Leslie Gaston-Bird: Introduction to Immersive Audio

The fifth of YSWN’s online seminar series Level Up in Audio featuring artists and audio professionals sharing their practice and insight.

Immersive sound isn't as new as you might think; some of the first immersive soundtracks appeared as early as 1938. Join Leslie Gaston-Bird for a look at how immersive sound has been used in music, radio, film, television and standalone art installations. She'll discuss some of the obstacles to its widespread acceptance, and ways you can experiment with immersive sound today thanks to inexpensive computer technology.

The seminar is the fifth of 12 online events featuring musical artists and audio professionals running throughout 2021 as part of Level Up In Audio. This YSWN project aims to inspire, grow and sustain the skills and creative opportunities of women and people of minority genders who have an interest in music and technology and whose work and professional development have been curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The seminar will take place via Zoom; attendees will receive a private link through the email used for booking in advance of the event. Tickets are free and space is limited.

Eventbrite booking link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leslie-gaston-bird-introduction-to-immersive-audio-tickets-150082341323
Leslie will speak for around 60 minutes, followed by 30 minutes open for audience questions and discussion.
As part of YSWN’s Level Up in Audio project this seminar series is intended for an audience of women and people of minority genders – we ask that you respect this when booking tickets and do not deny someone else a place if you are not among this group. We plan to record the seminar for sharing online with a wider audience at a later date.

YSWN's Level Up in Audio project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

About Leslie Gaston-Bird
Leslie Gaston-Bird is a freelance re-recording (dubbing) mixer and sound editor, and owner of Mix Messiah Productions which specialises in 5.1 surround mixing. Her recent credits include the horror thriller Rent-a-Pal, the sci-fi drama A Feral World and the documentary Leap of Faith.

Currently based in Brighton, between 2005 and 2018 she was Associate Professor of Recording Arts at the University of Colorado in Denver, where she also served as Chair of the Department of Music and Entertainment Industry Studies. Previously her roles included working as a broadcast engineer for public radio stations.

She is a voting member of the Recording Academy (organisers of the Grammy Awards) and its P&E (Producers and Engineers) Wing, a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and the Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) and a former Governor-at-Large for the Audio Engineering Society.

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. She is also the author of Women in Audio, part of the AES Presents series and published by Focal Press (Routledge).

For more information visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leslie-gaston-bird-introduction-to-immersive-audio-tickets-150082341323