Audio engineers keen to learn more about immersive workflows were invited down to Firdaus Studio in Dubai on 20 and 21 March to explore the technology and its practical applications in more detail with industry experts from Avid, Dolby, Genelec, Kost Design and Anghami.

Located on the former Expo 2020 site, Firdaus Studio by A R Rahman is a multi-million dollar creation part of a greater vision – to help Dubai become a hub for the region’s music industry. As a result, it’s packed with some of the latest and greatest audio technology on offer. The recent Dolby Atmos for Post & Music – a 360 workshop replicated a format that proved highly successful when Avid and Genelec first debuted it in Budapest, expanded this time to include acoustics as part of the masterclass. Approximately 110 participants attended the event from across the region, some travelling from as far as India.

“The purpose of this masterclass was to impart end-to-end knowledge of immersive workflows from a real industry workflow point-of-view,” explained AVID solutions specialist – Audio, Sreejesh Nair. “It is very important to be able to do this and it was probably the first time ever that such a workshop, which included almost all aspects of an immersive workflow, in terms of studio acoustics, technology and creativity including distribution was done in the region. This was a very in-depth and knowledge imparting event. The other purpose of a masterclass like this was to let end users know that companies like Avid, Genelec and Dolby have employees that are customer facing and are at the same time very involved in the industry as craftsmen as well. This way, the users can be confident that the knowledge being imparted is not from a book but from the real-world and from thought leaders.”

Inside Firdaus Studio, both Avid and Genelec products feature heavily, making it the ideal location to host the masterclass. “Firdaus features some of the most comprehensive workflow mechanisms compared to any studio anywhere in the world,” explained AVID solutions specialist – Audio, Sreejesh Nair. “The infrastructure and technology implementation is a proud source for Avid and other companies considering that Avid is the backbone of the entire place. With an impressive collection of microphones, high-end audio gear, monitoring systems, immense flexibility, lighting controls and technology to create an artistic space, there was no other venue that would have suited this workshop. In addition, being able to showcase a studio like this to the region and the world, is also very helpful to show how far technology can be implemented in order to create engaging content.”

With feedback from attendees resolutely positive, it was noted by many the greater need for more of such workshops in the region. “The workshop highlighted the fact that there is an incredible amount of interest here for learning anything related to audio. Almost every participant was looking forward to more of these events and with a greater variety of topics,” furthered Nair. “It is important to be able to share knowledge and build a community that is aware of trends, this helps an industry grow. With events like this that are very interactive and open ended, it brings back the thirst to learn more and produce better engineers who look at their contribution as not just technical, but artistic as well. This was what the event started off and I believe is the first step towards building a better community and industry.”