WHO?
Leader Entertainment Corporation and Leader Sound Technologies Corporation
provide unique
solutions to your needs. Our award-winning expertise includes audio, video,
acoustics,
motion picture and High Definition Television Technologies.
WHAT?
We are manufacturers and developers of the world's most highly advanced sound
system for
surround sound and show control applications. The
LHF
tm
[Leader Hollywood
Format
tm
]
Sound System is now used in both studio and residential theater
systems. Our Leader turnkey systems provide ease of operation in meeting your
needs.
WHY?
Because you and your organization demand the ultimate: reliability, ease of
operation,
unique solutions and a pathway to the future.
WHEN?
Well, we have been doing all this
since 1947!
We have been a part of the
evolution in
business and entertainment systems.
You want it now! Talk to us about the future -- today!
WHERE?
Many of our systems and services are in use throughout North America -- from
Santiago,
Chile, to Thule, Greenland, and across Canada from the far north of
Tuktoyaktuk, to a much
warmer Vancouver. Your local or international requirements are second nature to
our
responsive organization.
HOW?
Just leave it to us, we'll do it!
WHO'S WHO IN ENTERTAINMENT
Leader, Michael, Kirby communications executive, consultant; b. London,
England, Apr. 22, 1948; came to Can., 1957; a. Gerald G. and Joyce E (Kirby).
Student, Vancouver (B.C.) Tech. Inst., 1967--69. Audio operator Sta. KOMO-TV,
Seattle, 1967; asst. film mixer BBC, London, 1971-75; pres. Leader Broadcast
Systems Inc., Buchanan, Mich., 1985-87; pres. Leader Communications Inc.,
Vancouver, 1987-; pres Leader Broadcast Systems, Inc., Seattle, 1982-85; bd.
dirs. Mosaic Broadcasting Corp., Vancouver 1983, Leader Sound Ltd., Vancouver,
1986; with N.B.C. Summer Olympics, Seoul Korea, 1988; lectr. various seminars.
Contbr. articles to profl. jours. Freemasons Lodge: Prospect No. 172. Past
Master West Vancouver
) Avocations: public speaking reading, riding, cooking, photography.
Office: Leader Entertainment Group, 1955 Wylie St., Vancouver, BC Canada
V5Y 3N2
Addendum... Emmy Award Winner (Technical Team Remote '88 Seoul Olympics),
Secretary Audio Engineering Society (AES) Vancouver Chapter.
THE HISTORY
At the close of World War II, a young, energetic, electronics engineer left the
Royal Air Force.
Gerry Leader
was a member of the elite team of electronics
engineers responsible for radar development and the subsequent successful
outcome of the war effort. Gerry was also a classically trained musician. He
studied violin -- but preferred guitar. Prior to WWII, Gerry possessed two of
the precious few electric guitars in England. As the Swing Era was in, big
bands, smooth quartets, trios and septets were entertaining the "jet" set at
London's glamorous night spots. Gerry was part of it. His arrangements and
unique style were inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. This
immense background in music and electronics engineering has contributed
considerably to the growth of the company to this day.
Leader's Radio & TV opened in North London in 1947. Gerry married Joyce in the
same year. Television broadcasting (which began in England during 1936, but
came "on" again at the end of the war) was a natural extension of Gerry's
advanced radar expertise. While Logie Baird in England was building
exceptional TV's at
this time (approx. $1,125!), the "Leader TV" (1949-50) had improved contrast
over other sets of the era! -- kind of like HDTV in the early '50s! Only one
was ever built. It served the Leader family from 1949 until their departure.
The family moved to Canada in 1957. After a chilling six years in Winnipeg,
Leader Sound Limited was formed in Vancouver during the warm summer of 1963.
Leader Sound quickly became the haven for the hi-fi aficionado. With the
engineering
expertise, Leader Sound was able to provide technical support,
information and unique
solutions to clients' wants, needs and desires. At this
time, "stereo" was on the tip of
everyone's tongue . . . and at the top of
their blue-sky wish lists!
Many industry firsts were provided to their customers. As a retail
establishment for the
connoisseur, Gerry would seek for that which was
different . . . leading edge . . . a
conversation piece: the world's first
1" B&W TV (circa 1966) -- yes, they sold many; the first
CD players, imported
by them from Europe; thousands of R-Dat recorders were sold in the
mid-'80s to
clients in the United States due to the delays in introducing this format. In
1964, they sold the first compact cassette recorder in Canada. It was modified
to be used "on-the-air." Vancouver CKNW radio personality, Jack Cullen, was
quick to realize the versatility of this new recording medium along with
Leader's expertise to "interface" anything to anything.
During the late '60s and early '70s, quadraphonic sound came and went (they had
two terrific demo areas!). As the equipment became smaller, lighter and more
reliable, the retail customer was becoming more informed. This was terrific
for the company -- and was to play an important role for the future growth and
Leader's dominance in home theater.
In 1971,
Michael
returned to England to work for the British Broadcasting
Corporation. Upon his return to Vancouver, in 1976, responding to the growth
of the music recording industry in Western Canada, Leader formed the
Professional
Studio Products Division. Products from such noted manufacturers as Studer,
Neumann, EMT, Neve, Schoeps, Nagra, Altec, E-V, JBL and Dolby were available
from Leader's Vancouver inventory -- fully supported with service, parts and
turnkey engineering support. Plans were well underway in 1975 for Vancouver's
new TV station. CKVU-TV went on the air September 6, 1976. Again, Leader
provided engineering and turnkey installation of all audio facilities,
acoustics, sound control, monitoring and mixing equipment. During the summer
of 1976, CKVU supplied remote facilities from Vancouver to NBC, New York.
Again, with lightning speed, Leader constructed remote trucks (Outside
Broadcast [OB] vans) and technical support at a time when CKVU's engineering
team were busy constructing their studio complex.
Consistently, Leader's largest recording studio client was the internationally
recognized Little Mountain Sound studio complex. In 1978, Leader had the
distinction of commissioning the first 24 track studio in Western Canada. From
this Vancouver studio, the world's most recognizable artists with gold or
platinum records to their credit, have recorded on systems, products and
services provided by Leader Sound. Major recording sessions for Motley
CrÜe, Aerosmith and Bon Jovi between 1992 and '94 made extensive use of
LHF
tm
(Leader Hollywood Format
tm
) sub-woofer systems, which were engineered and integrated into their
astounding control room monitoring system designed by John Vrtacic. Later,
Leader LHF
tm
sub-woofers were included in the enormous Studio A for full-bodied,
high-impact playback.
During the 32 years of operation in Vancouver, the subjective elements of all
their systems
and projects play an equally important role as the engineering
and technical details.
"It's a balance which makes us different and unique!," says Richard Leader,
Vice President of Marketing. "We are critically aware of our clients' needs."
He continues, ". . . . they, being aware of our reputation, have an
extraordinary high-confidence level for our custom projects. It no longer is
necessary to ask about brands or various manufacturers to achieve the result.
But rather the well-informed client asks mostly objective questions which
facilitates both parties. Our mutual efforts convey clear information.
Accuracy in understanding the goals, objectives and the necessary elements to
ultimately satisfy the subjective appreciation . . . ."
Two-time Emmy Award winner and company President, Michael Leader, refers to
the
entertainment "experience." "We are sensualists," he insists. "There is a
critical point where technology and subjective issues cross over. This is
something we understand, and it is ingrained in everything we do. It's in my
roots and comes both from my father's music
background and my mother's
spectacular culinary skills." ("Yes, there are similarities between the
kitchen and sound lab -- after all, it's where all those ideas and ingredients
get cooked up, and presto . . . a banquet!")
In 1989, Leader closed the Granville Street location retail store, and decided
to get out of the "retail" business. However, an important "fork-in-the-road"
was established there.
Among the firsts at Granville Street was the installation during 1986 of
Canada's first
(professional format) Dolby Surround System for non-cinema or
motion picture applications. Over 12,000 people experienced "home theater,"
Leader style, in their
advanced theater. This demo system was similar to that
which Michael Leader designed in 1985 while working for Electro-Voice in
Buchanan, Michigan. As the manager of E-V's Studio Systems Division, numerous
esquires were received from studios in Hollywood for smaller monitoring systems
to be used in studios smaller than a large dubbing theater. Leader supplied
the first such system -- built by E-V -- to Serafine Studios in Santa Monica,
California. Frank Serafine is well-known for his sound work. His credits
include: Tron, Brainstorm, Short Circuit, Poltergeist . . . and more recently,
Lawnmower Man.
The Granville Street Surround Theater used a similar system which enabled
Leader to study the notions of viewer responses and reaction to the experience.
Michael Leader is quick to state that, ". . . . this was totally an
engineering directed mission. With
the advances in Dolby Surround, and rival
digital systems, our research continues as an engineering project. Aware that
a home theater is not a studio facility, we now provide complete in-house
architectural and interior design services under the market-driven aspects of
the business."
Leader installed their first home theater in 1964 (for Eric Cable, Sr.). This
cinemascope
16mm and 35mm system judged by today's advanced video and
hi-definition television
(HDTV) standards is still considered state-of-the-art.
Advances in laser disc and video
projection technology during the mid-1980's
enabled Leader to use line doublers to vastly
improve NTSC video projected
images as early as 1988.
A Home Theater, considered to be the world's most advanced at the time, was
designed
by Leader in 1989 and subsequently installed in 1990. The client, noted
Vancouver Architect James Lee Architects Inc., provided the theater as a Leader
turnkey project to their client. This was the first system to bear
LHF
tm
certification, and is easily up-gradable to HDTV -- just add source hardware!
As we enter the next century, we long ago passed the centenary of
recorded sound and entered the world of virtual reality, multimedia and
high-definition television. Advanced engineering is well underway at Leader to
provide the integration of a myriad of disciplines. Exciting entertainment
environments and space simulators will be based on our past partnership with
North West Industries of Seattle. Together they provided hi-resolution video
projection for use in flight simulators for Boeing Aircraft Corporation. High
resolution video systems incorporating HDTV will convey a new dimension to:
education, corporate communications and entertainment.
