In the Digital Backlot, all rooms are named after dead musicians. Microsoft producer Dan Black greeted us in the Jimi Hendrix conference room (also known as the bondage room, probably for the webbed designer chairs) for a demonstration of Music Central, a CD-ROM/website. Various video suites with Avid Media Composer set-ups were in evidence, and editor Nelson Hallgren demonstrated the digital video editing and effects capabilities with a game preview.

Further on was the 3-D laser scanner, and a demonstration by John Pella and Tin Chung on 3-D modeling and animating. Tin created a 3-D soda can image for us on his SGI workstation. Past the 2-D graphics and animation areas and the "Newsroom", where employees can get their personal office work done, lay the main audio production facilities. Various edit suites with ProTools 3 were shown, and several recording rooms and a voiceover booth.

Attendees then paused for free soda refreshments (just like a Microsoft employee!), and moved on through the West Campus to the lodge-like cafeteria for AES business and final Q & A. Steve estimated that the Backlot might be working on about 40 projects at any one time. In response to questions, comments were made about data storage problems, archiving, and predictions on the DVD.