GUIDE TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AN AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 1 GUIDE TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AN AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Version 12 Introductory note. This guide has been prepared under the auspices of the Conference Policy Committee of the Audio Engineering Society. Ole Juhl Pedersen wrote the first drafts and the Committee would like to extend its sincere appreciation of all the hard work and high number of hours put into this Guide. Nick Zacharov has written the budget template and the committee would also like to thank him for all the hard work. It is the hope of the Committee that the Guide will be beneficial to the organizing committees of future AES Conferences. Soren Bech Chair, Conference Policy Committee

2 CONTENTS 2 Page 1 Introduction Why AES International Conferences? Background The impact of an AES International Conference Prerequisites Basic structure of an AES International Conference AES International Conference Proposal and Approval Process Part 1: Activities Before the Conference Selection of Conference topic The Organizing Committee Timing of the Conference The Official Proposal Announcements The Final Program Conference Proceedings Publications Conference venue AES Convention activities Part 2: Activities During the Conference Registration of participants Paper Sessions Questionnaire Part 3: Activities After the Closing of the Conference Clearing of the venue Reporting to the AES Headquarters Presentation of the account of the Conference AES convention activities and selection of representative paper Annex A: Example of an Official Proposal to the AES Annex B: Template for a Conference Budget B.1 Notes on the use of the Excel budget template Annex C: Checklist for Conference Facilities C.1 Accommodations C.2 Meeting facilities C.3 Facilities for registration etc Appendix 1: Examples of Papers Chair s Correspondence Appendix 2: AES International Conference Proposal and Approval Process... 34

3 3 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Why AES International Conferences? A standard answer does not exist but some relevant reasons (not listed in order of importance) for organizing a Conference are: To contribute to the advance of international science and technology To create a forum for the exchange of knowledge and opinions among professionals in a specific field of audio engineering To disseminate results of recent research and development in the field to professionals and students and other potential users of such results To establish a background for future professional activities in the field To promote and support public interest in and knowledge of audio engineering, its problems, methods and results To increase and support general interest in the Audio Engineering Society 1.2 Background. This Guide is an attempt to assist potential organizers of conferences held under the auspices of Audio Engineering Society (AES) by disseminating some of the experience collected by organizers of previous conferences. Studying the Guide does not necessarily provide the reader with a complete command of the art of successfully arranging AES Conferences but it may give some useful hints for that purpose. Arranging an AES Conference is an exercise with many facets, most of them interesting for the organizers, and some rather tedious but equally important for the final result. It requires dedicated efforts with real, unpaid work over long periods of time by a group of persons. Arranging an AES Conference does imply responsibility to conference authors and participants as well as to the Audio Engineering Society and the professional society at large. 1.3 The impact of an AES International Conference. A Conference will be an important event by itself. However, in planning and execution, thought should also be given to the possibilities of influencing further developments in the field of audio engineering after the close of the Conference. The Conference Proceedings will be instrumental in achieving this, but other activities may also be considered, e.g., the formation of formal or informal groups of participants with common interests in general or specific aspects of the Conference topic and related problems. Such collected expertise among other activities may be useful for the preparation of future conferences, publications, and national and international standards and recommendations. 1.4 Prerequisites. A potential Conference organizer must carefully consider the availability of at least two essential prerequisites: A topic suitable for an Audio Engineering Society International Conference A group of persons able and willing to join and continuously contribute to the activities of an official Organizing Committee. Note that the commitment could be for up to two years (see Appendix 2)

4 4 1.5 Basic structure of an AES International Conference. At a very early stage of the planning, the Organizing Committee must decide on the structure of the Conference. This will involve: Decision on the character and structure of verbal presentations such as: 1. Presentations to be given by invited authors only 2. A number of keynote and/or tutorial presentations plus presentations contributed by participants 3. Hands-on presentations with or without other types of presentations. Some advantages and problems related to the above options are discussed in Section 2.6 of this Guide 4. Parallel paper sessions or not? The general experience is that parallel paper sessions should be avoided, but special conditions might require it Selection of dates and duration of the Conference Estimate of the number of participants, usually 100 to 200 persons Selection of a venue suitable for the Conference 1.6 AES International Conference Proposal and Approval process. Experience has shown that a successful Conference requires long-term planning. Therefore, the AES Board of Governors (BoG) has decided on a procedure for the approval process as described in Appendix 2.

5 2 PART 1: ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE CONFERENCE Selection of Conference topic. The topic of an Audio Engineering Society Conference should fulfill as many as possible of the following criteria: The topic must be of interest to a reasonable number of Audio Engineering Society members and to other professionals It must be representative of recent advances of science and technology in audio engineering and related fields. Because of the inherent delay (typical 1 to 2 years) between the selection of a topic and the opening of that Conference, care must be exercised in evaluating possible developments in the field A reasonable number of professionals, local and worldwide, must be active in the field and qualified as potential authors of papers for a Conference The topic must be carefully scanned for possible overlap with similar past and upcoming professional activities such as society meetings, conferences, symposia, and major publications An international calendar of audio/acoustic related events is available from AES HQ. Scientific and technical publications, including journals of scientific societies, such as the Audio Engineering Society, Acoustical Society of America, Acoustical Society of Japan, Sound & Vibration (UK), Acta Acoustica, Noise News, contain important information on upcoming arrangements. 2.2 The Organizing Committee. The task of the Committee is to initiate, carry into effect, and supervise all activities related to the Conference. The Committee as a whole is responsible for these activities. Financial responsibilities must be negotiated with the AES HQ. The Committee should be composed as follows: Committee members should preferably be members of the Audio Engineering Society Members should have relations with national and international scientific, technical, and commercial institutions in the field A suitable number of members is 4 to 8. For practical reasons, membership may vary according to current requirements It is preferable that at least two members of the committee should have a first-hand knowledge of the topic of the Conference and of ongoing activities in the field Adequate experience in budgeting, accounting, and financial control should be represented Experience from participation in Audio Engineering Society Conference(s) and/or in organizing such Conference or similar arrangements is essential Personal relations to national and international publications and media may be useful The Committee members will appoint officers from among themselves: Chair, Treasurer, Papers Chair and Secretary. Appointed outside services may handle duties of the Secretary.

6 2.3 Timing of the Conference. The successful selection of dates for an Audio Engineering Society Conference is one of the most crucial tasks of the organizers. As soon as the topic has been decided on, great care should be exercised in finding a suitable date. Even so, selection of alternative date(s) may be appropriate for preliminary planning. The date of the conference should be announced no later than one year before the opening of the Conference. The date may be announced as a note in scientific journals and national and international meeting calendars. A detailed announcement must be issued no later than nine months in advance, cf. clause 5. Early announcement is important for potential participants budgeting (in particular in academic circles), public relations etc. The duration of a Conference should not exceed 3 to 4 days. Traditionally, most Audio Engineering Society Conferences start early afternoon on Friday and end the following Monday at noon. To minimize the risk of conflicts with other arrangements and to guaranty the availability of relevant facilities and persons, the following precautions must be taken: Very careful and comprehensive scanning of all available information on upcoming international meetings, conference etc. In doing so, it is advisable also to note meetings on related topics since a number of potential participants in an AES Conference may also be interested in events on noise problems, psychoacoustics, musical acoustics etc. Collecting information on public holidays in the local area and in countries from which many potential participants may be expected. An example of such a holiday is Thanksgiving Day (USA) Scanning of the potential availability of suitable local facilities for a Conference, e.g. hotel accommodations, lecture halls, travel connections Collection of formal or informal information on availability of potential invited authors 2.4 The Official Proposal. After unofficial collection of information suitable as the basis for a potential AES Conference as outlined above, a formal Official Proposal must be submitted in writing to the AES Conference Policy Committee. The Chair of the Committee can be found in Journal of The Audio Engineering Society (JAES). The Chair will review the Proposal. Members of the Conference Policy Committee will be available for advice before and during writing of a Proposal. An example of a suitable Official Proposal (based on a proposal from the Finnish AES Section) is included as Annex A. The Proposal must be as detailed as possible and contain at least: Title, date, and location of the proposed Conference Composition of the core Organizing Committee (Chair, Papers Chair, Treasurer) Preliminary program for the Conference List of potential invited authors Description of conference facilities (provisional) Budget for the Conference. A template for a Conference budget is included as Annex B. Note that the Board of Governors (BoG) has directed that all conferences be budgeted to yield a moderate contribution to the finances of the Society, or at least to break even. 6

7 When the Conference Policy Committee has accepted the Proposal it will be presented to the AES BoG assisted by the Vice President of the Region. A member of the Organizing Committee may be asked to present the Proposal and details of the proposed Conference to the BoG at one of its meetings at least one year in advance of the planned Conference. For details of the proposal and approval process see appendix 2. Before the BoG has officially accepted a Proposal, the Organizing Committee or any other body or persons must take no binding steps. When the Proposal has been accepted, the Organizing Committee must start detailed planning in cooperation with representatives of the AES HQ. 2.5 Announcements. To make potential participants and societies aware of the Conference it is of extreme importance to announce it as early as possible and to as many bodies, journals and individuals as possible. Announcements must contain all details available at the time of issue. The Organizing Committee must issue a First Announcement no later than nine months before the Conference. It must be submitted to the AES HQ and to journals and societies in the field and in related fields of the Conference topic as well as to relevant news groups. A press release and a brochure must be prepared and distributed to all interested persons and parties. It must also be available on a Web Site on the Internet. It is very important that all published information be updated as appropriate; e.g., for the Web Site and news groups it should be at least once per month. A typical First Announcement must contain: Title, place, and dates for the Conference A brief statement on the background and scope of the Conference Preliminary Program Officers and members of the Organizing Committee Secretariat address, including telephone and fax numbers, and address Instruction for submission of contributed papers, if applicable Conference fee and information on methods of payment Information on accommodations, social arrangements, transportation, local currency and weather, etc. A logo suitable for reproduction in various sizes and graphics formats A Registration and Information Form to be returned (preferably by fax) to the Secretariat, with deadline for registration and payment of conference fee A statement on the condition that payment of the conference fee must be received before a registration can be accepted as final A Second Announcement may be issued before the Conference to increase interest in the Conference and for distribution of supplementary information. It must also be available on the Internet. 2.6 The Final Program. Drafting the Final Program is probably one of the most important and demanding tasks of the Organizing Committee. Its content will of course depend entirely on the selected basic structure of the Conference, as outlined in Section 1.5. The following review of possibilities might be of interest to the Organizing Committee in its deliberations: 7

8 8 A Conference comprised of only Invited Papers will give great freedom, with a corresponding responsibility, to the organizers to influence the content of the Conference. It requires availability of authors of a very high standard with detailed experience in their field and capability of presenting scientific material at a level of interest for the participants of the Conference Keynote presentations by invited authors may be useful for highlighting important core parts of the field. Tutorial Papers may also be of interest, in particular for basic parts of the topic not familiar to the majority of participants Inclusion of Contributed papers requires that the Organizing Committee establish a review and selection process. It also requires a more aggressive planning schedule for collecting proposals and structuring sessions. However, authors of such papers may be able to present facets of the general topic that could otherwise be overlooked. Procedures for the acceptance of proposed contributed papers must be established in advance Hands-on presentations or demonstrations may be of special advantage for topics attracting a smaller number of participants who can be given direct access to specialized equipment and discussions with specialists in their respective fields. They may well be combined with other types of presentations An exhibition of objects closely related to the topic of the Conference may be arranged without prominent sales activities. It is suggested that the Organizing committee consider the exhibition as an extra source of revenue. It is mandatory that the organizing committee consult with HQ for guidance on practical and legal issues regarding an exhibition and no contracts must be signed before HQ has approved the conditions. Poster Sessions may be useful for presentation of plans and results of recent scientific activities. Poster Sessions may give good opportunities for the introduction of young scientists and their present and planned activities Panel Discussions may be suitable for summing up the results of a Papers Session or of the Conference as a whole. Panel members and chairmen must be carefully selected and informed General. All contributors must be very carefully selected. The requirement of good authors and participants in Panel Discussions includes not only excellent professional qualifications but also requires the ability to present complicated matters to an audience, as well as linguistic capabilities and the facility to communicate formally and informally with Conference authors and participants. Authors of Papers must also be able to present their contributions in writing Selection of invited authors must be based on knowledge (professional and personal) of outstanding professionals in the field. Official invitations (with a brief description of the scope and structure of the Conference and of the requirements for a paper) should be submitted as early as possible during the planning together with a reasonable deadline for response. An outline of a suitable paper within the field of interest might be prepared by the Papers Chair and included for information. Invitations must be personal with no possibility of transfer to other persons. Only invited authors will be considered for subsidized participation in the Conference and may obtain subsidiaries for accommodation. No authors will receive allowances for travel expenses. For each presentation, at least one author must register as a Conference participant.

9 Nonparticipation of one author should lead to the removal of the paper from the conference and proceedings. To ensure that all papers are presented by the authors, it is proposed that the deadline for author registration occur prior to the paper deadline. A Call for Contributed Papers, if any, must be published in JAES and possibly other scientific journals. It must also be included in the First Announcement and made available on the Internet. Requirements for the form and content of abstracts as well as a deadline for submission must be included. A template for abstracts and papers will be available from the Organizing Committee and AES HQ. Abstracts received will be reviewed by the Papers Chair and, if possible, accepted. The Final Program should preferably be distributed to all registered persons and authors as early as possible and as a minimum before the opening of the Conference. It should also be available on the Internet. It must contain: A list of papers and their authors (names and affiliations) and scheduled times and places for presentation Grouping of papers in sessions. Parallel sessions should be avoided if possible Names and affiliations of chairs Information on poster sessions, panel discussions, exhibition, etc., if any Information on social arrangements (e.g. accommodations, meals, banquet, sightseeing) Any other updated information available 2.7 Conference Proceedings. For all Papers accepted for presentation at the Conference, camera-ready manuscripts for inclusion in the Conference Proceedings must be submitted to the AES HQ by the authors. Deadlines will be set and templates made available by the Papers Chair in cooperation with AES HQ. Proceedings must be available to participants (in print and/or as CD-ROM) on the opening day of the Conference. A number of copies must be made available for purchase from the AES after the Conference. 2.8 Publications, such as First Announcement, Second Announcement (if any), Final Program, and Conference Proceedings will be prepared and printed in cooperation with AES HQ. The highest possible linguistic and typographical quality should be aimed at. 2.9 Conference venue. Traditionally, most AES Conferences are located in qualified hotels with capacity for accommodation of participants and facilities for such meetings. It is believed that this arrangement adds to the socialization of participants. Other arrangements may, however, be possible in agreement with the AES HQ. No binding arrangements, such as final negotiations of conditions and signing of contracts with representatives of the Conference venue, can be made without the official acceptance of the AES HQ. Minimal requirements for a suitable conference venue are: The venue must be conveniently located with respect to national and international travel connections Accommodations must be of sufficient capacity (single rooms with bath/shower) and quality, as inspected and accepted by members of the Organizing Committee Meeting facilities must include: 1. An auditorium with sufficient seating capacity and with suitable audio-visual equipment 2. Smaller rooms for Secretariat, informal meetings, working groups, etc. 9

10 3. Photocopiers, fax machines, PCs, etc. 4. Restaurant including facilities for breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks and banquet 5. Qualified personnel for operation and maintenance of conference facilities and other technical equipment A detailed checklist is included as Annex C AES Convention activities. To increase the awareness of the proposed conference topic and to test the importance of specific areas it is highly recommended to organize workshops and/or paper sessions at Conventions preceding the Conference. The activities should be organized in close collaboration with the relevant Technical Committee(s). 10

11 3 PART 2: ACTIVITIES DURING THE CONFERENCE Registration of participants. For the registration of participants, the Conference venue should be open two hours before the official opening ceremony or the evening before the conference. The registration activities will include: Handing participants Conference material (badge, Final Program, Conference Proceedings, tourist information, etc.) Providing participants with information on accommodations Receiving payment of Conference fees, if not prepaid. Details of the procedure (credit card payment or cash, etc.) must be considered well before opening of on-site registration For participants without preliminary registration, a special procedure must be established. A procedure for accompanying non-participants may be useful. To avoid delay, the registration procedure must be carefully prepared (selection and instruction of staff, availability of PCs with printers, telephones, fax, photocopier, etc.). A test run of the Registration procedure is recommended because a slip up in the procedure may be remembered by many participants for a long time. 3.2 Paper Sessions. The Paper Sessions of the Conference will constitute the core of the activities. They must be very carefully prepared and supervised by the Organizing Committee Timing. The timetable of the Final Program must be strictly observed. Authors should be present in due time before their scheduled presentation. If an author does not show up, the presentation will be cancelled and the time slot utilized for a break or an informal discussion Session Chairs. The Organizing Committee appoints chairs of sessions. It is advisable to appoint chairs with a professional knowledge of and interest in the topic of their respective sessions. Session chairs are responsible for the presentation of their sessions. Among the chair s duties are: To give brief introductions of the authors (no extensive CVs) and read the title of the paper To notify authors of elapsed or remaining time, if required To initiate, guide, and conclude the discussion after the paper To observe the breaks according to the Final Program To announce program changes and other messages, if required Assistant Chairs. To facilitate the tasks of the chairs, it may be useful to appoint an assistant chair for each session. The assistant chairs will assist the chairs and the authors in the practical accomplishment of the presentations. They will watch the clock, check and supervise audio-visual equipment, distribute and control roving microphones, or control stationary microphones, to participants in the audience for use in discussions. They will act as a link to the staff of the venue and to the Organizing Committee if required. Experience shows that students with a professional interest in the topic of the Conference are very well qualified as assistant chairs. They may be compensated by free admissions to the Conference and accommodations.

12 3.2.4 Facilities. Projection facilities and other technical equipment must be of professional standard. They must be maintained and operated by qualified persons, properly instructed by relevant members of the staff of the venue. The quality of the reproduction of amplified sound and projected pictures is of crucial importance to the presentations and, thus, to authors, participants, and organizers. A howling loudspeaker system, a manual or automatic projector with focus problems or other defects may easily ruin an otherwise excellent presentation. 3.3 Questionnaire. For evaluation of the Conference, a questionnaire may be prepared and distributed to all participants (including authors and assistants) and collected just before the end of the Conference. The results may be of interest to AES HQ and organizers of future Conferences. 4 PART 3: ACTIVITIES AFTER THE CLOSING OF THE CONFERENCE 4.1 Clearing of the venue. To be organized as soon as possible after the end of the Conference. 4.2 Reporting to the AES Headquarters. The Chair of the Organizing Committee will prepare and present a report on the Conference to the AES HQ. 4.3 Presentation of the account of the Conference. To be presented to the AES HQ by the Treasurer of the Organizing Committee. 4.4 AES Convention activities and selection of a representative paper. To further promote the topic(s) discussed at the Conference it is important to organize workshops and paper sessions at Conventions following the Conference. It is also important to provide readers of the Journal with an introduction to the topic of the Conference. This could be in the form of a representative paper that is published in the back of the Journal. The selection of this paper is made by the organizing committee with assistance from the relevant technical committee. 12

13 ANNEX A: AN EXAMPLE OF AN OFFICIAL PROPOSAL TO THE AES 13 5:44:00 PM Version /13/2004 8:38:00 PM11/14/2004 AES Finnish section FINAL conference proposal: AES N th International Conference on Virtual, Synthetic and Entertainment Audio Venue: Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland, Date: June 15 th -17 th 2002 (Saturday Monday)

14 Venue location 14

15 15 Conference Profile This 3 day conference aims to bring together researchers and developers in the field of virtual and synthetic audio as well as entertainment audio applications, targeted particularly to PCs and the Internet. Sound synthesis and modeling techniques will be considered from sound sources through the room acoustics to the listener. The issues of coding, delivery and presentation efficiency will be emphasized with respect to immersive and interactive applications such as games, sound effects, virtual reality, virtual program production, and telepresence. Perceptual issues will also be considered for these pleasure and leisure applications. Target audience: Developers, researchers and program creators for PC, gaming and internet platforms & applications. Ideal audience size < 175 Conference format: technical papers + 5 Invites speakers + 15 posters. All papers will be reviewed. Numerous technology demonstrations. HUT campus Conference venue (The Computer Science Building) Proposed committee: Nick Zacharov (Co-chairman) Jyri Huopaniemi (Co-chairman) Matti Karjalainen (Technical program) Vesa Välimäki (Papers) Martti Rahkila (IT) Juha Merimaa (Secretary) Henrik Möller, Tapio Lokki (Facilities and Crew) David Isherwood (Publications and PR) Juha Backman (Sponsorship) Kari Jaksola (Treasurer)

16 Access 16 Airport HELSINKI-VANTAA AIRPORT POB 29, FIN Vantaa, tel or , fax Internet: International terminal open 24 h, domestic terminal open Rated the best airport in Europe and the best in the world (IATA survey) Taxi from Airport Driving time from the airport to Helsinki University of Technology approximately 25 min: (taxi cost $20) Typical flight arrival and departure times Some typical Finnair flight times are provided below. From Departing To Arriving Flight Number New York 1755 Helsinki 0850 AY006 Helsinki 1415 New York 1555 AY005 London Helsinki AY5904 AY840 Helsinki 1930 London 2040 AY835 Paris 1630 Helsinki 1840 AY873 Helsinki 1500 Paris 1900 AY876 Boat There are twice daily boats from Stockholm to Helsinki and also there are scheduled boats sailing directly from Germany. Why FINLAND and WHY Helsinki? Cultural city of Europe in 2000 Easy and direct access from around the world Flight times: from Japan (10.5 hrs) from London (3 hrs) from NYC (9 hrs) Good facilities at HUT for conferences, demos, etc. Easy access to Helsinki airport Committee members have a track record of conference organisation e.g. AES16: IEEE Mohonk 1999: ICAD 2001:

17 17 Paper session CATEGORIES AND topics (PRELIMINARY) - Synthetic audio - New sound synthesis techniques - Physical modelling of musical instruments - Structured audio - Sound source modeling principles - Virtual and interactive audio - Virtual audio concepts - 3-D audio technologies (room, listener modeling) - Audio scene description - Telepresence - Computational auditory scene analysis - Game audio - User interfaces - Virtual and augmented reality - Sound effects - Processing and modeling of the singing voice - Perception - Subjective and objective evaluation - Psychoacoustic aspects of entertainment audio - Multimodal perception - Implementation issues of entertainment audio - DSP technologies - Platforms - Standardisation, audio formats and APIs, networks - MPEG-4, MPEG-7, other high-quality audio standards - Future of Audio API's for entertainment audio - Wireless technologies - Internet audio - Other topics in Entertainment Audio Possible invited speakers Bob Moog Julius Smith (CCRMA, Stanford University, CA, USA) Bill Gardner (Wave Arts, MA, USA) Perry Cook (Princeton University) Brian Schmidt (Microsoft) Mark Miller (IASIG chairman) Person from Line6 or Nordlead or Creative Labs?

18 18 Proposed schedule Friday Saturday Sunday Monday 0900 Opening of conference Papers Papers 1000 Papers Papers Papers 1100 Papers Papers Papers 1200 Lunch Lunch Lunch 1300 Papers Poster & Demo session Papers 1400 Papers Poster & Demo session Papers 1430 Coffee Coffee Coffee 1500 Papers Papers Papers 1600 Papers Papers Close of Conference 1700 Social Event Social Event Dinner Dinner Banquete Social program Banquet Boat cruise around the Helsinki archipelago Traditional sauna evening Tour of Helsinki cultural cites (architecture and museums) AccomModation Hotel 1: Radisson SAS Hotel, Espoo A pleasant hotel with 208 newly refurbished guest rooms -1 Restaurant and 2 well equipped conference rooms. The hotel also offers a sauna department with a magnificent sea view on the top floor. Otaranta Espoo Finland Phone : Hotel 2: Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä Simonkatu 9 FI Helsinki Tel: +358 (0)

19 Fax: +358 (0) Hotel 3: Hotel Helka Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 23A Helsinki Tel: 358 9/ FAX: 358 9/ Located in the heart of Helsinki, the Helka Hotel is conveniently close to the main railway station the airport bus terminal and the long distance coach terminal, but equally important it is very near the shopping district and other attractions for the visitor! Hotel 4: Radisson SAS Royal Hotel Helsinki RUNEBERGINKATU 2 HELSINKI, FI Tel: Code=HELZH&packageLevel=3&returnFlag=hotelDirectory&origin=originBrowse& locuni=85699 Welcome to the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel Helsinki, a first-class international hotel educated to servicing the needs of the business traveler. Ideally located in the heart of Helsinki, in the main shopping and business districts and within a few minutes' walk from bus, underground and railway stations. The Radisson SAS Royal Hotel Helsinki provides unrivaled levels of service and comfort enabling the business traveler to concentrate on business while away from home.

20 20 Venue facilities It is proposed that the conference be held at Helsinki University of Technology in the new build computer science building. This venue has three lecture halls with the following capacities: Sizes of the halls: T1 ~300, T2 ~100 and T3 ~80. Facilities include netcasting facilities, data and video projection, and multichannel sound reproduction. Special facilities (HUTCAVE, high-quality listening room, anechoic chambers) can be used for special demonstrations. Weather in Finland Weather in Finland in late June is typically sunny and day temperature is degrees of Celsius (68-75 Fahrenheit). The sun rises before 5 am and sun sets around 10 pm. For real-time weather updates please check: Proposed deadlines Call for papers: June 2001 Full paper submission: 15 th December 2001 Notification of acceptance: 15 th February 2002 Final revised paper submission + registration: 15 th March 2002 Budget plan Two budget scenarios have been considered, based upon the principle of the AES16 conference. These are for a breakpoint with and without social program. The break-even point conclusions are summarised in the following table

21 21 BUDGET SUMMARY SHEET With Social Program Without Social Program Total of full program participants Total attendees (all in) Total number of paying attendees (inc. authors) Delegates (member), US$ Delegates (non-member), US$ Author fee, US$ Does the conference fee include accommodation? NO NO Please note that due to the need for several hotels, the cost is NOT INCLUDED IN THE CONFERENCE FEE. Appendix 1. Budget (without social program) AES 22nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON Virtual, Synthetic and Entertainment Audio Chairman: Nick Zacharov & Jyri Huopaniemi Budget creator: Nick Zacharov PLEASE ONLY EDIT BLUE FIELDS IN ALL WORKSHEETS!!! BASIC CONFIGURATION Currency Conversion Rate (LOCAL/US$) Local currency unit FIM Local VAT percentage 22.5 Conference title Virtual, Synthetic and Entertainment Audio Conference number 22 nd Chairman's name(s) Nick Zacharov & Jyri Huopaniemi Budget creator Nick Zacharov Budget version 3.0 Budget status Proposal Editing date 28-May-01 Template version 1.6 Template edited 16-May-01 Template author Nick Zacharov 2001 Audio Engineering Society, Inc.

22 22 AES 22nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON Virtual, Synthetic and Entertainment Audio Chairman: Nick Zacharov & Jyri Huopaniemi Budget creator: Nick Zacharov BUDGET 28-May-01 v3.0 Proposal 2001 Audio Engineering Society, Inc. No. or No. of Unit Unit Sub Sub COSTS Description No. per day days/units cost cost Total Total Item (FIM) (US$) (FIM) (US$) 1 Venue hire Main auditorium Room hire Additional meeting room Demo room hire Rooms for demos Poster space Cost of rental of poster space and poster boards CD-ROM's CD-ROM's for Participants Proceedings (print) Proceedings for Participants Administrators hotel cost Hotel costs 7 inc. breakfast 8 Office equipment hire Fax, photocopier, internet connection + PC's Audio visual 9 equipment Data / overhead projectors, A/V systems for auditorium or demo rooms Room treatment or 10 decoration For auditorium and conference spaces 11 Breakfast For all conference days 12 Lunch For all conference days Coffee breaks For all conference days Dinner For all conference days (exc.. Banquet evening) Banquet Food + wine Banquet hall rental 80 Band or 17 entertainment For banquet Local transport Buses, to and from the hotel, morning, lunch and evening Accommodation costs Hotel 1 (inc. breakfast) 20 Accommodation costs Hotel 2 (inc. breakfast) 21 Accommodation costs Hotel 3 (inc. breakfast) 22 Accommodation costs Hotel 4 (inc. breakfast) 23 Accommodation costs Hotel 5 (inc. breakfast) 24 Crew accommodation Including breakfast Organization company 25 fees AES 22nd conference services costs Organization committee 26 cost Visits to Conference venue, etc Event shirts Event shirts (optional) Event bags Event bags (optional) Badges For delegates, committee and crew 30 Phone bills For crew and committee Cars Hire cars Graphic design + 32 posters and flyers Rough estimate inc. printing costs Sundry items Stamps, stationary, etc Special social event Museum excursion, etc. (including transport) Other items Optional 36 Other items Optional 37 Other items Optional 38 Other items Optional 39 Other items Optional Total costs

23 23 KEY GREEN = LOCAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEES RESPONSIBLY YELLOW = AES HQ RESPONSIBILITY BLUE = INPUT FIELDS Fee / Fee / Sub Sub INCOME No. income income Total Total Item (FIM) (US$) (FIM) (US$) Notes 1 Invited speakers 5 2 Committee members 11 3 Student helpers 10 4 AES HQ administrators Delegates (member) Delegates (non-member) Authors Students (members) Students 9 (non-members) Accompanying 10 person Sponsorship (sponsor 1) 1 12 Sponsorship (sponsor 2) 13 Sponsorship (sponsor 3) 14 Sponsorship (sponsor 4) 15 Sponsorship (sponsor 5) Total of full program participants 80 Total attendees (all in) 80 Total number of paying attendees (inc. authors) 52 Total income Balance

24 Appendix 2. Budget (with social program) AES 22nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON Virtual, Synthetic and Entertainment Audio Chairman: Nick Zacharov & Jyri Huopaniemi Budget creator: Nick Zacharov 24 BUDGET 28-May-01 v3.0 Proposal 2001 Audio Engineering Society, Inc. No. or No. of Unit Unit Sub Sub COSTS Description No. per day days/units cost cost Total Total Item (FIM) (US$) (FIM) (US$) 1 Venue hire Main auditorium Room hire Additional meeting room Demo room hire Rooms for demos Poster space Cost of rental of poster space and poster boards CD-ROM's CD-ROM's for Participants Proceedings (print) Proceedings for Participants Administrators hotel cost Hotel costs 7 inc. breakfast 8 Office equipment hire Fax, photocopier, internet connection + PC's Audio visual 9 equipment Data / overhead projectors, A/V systems for auditorium or demo rooms Room treatment or 10 decoration For auditorium and conference spaces 11 Breakfast For all conference days 12 Lunch For all conference days Coffee breaks For all conference days Dinner For all conference days (exc.. Banquet evening) Banquet Food + wine Banquet hall rental 95 Band or 17 entertainment For banquet Local transport Buses, to and from the hotel, morning, lunch and evening Accommodation costs Hotel 1 (inc. breakfast) 20 Accommodation costs Hotel 2 (inc. breakfast) 21 Accommodation costs Hotel 3 (inc. breakfast) 22 Accommodation costs Hotel 4 (inc. breakfast) 23 Accommodation costs Hotel 5 (inc. breakfast) 24 Crew accommodation Including breakfast Organization company 25 fees AES 22nd conference services costs Organization committee 26 cost Visits to Conference venue, etc Event shirts Event shirts (optional) Event bags Event bags (optional) Badges For delegates, committee and crew 30 Phone bills For crew and committee Cars Hire cars Graphic design + 32 posters and flyers Rough estimate inc. printing costs Sundry items Stamps, stationary, etc Special social event Museum excursion, etc. (including transport) Other items Optional 36 Other items Optional 37 Other items Optional 38 Other items Optional 39 Other items Optional Total costs

25 25 KEY GREEN = LOCAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEES RESPONSIBLY YELLOW = AES HQ RESPONSIBILITY BLUE = INPUT FIELDS Fee / Fee / Sub Sub INCOME No. income income Total Total Item (FIM) (US$) (FIM) (US$) Notes 1 Invited speakers 5 2 Committee members 11 3 Student helpers 10 4 AES HQ administrators Delegates (member) Delegates (non-member) Authors Students (members) Students 9 (non-members) Accompanying 10 person Sponsorship (sponsor 1) 1 12 Sponsorship (sponsor 2) 13 Sponsorship (sponsor 3) 14 Sponsorship (sponsor 4) 15 Sponsorship (sponsor 5) Total of full program participants 95 Total attendees (all in) 95 Total number of paying attendees (inc. authors) 67 Total income Balance

26 ANNEX B: TEMPLATE FOR CONFERENCE BUDGET (SEE EXCEL FILE) 26 ANNEX B.1: NOTES OF THE USE OF THE EXCEL BUDGET TEMPLATE Introduction This is a brief application note on the use of the Excel budget template, v1.10, available from The template is intended for two purposes: 1. For planning an AES conference budget 2. For monitoring and following the actual budget figures during the preparation of a conference. The template is aimed to provide a well defined structure for conference preparation that hopefully answers all of your needs. However, it is not totally generic and has certain limitations, addressed in the last section of this appendix. Usage information The template is designed to be unified for all conferences. As such users can only fill in the blue and notes fields and cannot edit other fields. When starting to use the template, please enter basic information on the User Configuration sheets. The information in the blue fields will be updated in all sheets of the document. Please ensure that version numbering and date of creation are updated as well as the budget status categories DRAFT - Initial draft version(s) PROPOSAL - Working proposal representing the view of the conference committee FINAL - Final proposal to be presented to AES Board of Governors for approval WORKING - A working budget illustrating the status throughout the conference preparations Usage notes To help the user understand the budget template, notes have been embedded into cells. Cells that have usage notes associated with them are marked with a small red triangle at the top right corner of the cell. To view the usage note, simply place the mouse over that cell and the usage note will become visible. Budget The template consists of one budget sheet for use in all conference planning. It contains all of the required fields to estimate costs and income expected from a conference and includes many optional fields that may not be applicable to all conferences. Examples include whether or not accommodations are included as part of the conference fee. Also optional social events may or may not be included as part of the conference fee. Based on the budget figures, it should be established by the budget creator how many participants are required to obtain a breakpoint between income and costs. This is done by adjusting the estimated number of participants and budget costs until the balance (at the bottom of the budget sheet) is approximately $0 ±$100. The breakpoint number of paying participants can then be seen from the total number of paying attendees (including authors) field. Note that the breakpoint number of paying participants should be This number is based on extensive experience with international conferences and must be adhered to for the BoG to approve the budget. In addition the number of attendees required for achieving a profit corresponding to 10% of the total

27 income must be stated. It is advised that the budget creator estimate the breakpoint for realistic cost estimates both with and without social events. These figures and a copy of the associated budget sheets should then be provided to the AES when a conference proposal is made. Notes on costs 1. Venue costs will be agreed with AES HQ, but must be costed by the local committee 2. Crew accommodations may only been needed in some cases. PLEASE SET TO ZERO IF NOT REQUIRED 3. The cost of the proceedings and CD-ROM (preparation and publication) are to be included in the budget and fee calculations, but are the responsibility of AES HQ 4. Breakfast costs can be included at the wish of the committee, if not included in hotel rates 5. Venue hire of the main auditorium may or may not include all required audio-visual equipment and technicians. These latter items may need to be separately considered 6. All venue spaces should be hired for the period of setup and breakdown of the setup 7. Local conference services may be required for planning and coordinating events. Notes on income 1. Invited speakers may be admitted to the conference at no charge or with a special price. TRANSPORT TO AND FROM THE CONFERENCE IS NOT COVERED 2. Committee members, AES administrators, and student helpers are admitted to the conference at no charge and thus cost the same as a participant. In the case of a budget WITH SOCIAL EVENT, student helpers will be omitted from the event. Participation of the committee shall be at the discretion of the committee. 3. In all cases the members conference fee should be at least 80 US$ less than the nonmembers fee, in order to defray AES membership cost. For student members the conference fee should be at least 20 US$ less than the nonmembers fee, in order to defray AES membership cost. 4. In order to provide some guide as to the number of participants in each fee category, approximate percentages are provided in the Notes list, according to the AES 16th Conference participation. Limitation of template The budget does not currently support the following VAT deductions cannot be calculated with this budget. All costs should be stated including VAT Inflation is not handled within the budget. This may be an issue in some countries that will affect the costs. This will in turn either lead to an increase in the conference fee or an increase in the number of participants for the conference to break even. If inflation is significant in the country of the conference, this issue should be discussed with AES HQ. If you find any bugs in the sheet or would like to provide some ideas for improvement, please contact the template author, Nick Zacharov (nick.zacharov@nokia.com). 27

28 ANNEX C: CHECKLIST FOR CONFERENCE FACILITIES 28 This list is intended as a guide for the Organizing Committee in checking the availability and suitability of facilities for an AES Conference. It specifies major requirements and standards but is not necessarily exhaustive or universally applicable. C1 Accommodations Location, quality, and size of rooms. All rooms should be of same standard; more than one room must be checked by member(s) of the Organizing Committee Adequacy and standard of furnishing and technical facilities, e.g. lighting, TV, radio, telephone, PC connection Bathrooms: size, facilities, cleanness Noise levels, day/night: Noise from external sources: neighbors, traffic (roads, parking, trains, aircraft) Noise from internal sources (air condition, ventilators, lifts, kitchen, restaurant and bar) Noise from maintenance, renovation, enlargement, rearrangement etc. of buildings and environment Room service; availability and quality of catering facilities: restaurant, bar Facilities for breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks Standard of meals and refreshments Standard of reception (day/night service), lobby Facilities for handicapped persons; ramps, lifts, toilets, bathrooms Leisure facilities: Swimming pool, sauna, solarium, etc. Shopping facilities: in house or in the environment Security; locks; alarms C2 Meeting facilities Auditorium layout: Position relative to hotel rooms, restaurant, toilets, lobby, lift, and stairs Size, number. and quality of seats and tables; plan of arrangement(s) Podium arrangement for Chair, presentations and Discussions Acoustics, noise, lighting, heating, air condition, ventilation Blackout of windows Facilities for handicapped persons Positions of main switches and fuses, spare fuses and lamps Emergency exits. Lighting. Fire extinguishers and alarms Audio-visual equipment in auditorium: Overhead projectors, spare lamps, pens, pointer Projector(s) for computerized presentations. PC Slide projector(s) for 5x5 cm 2 dias, magazines, spare lamps, manuals Laser pointer with spare batteries Public address system with microphones for Author, Chair, Panel Discussions, etc. Roving microphone(s), or preferably stationary microphones at seats Facilities for sound recording and reproduction (if required) Videotape player, VHS multistandard, DVD-player, CD-player Film projector (if required) Rooms for smaller groups, Secretariat etc.: Number. Location relative to other rooms and facilities Size, number and arrangement of seats and tables