IASA 2017 Annual Conference

Appropriate authentic audio backdrops are an indispensable part of any radio and TV production: Imagine a radio feature set outdoors in the Austrian winter without the sound of skiers on Alpine slopes or ice skaters floating on the Rathausplatz in Vienna…
However, pre-recorded sfx available for purchase do seldom provide material suggesting an Austrian background. What is more, the audioarchive of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) had a bank of self-produced domestic sounds that goes back to the 1970s and 80s - valuable for historic productions, but not sufficient for modern purposes.
In 2013, the ORF therefore set up a task force to attend to the problem. The main focus has been the modernisation and regionalisation of the database, an undertaking that came to be called “Hörbares Österreich” (“Audible Austria” or “Austria to listen to”).
But it also engaged in other tasks: the detection of digital sound effects and atmos in all the various ORF databases, the creation of a unified ORF sfx pool with new metadata structures to include old and new material, and the translation of the English language sound effects into German. Last but not least the project has established a culture of working with editors who record on location and make their raw material available to the archive.
So come to the IASA conference this year and listen to the sounds of Austria!