17. 2. 2025 / 4 pm.
Open discussion in cinémathèque “Zlatna vrata”:
Acoustics of production spaces in Dom Mladih
The renovation of Dom Mladih is presented as the realization of “the largest cultural center in Croatia and the focal point of Split’s rich ecosystem of independent culture and creative industry, aiming for a stronger Split and its international cultural relevance.” In anticipation of the announced renovation, we invite you on February 17, starting at 4 PM, to the Zlatna vrata Cinema for an open discussion about the production spaces that should enable technically correct production designs, optimal and purposeful conditions for creative work of the future users of Dom Mladih.
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The discussion will focus on spaces of particular interest for establishing the foundation of acoustic conditions:
1. Central hall with small and large auditoriums (capacity cca. 350 + 700 visitors)
2. Lighting and sound control for the central stage of both auditoriums
3. TV control room
4. Studio I
5. Studio II
6. Control room for Studios I and II
7. Reference cinema hall
8. Klub Kocka (space for all kinds of live and recorded music: rock, pop, electronic music, DJ with capacity cca. 500-700 visitors)
The discussion, held in a hybrid format (online and live), will feature professionals from the fields of sound production and acoustics.
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Notable participants include Philip Newell, a world-renowned acoustician, who had the opportunity to visit Split and Dom Mladih in 2014, and Janez Križaj, the legendary Slovenian music producer, sound engineer, and mastering engineer. In the 1980s, he was a member of the group Videosex and later produced and mastered hundreds of albums for prominent artists from the former Yugoslavia. The discussion will also include prominent local experts: Toni Meštrović, Mateo Patekar, Eugen Jeličić, Dina Gligo, Pero Brčić (Pero Fullhouse), and Tonći Gaćina.
The discussion, moderated by Tonči Bakotin and Hrvoje Pelicarić, will address the theory and practice of acoustics for general types of production spaces. Participants will be briefly introduced to the theoretical concepts of music studios, control rooms, reference cinema halls, performance music auditoriums, and medium-sized nightclubs. Conversations between cultural organizations and representatives of the renovation project began in late 2023, addressing needs during and after the renovation of Dom Mladih. Among other things, discussions have focused on the acoustics of production spaces, which remain the focus of interest for many individuals and the expert public. Given that detailed information about the acoustics of production spaces, as well as stage technology and soundproofing, was not provided during the public presentation of the Dom Mladih renovation on July 18 2024, the goal of this discussion is to collect and share all relevant information on the topic and for future creative work, production, and reproduction of sound and image.
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Kino klub Split and Sensoria invite all interested to join the discussion.
Technical support for the event: Hipermedia.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF PARTICIPANTS:
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Philip Newell has been an independent acoustics consultant for over 45 years, specializing in the design of music studios, control rooms, and spaces for music and performance arts. He is the author of twelve books on production spaces, sound engineering, acoustics, and electroacoustics, as well as over 50 papers presented at conferences and published in professional journals. From 1973 to 1982, Newell served as the technical director of recording studios at Virgin Records, where he worked as a sound engineer or producer on many significant albums (e.g., Mike Oldfield‘s “Ommadawn” and the four-channel surround remix of “Tubular Bells” released in 2001 as one of the first Super Audio Compact Discs (SACD)). He has recorded and/or produced stars such as Led Zeppelin, Captain Beefheart, Dizzy Gillespie, The Small Faces, Ben E. King, The Buzzcocks, XTC, Patti Smith, Queen, Can, Tangerine Dream, The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra, and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics, a member of the Audio Engineering Society, and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), within which he participated in the Technology Committee for sound systems in cinemas (25CSS). His tireless work has left an immeasurable mark in the field of acoustics, and he is also known as the co-author (with Tom Hidley) of the NE (non-environment) acoustic design model.
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Janez Križaj is a legendary Slovenian music producer, sound engineer, and mastering engineer. In the 1980s, he was a member of the group Videosex and later produced and mastered hundreds of albums for prominent artists from the former Yugoslavia, including Laibach, Let3, Miladojka Youneed, Gibonni, Lačni Franz, Matija Dedić, and Psihomodo Pop. Križaj is also a specialist in spatial acoustics and has made significant contributions in this field.
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Toni Meštrović graduated in 1999 from the Graphic Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he studied graphic arts, sculpture, and installation. Due to his interest in electronic audiovisual media, in 1997, he studied Video/Digital Imaging at the International Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst in Salzburg. In 2004, he completed a two-year postgraduate study in Medienkunst at the Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln. Since 1992, he has actively participated in group and solo exhibitions and video festivals in Croatia and abroad. Sound entered Meštrović’s artistic creation spontaneously as a secondary element of video and film. Over time, he recognized it as his medium of expression, detaching it from the visual and dedicating himself entirely to sound. Over two decades of working with sound, Meštrović has taken an increasingly complex approach to the medium, creating spatial-sound installations and compositions. He lives in Rijeka and Kaštela and teaches at the Academy of Arts, University of Split, Department of Film and Video.
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Eugen Jeličić is an experienced sound engineer of the younger generation, particularly active in live sound engineering. He gained his knowledge through volunteering and persistent work at the Kocka club, which exposed him to challenges and acoustic problems in that (at the time) untreated space. His perseverance in solving these acoustic issues helped him develop into a skilled and responsible sound engineer working independently and with larger rental agencies.
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Pero Brčić / Pero Fullhouse / Skeptik is one of the most renowned Croatian DJs. He played a crucial role in launching the scene in the early 90s. Originally inspired by experimental, avant-garde, industrial, and psychotic electronics, as well as minimalism and Detroit techno music, Fullhouse (and Skeptik) today represents a master of fusing good sound with refined style, drawing parallels between the sounds of Detroit, Berlin, and Chicago. Fullhouse has collaborated with the crème de la crème of electronic music, including Laurent Garnier, Jeff Mills, Luke Slater, James Ruskin, Carl Cox, Derrick May, Stacey Pullen, Richie Hawtin, Westbam, Kevin Saunderson, and many others. Brčić’s enthusiasm has significantly contributed to the development of the scene in various ways: promoting electronic music events (launching the Discotheque Rive project in 2010, which changed Split and paved the way for the Ultra Europe festival), radio shows, publishing electronic music magazines, and more. Today, Brčić, among other things, runs the respected Moondance festival and Moondance Records.
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Dina Gligo graduated in Small Sculpture and Medal Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2012. Since then, she has worked as a sculptor, multimedia artist, new media instructor, and digital artisan in the field of experimental visual/digital/network art. She is an alumna of two residencies at Akademie Schloss Solitude (2016 and 2018–’19), Cité internationale des arts (2022), and others. She received the “Kožarić Digital” Award from MSU and the City of Zagreb in 2021, as well as the EX AEQUO award at the Slavonian Biennale in 2022. She co-founded and leads the artistic organization Format C, along with several long-term artistic projects (Inquiry Inc., Fubar, Pivilion, and others). She is a member of professional artistic associations (HZSU, HDLUDU, HDLU) and is a volunteer, collaborator, and advisor in many artistic collectives and cultural projects. Since 2019, she has been a member of the working group for the CTHR program of the Clubtura Association and a member of the Board of the organization Operacija grad (until 2023). At the end of 2022, she was selected as the visual arts representative in the assembly of HZSU and as a member of the main board of the SKUPA union (currently in her second term). Since 2023, she has been a member of the Self-Organized Group of Independent Artists and, as a candidate from artistic professional associations (HDD / HDLU Dubrovnik / HDLU Istria / HDLU Međimurje / HDLU Osijek / HDLU Rijeka / HDLU Varaždin / HS AICA / HULU Split / ULUPUH), she was appointed as the visual arts representative in the Working Group for the Development of the Law on Artistic Activity and the Promotion of Artistic Creativity (2025 – still to be announced). Since 2024, she has been a member of the working group of the Forum for Fair Practices at the Kultura Nova Foundation.
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Mateo Patekar discovered his passion for sound mixing at the age of twelve and, through studying and volunteering at the KSET club, built a career as a professional sound engineer. For the past 10 years, he has collaborated with a wide range of performers, from audiovisual artists to successful ex-Yu or indie bands, theater, and experimental music. In 2017, he founded the organization “Maratonci” which serves as a platform for training and finding jobs for young sound engineers.
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Tonči Bakotin is a lecturer in music and sound technology, musician, and sound designer, as well as the program director of the Sensoria studio. He attended classical music school. Soon after, in the mid-90s, he became a member of the noise-electro ambient music group Zidar Betonsky. Performing across Europe, he decided to change his music career path and began composing as a solo artist (under the alias Ruzina Frankulin), using a combination of electronic and traditional instruments. He graduated in sound design in Rotterdam, completed his undergraduate studies in film and video at the Academy of Arts in Split, and studied at the CISCO Academy (Cisco Certified Network Associate) at the Telecommunications Laboratory of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Ljubljana. Since 2002, he has worked as a lecturer in music and sound production (Rotterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Split). He has composed music for theater and performances as part of the Zidar Betonsky collective and FFT. He has released electronic music in the USA, France, and Germany. He has worked as an editor/sound designer and/or music composer for the production of various Croatian TV series and several documentary experimental films, including “m.ocean” (2016, T. Bakotin), “Nigdina/Nowhere” (N. Ružić, 2018), “Do Konca” (N. Ružić, 2019), “Dad” (V. Bilenjki, 2019), “Dok Smo Bili Tu/While We Were Here” (S. Fradelić, 2022), and “Horror Vacui” (B. Poljak, 2023).
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Hrvoje Pelicarić is an independent sound designer, musician, and multimedia artist, active in the experimental music and theater scene since 1993 (Zidar Betonsky, Fractal Falus Teatar, Melting Waves, Sonvoyce On Source). He completed his studies in sound engineering and a master’s degree in Media Arts at the Academy of Arts in Split in 2018. From 2009 to 2017, he worked as a teaching assistant for the Sound Design course at the Academy of Arts in Split. Since 2021, he has worked as an assistant at the courses Sound Design and Audio Production at the Department of Media Design at the University Sjever. From 2002 to the present, as a musician, recording engineer, and producer, he has participated in numerous independent music releases (Zidar Betonsky, Leut magnetik, Sphericube, Bilk, Klaus, Turato91, Cul-de-Sac, Trobecove krušne peći, Sonvoyce On Source, Sinkauz, Roj Osa, Croatian Improvisers Orchestra – CRIO), and as a sound designer, he has contributed to numerous film, theater, and TV projects (Jelena Jureša, Vladislav Knežević, Miro Manojlović, Sandra Sterle, HRT 3), as well as multimedia gallery exhibitions (Jelena Jureša, Vladislav Knežević, Sandra Sterle, Vlasta Žanić, Nora Turato). As an author and exhibitor in the field of sound art, he has participated in seven group exhibitions and seven solo exhibitions. In 2016, together with Natasha Kadin, he initiated the Sound Art Festival Ispod Bine in Split. He lives and works in Zagreb.
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Tonći Gaćina was born in 1983 in Split. In 2010, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Academy of Arts in Split, specializing in Film and Video. That same year, he enrolled in the graduate program in Film and TV Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, specializing in Documentary Film, which he completed in 2015. As a film professional (cinematographer, focus puller, lighting technician, camera assistant), he has worked on dozens of professional film and audiovisual projects, including feature and short documentaries, feature and short fiction films, commercials, music videos, and experimental films. As a director, he has created several documentary projects that have been screened at major international festivals. His film “Turizam!” was presented at Visions du Réel, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and the ZagrebDox festival in 2016. Since 2012, he has been teaching documentary filmmaking through various film workshops at Kino klub Split, Kinoklub Zagreb, and Blank Film Incubator. Since 2015, he has been teaching courses primarily focused on documentary film at the Academy of Dramatic Art, where he has also mentored numerous student and workshop films, some of which have gained international recognition. In December 2016, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the artistic field of Film Art and Film Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb. Since September 2019, he has been employed at ADU as an assistant in the artistic field. He served as the president of the Croatian Film Association from 2016 to 2020 and as vice president of Kino Klub Split from 2010 to 2021. From 2017 to 2021, he was a member of the Croatian Audiovisual Council. Currently, he is a member and president of the Council for Film and Multimedia of the City of Split for the 2021–2025 term.
