AES 2018 Preview: Top Sessions, Nightlife and More In NYC
It’s the most serious audio event of the year: AES 2018. With the convention set to get underway at the Javits Center in New York City, October 17-20 (exhibits 10/17-19), SonicScoop presents select picks to check out. (A free Exhibits-Plus pass is available through end of day Monday, October 15th — visit here for details.)
At the Javits
Let’s start with the start of the convention. Thomas Dolby promises an electrifying keynote to kick things off with his Keynote Address on Wednesday, 10/17 at 12:15 PM.
Thomas Dolby is just the start for AES 2018.
From there, the AES Technical Program unfolds, with a dizzying array of papers, engineering briefs, panels and more covering a huge range of topics. Diversity and a focus on advanced tech is the common thread for many of the schedule items, covering broadcast and streaming, networked audio, audio for virtual and augmented reality, live sound, studio recording, home recording, music production, game audio, sound for picture, and product development.
Sessions have been revamped to emphasize practical learning, running alongside an increased emphasis on networking. The AES is also looking to loosen its tie a little, hopefully imbuing the 2018 show with a sense of fun not always associated with this academic organization.
The entire agenda can be viewed here. There are many more compelling selections, so be sure to review the calendar thoroughly:
Special Events: SE01 – AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee Town Hall (Wednesday 10/17, 9:30 AM)
Audio Builders: AB06 – Design and Build Your Own Gear (Saturday 10/20 1:45 PM)
Student/Career: SC01 – If I Can do it, You Can do it: Tony Bongiovi’s Career at Motown, the Power Station, and Beyond (Wednesday 10/17 at 9:30 AM)
Recording & Production: RP03 – Metadata – Getting Found, Getting Paid (Wednesday 10/17 at 3:45 PM)
Immersive & Spatial Audio: IS08 – Ozark Henry’s “Maps To The Stars” Project on the Holodeck: A Distributed Performance (Thursday 10/18 at 6:00 PM)
Immersive & Spatial Audio: IS15 – 3D Audio Acoustic Recording Capture, Dissemination, and Perception (Saturday 10/20 at 1:15 PM)
Audio for Cinema: AC03 – Modern Scoring Workflows: Mixing Multi-Stem Score in the Box—A Master Class featuring Alan Meyerson (Thursday 10/18, 3:00 PM EST)
Recording & Production: RP16 – Small Room Studios Are They Here to Stay? Moderated by John Storyk of WSDG, (Friday 10/19, 12:30 PM)
Archiving & Restoration: AR07 – Preserving the Archives of Major Recording Artists (Friday 10/19, 4:00 PM)
Product Development: PD13 – Practical Deep Learning Introduction for Audio Processing Engineers (Friday 10/19, 3:00 PM EST)
Student/Career: SC12 – AES MatLab Plugin Student Competition (Friday 10/19, 1:45 PM)
Greg Wells delivers some serious sound bites for the Saturday lunchtime keynote.
Special Events: SE16 – Lunchtime Keynote: Greg Wells (Saturday 10/20, 12:30 PM EST)
Recording & Production: RP15 – Know It Before You Track It—Guitar Literacy for Recording Engineers (Friday 10/19, 10:45 AM)
Immersive & Spatial Audio: IS10 – Facebook 360 Training (Friday 10/19, 3:00 PM EST)
Broadcast & Online Delivery: B13 – 80th Anniversary of The Mercury Theater’s “War of the Worlds” (Friday 10/19, 7:00 PM)
Game Audio & XR: GA05 – Games v. Cinema: Grudge Match (Thursday 10/18, 11:30 AM)
Project Studio Expo Recording Stage: E08 – Gear Club Podcast with Tony Visconti (Thursday 10/18, 12 Noon)
Sound Reinforcement: SR02 – Audio Production for Corporate Events (Wednesday 10/17, 11:15 AM)
Live Production Stage Sessions: LS04 – Production for Broadcasting the Grammys – The Talent behind the Scenes (Wednesday 10/17, 3:00 PM)
Elsewhere in NYC – Day & Night
Come to Kali on Friday night.
Away from the Javits, the action will be thick and fast. Private parties will abound from midtown Manhattan clear into Brooklyn. Ask around for invites to many of these soirees. In the meantime, here’s a few extracurriculars we can tell you about:
The Trinnov Audio Listening Party is a daytime affair going down at Flux Studios, Thursday 10/18 from 12 – 4 PM.
On Thursday night, the 10th Annual Afterglow party will be a gorgeous celebration of sound and the people who love it. Don’t miss a live recording of mesmerizing songstress Emily Wells at the legendary Sear Sound Studios, not far from the Javits.
Get blown away on Thursday!
In midtown, 723 Avenue will shake with floor after floor of live music, refreshments and good old fashioned LOUDNESS. Pro Audio Design, AMSNeve, Augspurger Monitors. PAD-Education, Sontronics, Malekpour Design, and SonicScoop are all behind a Thursday night gathering at Penthouse Studios, Quad Studios, and Grey Noise Studios. Doors open for educators 6:30-8 PM, with everyone else welcome from 8 PM on. Getting in requires not just RSVPing, but also picking up your event pass at the Pro Audio Design booth 748 at the show.
Also on Thursday evening will be the Swedish Mic Night at Power Station Studios, starting at 5 PM. Swedish microphone brands Milab and Pearl will be at the vaunted Power Station Studio C, 441 West 53rd Street. The prolific audio engineer Ryan Kelly (Beyoncé, Son Lux, Philip Glass) will lead listening/demo sessions of classic Swedish microphones in a variety of configurations while enjoying live music, beer and snacks. A wide range of Milab and Pearl models will be available, including the Milab VIP-50 and Pearl ELM-C. RSVP via Facebook or email to mattias.stromberg@milabmic.com to reserve a spot.
Want to keep the party going after AES exhibits shut down? Monitoring upstarts will be demonstrating their new line at Audiomack Studios downtown on Friday, October 19th starting at 7:00 PM. Be sure to RSVP, since space is limited.
To all, have a great AES! We’ll see you THERE.
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