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Learning and Networking at the AES Convention

 

After a three-year hiatus of in-person gatherings due to the pandemic, the long-awaited 153rd Audio Engineering Society convention took place on 19-20 October in New York, with additional events before and after, and to be followed by an online event on 26-27 October. If you’ve never been to one, what can you expect at an in-person AES convention, and is it worth going to? Here’s an overview of my own experience and opinions.

AES conventions normally take place twice a year: one in North America and one in Europe. If you’re a member of the AES, you get a discounted convention ticket. Conventions are very affordable if you’re a student member; if not, the admission price might be considered a little steep, coupled with travel and accommodation if you don’t live in the area. However, the opportunity to learn, network, explore industry products and innovations, and be inspired can make it a very worthwhile expense.

This year’s NYC convention took place on two floors of the huge and well-equipped Javits Center and was co-located with the NAB show – very handy for those interested in both audio and broadcasting. The Exhibits part of the AES convention consisted of an enormous array of booths and rooms displaying audio industry-related products and services, everything from microphones and hardware to software, acoustics and communications systems, and much more. It’s a fantastic chance to see and hear gear up close, ask questions, form relationships with manufacturers and sellers, and learn about the latest innovations in audio.

One of my favourite parts of the convention was the Tech Program and Training. In several rooms at the side of the exhibition hall, in addition to a couple of stages in the hall itself, a huge number of seminars, panel discussions, and presentations took place covering all manner of topics: studio recording, live sound, music production, post-production, networked audio, spatial and VR audio, broadcast and streaming, game audio, product development and more. Via an app, you could read about each seminar and presenter, and plan which sessions you wanted to attend. It was such a great learning opportunity; my only complaint was that there were so many terrific sessions going on at the same time, and I wished I could be in three places at once!

This year the AES also introduced a new format of hands-on learning workshops, where participants could bring a laptop and headphones and have access to audio materials sent by the presenters beforehand. Some of these workshops were more successfully interactive and hands-on, while others were similar to a normal seminar, with the limited number of participants allowing for more interaction and questions. This is definitely a great format for learning, and hopefully, AES continues with it and encourages presenters to include exercises for attendees to work on during the workshops.

For student members, there was a series of valuable events and sessions such as the Education and Careers Fair, the Student Recording Competition, and the Recording Critiques session. Meanwhile in other lecture rooms throughout the day, research and technical papers on a diverse field of topics were presented. Additional events included networking spaces, keynote speeches, and a film screening. Attendees staying on in New York could sign up for a tech tour to various venues the day after the convention – I was able to attend a tour of the famous Power Station studio at BerkleeNYC, a terrific experience that included witnessing a 3D music video recording.

It’s important to mention that thanks to the hard work of the members of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, AES is making great strides in diversifying the audio community and creating inclusive opportunities for all races, genders, physical abilities, ages, and nationalities. Here’s a Soundgirls article about the Diversity and Inclusion Guidelines for AES conventions and conferences. It’s great to see the attendees of conventions becoming more diverse each year!

A huge benefit of attending the AES convention is the opportunity to network and meet others both in your field of audio and in other fields. This is something extremely valuable in a career path that thrives on connections and relationships with colleagues and clients. With so many brilliant people from the industry in one space, it’s the perfect opportunity to go up and introduce yourself to presenters, educators, industry colleagues, and people whose work you admire. People are very approachable and really happy to talk and share advice and contacts.

In conclusion: yes, the AES convention is absolutely worth attending! There is so much learning to be had, inspiration to be soaked up, networking to be done, and innovation to be marveled at. Hopefully, the AES will be able to return to holding a longer 4-day event in the future. The enthusiastic atmosphere, positive sense of camaraderie, and veritable passion for audio at this year’s New York convention gave me a huge dose of inspiration and motivation to keep doing my best, and boosted my excitement and gratitude to be working in the amazing field that is audio!

 

Documentary Sound Mixing in a War Zone Webinar

Documentary Sound Mixing in a War Zone Webinar

 

Please join SoundGirls for an online conversation “Documentary Sound Mixing in a War Zone” with Xenia Vinogradova, a Kyiv-based Sound Mixer, who will share her experience about what it’s like being part of a documentary film crew in Ukraine right now, and what she’s doing to help first responders on the ground.

May 1st at 11 AM PDT

Register and Post Your Questions Here

Moderated by Leslie Gaston-Bird and joined by panelists Xenia Vinogradova and Iryna Kucherenko

Xenia Vinogradova is a production sound mixer/ sound editor, living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2015, she graduated from Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema, and Television with a Master’s Diploma in the specialty “Sound Engineering in Film”.

Since launching her career in the film industry, Xenia has been taking on various roles in creating sound for moving pictures: recording audio on location and working as a studio recording engineer; editing sound at the post-production studios, working as a music editor and sound designer. Her works include “Cenzorka”by Peter Kerekes, “Mountain Breeze” by Julia Kochetova, “Au Revel” by Sieva Diamantakos. Currently, Xenia continues to live in Ukraine, working as a production sound mixer in the war zone with various film and media productions.

Iryna Kucherenko is a Ukrainian-born Angeleno working as a production sound mixer and audio supervisor for television and documentary productions. She has been working in audio since 2009, after graduating from the Vancouver Film School Sound Design for Visual Media Program.

Her work experience provides another perspective on working with subjects affected by war. Iryna’s entry into reality television started with “Surprise Homecoming”, a show that helped US veterans stage surprise returns from deployment for their families. Among Iryna’s notable documentary credits is “Dalya’s Other Country” by Julia Meltzer, which follows the life of a teen Syrian refugee whose family fled to Los Angeles, California.

Iryna is also a part of the Safe&Sound Ukraine initiative that is working to provide essential communication devices to Ukraine.


Safe&Sound Ukraine

A fundraising project aiming to purchase encrypted digital walkie-talkies and satellite phones for Ukrainian war medics, volunteers, and evacuation coordinators.

This is a unique case when the power of the sound community can help save lives. Since its launch, Safe&Sound Ukraine has partnered with more than 20 sound- and filmmaking-related manufacturers, businesses, and communities all around the world (such as LASoundMixers, AMPS, CAS, Gotham Sound, K-Tek, Lectrosonics, and many more), and has already supplied 14 locations across Ukraine with life-saving, secure means of communication.

SoundGirls / AES “How To Submit a Paper” Webinar

As we strive to change the race and gender balance of panels at academic conferences, we have been reaching out to underrepresented groups to invite submissions as part of our larger call for papers. We find that sometimes people just don’t know where to begin, and it’s time to change that!

Join panelists Leslie Gaston-Bird, Jamie Angus, and Bert Kraaijpoel for a walkthrough of how to submit an abstract, précis, and paper to an academic conference.

SoundGirls / AES “How To Submit a Paper”

Jan 15, 2021, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (England)

  • 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (England)
  • 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (Eastern)
  • 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (Central)
  • 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Mountain)
  • 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Pacific)

Register and post your questions here

Panelists Include

Leslie Gaston-Bird

Leslie Gaston-Bird (AMPS, M.P.S.E.) is the author of the book “Women in Audio”, part of the AES Presents series and published by Focal Press (Routledge). She is a voting member of the Recording Academy (The Grammys®). Currently, she is a freelance re-recording mixer and sound editor and owner of Mix Messiah Productions specializing in 5.1 mixing. Prior to that, she was a tenured Associate Professor of Recording Arts at the University of Colorado Denver (2005-2018) where she also served as Chair of the Department of Music and Entertainment Industry Studies. She led groups of Recording Arts students in study abroad courses in England, Germany, and Italy which included participation in AES Conventions. Leslie has done research on audio for planetariums, multichannel audio on Blu-Ray, and a comparison of multichannel codecs that was published in the AES Journal (Gaston, L. and Sanders, R. (2008), “Evaluation of HE-AAC, AC-3, and E-AC-3 Codecs”, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society of America, 56(3)).

Bert Kraaijpoel

With a mixed technical/musical background Bert started his audio career as a recording engineer in the 1980s, the beginning of the digital era. He was mainly recording and editing classical music and jazz. He developed secondary activities, establishing professional training programs in audio technology, initially for broadcast engineers and later expanding to other audio (-visual) companies. At present Bert is a full-time lecturer at the Dutch Film Academy and at the Royal Conservatory, mainly lecturing in the areas of electro-acoustics and psychoacoustics.

Bert has been an AES member for over 25 years and during that period he has a long history as a committee member for the Dutch AES Section. He has served as its Secretary for the past 10 years. He has organized a multitude of section meetings and tutorials on various audio-related subjects and presented tutorials on microphones and digital audio. He is pro-active in encouraging communication with the student community.

Bert served as a member of the convention committee for the 124th AES Convention in Amsterdam in May 2008. In his spare time, Bert is a baritone singer in one of the larger choirs of the Hague and he is also an enthousiastic amateur photographer.

Jamie Angus-Whiteoak

Professor Emerita of Audio Technology at Salford University. Her interest in audio was crystallized at age 11 when she visited the WOR studios in NYC on a school trip in 1967. After this she was hooked, and spent much of her free time studying audio, radio, synthesizers, and loudspeakers, and even managed to build some!
After secondary education in Scotland, in 1973 she attended the University of Lethbridge in Alberta Canada. There, in addition to her studies in physics, music, computing, drama, philosophy, and english composition, she repaired their VCS3 synthesizer, and so obtained coveted access to the electronic music lab.

She then studied electronics at Kent (UK) doing her BSc and Ph.D. there from 1974 to 1980. During her Ph.D. study, she became interested in A/D conversion, and worked on a sigma-delta approach, but had to give it up to concentrate on her Thesis topic of designing a general-purpose Digital Signal Processor. After her Ph.D., she joined Standard Telecommunications Laboratories, which invented optical fibres and PCM. There she worked on integrated optics, speech coding, speech synthesis, and recognition in the early 80s, and invented a novel 32kBits speech coding method. She has been active in audio and acoustic research since then.

She was appointed as the BT Lecturer at the University of York in 1983, to develop the first integrated masters (Meng) in Electronic and Communication Engineering in conjunction with British Telecom. She then co-created the UK’s first Music Technology course in 1986 when it was considered a “silly idea”! She is the inventor of; modulated, wideband and absorbing diffusers, direct processing of Super Audio CD signals, and one of the first 4-channel digital tape recorders. She has done work on signal processing, analogue circuits, and numerous other audio technology topics. She teaches audio and video signal processing, Psychoacoustics, Sound reproduction, studio design, audio, and video coding, and loudspeaker and microphone design. She has co-written two textbooks and has authored, or co-authored over 200 journal and conference papers and 4 patents. She is currently investigating environmentally friendly audio technology. She has been awarded; the AES Silver medal, an AES fellowship, and the IOA Peter Barnet Memorial prize, for her contributions to audio, acoustics, and education.
For relaxation she likes playing drums and dancing, but not usually at the same time.

Sennheiser Seeks SoundGirls to Intern for AES

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Sennheiser is looking for two SoundGirls.Org members to work AES. Sept 28 – Oct. 2 – Los Angeles. You must work all four days.

Sennheiser would like two interns for AES. Interns will work with Sennheiser on Sept. 28 to set up their booth and speaker demo room. On Sept. 29 – October 2 they will work as a team member, assisting and keeping customers, answering questions, and running errands as needed.

You will receive an exhibitor badge, attend meals with Sennheiser and participate as team member during the evenings. This is not paid and housing is not covered. You will receive a new e835 microphone and HD280 headphones.  A letter of recommendation will be offered upon successful completion.

If you are interested please send a cover letter stating why you would like to be considered and resume to soundgirls@soundgirls.org.

 

 

Grace Royse – Rock & Roll Not a Pipe Dream

 

Rock and Roll was no ‘pipe dream’ for Grace Royse. Despite all of the discouragement from those around her and closest to her, Grace fought her way through to a touring career as a live mixer, never giving the negativity an ounce of energy.

“I was always obsessed with music for as long as I can recall. I still own the mixtapes I dubbed in my garage as a kid. In high school, I discovered Punk Rock and made some brilliantly terrible recordings.”  Once she was old enough to drive, Grace started following bands around and working her way into recording sessions where she met a few engineers and learned whatever she could.  “I ended up in the beginning stages of CRAS (Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences) in Phoenix. Back then the school was taught mostly by working engineers and the classes rotated through local studios, some of us even landed internships while in class.”

While attending CRAS, Grace met David Nichols, who was the owner of Livinghead Audio Recording and a talented engineer himself.  “Livinghead had amazing vintage gear and the best of the new digital platforms. I worked with Jazz, Classical, Rock, Rap, Country, and Indie. We attended several AES’s as a studio, and after graduation, I worked with David for three years before opening my own studio in Tempe.”

Grace and her business partner built their studio by at first, providing PA and live multi-track recordings. Maintaining her own clients and running shows, even on a small scale, is where she really learned the most.   “A few years after the studio opened, a Production Manager friend called and said his engineer had quit and he needed help. That very day I ran my first real touring show as a favor to my friend. I worked at that venue for the next 6 years, meeting hundreds of Engineers and Tour Managers was eventually scooped up by a Fat Wreck Chords tour, and have been touring ever since.”

When she was first getting started in the business, Grace faced a lot of opposition from family and friends who believed touring to be an unsafe environment and bought into false rumors that she had fallen prey to drug use and promiscuous sex.  Learning to stand up for what she wanted was her biggest obstacle, but one she has overcome.  “I never gave in to what others thought was best for me, pushing forward with my own voice in my heart.  It’s a technical job.  It’s no different from any other career with a long learning curve and long hours. You must prove yourself, starve for a while, stick to your guns, and love what you are doing, even when it gets really, really hard, even if you stand alone in your vision. ”  “As a doctor, it takes 12-14 years to actually get anyone to call you “Doctor” with an ounce of respect, and though being a Doctor is looked on with reverence in our culture, with the long hours, and travel schedules, not many people can maintain relationships with them. The struggle feels similar to me, though we aren’t curing cancer out here, some days it feels just as hard.”

Touring life can be brutal on relationships, which Grace experienced recently with both a supportive significant other, who was unhappy and wanted her home all the time, and a very old and close friend who, overcome with jealousy, told her touring would make her ugly.  To make things easier, Grace started actively seeking out like-minded people.  “I continue to build an expansive network of colleagues who support me and have big goals of their own. It’s kind of like growing up in a small town where everyone becomes a farmer, and you are the outcast who wants to be an artist, then one day you move to San Francisco and find amazing, happy people to create with. Touring was my grand move. Over the last nine years, I have met the most amazing teammates. We push each other to succeed, believe in what we are doing, and offer this rare comfort: You aren’t crazy to have such wild dreams and I believe you can do it! “

Over the last nine years Grace has had an exciting career in a variety of roles:  FOH engineer, Monitor Engineer, Stage manager, Production Manager, Recording Engineer, Pro Tools Op, and Broadcast mixing, with a variety of bands:  No use for a Name, Useless ID, Pour Habit, Dirty Heads, Cypress Hill, Pennywise and the Descendants.  She is currently the Monitor Engineer and Stage Manager for Sublime with Rome, and FoH/Production Manager for Rome.  That’s a lot of hats to be wearing.   When asked how she handles all of the responsibilities Grace replied, “I love working within a company that has me doing lots of different things. There is no chance of getting bored around here, that’s for sure. There’s huge comfort in that. I’m kind of an organizational freak and to be able to steer my own ship is awesome. To be able to work with people who trust me is awesome.  I hope in the future, they continue to give me even more responsibility, because not only do they know I can handle it, it’s a benefit to the whole project and everyone involved to have me at the helm, and that’s one of the biggest compliments in the world. I don’t mind that my hat changes and I don’t mind that they lean on me for just about anything.”

“I remember the first time one of my Artists introduced me to someone as simply “my Engineer.” I really took that as a huge compliment. I’m going on four years with these guys, and we have done just about everything you can imagine. Fly dates where I’m mixing them in this little room, with scarcely a PA and I’m the only one there, to these huge arena tours, where I’ve got several semis trucks, tons of local hands, and my own PA to fly.  I think in that time, my whole network has learned that they can come to me with just about anything and I’ll make it happen.”

Her favorite day off activity is hiking to a swimming hole, as long as the destination permits, and being a huge foodie, she likes to seek out the best cuisine around.

As for advice to other women who wish to enter the field: “Hold your own. Set boundaries and stick to them. If you are not true to yourself, your goals, and your own professionalism, you won’t make it, not in Rock n Roll, not anywhere.”  “You’re a technician but also an artistic performer. Passion drives art. If the passion is in your heart for that chilling silence right before the first note hits, and the thunderous applause after the last, proceed.”  Grace’s future plans include the goal of FOH/TM.  “As long as I stay with people and projects I care about, I know it’s within reach.”  “All the amazing people I have met and grown with over the years are invaluable to me. I am beyond grateful for their years of guidance and support. Lapping the globe with your best friends is beyond amazing.”

Grace’s favorite gear includes Digidesign, Neuman, Shure anything, and D&B. I have a huge lady crush on AKG 4050’s, Neumann KM184’s, anything Manley Labs, API or Great River.

“I am totally a closet gear junkie.” She’s quick to add, “I have worked with the worst gear you can imagine over the years, having to duct tape together a PA for a show, and repair things on the fly has made me a better engineer. I feel really bummed when I think about the privileged kid that gets to buy all the really nice gear right out of school or goes right into a super clean gig. They are totally getting jipped out of the struggle that will make them amazing. I laugh now, thinking about this disgusting club me and my friends worked in many years ago. I had to repair an NL4 that got stepped on in the middle of the show because we didn’t have spares. There I was on stage, right there under the lead singer, who was spraying fake blood all over the crowd and me. That club taught me to repair, maintenance, and really down to the point physics of sound and electrical science of what we do. You will never learn that if you walk in, flip a switch and it always works. Get your hands dirty and make it work when it won’t.”

Grace’s Recommended “Must Have” Skills

People Skills!

It is unreal, the broad spectrum of people you will work with. Be ready to have thick skin for that loud tough boss. Be open to the quiet, humble tech who doesn’t speak much, he likely knows more than anyone. Get along with everyone. You never know where you will see them again on your journey

Technical Aptitude.

You’re a super dork now. Read the books, hit the conferences, get in the blogs, and nerd down with your gear head friends. Stay on the edge of the coolest and greatest. Someday, when you are a really big deal, they’ll give it to you for free! For now, do what you can to put your hands on the gear and read anything you can find.

Organize, Prioritize and Be Prepared.

Learn to be the neat freak. The cleaner you are, the smoother the show will go. I make lists. I lay out my gigs in my head on the airplane. And I anticipate a million scenarios.

Stay Calm.

As the saying goes, “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” If you live by #3, you are already, ready. I tell my interns, the people I respect most are calm amidst the storm. A pillar, the one you go to when the sh*t really hits the fan, and there they are, calm and with the answer in hand.

Have a good sense of humor.

Number five should very likely be number one.  If not for my ability to laugh, I’d never have made it this far. Humor, when you make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up about it. That’s how anyone gets great at anything, by getting it wrong first. Laughter, when you are too tired and too busy to think. Humor is vital to the ability to brush off stress. Laughing with my friends is the #1, hands down, the greatest part about this career.  Laugh lots.  Laugh that you are blessed to wake every day to a career you love, that you followed through with what you started, and now your dreams are chasing you around the world.

More on Grace

Grace on The SoundGirls Podcast

Grace Royse on Roadie Free Radio

Grace Royse on Signal to Noise

Grace Royse, Virtual Congregations

The Right Balance: The Diverse Career And Life Of Grace Royse

Grace Royse on Mixing Sublime with Rome with VENUE | S6L

Grace Royse Website

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