On June 26, 2003, the Audio Engineering Society will kick off three days of presentations and discussions on the present and future of multichannel audio at its 24th International Conference; the event will be held at the Banff Centre (located Banff, Alberta, Canada).
“The conference seminars and workshops will feature a wide range of practical and operational topics” said Theresa Leonard, AES 24th Conference chair and director of audio at the Banff Centre. “End-users, audio researchers and academics alike will benefit from the extensive program.”
Papers topics will include surround perception, spatialization and reverb; signal processing; wave field synthesis; and alternatives to 5.1. The seminars, which will be enhanced by a multichannel monitoring room setup, will include a presentation on multichannel mastering techniques by Bob Ludwig and Steven Marcussen. Presentations on the challenges of surround sound for documentaries, radio drama in surround, the New Year’s Eve concert live from Vienna and the challenge of center channel will also be included.
The selection of live demonstrations include demos of multichannel audio reproduction, an MPEG-4-based interactive virtual 3-D scenery, a speaker Periphonic playback demonstration and practical examples of sound recording works by prominent recording engineers.
Each day’s events will feature roundtables and discussions, as well as cultural and musical events. Day one will include a round table discussion, “Towards the Polarization of Surround Sound Systems,” which will explore the synergies between hardware and software engineering and the relationship that exists between them and the sales and installation function. That evening, a wine and cheese party will accompany the Posters Sessions, which will run concurrently with a live music performance featuring multichannel components in the sound systems. Also taking place in the Walter Phillips Gallery will be a presentation by the Paradise Institute, which will feature the performance art piece presented at the 2001 Venice Biennale. Day two’s highlights include a demonstration of microphone technology and techniques in the recording studio, as well as a roundtable of prominent engineers who will share their views of the multichannel field based on their experiences. Wrapping up the three-day event will be a performance by one of Canada’s top classical performers, cellist Shauna Rolston.
Online registration and detailed program information can be found on the AES 24th International Conference located at www.aes.org or by visiting www.banffcentre.ca/aes.
