix), Geoff Scott (Turbine), and George Valavanis (Blue Fang);

3PM - Tim Vear (Shure) on WIRELESS MICROPHONES: CURRENT TOPICS, including the impact of the upcoming FCC RF spectrum changes. Until 4:30PM.


IN THE POOLSIDE ROOM (the Genelec 5.1 room)

The Poolside Room is down the hallway to the left of the Conference Center lobby; through a doorway a few feet beyond the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby. Just follow the signs, or ask.

12PM - Dr. Andrea Pejrolo (Berklee, NEIA) on APPLE'S LOGIC PRO 8: TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR THE 21st CENTURY PRODUCER IN 5.1 SURROUND;

1PM - Jonathan Wyner (M Works Mastering), RECENT SURROUND PROJECT(S);

2PM - Bob Ludwig (Gateway Mastering & DVD), RECENT SURROUND PROJECT(S);

3PM - John Newton (Sound/mirror), RECENT SURROUND PROJECT(S).

ALSO, between 1:30 and 2, 2:30 and 3, and from 3:30 until 6:30, there will be GENELEC PRODUCT DEMOS, with Genelec product specialists.


IN THE MIDLAND ROOM & PATIO ROOM (the Digidesign rooms)

The Midland and Patio Rooms are down the hallway to the left of the Conference Center lobby, not far from the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby. Just follow the signs.

Midland Room

1PM - Digidesign PRO TOOLS 7.4, presented by Bruce McPherson of Digidesign;

2PM - Digidesign's ICON, presented by Jeff Komar of Digidesign;

3PM - Digidesign PRO TOOLS 7.4, presented by Bruce McPherson of Digidesign;

4PM - Digidesign's ICON, presented by Jeff Komar of Digidesign.


Patio Room

12 Noon - M-AUDIO, with Chris Zaharias of M-Audio, focusing on the Torq DJ Production/Performance System;

1PM - TIPS AND TRICKS FOR PRO TOOLS BEGINNERS (also: The PRO SCHOOL COURSES), with Brian Doser and David Franz;

2PM - IZOTOPE: NEW OFFERINGS, with Nick Dika of Izotope;

3PM - WAVES: WHAT'S NEW, with Scott Shapiro of Waves;

4PM - AN OVERVIEW OF GRM PLUG-INS, by Sean Wendell of GRM;

5PM - PCAS, with Brian Doser and David Franz: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR PRO TOOLS BEGINNERS (also: The PRO SCHOOL COURSES). (For bios of Brian and David, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

6PM - M-AUDIO, with Chris Zaharias of M-Audio; an overdub session using M-Powered Pro Tools.

THE DETAILS


IN THE DEDHAM ROOM

The Dedham Room is off the Conference Center lobby.


12PM - PAUL LEHRMAN (Mix Magazine, Tufts Univ.) on ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN. Paul will give a talk, and show videos, on Electronic Musical Instrument Design. It's a field that, as he says, "brings together engineers, musicians, computer scientists, and other weirdos to make strange musical instruments using Max, Reason, various sensors, and analog converters." He has given the talk before --it's a hit -- and has published several papers on the topic, and participated in several conferences. For a further preview, visit http://www.tufts.edu/programs/mma/emid. (For a brief bio of Paul see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

1PM - ALEX CASE (Univ. of Massachusetts Lowell) on REVERSE ENGINEERING: LEARNING FROM SOME VINTAGE EFFECTS. We're lucky to be a part of audio at this moment. Our digital tools can do just about anything. They're constantly being invented, refined, and made more affordable. We have no excuse not to create original, beautiful art. What we do with those tools, however, should be informed by the creative technical achievements made back when there was less. This talk by Alex about vintage effects takes a close look at some iconic moments in signal processing innovation. Those moments, and the devices that came of them, have played a pivotal role in the history of recorded music. They're worth our attention; they can help us make best use of the powerful digital tools of today. (For a brief bio of Alex, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

2PM - DAVID BUDRIES (Yale School of Drama) on CONCEPTUAL SOUND DESIGN. Many exciting audio fields are opening up these days. David will tell about Conceptual Sound Design, which offers a variety of opportunities. He will begin by explaining differences among Reinforcement, Spectacle and Conceptual Sound Design. He will describe venues and jobs that involve Conceptual Sound Design, including theatre, sound art and installations, spectacle, museums, radio, music, etc. He'll define elements of a typical sound delivery system for conceptual sound design. He'll address such topics as these:

-- House: The Presentational Frame, Lateral Imagery (High and Low Surround), The "Ceiling", The "Floor"

-- On-Stage: Lateral Imagery (on stage surround), The "Ceiling", Source Specific Sounds, Sound Props.

-- Creation of Aural Illusion and Spatialization.

If time allows, he'll play examples of Conceptual Sound Designs from various shows. (For a brief bio of David, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

3PM - DAVID MOULTON (Sausalito Audio, Moulton Labs, columnist for TV Technology, Golden Ears creator, etc.) on AUDIO-FOR-VIDEO: THE END USER EXPERIENCE. Dave will update his rant from last year's Expo. He'll share his ongoing observations about getting broadcast and DVD audio to the end user -- especially audio-with-video, since that's the audio that's most present in many homes these days. He has recently upgraded his studio to include high-quality video: a Runco projector and Stewart screen to go with his five B&O BeoLab 5 loudspeakers. What he has seen and heard there has been revealing. How good is the audio that's coming at our TVs and home theaters? What are the production people, cable systems, networks, local affiliates, makers of DVDs, et al. delivering? Speaking of which, what's the state of surround sound, on our TVs and elsewhere? What's working? What isn't? (For a brief bio of Dave, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

4PM - BOB LUDWIG (Gateway Mastering & DVD), A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW (David Moulton, Interviewer). As the world's most renowned mastering engineer, Bob has excellent perspectives on many aspects of the art, craft,and business of music. David Moulton will ask him questions whose answers will interest us all. One sure topic, of course, is mastering. Questions may include: What strategies and techniques do you use to get the best out of the projects that come to you -- out of the artists, the producers, the engineers, and, of course, the music itself? What work do you best accomplish alone, and what with clients attending? What about mastering with Pro Tools -- any advice to offer, and cautions? Bring your questions, too. There will be an opportunity to ask them. (For a brief bio of Bob, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

5PM - TOM BATES, with another of his spellbinding recordings from the wide world of music. Tom recently recorded and co-produced a project that combined the music of Tibetan singing bowls with a suite composed to accompany them. The result is a piece of crosscultural/world music that many listeners have been enjoying immensely. Tom will tell about the sessions: how he got the sounds, made the creative production decisions, etc. And, of course, he'll play some tracks. All of which will offer some understanding of how he has engineered eight Grammy-winning recordings. (For a brief bio of Tom, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)


IN THE TERRACE ROOM

The Terrace Room is down the hallway to the left of the Conference Center lobby, not far from the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby. Just follow the signs.

12PM - BOB MOSES (THAT Corp.) on HOW NOISE HAPPENS. Bob will give a short presentation about how noise happens. It's not just ground loops. There are ways to solve noise problems using science rather than dangerous cheaters on AC cords, and trial/error. THAT has some balanced input and output chips that give Pro Audio products much higher Common Mode Rejection (better immunity to noise coupling between boxes). Should manufacturers use them, even though that would add a couple dollars to the cost of a product? Do end users want better balanced inputs and outputs? Many assume that hum is a ground loop, and don't know that they should be blaming manufacturers for building faulty/cheap circuitry. (For a bio of Bob, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

1PM - LIVE SOUND PANEL DISCUSSION. A discussion of current topics, by a panel of experts. Topics may include the current state of digital consoles/worksurfaces, signal processing, computer-driven acoustic calibration, networking, live use of MIDI, monitoring (in-ear and otherwise), the increasing integration of recording into live performance (often using Pro Tools), getting comfortable with the modern digital mixing console, the hybrid analog/digital world. Also, perhaps: "How do you approach your job? How do you deal with your clients, subordinates, bosses, stage hands, etc.? How leave people feeling that they've been treated well?" Where the panelists' gigs come from, how they prepare, what they do on the day/night of the gig, procedures they depend upon; technologies that have proved miraculous, essential, or at least convenient. And/or other topics. Bring your topics and questions.

Panelists will include Tom Bates, Brad Berger (Berklee College of Music), David Budries (Yale School of Drama), Steve Colby (Evening Audio: Boston Pops, Tanglewood, etc.), Martin Dombey (Yamaha product specialist; recording engineer), Frank Farrell (Digidesign; veteran live engineer), and John Sage (Boston College); moderated by Paul Lehrman (Mix Magazine, Tufts University). For bios of the panelists, see THE PRESENTERS, below.

2PM - AUDIO FOR GAMES PANEL DISCUSSION, with Eric Brosius (Harmonix), Geoff Scott (Turbine), and George Valavanis (Blue Fang Games), who are Audio Directors and Creative Studio Directors from leading games companies. Learn more about this dynamic field. Bring questions of your own to ask the panelists. Some likely topics: How do you work? How do you determine what audio to build into a game? At what point in designing and producing the game does audio enter in? What are the creative and practical considerations that the audio director -- and overall creative team -- think about? How do you then produce it? What tools do you use -- what compositional tools, workstations for recording and mixing, etc.? And how do you monitor the audio, to see how it will sound on the listening systems that end users will have? What people are involved in the project? What amount of solo work do they do? How much teamwork and collaboration? In the course of production, from start to finish, how much trial and error, revision, cross-pollination with other aspects of the production? Is the process much like producing sound-for-film or -video, or is the procedure different? Games are different than other forms of entertainment and art; often highly immersive, experiential, and directed by the user; solitary in some ways, and at other times social. How does that affect audio content and production values? Is there tendency these days for games to resemble Hollywood blockbuster action films, with heavy use of effects? Which way(s) are the audio possibilities of games evolving? (For bios of the panelists, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)

3PM - TIM VEAR (Shure) on WIRELESS MICROPHONES: CURRENT TOPICS. Tim will describe Current "Best Practices" for Successful Wireless, and the Current State of FCC Action on "White Spaces" Issues

Best Practices for:
Frequency Coordination
Antenna Applications

White Spaces Issues:
DTV Transition situation
Spectrum Reallocation plans
"White Spaces" proposals
Potential Impact on future wireless applications

In the "Best Practices" section, Tim will concentrate on frequency coordination and antennas. These are the two areas that are least understood and have the most potential to make or break the system.

In the "White Spaces" section, he will describe the status of the DTV transition and how the White Spaces proposals are related (and unrelated) to that transition. It's worth noting the positions of the interested parties in this process and how each may gain or lose from the various proposals. Ultimately, we will all have to adapt to the changing landscape of the wireless spectrum.

This will be a thorough, educational presentation. It will run for an hour and a half, until 4:30PM. (For a bio of Tim, see THE PRESENTERS, below.)


IN THE POOLSIDE ROOM (the Genelec 5.1 room)

The Poolside Room is down the hallway to the left of the Conference Center lobby; through a doorway a few feet beyond the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby. Just follow the signs, or ask.

The Poolside Room will feature presentations in 5.1 surround sound, using Genelec's excellent new, self-aligning DSP speaker system. Three of the presentations will be half-hour show-and-tells of recent surround recording projects. Presenting those will be the founders and principal engineers of three leading mastering facilities: M Works Mastering, Sound/mirror, and Gateway Mastering & DVD. Another presentation, at noon, will focus on Apple's dramatic new version of Logic. The rest of the afternoon (1:30-2PM, 2:30-3PM, and 3:30 - 6:30PM) will be given over to Genelec, who will demonstrate their DSP systems, which will be delivering the audio for the other presentations. The loudspeakers set their own levels, distance compensating delays, phase (for subwoofers), and room response equalization. [NOTE: Some or all of the show-and-tell presentations may fill up early. The room holds only a few dozen people; we've kept it small, to optimize sound quality.]