learning: Expo08v2b

The 18th Annual
PARSONS AUDIO
EXPO

Presentations by Expert Users

& Product Exhibits by Leading Manufacturers

took place on Thursday, November 6, Noon - 6:30PM
at the Dedham (MA) Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center
The PARSONS AUDIO EXPO has taken place every year since 1991. It is informative and enjoyable. It's a great opportunity for you to learn from expert users and product specialists; also to meet and interact with your peers from around New England and beyond. Hundreds of audio professionals -- 500+ of them -- attend every year. Many arrive by noon and stay through the day. As one regular attendee says of the event, "The Expo's atmosphere is welcoming, the people friendly, the hype minimal, the exhibits comprehensive, and the presentations excellent." (You can read further opinions in the box to the left.) We hope that you'll take advantage. If you have colleagues who would like to attend, please pass the word.

The most recent Expo is representative. Details from the invitation follow below:

FREE, NO RSVP NEEDED. The Expo is free of charge, courtesy of the exhibitors and Parsons Audio. No reservations or RSVP's needed, but presentations can fill up early.

DIRECTIONS. The Dedham Holiday Inn & Conference Center is located on the western edge of Boston, just off I-95/Rte. 128 (Exit 15A/Rte. 1A). It is easily visible just north of the exit. About a hundred yards after you exit, at the first set of lights, make a U-turn. The hotel will then be on your right, behind Joe's American Bar & Grille. (Directions are also available at www.holidayinn.com/bos-dedham.) There's plenty of free parking.

FOOD & DRINK. There's a restaurant next to the Holiday Inn called Bamboo ("fine Asian cuisine"), featuring a Sushi Bar and Lounge area; two more (Finz, and Joe's American Bar & Grill) across the parking lot; and more nearby, just down the road, including Bugaboo Creek, Chili's, Friendly's, Dunkin Donuts, J.C. Hillary's, Papa Gino's, Pizzeria Uno, 50's Diner, TGI Friday's, Tahiti, Panera, Midway, Halfway Cafe, Uno Chicago Grill, Kikuyama Japanese Steak House, Vinny T's of Boston, Chipotle, Applebee's, and It's All Greek To Me. [NOTE: There will be no concession stand in the lobby this year. The Holiday Inn no longer offers that service.]

SPONSORS. Performer Magazine is the Expo's media sponsor. Genelec is providing loudspeaker systems for the presentations.

EXPO INFO UPDATES. For the latest event information, watch this site (www.paudio.com), subscribe to Parsons' e-newsletters (send your e-dress to subscribe@paudio.com), or contact the Parsons Audio staff: support@paudio.com, or tel. 781/431-8708, x14 or x18.
PRESENTATIONS BY EXPERT USERS

In the Dedham Room, Terrace Room, and Midland Room (Digidesign)

PRODUCT EXHIBITS by LEADING MANUFACTURERS

In the Westwood Room (the exhibit hall) and Midland Room (Digidesign)
PRESENTATIONS BY EXPERT USERS, Noon until 6:30PM

The listening/learning sessions are a highlight of the EXPO. They're given by some of the audio industry's leading professionals. The presenters are highly experienced, accomplished, passionate about audio, and they're excellent communicators. See the schedule below.

Presentations will take place in the Dedham, Terrace, and Midland Rooms. You'll also find informal presentations at the product exhibits in the exhibit hall (the Westwood Room), customized to suit your interests.

[NOTE: Presentation times and content are subject to change. Watch for updates here, and in our e-mail newsletters (subscribe here), as the Expo approaches.

IN THE DEDHAM ROOM

The Dedham Room is off the Conference Center lobby.

12PM - 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), integration of recording into live performance (often using Pro Tools), the hybrid analog/digital world;

- people skills: "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.
Bring your topics and questions.
Panelists include Tom Bates (see his bio below), Brad Berger (Berklee College of Music), David Budries (Yale School of Drama), Martin Dombey (Yamaha product specialist; recording engineer), and Jon Sage (Boston College). The Moderator will be Paul Lehrman (Mix Magazine, Tufts University).

Tom Bates records major artists in all genres, including rock, pop, jazz, classical, and opera. Eight of his projects have won Grammies. He has been audio director of several Emmy-winning TV shows, including "Saturday Night Live", "Live From Lincoln Center", and "Live From The Met"; and Academy Award-nominated movies. He has also mixed live performances for many artists. He was a co-founder of TimeLine, Inc. and has acted as a technical design consultant for leading American and Japanese equipment manufacturers. Tom also teaches courses at the Parsons Center for Audio Studies and at Tufts University.

Brad Berger teaches sound reinforcement and related subjects at Berklee College of Music. An experienced live sound engineer, he is the Production Manager and Chief Engineer at the Berklee Performance Center, which presents performances of every kind.

David Budries is a veteran sound designer, with numerous credits and awards for productions on Broadway and in regional theater. He has also produced sound and music for radio shows, music CD’s, storytelling festivals, music festivals, poetry festivals and museum exhibits. He is currently chair and faculty member of the Sound Design Department at the Yale University School of Drama. There, according to one article about him, he "looks for 'an innate sense of musicality' in his students. A passion for theater...is also very important. Budries likes people who not only think outside the box, 'but question the presence of the box.' "

Martin Dombey has been a Clinician and Manager for Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems since 1984. He has been professionally active with music recording since 1976, and has presented seminars and master classes at numerous colleges, universities, conferences, and other institutions. He is also proprietor of a Cleveland-based on-location audio production service

Paul Lehrman is one of the world's leading experts on MIDI and computer music. He has composed concert works for computers and live performers, as well as scores for television, film, and multimedia. He is principal author of the standard college-level text on MIDI, as well as author of and contributor to many other published books. (His most reent: the Insider Audio Bathroom Reader.) He is a columnist for leading recording magazines, perhaps best known for his regular Insider Audio column in Mix Magazine. Not least, he is an educator, presently as Coordinator of Music Technology, and Lecturer in Music and Multimedia, at Tufts University.

Jon Sage is an Audio Engineer with Boston College Media Technology Services, where he is responsible for the operation of the Audio Services/Special Functions division. His work includes live sound support for academic, social and cultural, and athletic events on the BC Campus. Other responsibilities entail audio production support, consultation, and system design services. Jon is also adjunct faculty in the BC Communications department.

1PM - RETHINKING AUDIO LEVELS.

Mark Ethier (Izotope), Dave Gardiner (WCVB-TV), and David Moulton (renowned audio guru, etc. -- see bio below) will report their experiences, and offer their insights, concerning audio levels. What are levels, and what do they mean to us as audio engineers? What are the issues they present these days? Do levels need re-thinking? How best understand them and work with them?

This presentation will also touch upon the lip-sync problem. As anyone knows who watches TV, the audio and video are often out of sync. Why is that? Can anything be done about it? Dave Moulton will guide the discussion.

Mark Ethier is CEO and co-founder of iZotope, Inc.. Based in Cambridge (MA), Izotope is an industry leader in audio signal processing. Mark started iZotope in 2001 while at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds degrees in both music and computer science.

David Gardiner is an Engineering Crew Chief for WCVB-TV/DT, and has been with the Boston ABC affiliate since 1985. Career highlights include live, taped, local and national broadcast mixes from studio and remote settings for Raising the Roof (musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), Holiday Lights, Patriots All Access, NewsCenter 5, Chronicle, Holiday at Pops, Pops Goes the 4th, Salute to Symphony, Boston Marathon, Parade of the Tall Ships 2000, telethons, town meetings, political debates and election coverage, as well as work in audio post-production, communication systems design, and technical maintenance. His audio contributions have helped win numerous nominations and awards for WCVB. Additional credits include shows seen on PBS and WLVI-TV/56.

Dave Moulton is a renowned audio guru, author, educator, and Grammy-nominated engineer. An audio polymath ("person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning"), he is an accomplished composer, acoustic consultant, loudspeaker designer (co-creator of the B&O BeoLab 5), author of the Golden Ears Ear-training CD Series, and a teacher and principal at the Parsons Center for Audio Studies (PCAS). In his capacity as audio columnist for TV Technology, he has been making a careful study of the current state of audio-for-video.

2PM - Bob Ludwig (Gateway Mastering & DVD) on THE LOUDNESS WARS.
As one of the world's leading mastering engineers, Bob has been at the cutting edge of this vital issue for many years. He has written and spoken about it extensively. He has moderated and participated in numerous panels about it. At last year's AES Convention in New York, hundreds of industry professionals attended his panel discussion on the subject. It was also the main focus of his Platinum Mastering Panel at last month's AES Convention in San Francisco. He reports that there's a lot of hope for improved dynamic range, especially now that one heavy metal band seems to have crossed the acceptable distortion line with many of its fans. Bob will play examples and take plenty of questions from the audience. Bob is a regular presenter at the Expo. He says he is really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Bob Ludwig and his Gateway Mastering & DVD studios in Portland need little introduction. Year after year, a large proportion of Grammy-winning, Grammy-nominated, and gold and platinum recordings are mastered at Gateway. Bob has won an unprecedented number of TEC Awards (more than a dozen). He knows the art of reproducing the artist's vision, which he has successfully delivered to millions of listeners -- and, increasingly, viewers -- via CD, DVD, and records.

3PM - Bob Dixon (NBC Olympics) on AUDIO FOR THE OLYMPICS.
Bob will tell us about the demands of providing all High-Def, all 5.1 Surround audio for the great event. Topics will include channel layout (13 of 16 channels were used in the HDSDI stream with embedded audio); routing; some block diagrams; remotely-controlled mixing of announcers at smaller venues; console layouts; upmixing; and more. Surround audio has become well established in video and television. Anyone involved in recording, producing, or broadcasting audio may find themselves working on such projects. Bob has long been a leader in the field. Come learn from his experience.

Bob Dixon is the Director of Sound Design & Communications for NBC Olympics. He has been with NBC for many years, charged with overseeing the design, planning, installation, and operation of the network's audio chain for sports broadcasts, including many Olympics. He has worked closely with many manufacturers, helping them develop appropriate technology for the purpose. He has long been a dedicated advocate for good audio for television. He has been a valued presence at a number of Expos, but this will be his first Expo presentation. He has recently returned from the Beijing Olympics, so his experiences and lessons learned there are fresh.

4PM - Mason Daring (noted film composer) and Dave Shacter (Daring Studios) on COMPOSING & PRODUCING MUSIC FOR FILM AND TV.
Audio, especially music, is integral to the impact of film and video. How does a skilled professional conceive and compose what's most suitable? What are the considerations? What collaboration -- with the director, musicians, engineers, editor, et al. -- is needed? What are useful tools and techniques?

Mason Daring's projects have won Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and Golden Globes. His credits (see http://masondaring.com) include feature films, including the films of John Sayles, beginning with The Return of the Secaucus Seven; TV movies, including the Emmy-nominated Bailey's Mistake; epic documentaries (The Carter Project); long-running themes to the PBS series Nova and Frontline; and episodic network TV.

Dave Shacter is a recording engineer, music scoring mixer, music editor and producer, working with film composers to complete the music underscore for film and television projects. He has worked extensively with composer Mason Daring, and his credits include numerous films by John Sayles -including Honeydripper, The Secret Of Roan Inish, and Lone Star; The Opposite Of Sex, and Music Of The Heart; the prime-time TV series State Of Mind on Lifetime; many television movies, and several episodes of Frontline, American Experience, and Nova. He has also recorded many jazz and folk album projects for Daring Records.

5PM - a half-hour break

5:30PM - Jeff Largent (Berklee instructor; Mixology) on SOUND FOR FILM.
Jeff will give a history lesson, from "The Jazz Singer" to "Star Wars": the gear, the technology, and the work flow from production recording to post production, and within the post production sound team through Foley, ADR, SFX, and mixing.

Among many other credits, in addition to teaching at Berklee, Jeff Largent has been Sound Designer, Sound Supervisor, and Re-Mix Engineer for numerous feature films and dramatic television shows, including Beakman’s World, Braveheart, Gone Baby Gone, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

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 - Brian Doser, with PRO TOOLS TIPS & TRICKS.
Learn from a power user, and long-time teacher and Pro Tools product specialist. Topics will include whatever's useful to you, so bring your questions!

Brian Doser has used and taught Pro Tools for years. In fact, using Pro Tools, and advising and instructing Pro Tools users, has been his day job. For a decade, he was Digidesign’s Northeast Regional Product Specialist and Sales Representative. Before that, he was Audio Engineering Manager for WERS-FM at Emerson College, where he was also an instructor in audio production. He has engineered at numerous recording studios, including The Village Recorder in West L.A. He is an expert Pro Tools user—up-to-date on the system itself, and on the third-party hardware accessories and software plug-ins that it supports. At the Parsons Center for Audio Studies (PCAS), Brian teaches the Accelerated version of Pro Tools 101 and the Pro Tools 110: Essentials of Pro Tools courses. He is certified to teach all levels of official Pro Tools courses. The next offerings will take place shortly after the Expo: Pro Tools 101 (accelerated, for advanced beginners) over the weekend of November 15 and 16; and Pro Tools 110, Mondays, 6:30 - 10:30PM, from November 24 through December 15. Click here for details.

1PM - Bill Lee (Apple Computer) with AN OVERVIEW OF LOGIC STUDIO.
Bill will show how easy it is to record and edit in Logic. He will employ Logic software instruments and effects, with hardware from Apogee, and 3rd party software from Waves.

Bill Lee is a veteran product specialist for Apple Computer, and a long-time user and master teacher of Logic. This is his second presentation at the Expo.

2PM - Izzy Maxwell (Harmonix Music Systems) on AUDIO FOR GAMES.
Audio for games is a growing field. Izzy will give us a walkthrough of how songs get into games (wishlist -> licensing -> mixing -> editing -> authoring -> play!). He'll also address the place of audio -- especially of music -- in the game industry, and how it is becoming a new source of revenue for labels and artists. He'll describe the production tools and processes, including collaboration with other people on the creative team: musicians, visual artists, etc. And he'll tell us some about the history of Harmonix, and what they've been working on lately. (It has just been announced that the Beatles have decided to license their songs to Harmonix, a division of MTV, for a new video game.)

Izzy Maxwell is a Senior Sound Designer at Harmonix Music Systems, an award-winning game development studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and developer of the critically acclaimed Rock Band video games, and Guitar Hero I & II. In addition to contributing his technical and musical skills to the audio team at Harmonix, Izzy performs with several bands in and around Boston. A Boston native, Izzy graduated from The New England Institute of Art with a degree in Audio Production.

3PM - David Franz with MORE PRO TOOLS TIPS & TRICKS.
This is not a repeat of Brian Doser's 12PM session. Topics will include whatever's useful to you, so bring your questions. Some possibilities: creating music in Pro Tools with virtual instruments, mixing with Pro Tools, new features of Pro Tools, etc.

David Franz has taught Pro Tools to hundreds of people, both in person and on-line. He is author of a comprehensive guide to Pro Tools: Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools. (The third edition is now available.) David is also a songwriter, record producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performing artist, studio musician, author, and instructor. After earning a bachelor's and master's degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, he attended Berklee College of Music, where he studied music production and engineering. David runs his own studio and production company, producing, recording, mixing, and mastering records for a wide range of international acts. He teaches for Berkleemusic.com, writes for Digidesign's online magazine DigiZine, and performs with his touring rock band, The Bleedin Bleedins. At the Parsons Center for Audio Studies (PCAS), he teaches the Digidesign-certified Pro Tools 101: Introduction to Pro Tools course; also Mastering with Your Pro Tools System, with Scott Elson. The next offering of Pro Tools 101 will be Thursday evenings, November 13 and 20, and December 4 and 11; then another beginning Thursday, January 8. Click here for details.

4PM - John Newton (Sound/mirror), with A LISTENING SESSION.
John, a 2008 Grammy-winning recording and mastering engineer, and founder of Sound/mirror (Jamaica Plain, MA), will play and describe some recent recordings. This session will be a treat for anyone who likes to listen to, and work with, audio. Come listen, enjoy, and learn.

John Newton was a staff technician for Dolby Labs and Vanguard Records before founding Soundmirror in 1972. He headed the engineering department of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood for fifteen seasons and was in charge of east coast operations of Soundstream, the pioneering digital recording company. A long professional relationship with Philips led to his serving as head of their recording department for two years. That relationship continues today as John helps develop and promote the Philips SACD format in America. John has provided design and manufacturing services for Studer and Lexicon, and builds custom recording equipment for numerous clients. He has conducted seminars at McGill University, the Berklee College of Music, the Audio Engineering Society, and the Boston Audio Society. This year he received a second Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Classical Album, and won!

5PM - David Ackerman (Harvard University) on ARCHIVING YOUR AUDIO.
Dave, who handles archiving for Harvard, will discuss what audio professionals should know about audio preservation but often don't. He'll correct some common assumptions, and offer guidance and techniques that you can use in archiving your recordings. As you'd expect, Harvard possesses extensive audio archives, including many historic recordings of artists (as far back as Enrico Caruso, and earlier) and ensembles, speeches by visiting dignitaries, lectures, etc. -- all of which require careful preservation. Come learn how it's done.

David Ackerman manages Harvard College Library Audio Preservation Services. He chairs AES SC-03-06 Working Group on Digital Library and Archive Systems and the AES technical Council on Archiving, Restoration, and Digital Libraries. He is a contributer to the NEH funded Sound Directions Project. In addition to his audio engineering work, he also serves as a consultant on audio preservation issues.

IN THE MIDLAND ROOM (the Digidesign room)

The Midland 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.

The Digidesign room will feature the latest version (including Pro Tools 8) of the Pro Tools system, and an ICON D-Command, accompanied by Digidesign product specialists Gil Gowling, Robert Miller, and David Charles. There will be several presentations (see the schedule below), ample opportunity for personal Q&A and demos, and a Pro Tools User Group meeting (at 5PM). Bring your questions and interests!

12:30 - 1:30PM - PRO TOOLS 8 Sneak Peek Demo.
Pro Tools 8 is a major new version of Pro Tools software, introduced just a few weeks ago, at AES/San Franciso. It features a redesigned interface, enhanced interactivity, 20 new effects, new MIDI tools, a new Score Editor, Elastic Pitch, expanded track handling, easier editing, five new virtual instruments (for music creation), enhanced Quicktime and Vista support, support for larger files (up to 4GB), and more.

1:30 - 2PM - Open Q&A, Demos, and ICON Hands-on.
Personal Q&A and demos, so bring your questions and interests. As for the ICON console/control surface, it's the ultimate Pro Tools interface. Pro Tools 8 further deepens ICON's control of Pro Tools by adding functionality to the Soft Keys; a local assign mode for assigning Inserts, Sends, Inputs, and Outputs; I/O view; and expansion of the D-Command ICON to 40 faders.

2 - 3PM - PRO TOOLS 8 Sneak Peek Demo.
Pro Tools 8 is a major new version of Pro Tools software, introduced just a few weeks ago, at AES/San Francisco. It features a redesigned interface, enhanced interactivity, 20 new effects, new MIDI tools, a new Score Editor, Elastic Pitch, expanded track handling, easier editing, five new virtual instruments (for music creation), enhanced Quicktime and Vista support, support for larger files (up to 4GB), and more.

3 - 3:30PM - Open Q&A, Demos, and ICON Hands-on.

Personal Q&A and demos, so bring your questions and interests. As for the ICON console/control surface, it's the ultimate Pro Tools interface. Pro Tools 8 further deepens ICON's control of Pro Tools by adding functionality to the Soft Keys; a local assign mode for assigning Inserts, Sends, Inputs, and Outputs; I/O view; and expansion of the D-Command ICON to 40 faders.

3:30 - 4:30PM - PRO TOOLS 8 Sneak Peek Demo.
Pro Tools 8 is a major new version of Pro Tools software, introduced just a few weeks ago, at AES/San Francisco. It features a redesigned interface, enhanced interactivity, 20 new effects, new MIDI tools, a new Score Editor, Elastic Pitch, expanded track handling, easier editing, five new virtual instruments (for music creation), enhanced Quicktime and Vista support, support for larger files (up to 4GB), and more.

4:30 - 5PM - Open Q&A, Demos, and ICON Hands-on.
Personal Q&A and demos, so bring your questions and interests. As for the ICON console/control surface, it's the ultimate Pro Tools interface. Pro Tools 8 further deepens ICON's control of Pro Tools by adding functionality to the Soft Keys; a local assign mode for assigning Inserts, Sends, Inputs, and Outputs; I/O view; and expansion of the D-Command ICON to 40 faders.

5PM - PRO TOOLS USER GROUP MEETING
...for Pro Tools users of all levels. An open forum for exchange of information, advice, tips & tricks, etc. Mostly for intermediate to advanced Pro Tools users, but all are welcome. Bring your questions, and learn from the experts!

The Digidesign product specialists at the Expo:

David Charles has been with Digidesign for 16 years. He worked as a Digidesign product specialist for 13 years, and then as a highly respected Sales Manager. He is now Sales Manager for the Northeast (that's us!), New York Metro and Mid Atlantic Territories.

Gil Gowling is a Console Sales Specialist for Digidesign. Some people have said the he's a "human Pro Tools manual"!

Robert Miller has been a Senior Product Specialist for Digidesign for the past 14 years. He is responsible for Broadcast, Post Production and Avid Interop. He has also worked in the New York Metro area as a musician, recording engineer, and co-owner of Water Music, a well-known recording facility in Hoboken, New Jersey.

PRO TOOLS COURSES

The Parsons Center for Audio Studies (PCAS) has several Pro Tools courses coming up. We keep class sizes small, and enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis, so it's wise to enroll as soon as you can.

Pro Tools 101: Introduction to Pro Tools
Taught by David Franz; four Thursday evenings (Nov. 13 and 20; Dec. 4 and 11; then another course beginning January 8), 6:30-10:30PM (16 class hours); at Parsons Audio. Courseware and snacks provided. $695. For full course description and information, click here.

Pro Tools 101: Introduction to Pro Tools (Accelerated)
Taught by Brian Doser; two days: Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16 (16 class hours); for advanced beginners; at Parsons Audio. Courseware and snacks provided. $695. For full course description and information, click here.

Pro Tools 110: Essentials of Pro Tools (Accelerated)
Taught by Brian Doser; four Monday evenings, November 24 through December 15, 6-11PM (20 class hours), at Parsons Audio. Courseware and lunch provided. $925. With permission of the instructor. This is an intensive version of Pro Tools 110, for people who have enough Pro Tools experience. For full course description and information, click here.