AMI April 2016

www.audiomediainternational.com

April 2016

BREAKING NEW GROUND Assembling the sound design for Quantum Break, a unique blend of video game and live action TV show p20

STUDIO PROFILE

Inside another new multi-million pound university facility p24

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HOW TO

Using mics for outside broadcast applications p26

REVIEW

An in-depth look at Pioneer DJ’s latest pro monitors p32

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STAGE ESSENTIALS

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WELCOME

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EDITOR Adam Savage asavage@nbmedia.com

Experts in the issue

NEW BEGINNINGS

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Matt Boudreau is a US-based producer, engineer, mixer and host of Working Class Audio, a series of regular podcast interviews with well-known audio professionals.

Bob Bronow is an award-winning re-recording mixer and sound designer, best known for Deadliest Catch.

Robert Edwards has been involved in broadcast audio for over 40 years, and is co-owner of VSS Limited with Ian Rosam. He’s twice been a BAFTA winner, and continues to work on live major network programmes, both in the studio and on outside broadcasts worldwide. Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor, Celebrity Juice and Michael McIntyre’s Big Night Out all sit alongside long relationships with Sky, HBS and OBS.

Richard Lapington is audio director at Remedy Entertainment, developer of Quantum Break for Xbox One.

T

he two things I wanted to talk about here this month both involve new starts of different kinds. The first is a subject that you’ll find we’ve devoted quite a lot of page space to in this issue – virtual reality, or VR. When it came to deciding what we were going to discuss in our annual Immersive Audio Feature this month I’ll admit I was temporarily stumped.

It’s become such an expansive, crucial discussion that there’s almost too much to say, and drilling it all down into a focused topic – and not covering something that has been done so many times before – was pretty tricky. In the end, we opted to go for something a bit different, and so, instead of another look at the various immersive formats for cinema or something similarly predictable, we decided to switch our attention to one of the big tech talking points at the moment, especially with the long-awaited Oculus Rift launch just days away as we go to press.

What became immediately clear once we decided on this approach was that it’s very much early days right now with the technology in general, let alone the audio side of it. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth picking the brains of some of the few audio manufacturers, large and small, to identify VR as one of their key target areas in the next few years, even if the majority of other audio companies are understandably waiting to see how things develop before making their move. As the interviewees we spoke to said themselves, it’s a case of ‘let’s wait and see’ right now, but we felt it was important to collate some initial opinions as it all begins to unfold, which you’ll find starting on Page 14.

Secondly, this month marks the introduction of a new-look Prolight + Sound, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what Messe Frankfurt has done with the place. I recall a very mixed response once the news was announced during the 2015 event, but it’s encouraging to see what appears to be most of the big names on board for 2016. It’ll be strange not to be in Hall 8 – and perhaps a little less convenient being much further away from the Press Centre – but a change could be good for the trade fair. Once again, as I always like to say before a big show, I’m looking forward to seeing many of you out in Frankfurt, and let’s hope it’s been a change for the best.

Adam Savage Editor Audio Media International

April 2016

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CONTENTS

42

PRODUCT NEWS

6

Two new speaker systems from Turbosound

7

AKG adds drum mic collection

PEOPLE 10

OPINION Matt Boudreau on why more industry pros should consider diversification

12

Phil Nicholson offers his thoughts on surface-based mixing solutions

14

Rob Bridgett discusses the impact of VR on the gaming industry and beyond

42

INTERVIEW Re-recording mixer Bob Bronow describes the challenges of Deadliest Catch

FEATURES 16

IMMERSIVE SOUND Rob Lawrence delves into the VR world and asks how audio manufacturers are embracing this exciting new field

20

GAME AUDIO Richard Lapington speaks to John Broomhall about perfecting the audio on long-awaited Xbox One title Quantum Break

22

FINAL CUT Wayne Pashley talks about Big Bang Sound’s work on God’s of Egypt, including the need for complex new sounds to depict mythical entities

24

STUDIO PROFILE Adam Savage visits LSBU to check out its new multi-million pound media complex

4

16

TECHNOLOGY

26

HOW TO Video Sound Services’ Rob Edwards offers some tips on using mics in outside environments

28

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT We take a look at some of the latest offerings from broadcast console manufacturers

28

REVIEWS

32 34 38 40

Pioneer DJ RM-07 RØDELink Filmmaker Kit Audinate Dante Via Eventide Anthology X

32

ALSO INSIDE

8

SHOW PREVIEW Prolight + Sound 2016

April 2016

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Meet us at: Prolight+Sound booth #4.1. C11 & NAB booth #C3336

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PRODUCT NEWS

TURBOSOUND SHIPS NEW SPEAKER SYSTEMS Turbosound’s iNSPIRE powered modular column loudspeakers and iX Series models are now shipping.

The iNSPIRE iP1000 and iP2000 offer 1,000W of ‘incredible sonic performance’ in a ‘lightweight, easy to use, all-in-one, ultra-portable form factor, according to the manufacturer.

The iP1000 features 8 x 2.75in neodymium drivers, a horn-loaded ‘super tweeter’ and a dual 8in subwoofer, while the larger iP2000 comes with 16 x 2.75in neodymium drivers and a 12in sub.

Equipped with an onboard two-channel digital mixer fully controllable via the dedicated iPhone/ iPad app or locally using the dedicated LCD-based user interface, the range also delivers wireless Bluetooth stereo audio streaming.

Consisting of the 1,100W iX12 (12in) and iX15 (15in) models, the iX Series (pictured) feature Klark Teknik Digital Signal Processing and Class D amplifier technologies, while a dual-angle pole mount socket allows the enclosures to be pole mounted above subwoofers either straight on, or raised higher and angled downwards for optimal coverage.

Equipped with an onboard twochannel digital mixer fully remote controllable via iPhone/iPad, or locally via an LCD-based user interface, the iX12 and iX15 also offer wireless Bluetooth stereo audio streaming. www.turbosound.com

IZOTOPE REVEALS RX PLUG-IN PACK iZotope has released the RX Plug-in Pack, a new bundle of four audio repair plug-ins taken directly from the company’s new RX 5 software.

Intended as an entry point into the world of RX for musicians and hobbyists, the RX Plug-in Pack consists of the De-click, De-hum, De-clip and Dialogue De-noise plug-ins – a collection of tools designed for cleaning up audio and avoiding the need to re-record.

The bundle allows users to clean up audio from less-than-ideal recording scenarios by reducing background noise, amp hum, clicks

6

and other sudden sounds captured when recording voice or instruments, as well as remove clipping from a vocal recording that got ‘hotter’ than expected. It can also be used to filter out line hum, buzzes, ground loops, or other unwanted sounds when it’s too late to re-track. www.izotope.com

PRESONUS UPDATES STUDIO ONE SOFTWARE PreSonus has unveiled Studio One 3.2, a free update to the company’s DAW software for Mac and Windows.

Version 3.2 adds over 50 professional tools and workflow enhancements, including the new Mix Engine FX – a plug-in paradigm that can modify or bypass and replace Studio One’s native mix engine – designed to fundamentally alter the mix experience in ways that “have never before been possible in a DAW.” In contrast to conventional plug-ins that must be inserted independently on each channel, with limited or no interoperability, Mix Engine FX can process every channel routed through a bus, both individually at the source and at their summing

point. Console Shaper, the first Mix Engine FX plug-in, uses State Space Modelling to recreate analogue mixer system topology and componentry, turning Studio One’s 64-bit audio engine into an ‘analogue’ console with control over drive, noise and true crosstalk across multiple channels.

Version 3.2 is a free update to registered users of Studio One 3.0 and higher. Downloads are available now from within a customer’s MyPreSonus. com account. www.presonus.com

MORE YAMAHA DESKS GAIN NUENDO LIVE Yamaha is bundling Steinberg’s Nuendo Live DAW software with its QL and TF series consoles, providing users with advanced multitrack recording and virtual soundcheck capabilities.

Previously available as standalone only or included with Yamaha’s CL series digital mixing consoles, Nuendo Live is now integrated with all three console lines, following a closer collaboration between Yamaha and Steinberg.

Nuendo Live multitrack recording software is designed for use in busy live sound situations, from club gigs, to concerts and festivals. Direct control of channel names, markers and transport operation from QL series consoles contributes to tight integration between DAW and console in a streamlined live recording system (TF consoles require a PC for Nuendo control). www.steinberg.net www.yamahaproaudio.com

April 2016

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PRODUCT NEWS

Creative

Content

AKG ADDS DRUM MIC COLLECTION AKG has announced that its new Drum Set Concert I microphone collection is now available.

The Drum Set Concert I features seven microphones and accessories in a rugged aluminium carrying case, providing ‘everything needed to capture a complete drum kit, or mic bass and guitar amps, percussion, woodwinds and other instruments.’

The set comprises the D112 MkII bass drum mic (reviewed in AMI November 2015), two compact C430 overhead mics and four D40 drum microphones.

Each features high maximum SPL handling and rugged metal casing.

The D112 MkII comes with a integrated flexible mount, while retaining the sonic strengths and high SPL capability (up to 160dB without distortion) that the original model is known for.

Designed for cymbal and overhead miking, the C430 professional

Voice

Hear

Inform Strategy

Ideas

Understand

Communicate condenser microphone and its compact design delivers a ‘uniquely clear, crisp sound’ that often reduces the need for external EQs. Finally, the all-metal D40 professional instrument microphone with its integrated stand adapter and mounting bracket is designed to stand up to heavy use with drums, percussion, wind instruments and guitar amps.

The AKG Drum Set Concert I is priced at £754.80. www.akg.com

CALREC LAUNCHING NEW AOIP TECH Calrec will unveil a number of technologies that enable broadcasters to interface with multiple protocols simultaneously at this year’s NAB. The firm is showcasing four new networking solutions, including an AES67/Ravenna interface, an AVB interface and a modular I/O Dante card that also has AES67 compatibility. In addition, Calrec will debut a SMPTE 2022-7 video interface.

Each element of Calrec’s protocol range redundantly connects to Hydra2 and appears like any other I/O resource on the Hydra2 network. Hydra2’s integral suite of management tools provides additional benefits to allow remote configuration patching, port protection and access rights.

The AES67/Ravenna and AVB interfaces are a 1U box that can transport 256 channels of audio on a single connection. A second expansion card can provide full redundancy or

512 channels of audio – one of the highest-bandwidth connections available for either protocol.

The SMPTE 2022 modular I/O card provides either four HD-SDI streams with 16 channels of embedded audio in each, or a single UHD stream with 16 channels of embedded audio.

This versatility allows a greater density of signals per connection.

Calrec’s existing Dante modular I/O card, launched at IBC 2014, utilises Audinate’s Brooklyn II card and now offers AES67 support as standard. This combination enables access to up to 64 bidirectional channels in either protocol. www.calrec.com

think different – be heard Marketing | PR | New Media www.soundmarketingltd.co.uk

April 2016

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SHOW NEWS: PROLIGHT + SOUND

Information

GOING DEUTSCHE

What? Prolight + Sound 2016 Where? Messe Frankfurt, Germany When? 5-8 April

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Prolight + Sound is undergoing big changes this year including a new hall layout and a separate set of dates to Musikmesse. We round up some of the main talking points.

V

isitors and exhibitors are currently preparing for what will be a very different Prolight + Sound this year.

Increasing demand for exhibition space in the booming event sector, according to the organiser, has led to a fundamental change to the hall layout, as well as to the sequence of days over which the fair will take place.

Those from all areas of the pro-audio, lighting and event business will find that the range of products and subject areas has been extended by utilising six halls and an extensive outdoor area on the East side of the Messe.

Starting from this year, the event will also be held over four dedicated working days – Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 7pm.

Also for 2016, the Conference has been restructured and split into two ‘thematic tracks’: Prolight + Sound Forum Basic and Prolight + Sound Forum Advanced.

At the Forum: Basic, participants will get the chance to refresh their knowledge about technical issues through various lectures from industry experts, including ‘Planning and Designing PA Systems’ from Volker Ruf (Satis&fy) and ‘Practical Tips 8

on Optimum Miking’ from Andrew Livine (Association of German Sound Engineers).

On the first day of Forum: Advanced, the focus will be on training as part of the Future Talents Day, including the restructuring of the curriculum for event-technology trainees and international qualification standards.

On Wednesday, the spotlight shifts to duties and power in the field of event technology and the demands on top events. Visitors can look forward to a broad spectrum of subjects on Thursday and Friday including 3D audio and radio frequencies.

Brand new to Prolight + Sound this year is The Manufacturers’ Forum, a professional-development programme that gives pro-audio companies the opportunity to pass on their expert knowledge and experience and enable visitors to learn about technical developments via bestpractice examples.

The companies and organisations that will be presenting include ALC NetworX, d&b, DPA, Lawo, Meyer Sound and many more. The spectrum of subjects to be covered ranges from broadcasting and studio technology to new standards for multi-media networks and audio-over-IP.

On the Showfloor After six years of development, Funktion-One is officially launching Vero, its large-format touring sound system that features six low-distortion horn-loaded loudspeakers and is powered by Lab.gruppen amps.

The British loudspeaker manufacturer believes the Vero system is set to redefine audio and operational performance expectations, boasting ‘a new level of performance characteristics relating to sound quality, efficiency and directivity.’

Also receiving their debuts on Funktion-One’s stand will be the Evo 7T – a fully horn-loaded touring loudspeaker with 15in mid-bass, 10in Funktion-One signature mid-range and 1.4in compression driver – and the F132 horn-loaded bass enclosure, which features Powersoft’s M-Force 10kW linear transducer and FunktionOne’s specially designed cone and enclosure technology.

RTW will be showing its new Continuous Loudness Control software, an adaptive morphing algorithm that allows users to constantly control and regulate to a given programmeloudness value, along with a definable loudness range with minimal obstacles.

The software is able to handle most

common DAW software, audio and files, and meets all major global loudness standard specifications.

RTW will also reveal an updated version 3.0 to its Masterclass Plug-ins – a set of mastering and loudness tools which now adhere to SAWA and TASA cinema loudness standards – and the TM3-Primus, a compact addition to the TouchMonitor range of audio meters.

Yamaha Music Europe and DPA Microphones will join forces at the show to demonstrate the advantages of combining their technologies and further boost their presence. Yamaha’s live performance stages will be equipped with DPA d:vote instrument and d:dictate recording mics, while the DPA booth will be equipped with Yamaha band and orchestra instruments for demos and workshops.

Prolight will also see the launch of the DPA d:facto Linear Vocal Microphone.

Featuring a new MMC4018VL capsule with an isolation-optimised supercardioid polar pattern designed to augment the human vocal range, it combines the very best of cardioid and supercardioid directional characteristics, DPA says.

A new generation of the MAUI range from Adam Hall brand LD Systems in the form of the MAUI 28 G2 and MAUI 11 G2 will make its debut in Frankfurt. The MAUI 28 G2 is a compact, active column PA with DSP-based signal processing, Bluetooth and a four-channel mixer.

Both the overall sound and dispersion have been improved and the weight has once again been significantly reduced.

The main new feature of the MAUI 11 G2 is its two-part speaker column, which makes it easier to transport. pls.messefrankfurt.com

April 2016

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OPINION

IF IN DOUBT, DIVERSIFY Matt Boudreau, founder of popular online podcast series Working Class Audio, tells us how spreading out his talents helped get him through a tough period, and why a similar plan could work for others. with very little business, a huge monthly nut for expenses, I wasn’t paying myself, I wasn’t saving, nor was I contributing to home expenses. I had run up a huge tab at my local pro-audio shop without my wife’s knowledge with the rationale that I would easily pay it off with all of the business I would have. On top of all that I was falling behind on my half of day care expenses for my kids. Nightmare personified.

Faced with catastrophic relationship failure on the horizon with my marriage and financial ruin, I made the hard decision to exit the lease early with the help of my building partner who found a replacement to take my place. I took my gear home and begin the process of healing and reinvention.

MATT BOUDREAU

Getting back on track

A

person who chooses a line of work such as doctor, lawyer, electrician or plumber generally sticks with that over a career, often with the hope that they will move up the ladder to higher paying roles and eventually retire. I’m not ruling out the scenario but I have never met a person from those types of professions who has seen a drop in business to the point where they feel compelled to try another type of law or area of the medical field.

If one of the above does change or alter their career it’s usually because they don’t feel fulfilled. In contrast, people who choose the world of audio or music as a profession often find things do not always pan out the way they had intended, at least long term. For those music and audio professionals whose business goes down the toilet, they may give up and choose to lean on college degrees they did nothing with by getting a regular gig in accounting or teaching. For those without college degrees that could mean getting a job at a coffee shop, doing construction or dog walking. No judgment and no shame in dog walking or accounting but for those 10

that just can’t let go there is another way to survive and even grow. The word, my friends, is diversification.

Just like those who set out to be lawyers or doctors, with good intentions you might set out to play drums in your original band and be a rockstar, maybe you fancy yourself a future mega-hit producer or perhaps you’ll open a recording studio. Unfortunately drummers, producers and studios are just not as in-demand as doctors, lawyers or electricians, so when these good intentions fall short and the money just doesn’t pay the bills we find ourselves at the crossroads of life with some typical choices. Do you give up the dream and get “a real job” as your parents had suggested many years ago? Ego and pride can stand in the way because for many of us, our whole identity is wrapped up in the gig.

I have been that guy who wanted to be a rock star drummer then mega producer then successful studio owner.

I’ll cut to the chase and tell you none of that worked out as planned. After my last attempt at major success running a studio in San Francisco, it was me I found at the crossroads. I was in over my head

With my tail between my legs, I sat down after moving out and made the decision to downsize, diversify and get back to work using all of my talents I had accumulated over the years in order to stay in the business of audio and music.

First thing I did was to take stock of those talents. At the core I knew how to play drums and I knew how to record, mix and master, among other things. The key was to stretch each of those talents out to ensure I had steady streams of income.

On the music side, playing drums in an original band was not feasible so I put my ego aside and found a regular gig playing covers. It kept my chops up and got me out meeting people and networking.

On the audio side I sold all of my outboard gear, most of my mic pres, some mics in order to pay down accumulated debt from the studio. I focused on a setup geared towards an in-the-box workflow for mixing and mastering. Downsizing to this setup allowed me to have a compact mixing and mastering studio in a spare bedroom at home. I then declared my freelance status to my existing music client base, with the idea I would bring clients to studios that met their aesthetic and budget for tracking then bring the project back home for simple overdubs and mixing. I then started to take on more

audio clean-up projects, audio consulting, recording voice-overs, transferring old cassettes, as well as editing a human resources podcast on a regular basis.

Anything audio-related was on the table.

By reducing my overheads drastically and diversifying my talents I started to bring in multiple income streams. This new strategy allowed me to work from home and eliminate a daily commute, which gave me the time to completely take over all of the daytime kid duties.

With my new freelance status, I was in a position to be a more active parent and start paying off the debt incurred at the studio. Taking the studio out of the equation freed me from the albatross of high rent and accompanying expenses.

I was breathing a small sigh of relief but there was still much rebuilding to do. I started to wonder about other people’s experiences and how they made it work.

It was at this point I came up with the concept of my own podcast called Working Class Audio. I wanted to talk to other engineers and ask them questions about career, money, business practices and economic philosophies. I did my first show on 15 September 2014. As of writing this I’m up to 62 episodes with a huge listener base and sponsorship from companies I respect that also help contribute to the income streams.

By putting ego aside and taking the blinders off I was able to see more objectively that my original plans were short sighted, not well thought out and narrow in their dependency on one income stream. I saved my marriage – or rather we saved our marriage! – and I was able to keep my head in the game of audio and music. Is everything perfect?

Hell no, but it is on a more stable foundation than before and when you have a stable foundation you can build almost anything.

Matt Boudreau is a US-based producer, engineer, mixer and host of Working Class Audio, a series of regular podcast interviews with well-known audio professionals.

April 2016

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Design for Live The phenomenally powerful XCVI Core puts dLive at the heart of tomorrow’s sophisticated live audio systems, while its class-leading user interface keeps the engineer focused on mixing in the moment.

Distributed system with separate MixRack and Surface DEEP processing embedded plugins Redundant hot swappable power supply standard across the range Redundant connections throughout 814 system inputs and 824 outputs max Up to 5 audio networking cards - Dante, Waves SG, ACE, MADI

ALLEN&HEATH

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OPINION

COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU? Sound engineer and tour manager Paul Nicholson reacts to the arrival of new surface-based mixing solutions and ponders their potential impact on the live sound sector.

PAUL NICHOLSON

B

ack in 1964 Bob Dylan released The Times They Are A-Changing. Fast forward to 2001 and I’m at a Dylan gig staring at an Innovason digital console. Those prophetic words really hit home that day. His FOH engineer’s muchloved XL4 had been replaced with a small, lightweight, truck-friendly desk with a row of faders, a screen and just a few encoders. “Look what they’ve given me!”

This was a massive change and quite naturally a lot of people around that time were dismissive of the digital mixer concept saying it would never catch on. I also remember Christian Heil being told the very same thing a few years earlier when he launched the modern line array concept. Go back to France was one of the politest comments I seem to remember.

So there we were shivering under the storm clouds gathering over Stirling Castle with one of the first digital desks and by comparison with the norm back then, a diminutive V-DOSC system. It was a great sounding show by the way.

Fast-forward again to 2016. As we all know, digital mixing and line arrays are now the industry standard and are here to stay. As an industry, the touring fraternity is one of the most dynamic and inventive collectives on the planet. You just have to look at the incredibly high level of infrastructure that goes into creating and sustaining a modern festival, tour or show. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone somewhere is secretly designing an arena sound system that 12

fits into a Transit van, but perhaps the next fundamental shift in digital mixing is already here?

Remote Control I mentioned in one of my recent pieces for AMI that I’ve been mixing on an iPad, not just for sound checks and setting up monitors, but also at FOH during shows.

It was a strange experience, not least because the console was parked at the side of the stage 30m away from where I was sitting, but also the fact that the control app was limited in functionality and relied on a WiFi link to work. Both were big concerns. Luckily everything held together, the shows went well and I proved a point if only to myself.

However, what if this method of mixing could replicate or even surpass being behind a physical console? After all, most people are used to touchscreens.

Would you really prefer to go back to a Bakelite phone with a dial? No, it would be impractical and would look a bit daft sticking out of your back pocket.

So, welcome to the future, one where we’ll all be using control surfaces made up of multi-touch screens. Like it or not it’s already happening and there are several digital software mixer systems already on the market, but I believe the Waves LV1 sets the current benchmark standard.

I’ve been looking at the Waves system and others in some detail, but has it convinced me to seriously give up real

faders? Let’s take a look at what you typically get.

First off, you’ll need one, but probably a couple of dedicated ‘clean’ computers – one for processing the applications and the other for multi-track recordings, should you wish to run virtual sound checks from a separate machine. So, no change there from a standard digital desk. Then comes the brain of the system where all the processing takes place, namely a rack-mounted server. Same story. Then an I/O stage box, gigabit switch and Cat5/6 or fibre snake. Finally comes the big change, as out goes the physical tactile surface and in comes a multi-touchscreen. Basically, it’s a digital console stripped out into its component parts. Fair enough, and perhaps also easier to provide backup redundancy in the event of hardware or software failure.

Seeing the Benefits So what other unique selling points does surface mixing offer the user over a standard console-based setup?

Apart from price and portability, I think the answers really lie in the look and functionality. A number of manufacturers already provide plug-ins that can be used with hardware from Yamaha, Roland, Digico, Allen & Heath, Cadac, Midas etc. but what if I want to get away from the physical constraints of a console? This is where the move to a screen-based system really comes into its own.

One of the issues with standard desks, despite all of them having offline editors, is that their standalone app, PC or Mac software cannot replicate the real show.

Waves for one has fixed all that. At long last you really can sit at home, on the bus or plane and work on your mix, as your desk follows you around in your carry case. Try doing that with a conventional console. XL8 anyone?

Using a touchscreen takes things to a whole new visual perspective, and when a product looks good it usually is good.

If the mixer functions are completely intuitive then anyone used to conventional digital mixing and tablet functionality will be able to navigate these systems comfortably within a few minutes. It’s an immersive experience and, for me, brings the fun back to mixing.

I’m convinced this is the way forward and undoubtedly lots more manufacturers will be producing software-based mixers very soon. However, will this new approach gain wider acceptance and become the new standard? Eventually I believe so, but for now the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind…

Paul Nicholson has been a sound engineer and tour manager for 30 years and runs Salisbury-based Midas ProSound.

He also worked at L-Acoustics UK from 1998 to 2008 and continues to specify and use festival systems on a regular basis.

April 2016

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THE LEO FAMILY TRUE SOUND IN LINE ARRAYS.

The LEO Family provides power and clarity for nearly every application, from intimate performance spaces to the world’s largest outdoor festivals. LEOPARD, the smallest in the family, is gaining a following for being the most lightweight and versatile line array in its class. From small to midsize to large-scale, this family of line arrays has you covered.

Learn more about the LEO Family at Prolight + Sound, Hall 3.1 Stand A71

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OPINION

THE VIRTUES OF VR

As a precursor to our feature dedicated to the topic over the next few pages, Rob Bridgett offers an insight into what the advent of virtual reality could mean not just for the game audio industry, but the wider world.

ROB BRIDGETT

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s the release of multiple VR formats grows tantalisingly close, we find ourselves on a precipice of the unknown.

Do we find ourselves on the verge of one of the most revolutionary new entertainment and experience paradigms? Do the tech demos and launch titles that are already stacked up to showcase the new technologies have enough gameplay depth to make them more than novelty? And what does this mean for audio, beyond the technology?

As content creators, we are already finding it challenging to conceive of and author content in the same ways we do for traditional game or movie media. The things that work and the things that don’t work from our current models of game making, game playing and filmmaking are equally fascinating. 3D positional objectbased sound seems to translate fairly immediately, and even helps to cement the audiovisual contract that what we see has an element of the physical and concrete about it. It strengthens the experience overall. In music terms, an approach like Playthings, where the player gets to interact and trigger music in a hyper-stylised coloured world seems much more suited to the medium than that of a traditional orchestral score played non-positionally in the stereo field to accompany a horror movie-like experience.

This brings up an interesting schism that also occurred at the beginning of 14

the 20th century when cinema was in its infancy. What was cinema? Was it a medium for conveying realism like Train Pulling Into a Station (1895) by the Lumiere Brothers or transporting the audience to surreal, impossible fantastical places through use of effects and editing (A Trip to the Moon, 1902 and The Impossible Voyage, 1904 by Georges Méliès)? Of course, cinema turned out to be about both of these things, to varying degrees, but more importantly, it became a powerful medium for storytelling.

Forward thinking For a moment, we should consider the potential uses for VR that are far beyond just gaming or entertainment of any kind.

The technology has serious medical and military applications that still seem like a thread of speculative fiction. Having someone pilot a weapons device or drone using 3D cameras and live stream of binaural stereo microphones will enable a ‘pilot’ to see and hear the situation on the ground as though they are where their ‘proxy’ body is. Waging war or policing troubled areas would become decidedly closer to dystopian science fiction where human interaction, and personal risk, is minimised. In a more benevolent context, the technology could enable surgeons to pilot and control micro or nano robots and perform previously unimaginable surgical procedures. Exploration of remote and hostile environments could similarly be carried out by remote proxy machines,

while the operator is safe in the control room. The 2009 movie Surrogates painted a bleak picture where pain, fear and consequences no longer existed for the users of these ‘surrogate’ bodies.

In a slightly less terrifying application, VR could enable programmers or video game artists and movie developers to move around in the scenes they are creating in their 3D engines, and place sound emitters or special effects for example, and see the scene up close.

Similarly, an office worker in a soulless open plan office could wear a VR headset to appear to be in a beautiful cathedral while they work, or a cabin by the ocean, a way of relieving many of the less pleasant trappings of every day work. Similarly on long-haul flights, passengers could be transported to a large movie theatre to watch their in-flight films.

Perhaps commercial momentum and interest will build as an extension of other already successful mass market experiences, offering deeper and more detailed exploration of connected online spaces shared with other gamers who are playing on console or mobile?

Attending live concerts and conferences via VR streams rather than being at the actual venue?

Endless possibilities I think by exposing some of the speciesaltering potential for the medium, beyond gaming or enhanced films, we can really start to think of newer and more

innovative applications for sound and audio in these experiences. Streaming live sound from a proxy binaural microphone is one such technology that I believe is already being developed and tested. With the huge market in flyable drones proving popular, an additional VR control layer to that experience could become very popular. Imagine gamification of these live-streamed experiences.

Games and experiences themselves have already discovered that the need for convincing and realistic audio is absolutely necessary to the experience of presence in a virtual world of any kind, whether entirely manufactured, or streamed proxy reality.

Perhaps then VR will enable us to no longer distinguish between realism and stories that even have impact in the real world. VR, while it has transformative and far-reaching implications for how we interact with the world, and with each other, I have no doubt it will take our storytelling to a much more impactful and experiential level than even the most powerful films and documentaries. I also have no doubt that audio technology coupled with the creative forces of sound design, music composition, acting and mixing will all play a critical role, perhaps even more than they do in linear and nonVR game media, in those experiences.

Rob Bridgett is audio director at Eidos Montreal.

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FEATURE: IMMERSIVE AUDIO The eight-capsule 360º RondoMic array from Telefunken and Dysonics

REALITY CHECK The VR era is now seemingly upon us, and with there being so much potential both creatively and financially, some of the world’s top tech firms were quick to get on board, but what about audio companies? Rob Lawrence speaks to some of the first manufacturers to show their cards in this unpredictable new field.

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he attention the world of virtual reality has been receiving of late is of little surprise to anyone who shares a glancing interest in emerging technology trends – more so for those who are interested in producing or consuming creative media.

As the field of virtual reality, or VR, begins to flourish, an ever-increasing amount of possibilities and depth of virtual experiences seemingly unfold.

Yet the recent desire to engulf audiences in immersive audio experiences, within the recent VR evolution, appears to be becoming a bolder, more apparent one.

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Highlighted by the growing number of products, and small enterprises, appearing in the VR market place, beyond the ubiquitous headphone, there is a renewed focus on the world of immersive audio. Could it be that this is the time that audio, in the world of virtual reality, is finally receiving the attention it deserves?

The casual observer may be quick to assume that both established large audio brands and new, smaller organisations are simply responding to the latest trend or VR fad with Google offering its Cardboard, Samsung Gear, and the widely-reported Oculus Rift soon

due to arrive. For the enthusiast and professional alike, it is no secret that audio has long been sitting in the back seat of the virtual reality bandwagon; yet when respected manufacturers appear to be taking immersive audio more seriously it is evident the focus is shifting.

Sennheiser’s global director of strategic innovation, Véronique Larcher, is quick to dismiss this as a case of jumping on the VR bandwagon, as “Sennheiser has been working on its immersive audio technologies for ten years”. As far as smaller brands are concerned, Dysonics CTO and

co-founder, Bob Dalton reveals that they, too, are “not somebody that’s just entering the world of audio with an idea and going after it”. Dalton points out that its own evolution into VR can be traced back two decades as one of the first to publish Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) measurements – data still used in binaural audio today.

Earlier this year Sennheiser revealed its new strategic focus on 3D immersive audio with the launch of the AMBEO brand. Director of global marketing communications and co-project lead for AMBEO, Uwe Cremering, views the importance of 3D audio as “one of the

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strategic opportunities from a business perspective” for Sennheiser. At the launch co-CEOs Daniel Sennheiser and Dr Andreas Sennheiser explained: “3D audio is the new frontier of excellence, set to transform the listening experience for users across a broad range of applications, from virtual reality gaming to audio recording and broadcasting. We are now increasing our efforts considerably to introduce this amazing sound quality into new products and applications, enabling users to experience and shape the future of audio.” The new brand is an all-encompassing umbrella trademark for the manufacturer’s 3D audio products and applications. Such bold initiatives indicate for brands such as Sennheiser that immersive audio is fast becoming a format of choice in professional recording, mixing and listening. Nonetheless, the complexities of creating a high-quality immersive audio experience are obvious to some, yet hidden to many.

Lars-Olof Janflod, Genelec

Talking sense It is well known that with sound one can profoundly affect the emotion of an experience. Cremering acknowledges: “If you consume virtual reality without having sound…it’s [only] half the experience”. While a truly immersive experience would engage all five senses,

it is sound that creates the emotional landscape and the critical sense of space for VR. As visual technology progresses the challenges of reproducing clear, high fidelity audio to match, and in real spaces, can be a complex matter.

To meet the demands and expectations of both the VR consumer

and content creator in vastly varying acoustic environments Genelec’s Lars-Olof Janflod, admits that despite their interest in new technologies and end-user experiences today, their loyalties remain with supporting the audio engineer, producer and mixer.

Commercial studio environments have been employing multiple loudspeaker configurations, such as Auro-3D and Dolby’s Atmos, for some time now.

Genelec demonstrated an innovative 7.1.4 array at the 139th International AES Convention in New York City last year, and in any such arrangement, the initial challenges of consistent loudspeaker equalisation and power have largely been surmounted through years of research and product development.

The challenges in immersive audio applications nowadays are more concerned with inconsistencies in calibration and timing – critical to VR. Janflod states: “In immersive audio it’s of the utmost importance to have the same arrival time from each one of your

Reinventing the large sound system

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FEATURE: IMMERSIVE AUDIO loudspeakers.” The 7.1.4 configuration featured several new Smart Active Monitoring, or SAM, loudspeaker systems that employ proprietary Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (or GLM) control network and AutoCal calibration technologies to overcome such challenges.

For Dysonics, Dalton says its current challenges are similar yet different as he concerns himself with maintaining “all the fidelity and the accuracy of where things are in…space” as objects and listeners move around. He explains that it is a blend of both linear and non-linear audio that creates an unfolding story for each VR participant, particularly in gaming. It’s the non-linear element, specifically, that is a challenge for Dysonics. Today, the firm is focused on developing the tools for content creators and on real-time linear sound. Non-linear audio can be defined as where sound is experienced moving through a scene – a gunshot, for example – whereas linear audio can be considered as having a beginning and end, like a soundtrack. Fortunately for Dysonics and Dalton, “a lot of our early partnerships…are people that need linear VR [content creation] tools”.

Larcher notes that Sennheiser is equally undeterred by the current technical challenges of VR. “I don’t see the challenges as technical challenges,” she says, so far as audio capturing and reproduction is concerned. The company’s senior manager and DiplomTonmeister, Gregor Zielinsky, adds that the wide range of hardware and personal competence inherent at Sennheiser allows the global audio specialist to respond to the demands of the consumer, “whatever they may be”.

Looking ahead What is not known today by large and small brands alike is how the VR customer or immersive experience user want to consume. Cremering suggests: “Nobody can really say where VR is [going to be] in ten years [from now].”

According to Dalton, gaming is “where the money is” and Janflod agrees: “There is more money invested in games than in basically anything else these days.”

This could all quickly change with the potential of AR (Augmented Reality), which Dalton claims, is “something that’s going to be part of our everyday [life]”.

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Sennheiser previewed its VR mic at CES this year

He points out that VR, unlike AR, is an experience that you may choose to have or make a consistent effort to enjoy. He adds that “the best days of VR are long ahead of us” while asserting that VR is simply a stepping-stone towards AR. Larcher, as co-project lead for AMBEO, cautions: “The technical challenges will be higher [for AR]” because of the demanding requirements to achieve “a perfect blend between [the] artificial world and the physical world”. Processing is a critical factor for immersive audio and VR – plenty is needed. Current mobile device

processing power and energy demands will likely influence or curtail the development of AR in the near-term, however, this is where Dalton believes Dysonics will succeed: “We’ve gone to extreme lengths to... find that optimum point where it’s extremely efficient,” he reveals.

Using a process he refers to as ‘stitching’, Dalton states that Dysonics’ approach to capturing and rendering immersive audio playback relies upon an “infinitely complex recording but a fixed complexity playback” using eight channels of audio captured in native binaural. This allows the majority of the processing involved to simply ‘stitch’ the eight channels of audio together in response to movement and motion, for example, using its RondoMotion consumer head-tracking device to create “an extremely realistic experience”. Aimed at the consumer, the RondoMotion can be fitted to any pair of headphones.

More recently the San Francisco start-up has partnered with Telefunken, using its TK61 capsules to develop an eight-capsule 360º microphone array, RondoMic, to produce a variety of sound location demos. Having captured the audio in this format to form a MotionTracked Binaural recording their algorithms and software ‘stitch’ together the live audio playback in real-time, a process which they claim uses far less processing power than real-time spatialisation.

Another recent example of responding to the market is Sennheiser’s new VR microphone – still in prototype – which was previewed at CES before the official launch due towards the end of this year.

The early release of the four-capsule Virtual Reality microphone signifies a change in the company’s operational approach. According to Cremering, the advent of VR has encouraged a change in mindset within the organisation.

Whereas previously Sennheiser products were taken to market 100% complete,

the VR microphone has been revealed earlier to elicit feedback from the industry. “Development time is changing”, Cremering claims, sharing that the speed at which products are being developed and taken to market is accelerating. “The biggest challenge from our perspective is that this business is very fast and we have to adapt. There are upcoming players and operational partners, it’s a more flexible kind of approach we have to learn,” he adds.

Another challenge is predicting where the market is going to go and where the demand is going to be. “To give a safe prediction is difficult,” remarks Janflod.

For manufacturers, knowing where to focus their resources is critical to their sustained success in VR now and AR in the future. Cremering comments that, to succeed in VR, as an established brand they “must be flexible”. Dalton is optimistic, suggesting that the “best days are long ahead of us”, and is excited by the fact that VR, and what is happening in the field of spatial audio is “pushing the boundaries”. For him, the opportunities appear endless – a sentiment seemingly echoed by everyone interested in VR. Janflod offered one pervading thought, that whatever unfolds, “it will be virtual for sure”.

In conclusion The recent shift sensed by many towards a more serious focus on audio in the world of virtual reality may be exactly that – virtual. What is real is that audio manufacturers are boldly innovating, pioneering and releasing new products developed from the strength of their own legacies, as they respond to a risky and rapidly evolving virtual reality market. What is also evident is that creating a convincing immersive audio experience is as important as it has ever been. The audio experience has to be both flawless and seamless to match the aesthetic. What is certain is that progress is inevitable. Until virtual reality convincingly replicates a life-like experience there is very little evidence to suggest that this rapidly evolving corner of the audio industry is likely to stop. www.dysonics.com www.genelec.com www.sennheiser.com www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

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FEATURE: GAME AUDIO

QUANTUM MECHANICS John Broomhall talks to Remedy Entertainment’s audio director Richard Lapington about the sound of a long-awaited new Xbox One title that combines gaming with live action TV.

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uantum Break is a big deal involving a serious audio production, all funded by a massive investment from Microsoft. This futuristic interactive/ linear hybrid entertainment offering for Xbox One marries videogame with live action TV-show featuring a parallel story in which hero, Jack, has to survive ‘Stutters’ – time breaking down and making different game world objects jump backwards and forwards. He can also make everything slow down around him and use his powers to stop enemies and certain objects in their tracks – all interesting propositions for sound design, which unsurprisingly played a key narrative role.

Yet according to Richard Lapington, ace game developer Remedy Entertainment’s audio director, by far the most challenging aspect of the project’s development was the branching dialogue system via which players can navigate the story in different ways as they make their own choices 20

of verbal responses to questions and observations thrown up by the various game characters they encounter.

“From a purely audio perspective the branching dialogue wasn’t all that problematic. We marked up which dialogue belonged to which branch in the screenplay, then recorded and named the files accordingly,” he says. “We created a bespoke internal tool called Dialogue Writer, which proved invaluable for organising dialogue lines, wav files, facial animation files, and integration into the game. It helped speed up and keep track of production and implementation. Actually the branching dialogue was more of a headache per se for the level designers and quality assurance testers – and of course for the writers, who had to ensure all narrative threads made sense in both the game and the TV show.

“For me, the bigger challenge was dealing with the time travel elements and that cross-pollination with the show – because as you progress through

the game, you re-visit scenes. But you re-visiting them from alternative perspectives. It’s entirely possible to hear the same scene’s dialogue from two or even three perspectives. For instance, there could be a main scene in the show that you can ‘accidently’ overhear in the game. Another example would be a scene encountered early in the game, which you later witness from a completely different spatial perspective. This made things quite complex – say recycling dialogue originally recorded for the show on-set for use in the game – needing to make it all work together sonically.

“Plus ADR from the show, speech captured on the mocap (motion capture) stage for the game, some recorded in our own in-house studio and then some more traditionally recorded at a VO studio for the game. Of course, we tried to match mics and signal chains across as much of it as possible – but perhaps unsurprisingly it all sounded slightly different. There was plenty of cleaning-up and match EQ’ing…

“Logistically, working with such high-profile actors and actresses could be challenging. They’re all incredibly professional and talented but making a new game with new IP including timetravel and branching dialogue inevitably required iteration. Sometimes getting studio time with our super-busy cast when it suited us wasn’t so easy and that meant we always had to nail it – no second chances – for either voice or simultaneous facial capture, the majority of which we did in-house using a specially created comprehensive pipeline for recording and editing VO. “We had a very specific software and hardware setup for this. It had to be robust and reliable. We also had a lot of ADR to do in-house with the facial movement capture system, which always involved a super-quick turnaround. We could not have lived without our Sound Devices 744T (which we used for every single I/O in conjunction with our facial recording system). Add to that EdiCue and

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//////////////////////////////////////////////// EdiPrompt, both invaluable in VO shoot prep and keeping our sessions on track.

Then we used Reaper – combined with some custom Python scripts – it made managing all these recordings less painful.

Doing time When it came to sound design for the project’s aforementioned time stutters,

Lapington’s aim was clear – that players should recognise instantly what ‘state’ the game-world is in – even with their eyes shut: “We needed ‘Stutters’ to totally contrast aurally with the normal game-world, so we decided to run two sets of audio side-by-side – a ‘normal’ set and a ‘stutter’ set, and switch between them. Aesthetically, this was shall we say Richard Lapington

interesting – trying to concoct sounds that resembled what you see yet were ‘fractured in time’. Music also plays a huge part in communicating time ‘breaking’ – music and rhythm are based on repeated patterns and by breaking those patterns in sync with the game-play we can emphasise time breaking and create disease. Music stretches and filters, as does dialogue and most other sounds when time shifts.

“We went through many variations and concepts along the way – the audio team would make assets and we’d see which ones worked and which didn’t. We created an audio reference guide of descriptors for Stutters, for example ‘violent’, ‘unpredictable’ and, even more important, words that described what Stutters were not, such as avoid ‘sci-fi’ or ‘digital’ – really important with quite a few sound people working in different locations, for instance MS Redmond Central Media and later Soundcuts in London.”

crashing into a bridge. Certain ‘shapes’ of sound just don’t work, and you have to be pretty clever with frequency movementblending to make it sound convincing.

“We call the second plug-in we created Q-analyzer. It analyses audio in real-time and passes a resulting signal out of the audio system for use in the game. Visual manipulation of an audio signal is something our art director Janne Pulkkinen has been working with for a while. From an audio perspective it’s really simple – we add a plug-in to a sound in Wwise, and with a line of script in our game engine we can drive visual effects, for example, drive an animation timeline from a sound’s RMS value.

Driving visual effects from audio forms the cornerstone of the game’s Stutters.

All the wavy visual distortions you see in the environment are driven by sound effects – and audio and visuals are always in sync, which makes the game feel really holistic and connected.”

The Wwise choice

Being prepared

Lapington’s creative direction crosspollinated to the live action show’s audio team too, helping ensure consistency in environment and time-related audio treatments. Meanwhile, delivering his audio ambitions in-game entailed some bespoke augmentations to chosen middleware Wwise to assist with the time manipulation aspects and audiovisual sync: “We created Q-grain, a real-time granular synth plug-in. It went through several iterations but really took shape when we started working with Vesa Norilo from the Sibelius Academy.

We wanted to closely link animation timing with sound. Right from the outset we knew we had this crazy challenge of matching sound to objects moving backwards and forwards in all sorts of different timescales, all at once. Granular synthesis was the obvious choice for a plug-in, our criteria being that it should ’sound natural’ and that we wanted to control every parameter in real-time using RTPCs. “We also needed to run multiple versions simultaneously in any scene, using compressed sound files not PCM to conserve memory. Designing sounds for use in the synth to get the outcome you wanted proved something of an art form - especially considering you’re matching some mad animations, for example a ship

Planning the mix and target audio levels was an early consideration, Lapington reveals: “We were bringing in external freelance sound teams early in production, so set guidelines for them for different asset types, such as a background ambience should have an LU value of X and a peak of Y, an explosion should be a louder X and Y etc. Our overall target was -24 LUFS over a halfhour’s game-play – a number that turned out to be really important for ensuring consistency with the live action show.

“To aid our final mixing, we consciously designed the structure of the audio assets in Wwise so we could mix linearstyle, scene by scene through the game.

Scheduling mixing time at the end of the project was a challenge (and involved a calculated risk we’d actually get the time to get the mix right after the game was fully playable at target frame rate!). We monitored on multiple speaker systems as a team, both on consumer and proaudio equipment – stereo TV, 5.1, 7.1 etc.

We aimed for the best all round mix for the majority of people – we wanted the game to sound great on a 7.1 system – but we still wanted it to feel compelling on a normal TV.” www.remedygames.com

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much detail in each shot that was constantly evolving, from backgrounds down to the tiniest detail.”

Godlike gear

PLAYING GOD

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Devising a sound mix to portray mythical deities is never going to be a simple process, yet Colby Ramsey spoke to the head of a team who recently pulled out all the stops to achieve just that…

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ince taking on the role of additional supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer on the truly explosive Mad Max: Fury Road – which earned a clean sweep of the Academy Awards for both sound categories this year – Wayne Pashley could have quite easily found himself in a state of flux following such a convincing, prestigious success on the big stage.

Yet his most recent venture saw him turn his hand once again to a similarly big-budget motion picture which would undoubtedly require a transferral of those skills used to bring George Miller’s action-fuelled vision to life.

Gods of Egypt tells the tale of Set (Gerard Butler), the god of darkness, who forcefully takes over the Egyptian empire, only to have his reign thwarted by a mortal hero, Bek, who partners with the god Horus (Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to save the world and rescue his lover.

It is a story that hails from the very start of human story telling around 4,500 years BC, yet the manner in which the film’s plot unfolds is far from innocent in its depiction.

The main objective for Pashley and the sound crew was to be truthful to the Egyptian mythology that the film is based on. The film’s director, Alex Proyas, is Egyptian himself and so displayed an 22

immense respect for the story he was telling, making it clear from the outset that he wanted to approach the film from a fantastical level. Pashley and the sound team therefore spent a lot of time becoming intimately acquainted with each of the gods’ characteristics in order to depict them as accurately as possible in a filmic sense.

“That naturally led to one of the biggest challenges we had – how to sonically deal with each character,” says Pashley. “Their mythological characteristics, their ‘godlike’ voice, their costume, their scale in comparison to objects around them, and in particular in reference to the mortals on Earth, and sometimes not on Earth.”

Divine intervention The ongoing battle between Ra – the sun god – and Apophis – the god of chaos – throughout the film is a good example of where the events are seen and heard not only from a human perspective on Earth, but from a celestial one as the audience is thrust into the midst of battle in the god’s empyrean world.

Pashley explains: “In one scene where our lead mortal character finds himself on Ra’s celestial barge, floating on the waters of creation, Alex would ask, ‘What do the waters of creation sound like to a human, is it the same as they sound to a

god?’ and ‘If a human has never heard the sound of Apophis, then what would he hear as the creature attacks Ra?’ “This is an enormous challenge, to create a beast that is not only the biggest sonic character in the movie, but have it be a monster that has never been heard before in cinema.”

It took a total of nine months for Pashley’s Big Bang Sound Design team to arrive at the final mix, initially starting as a smaller design crew and gradually expanding as more of the film’s visual effects came into play.

However, as a film that is so heavily reliant on VFX, the sound design team were still involved early on in the post timeline, contributing fundamental sounds to aid storytelling for screenings and preparing for the inevitable last-minute flow of ideas.

“It is vital to the VFX that the ‘weight’ of the sound helps to bed those visuals in truth. We used a lot of sub-harmonics in the vocal treatment of the gods, and zoomorphism within the sounds created for the gods to link the images and sounds together,” says Pashley.

“The biggest difference was probably the enormity of the visual effects. The sheer amount of visuals, and how much they were changing right until the end was on a scale I hadn’t encountered before. It wasn’t just the occasional shot or scene coming in late, but so

When it came to the details, Pashley and the sound design team utilised Neumann KMR 81 and U 87 microphones for recording ADR, and an Electro-Voice RE20 for loud crashes and god-like fight and vocal effects – all of which were recorded at 96kHz for later manipulation to reduce artifacts.

Sounds in Sync’s EdiCue software also allowed them to easily re-configure cues when updated pictures arrived only hours before an ADR record session, and transfer the EdiCue clips (Pro Tools clip groups) into the record sessions, streamlining the whole process. The recordist used the clip groups to locate the sections of dialogue to be replaced, making short work of loading the sampler with the location dialogue when an actor wanted to ‘parrot’ a cue multiple times in a single run.

“The mix was 7.1 from the start, with pre-dubbing completed at Big Bang Sound Design using Pro Tools 11 and D-Command, with the final mix finishing at StageOne Sound on a AMS Neve DFC console,” explains Pashley. “We wanted the environments to be very clean, to sparkle and suggest a world created from god’s inception; sounds from when the world came into being, a time when magic and superpowers ruled the Earth.”

To achieve Proyas’ vision, the team recorded countless hours of specialised effects in order to bring the right level of detail to such hyper-stylised imagery.

The vocal effects – of Anubis, for example (god of the underworld, who is depicted as a jackal) – were also highly stylised, in this case utilising wolf and wild dog sounds to gain the right effect.

Pashley notes that creating sounds that have never existed before is what makes films like Gods of Egypt so amazing to work on: “Alex gave us a lot of space to create the world and develop the characters as we saw them.

He allowed us to find a fundamental truth in this new world and be inspired by the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and this classic story.” www.bigbangsound.com.au

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STUDIO PROFILE of analogue” include an API Lunchbox kitted out with two Neve 1073 preamps, four API mic pres and two Chandler Little Devil compressors.

“You’ve got the clean sound of the SSL and then over there you’ve got more boutique-flavoured sounds,” Randell explains.

All about Atmos

ELEPHANT (IN THE) ROOM

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Another multi-million pound installation at a London university is further proof of the education sector’s desire to offer professional-standard facilities for the next generation. Adam Savage went over to London South Bank University to check out their new media complex.

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he staggering rise in investment that some educational establishments both here in the UK and further afield have made recently when it comes to audio equipment for new facility builds hasn’t gone unnoticed here at AMI. We knew there was a lot of big spending going on, but our trip to the University of Westminster (see AMI November 2015) really opened our eyes, and it was only a matter of time before a similar story caught our attention again.

Now home to its lucky School of Arts and Creative Industries students, the new $4 million-plus Elephant Studios at LSBU (London South Bank University) took around two years to turn from vision to reality, and was opened in February by former BBC chair Lord Michael Grade.

Consisting of a large sound stage, nine editing suites, cinema and more, arguably the highlight of the new media complex is the main sound studio control room, featuring an SSL AWS 924 delta console and an array of Dynaudio AIR speakers positioned for both 9.1.4 and 13.1 Dolby 24

Atmos surround setups. Designed to give students everything they need to prepare for a career not just in music recording/ production but post as well, it is the first Atmos/SSL-equipped recording studio in the UK, according to Langdale Technical Consulting, the firm responsible for the technical installation.

Justin Randell is the director of Elephant Studios at LSBU and also course director of the Sound Design degree. With the difficult aim of ensuring a professional standard throughout, Randell found the best way to achieve this was to visit some local post houses, especially with one of the world’s leading hubs for this very thing right on his doorstep. Two well-known firms, Factory and 750mph, were happy to help when Randell sought their advice alongside project consultant Bill Ward of Langdale.

Doing the research “The post sector in London is where it’s at and a lot of people are looking at that area. Even people from the States are coming here so [we thought] why don’t we just go and visit these places? One of the advantages, with my education hat

on, is that I’m not a competitor or a rival trying to pinch ideas,” Randell reveals. “[We went about] identifying the workflow and directions of what is happening in post and in some ways there are differences to what we want to do in the education sector. In post there is more of a shift towards digital but we wanted to teach signal flow from the ground up, so from analogue into digital. We think it’s really important for students to have that tactile experience… of how sound goes from one place to the other.

“The digital tools are amazing and make things so much simpler but from an education point of view they don’t teach the underlying principles very well so they’re taken for granted.”

“That room in Factory was built by a friend of mine and I really liked the workflow and the fact that it was quite simple, but had a few choice bits of analogue stuff and the SSL [AWS 948] sat in there. As a room it’s a really easy one to work with so we modelled it on that to start off with.”

As well as going with an AWS 924 instead of 948, Randell’s “choice bits

Of course, integrating a Dolby Atmos setup is not easy, especially in an educational environment, but fortunately Randell was in regular contact with the right people to ensure everything went smoothly.

“At the same time [as working on the project] I was also working with various Dolby Atmos projects in cinema,” continues Randell. “So I had a conversation with Dolby about what we could do at a university level to teach Atmos and integrate it with the SSL workflow.

“Because the SSL goes all the way up to 5.1 we can use it to teach standard surround. When we switch to 7.1, 9.1, and then to Atmos we then switch to a matrix and the SSL becomes the session controller.”

And as for the all-important cabling, Ward was able to go with a tried and tested method to make what is usually a complex and time-consuming process that much simpler.

“The advantages of Mosses + Mitchell modular patch-bays combined with the bespoke wiring facilities at VDC meant we were effectively able to finish the installation before we’d got access to the rooms,” Ward notes. “All the audio looms were prepared using Van Damme Blue Series and Neutrik connectors throughout and by the time we got on site we were effectively installing and testing a giant studio-wide audio loom.

It’s an approach we’ve taken before and one that works successfully in saving the client down time towards the end of a project.”

The recent developments at LSBU and Westminster are evidence of UK universities’ newfound ambition to take industry relevance to a whole new level, and we’re confident there’s much more to come. www.lsbu.ac.uk

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VISIT us at prolight & Sound 5-8 april 2016 | Frankfurt hall 3 | LEVEL 1 | STAND C31

The flagship sound system from Pioneer Pro Audio

The Sankeys installation comprises the GS-WAVE series 3-metre dance floor stack with GSA technology, and the XY Series in-fill speakers. All powered by Powersoft’s high performance K Series amps with built-in DSP. This comprehensive line-up guarantees versatile installations that deliver superb sound and complete coverage throughout venues of every shape and size.

visit www.pioneerproaudio.com to learn more about our GLOBAL installations. venues include Sound Nightclub LA, Sankeys Ibiza, UshuaĂ?a, Pikes and Bierfabriek #madeintheUK

Pioneerproaudio

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TECHNOLOGY: HOW TO

USING MICS FOR OB APPLICATIONS

Robert Edwards, co-owner of Video Sound Services (VSS) and two-time BAFTA winner, offers some practical tips on deploying microphones in sports stadiums and other outside environments.

S

port is the mainstay of the paid-for channel offerings by most of the world broadcasters. It is big business; Deloitte estimated that the value of top-tier sporting events was in excess of $28 billion. All of these events need world-class audio. The majority of it takes place outside, so the tools for the audio job must be selected carefully.

Using any form of microphone outside the confines of a comfortable and warm studio environment is inevitably going to present a challenge. The elements conspire together to present a formidable list of obstacles to overcome.

Wind, as in life, is the single biggest problem facing a microphone when let loose on an outside broadcast, but moisture comes a close second.

Before you do anything else you should go for the quaintly named “reconnoitre” or recce. Nothing beats a good look at the outside space you are hoping to cover before you start to rig. Take some shots on your mobile to remind you where you are planning to put your resources.

There are usually covered areas for spectators. Plan to use them for your overall ambiance coverage where your principle microphone source may be kept relatively dry. Check that your main

DPA’s d:mension 5100 Mobile Surround Mic

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ambiance position is not near a source of unwanted noise, like a ventilation duct or PA speaker. Take a look at how you are going to cover any action in the uncovered and exposed zone. How will you run cables there? How many microphones will you need? Will the cable runs be excessive for the type of microphones you are planning to use? Would radio microphones be useful? If so, where will you put the receivers? How will they be powered?

Make a plan The microphone type and mounting is crucial to plot. The microphone is a detector where the movement of a tiny diaphragm is converted into an electrical signal, however there is wanted movement and unwanted movement.

To reduce the unwanted elements, the microphone should be mounted so

that it is isolated from any mechanical noise and wind, but that is tricky.

Rycote is acknowledged to be the go-to provider of windshields and mounts and has developed ingenious methods of de-coupling the microphone from the unwanted dark side. Meshes, gauzes and foams are employed within a stronger overall frame. The company is also good at absorbing the direct impact of a very costly Premier League football player without injury to either. Low-base stands are less obtrusive, less dangerous and less prone to being blown over. Without exception, on the mixer, the low-pass filter is your friend in dealing with wind rumble. No-one is ever sacked for taking too much out below 100Hz. The overall ambiance gives the event a sound signature. The microphone should generally be placed to get the best overall crowd sound, without being so close as to hear individual voices. That usually means high up but that brings its own problem of long cable runs.

There are a number of microphone contenders for the Swiss-army knife of ambiance. The SoundField mic continues to lead the pack in its ability to capture 5.1 that can be seamlessly folded-down to stereo and mono. It is remarkably easy to rig and will work at large distances from both the controller unit and an OB

truck. Its killer feature is the 20W heater built into the body of the mic to keep the capsules warm and dry. DPA introduced the DPA5100 in 2009 using miniature omnidirectional capsules in small interference tubes mounted in what looks like a bicycle saddle and requires no outboard processing. Audio-Technica has the BP4029 stereo shotgun, which is useful if you only want stereo.

A modest lift at 8kHz in the mixer will counteract some of the losses associated with distant placement.

On the sport-action coverage, a straw poll in the UK found that the single most used OB microphone was the Sennheiser 416 (and its newer 8060 derivatives). It has a couple of unique features. It has increased directivity due to the interference tube ahead of the transducer and this is coupled to a unique RF modulating system. This is a lowimpedance system and inherently more robust to the effects of moisture and humidity. Cheaper rivals exist from Rode with the NTG-2 or Audio-Technica 897. For expensive rivals, try the Schoeps CMT5U. There are advocates of fruit-bowl technology in the shape of Telinga dishes, based on the parabolic dish. This was the go-to method for picking up cricket-bat effects in the ‘60s and ‘70s. A costly human needs to pan it with the action and it can’t be mounted on a Steadi-cam.

Finally, don’t ignore the cable to the mic. Protect any junction boxes to multi-ways with waterproof covers or even bin-bags. Star-quad is always preferred and a covering rubber mat will get brownie points with the health and safety inspector.

Robert Edwards has been involved in broadcast audio for over 40 years, and is co-owner of VSS Limited with Ian Rosam. He’s twice been a BAFTA winner, and continues to work on live major network programmes, both in the studio and on outside broadcasts worldwide. Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor, Celebrity Juice and Michael McIntyre’s Big Night Out all sit alongside long relationships with Sky, HBS and OBS.

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C R E ATI V E M A STE R I N G. R E I N V E NTE D. WaveLab is today’s leading mastering and audio editing platform, favored by mastering facilities, music studios, sound designers, journalists and broadcasters. Its comprehensive set of features, customizability and outstanding audio quality are the reasons WaveLab became the world’s most popular professional platform for audio refinement.

WaveLab Pro 9 reinvents creative mastering once again by providing a revolutionary new user interface, full M/S mastering support including editing and processing, the superior MasterRig plug-in suite as well as direct exchange with Steinberg DAWs, such as Cubase, among many other features.

www.steinberg.net/wavelab new tvbe template remade.indd 1

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT BROADCAST CONSOLES

HOT DESKS

As broadcasters look to hone their workflow efficiency and demonstrate greater creativity and collaboration, manufacturers are under increased pressure to provide the most technologically advanced solutions on the market. Demand for connectivity is high, so who can those in the industry turn to for answers?

A

s all eyes in the broadcast industry turn to NAB later this month, we asked a number of leading manufacturers if they’d noticed any recent shifts in the market for broadcast consoles and what they thought the key priorities would be for 2016.

At Fairlight, chief technical officer Tino Fibaek sees the move towards AoIP solutions gaining momentum, and says this is being reflected in the infrastructure designs of larger installs: “Flexibility is also starting to show up as a key requirement,” he states. “We are seeing requirements for the console to be compatible with mainstream IT

systems, for maintenance, monitoring and ultimately control.”

Fibaek says there will be an extension to the production and delivery chain, where sports broadcasters will start deploying a hybrid model of both fixedformat mixes and object-oriented audio.

Ian Cookson, communications manager at Calrec, agrees: “As demand for a wider variety of sports coverage increases, traditional outside broadcasting resources are finding themselves stretched,” he says. “Several broadcasters are developing methods of remote production, which allows coverage to be controlled from a central studio connected to the mics and cameras on site.”

Fairlight EVO.Live According to Fairlight, the EVO.Live mixing console excels in modularity and customisation, enabling users to build exactly the right mixing environment for the production.

Ergonomically designed control modules with ‘excellent visual feedback’ and immediate access to critical functions allow users to work with ‘complete confidence’ during production.

The console can be split into two independent fader sets for dual-operator functionality. Fully redundant power supplies and Ethernet-based panels ‘ensure a high level of reliability.’

The console features Fairlight’s integrated control surface technology and incorporates its FPGA-based Crystal Core engine designed to deliver high channel, bus counts and low latency.

Available in different stand-alone chassis sizes, as well as surface-mounted and table-top configurations, EVO.Live additionally provides advanced surround sound mixing capabilities,

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off-line preparation via laptop, a built-in sound effects cart machine and control extensions to lighting systems, third-party DAWs and sound library databases.

The team at Calrec are also witnessing the growing importance of networking via third-party protocols, and says that while the ratification of AES67 gave the industry a definite direction, there are many routes that can be taken.

Lawo envisages many of the newest IP-related products and infrastructure solutions that have only been talked about for the last couple of years finally beginning to appear as practical implementations in support of this year’s upcoming major global sporting events. The company now sees its broadcast console sales as part of a larger eco-system to support the transition from existing SDI-based infrastructures to the new IP-based

infrastructures and production workflows.

Katy Templeman-Holmes, director of broadcast marketing and solutions at Studer, notes that it has become less about the console and more about the infrastructure: “I think everyone ultimately wants the same thing – interoperability, agility and functional firepower – so the shifts you’re seeing at the enterprise level will become even more apparent at lower levels, in remote facilities and satellite studios,” she says.

While manufacturers look to satisfy these shifts in demand, we put some of the latest consoles under the spotlight in a bid to demystify the industry’s current broadcasting dilemmas…

Fairlight’s Live line-up is very scalable. This allows our partners to work closely with the client and define a costeffective solution that is completely optimised for their specific requirements. With the converged nature of the consoles, in that they can switch between Live and Post modes, the client truly maximises their return on investment, as they buy one console, but effectively use it for two different functions,” says Tino Fibaek, Fairlight’s chief technical officer.

www.fairlight.com.au

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT BROADCAST CONSOLES

Lawo

Calrec

mc2 broadcast production consoles With the recent addition of the mc236 all-in-one mixing desk, the mc2 product line now offers a range of solutions that are ‘scalable and affordable’, with ‘uncompromised audio quality and best-in-class reliability for any and all applications’. The mc2 series includes Lawo’s Emmy Award-winning routing capabilities, a range of I/O stagebox options, and is natively equipped with Ravenna/AES67 technology, allowing all mc2 series consoles to integrate seamlessly into future-proof IP infrastructures.

Other notable features include high channel counts, completely configurable control surfaces, dual-star redundant networking topology, IP-oriented infrastructure and Ravenna/AES67 compatibility. mc2 series consoles provide ideal solutions for TV studio and mobile broadcast production, as well as major live shows and international events with a global TV audience.

Andreas Hilmer, Lawo’s director of marketing and communications, states: “The mc² series has outstanding reliability for demanding 24/7 applications such as broadcast network operations and global events coupled with fast and efficient operation and easeof-use in creating specialised workflows, making the mc² series ideal for applications including live broadcast, house of worship, performance venues, mobile and remote production. The Lawo mc² series of audio production consoles allows operators to focus on their work rather than their equipment.

www.lawo.com

Studer Vista 1 Black Edition Studer’s Vista 1 Black Edition offers an ‘enriched feature set’, retaining the ease of use of the Vista 1 digital mixing console in a sleekly designed form factor.

With an integral DSP engine of 96 channels, the Vista 1 can handle mono, stereo and 5.1 inputs with ease, and is provided with a standard configuration of 32 mic/line inputs, 16 line outputs and four pairs of AES inputs and outputs on rear panel connections, which can be customised.

I/O can be expanded using the standard Studer D21m card slot on the rear, to allow MADI, AES,

30

AoIP (including AES67), ADAT, TDIF, CobraNet, Dolby E/Digital, SDI connections etc. MADI links can connect to any of the Studer Stagebox range for XLR connectivity as well as other formats.

For theatre productions, the Vista 1 comes with the complete toolset for sound designers.

The enhanced theatre CUE list includes Character/ Actor Library event handling, with MUTE and VCA events handling. CUEs can fire MIDI/MMC events as well as loading different Strip Setups and UAD plug-in snapshots.

Bluefin2 range The Calrec Apollo provides redundant hardware for all critical systems, and takeover is described as ‘automatic and seamless’. Hot spares mirror primary hardware and in the rare event of failure automatically take over with no disruption to the audio. The system covers DSP modules, control processor modules, router modules and all PSUs. Hydra2 is the Apollo’s backbone, linking the control surface to an 81922 router and on to more complex networks when required. Hydra2 is adaptive and intelligent, automatically recognising changes to the network and updating all its clients, Calrec says.

Bluefin2 gives the Apollo 1020 input

channel processing paths for the biggest 5.1 projects and is described as a DSP powerhouse among modern broadcast consoles.

The Artemis console allows up to 680 input channel processing paths on a single DSP card, with a secondary card providing full and automatic redundancy.

Then there is the Summa, which also uses Calrec’s Bluefin2 technology at its core, and the same integral Hydra2 router technology as the Apollo and Artemis consoles.

Bluefin2 provides Summa with a pool of up to 180 channel processing paths, which can be assigned as mono, stereo, or 5.1 channels. www.calrec.com

The Apollo, Artemis and Summa consoles which constitute our Bluefin2 range of consoles remain at the forefront of digital broadcast audio due to their groundbreaking FPGA and intelligent networking technologies,” says Ian Cookson, communications manager at Calrec. “Bluefin2 provides enough power to ensure every channel and bus is fully featured at all times, and coupled with the Hydra2 network, it means these consoles are scalable into immensely powerful and versatile broadcast tools.

Features such as true broadcast monitoring, red light control, GPIO, N-x (Mix Minus) busses, snapshot automation and DAW control make the Vista 1 an ideal choice for broadcast, live and production use,” notes Katy Templeman-Holmes, director, marketing & solutions, broadcast at Studer. “With software v5.3, the Vista 1 Black Edition user will also get the most powerful SpillZone and FollowSolo functionality, as well as a server-based event logger application, which is logging Vista system and user-events.

www.studer.ch

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

PIONEER DJ RM-07 STUDIO MONITORS

Stephen Bennett finds out whether these new speakers from the DJ gear specialist are a match for some of the well-established names in professional monitoring.

T

he wonderful thing about speakers is that speakers are wonderful things. Their cones are made out of – well, most anything really. Since the first primordial stirrings of the electromagnetic speaker, they have appeared in many varieties.

One question that is always asked by the audio engineering novice is the difference between studio monitors and their brethren destined for a domestic setting. Although we seasoned engineers may mumble something about ‘ruggedness’ and ‘flat frequency response’ the truth is, especially when 32

we are talking about near-field monitors, that there is very little difference between these speaker types. More than often it all boils down to the cosmetic – speakers destined for the home tend to be veneered in woods or other materials that are acceptable in a domestic environment, while studio-bound speakers are usually more functional in physical design.

Pioneer DJ may not be the first company that springs to mind when considering professional studio monitors. The company has a long and excellent reputation regarding the production of audio gear of course

– in fact, my first turntable was the company’s PL112d and its headphones and cassette decks have graced my home over the years. However, its DJ series of equipment is well respected among those who spin the real or virtual decks. The S-DJs are perfectly conventional monitors – biamped and ported, with a separate tweeter and mid-range drivers of various sizes to suit different applications. Pioneer DJ, however, has thrown something of a curve ball with its latest speakers.

The RM series of professional studio monitors eschew the traditional multi-driver approach for a design that

found its most memorable and mature development under the auspices one of the most famous speaker manufacture in the world: Tannoy. All speaker designs have positive and negative attributes and I’ve always thought that choosing a pair is like a relationship – select the ones who annoy you the least and learn to live with the problems. I’ve had a sort of Tinder-like relationship with speakers, never being entirely happy with any of my choices. Early in my career, I came to the conclusion that I mostly preferred certain speaker designs such as sealed box and transmission lines, so I’ve spent a large proportion of my professional life

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

Key Features n HD-Coaxial driver unit for ‘accurate point-source monitoring’ n 40Hz-50kHz frequency range (RM-07) n AFAST acoustic tube to reduce standing waves n Front-loaded bass reflex system with grooves n Low/Mid/High EQ settings RRP: €729 (RM-07), €549 (RM-05) www.pioneerdj.com – and my income – on trying to find that always-elusive ‘perfect’ monitor.

One of my other favourite designs is the one employed by both Tannoy and the speakers under review – the dual concentric or point-source speaker.

In an ideal world, you’d be able to reproduce the whole of the useful frequency range with a single driver and, while this would solve many of the problems that beset speaker design, it is, of course, impossible. Having two or more speakers in a cabinet introduces quite a few problems into the complex speaker equation – the crossover itself, the effect of the cabinet on the drivers mounted in different, separate, locations and the phase differences between those drivers – something to which those of us who record drums become extremely sensitive.

A compromise employed by the pointsource speaker is to place the tweeter – the high frequency driver – within the second (low or mid-frequency) driver, usually, though not always, smack bang in the centre. This addresses several of the problems mentioned above, but unless the combined driver is extremely well engineered, the point-source design can introduce other sonic issues. Currently there are two monitors in this new series, the RM-07 and RM-05. The RM-07 is the larger of the two, sporting a 6.5in aramid fibre ‘woofer’ mid/bass unit, while the RM-05 has the smaller 5in unit.

Consequently the former is some 40mm taller (337mm) and 3kg heftier (12.3kg) than the latter.

Both speakers offer a similar frequency response – 40Hz to 50kHz (RM-07) and 45Hz to 50kHz (RM-05) – but the Class A/B amplifiers differ more greatly, with a 100W into 4 Ohm amp driving the low frequency unit and a 50W unit driving the tweeter in the RM-07,

and a 50W unit driving the low frequency driver in the RM-05. As you would expect, the crossover frequencies also vary, as does the maximum SPL: 109dB in the RM-07 and 104dB in the RM-05 – both measured at one metre.

Apart from these few areas the two monitors are otherwise identical. The 1.5in hard dome aluminium tweeter is the same for both units and mounted centrally in the low frequency driver.

This HSDOM (Harmonised Synthetic Diaphragm Optimised Method) tweeter developed using technology from Pioneer subsidiary TAD, which drew on the company’s expertise in the AV sector and is what gives the monitor its ultra-high frequency response. The cabinet is made of an extremely stiff die-cast aluminium with an integrated heat sink on the rear panel to channel away the heat generated by the two internal amplifiers. The speakers are forward-ported and the front is a smooth surface that flows back from the effectively single driver in a way that multi-driver designs cannot match. The grooved port employs the Japanese manufacturer’s Acoustic Filter Assisted System Tuning (AFAST), an acoustic tube that is designed to reduce the effect of internal standing waves and improve the port’s output.

There’s an LED on the front panel that displays any overload and if the speaker has gone into a power saving standby mode – this can be disabled using the rear panel Auto standby switch.

The rear panel itself sports screw mountings for wall fitting, unbalanced RCA input and a balanced XLR inputs alongside the expected IEC mains socket, power switch and fuse holder.

A comprehensive EQ section is also available, with low mid and high rotary dials alongside an overall level control (-40dB to +6dB). The hi-fi geek in me balks at a speaker with tone controls, but I have found that even a small tweak of the bass output of an active speaker in challenging conditions can bring you closer to that mythical ‘flat frequency response’ – but how effective that is does depend on the quality of the tonal control design.

The low and high controls are shelving filters that offer attenuation or boost from -4dB to +2dB at 50Hz and 10kHz respectively, while the mid control is a

dipping notch filter set at 140Hz, with a variable Q that gets narrower at extreme settings. The supplied rubber legs and soft cushions offer various table and stand mounting options – although, as I’m a believer in using rigid stands, I opted not to use these in testing.

In Use So far, so good, but as we know, specs are not everything in the audio world.

I was supplied with a pair of RM-07’s, so I set these alongside my current near-field monitor of choice: the active ATC SCM16. The ATC retails at over four times the cost of the RM’s, so I also set up a pair of Focal Alpha 80 active monitors and an ancient pair of Tannoy Little Red concentric dual speakers

“I’ve often noticed that some ported speakers appear to add bass to everything, but the RM-07’s seemed reasonably well-balanced overall” Stephen Bennett

powered by a Quad 45 amplifier for a fairer comparison. I’m always surprised by how different speakers of similar size and design can sound so the difference between this rag-bag of speaker technology was quite marked.

I auditioned the RM-07’s via a Metric Halo UL-N 2 in a reasonably well-treated studio. The first impressions were positive. They appeared a little brighter than the ATC’s but a judicious tweak of the high frequency knob brought them under control with little apparent loss of detail. Buoyed up by this, I moved the RM-07’s to a part of the studio where I knew there were bass issues and had a play with the low frequency control.

Again, this helped enormously with flattening out the bass response. I’d still prefer to place the speakers optimally in a room, but if I were restricted in this aim, I’d be glad of the tonal correction offered by the Pioneers.

Back on the stands, they offered a reasonably detailed high frequency and midrange, with none of the ‘smearing’

that can occur with inexpensive two-way designs. I could hear subtle changes in a mix I’d recently undertaken and the speakers were not obviously fatiguing over extended periods.

The amount of bass delivered by both the Alpha 80 and RM-07’s was impressive for their size – but when I switched back to the sealed-box ATC’s it became obvious that the low frequencies were slightly over-hyped and ‘one note’. This is common with ported designs, but the RM-07’s give enough real low frequency information to make sensible mix decisions and, if I was mixing dance music for clubs, I’d probably appreciate the extra heft and weight. I’ve often noticed that some ported speakers appear to add bass to everything, but the RM-07’s seemed reasonably well-balanced overall.

Stereo imaging was excellent and they did not exhibit any obvious frequency changes when I moved my head around.

Comparing them to the Tannoys, I detected something of the benefits of concentric speaker design: accurate positioning of instruments in a mix and mid range clarity with no obvious phase issues, alongside a little of the restriction of treble dispersion that the Little Reds are also prone to.

These new studio monitors are up against some well-established competitors in this price range and it remains to be seen if the company can make waves beyond its DJ and home-audio reputation and into the professional studio market. The manufacturer has used the benefit of its experience to create a speaker that employs a relatively rare design that might just make them stand out from the crowd. If you are looking for a robust, flexible, decent sounding near-field monitor, the list of those you need to audition just got slightly longer.

The Reviewer Stephen Bennett has been involved in music production for over 30 years.

Based in Norwich he splits his time between writing books and articles on music technology, recording and touring, and lecturing at the University of East Anglia.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

DANTE VIA SOFTWARE

Brad Watts takes a look at this new software from Audinate, which cleverly connects any audio application or device from the user’s computer to a Dante network.

A

udio networking, the concept of delivering audio via standard ethernet-style Cat5, Cat6, or even fibre-optic cable has been around for some time.

Yet in the early days of its development there were many caveats – using supported switches, and dedicating the physical cabling of such networks solely to the required audio (and/or video) network. There was also the impinging factor of latency – the inevitable tardiness of digital data being shunted via ethernet cabling could make or break the usefulness of an audio network especially.

A decade ago, Audinate unleashed Dante – an IP-based technology that could piggyback on an existing ethernet or fibre-optic network. Yes, Dante functioned on any network, with a guaranteed latency quotient, and allowed the user to ostensibly bring Dante-aware peripheral equipment such as audio recording and playback devices, digital mixers and stage-boxes, speakers, amplifiers, embedders and de-embedders, connect to the existing network, and know that their digital audio would be delivered glitch-free and in time.

Consequently, Dante has grown to become all but a standard for AV networking and integration within sound venues, corporate AV installs, OB vans, and indeed, broadcasting facilities. Dante is even making its way into recording studios. As mentioned, the range of Dante-aware hardware is large and getting larger. Logistically, Dante is the first and final choice for integrating an audio system network.

This is all very well for Danteequipped equipment speaking with other Dante-endowed hardware, but what if you need to apply this same integration between the countless ‘virtual’ pieces of hardware in a standalone computer? Or even 34

have an audio application running on said computer, access to the aforementioned Dante hardware? Or, in fact, augment an audio interface without Dante support, into a device, which can integrate into a Dante network? Enter Audinate’s Dante Via.

Overview Dante Via is precisely this missing link. The software application, with a quick flick of the Download and Install button, not only turns your Mac or PC into networked Dante hardware; it also bestows all your audio software with Dante smarts. Audinate offers a 30-day unhindered demo period for Dante Via, so there’s no reason not to grab it and give it a whirl. The mere 54MB download is compatible with OS X 10.95, 10.10.5, and 10.11. In Windowsland you’ll need Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8.1, or Windows 10. System requirements for both operating

systems start at i5 processors – which unfortunately will rule out many laptops – 4GB of RAM, and a 1Gbps network interface – easily attainable stipulations. Plus you’ll need a 1Gbps network switch or router for gaining access between other computers with Dante Via and/or Dante hardware – beware ‘EEE’ or ‘Energy Efficient Ethernet’ switches.

Notice there’s been no mention of WiFi thus far? That’s because WiFi is strictly unsupported. It’s not fast enough, there’s the packet loss, and let’s be honest, it can be flakey at the best of times. Dante networks can handle up to 32-bit/1962kHz audio streams – today’s wireless speeds simply couldn’t handle it. That said, Dante Via keeps audio within the 24-bit/48kHz realm.

Should you not be able to live without Dante Via at the end of the demo period, the cost isn’t prohibitive at a mere

Key Features n Enhances any USB or FireWire audio device with network connectivity n Isolates and routes audio from applications n Easily monitor Dante devices and channels from anywhere on the system n Intuitive drag-and-drop interface n Security settings to control distribution of audio RRP: $49.95 www.audinate.com $49.95, and the licence will allow up to five instances of the software. Note if you’re using Dante Controller and/ or Dante Virtual Soundcard on other computers on the network, you have to upgrade to the latest versions of these apps to use in tandem with Dante Via.

In Use So enough of the background; let’s

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Save the Date IBC2016 Conference 8 – 12 September 2016 Exhibition 9 – 13 September 2016 RAI, Amsterdam

Where the entertainment, media and technology industry does business

IBC.org

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW look around the Via GUI. Following installation (on OS X, which is from where these descriptions will follow), start Dante Via and you’ll be presented with a reasonably simple drag-anddrop interface, with Audio Sources on the left, and Audio Destinations on the right. Sources can be Local Devices such as the computer’s onboard audio inputs, or indeed, inputs on any connected audio interface. Below this is the Local Applications area.

Here, applications that can generate audio are listed. This includes DAWs, browsers, media players, Skype, iTunes – literally any application that can produce audio – up to 32 x 32 channels. However, streaming between applications is limited to 2 x 2 channels.

Beside each of these source options is a tick box to enable Dante for those devices. Below this is an area for other computers/devices running Dante Via and the input sources for each of these devices. Then finally we see another area representing Dante hardware devices taking part in your network.

Moving to the right side of the GUI we find Audio Destinations. These include any hardware device or software application that can receive audio from the computer, or indeed the network: Dante-equipped mixers, amplifiers, speakers etc. Below this are Local Application destinations, and here you can shunt audio from applications such as browsers and media players, even Dante Devices on the network, then choose Dante Via as the record input in your DAW. Easily make a twotrack of whatever’s coming into your Dante-savvy mixer, for example. When it comes to patching up these sources and destinations, it’s simply a matter of dragging icons to and fro’. It’s a piece of cake. Then when you see what’s possible within Dante Via, you soon realise it to be the Dante Swiss-army-knife.

With so many options possible, you’d start to wonder what keeps all this patching frivolity in check. Fortunately Dante Via takes care of all sync and sample-rate issues, resampling everything to 24-bit/48kHz seamlessly.

Bear in mind Dante Via takes control of your computer’s audio system as soon as it’s booted. In OS X the sound input and output are quietly changed to Dante Via. Quit or stop Via and the previous sound devices are returned to.

There’s a lot you can do with Dante Via. Initially my first thought was for recording outputs of applications straight to a DAW. Then I realised I could quickly set up a patch to record to a DAW on another machine, and send that audio off to a dedicated spectrum analyser on another computer without the need for an audio interface on that machine – all with a respectable 10ms of latency – that’s within Dante Via. There will of course be the additional latency of ancillary devices such as USB/FireWire/PCIe audio interfaces.

This lends itself quite readily to recording desk mixes with a laptop easily. But then the applications become wider the more instances Dante Via finds itself – quickly send your PowerPoint presentation to the house audio system with an ethernet

cable, gain talkback to the talent’s in-ear monitors with a USB microphone and a laptop – it’s really up to whatever you can think of, knowing you can flick an audio signal to and from your computers with a drag and a drop.

Overall, I can’t really fault Dante Via. While there are a few hiccups at the moment with Apple audio applications (I did chase my tail with Logic Pro X until I was informed there was a “soon to be rectified issue” with Apple software), I am pleased to have been endowed with a licence. And frankly, at fifty bucks US it’s a steal regardless.

The Reviewer Brad Watts has been a freelance writer for numerous audio mags, has mastered and mixed various bands, and was deputy editor of AudioTechnology in Australia. He is now digital content manager for Content and Technology.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

RØDELINK FILMMAKER KIT WIRELESS SYSTEM

Jerry Ibbotson tests out the first model to be released as part of the mic brand’s new range of digital wireless systems.

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have to tip my hat to RØDE (if I wore one that is). They really do seem to know who their customers are. I follow them on Twitter and regularly see them chatting to people who are using their microphones, particularly the models aimed at filmmakers.

There’s a real, two-way flow between the Aussie firm and people the world over who are using their latest range.

Recently the company has really embraced the world of DSLR filmmaking (a subject I’ve covered in the past in this magazine) with its VideoMic gear. These are small mics that sit atop a DSLR on the hotshoe mount. Of course, RØDE makes a wide range of more serious looking microphones – I’ve been using an NTG3 for years, even since reviewing it for Audio Media International – but the DSLR crowd seem to be cut from a particular cloth. The VideoMic models are aimed at them – people who are serious about their guerrilla filmmaking but who may not be, in the traditional sense, audio pros.

The RØDELink Filmaker kit is based on a similar ethos. It’s basically a wireless personal mic kit for DSLR use. There are countless personal mic set-ups available but RØDE has taken away the fear factor that first-time users might encounter and made a bit of gear that drops seamlessly into their workflow.

It’s based around a 2.4GHz transmitter and receiver. Fun fact: the principle behind 2.4-Gig Frequency Hopping technology, where you don’t have to worry about interference, was developed by pre-war Hollywood starlet Hedy Lamarr.

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Key Features n 2.4GHz digital transmission n 128-bit encryption n Range of up to 100m n One-button pairing n Powered by USB or AA batteries RRP: £289 www.rode.com The TX and RX are similar looking units, built out of high-quality composite material and with a smart, minimalist look. The TX has a hot shoe mount and the RX a belt clip. They run on two AA cells each, and the unit can be continuously powered via USB. The controls are simple: there’s power, a channel button, a pairing or ‘Bind’ button and a mute function. The transmitter has a pad switch inside the battery compartment, which lets you step it down by -10dB or -20dB. The antennae are internal – one of the many benefits of 2.4GHz – and the outputs are 3.5mm locking minijack on both TX and RX. The kit comes with a high-quality ‘curly’ cable that hooks the receiver to the mic input on the camera.

I am guessing that the receiver outputs at mic level, so it doesn’t fry the SLR’s mic input. Until SLRs are fitted with Line inputs, that’s the way it has to be but the RØDE works fine in this regard.

The microphone is a lavalier with 110dB maximum SPL. It comes with both a small foam windshield and larger, faux fur item. The connection is also via minijack.

In Use I was very keen to test the Filmmaker as I had a little job in mind – always the best way to test out a new piece of equipment. I needed to produce a series of short ‘teaser’ videos for a museum I work for, in the style of hands-on

pieces to camera performed by yours truly. I’m using a Nikon DSLR and had done an initial test-shoot using the hideous built-in microphone. And when I say hideous, I actually mean souldestroying-ear-melting bad.

I then moved onto a mic I already own – a RØDE VideoMic. This is the one with the Rycote Lyre shock mount built in. It’s a definite step up from on-board sound but when recording speech it still leaves the audio sounding roomy, unless the subject matter is less than a metre from the camera (the perils of on-camera mounting a microphone).

While the results with the VideoMic were just about acceptable, they weren’t as good as I wanted.

Enter the RØDE Filmmaker kit. I dropped in a set of batteries, fired up the power and plugged in the mic. The receiver went on the camera and the transmitter went on my belt. I set up the Nikon to manual audio control and set level appropriately, using level metres on both the camera and the RØDE RX. I did find that the output from the RX was fairly strong, and dialled in a fairly low level on the camera – 7 out of a possible 20 on the record gain.

That’s when I noticed one key omission (in my opinion): a headphone jack. Given that this is tailored to DSLR use and most of these lack a headphone output, it would be good to at least know that decent audio is being picked up by the receiver. What if the

mic is close to mains power, a fridge or something else producing inaudible hum? Or what if the subject matter has left his or her phone on? It would be a worthwhile investment.

My colleague Jenny and I then spent an hour recording various pieces to camera in different locations inside the museum. One of those involved me talking while walking up a large winding staircase, with the camera in a fixed position above. There is no way the VideoMic, or any other on-board microphone, would have coped with this, as the space is hugely reverberant. But the Filmmaker produced excellent results.

On paper the RØDE gear isn’t offering anything that others might.

But the execution is spot-on. It works brilliantly for its intended market and is a doddle to use. I do think a headphone jack would help but overall this is one of those bits of equipment I find myself reluctant to hand back after a test.

RØDE, if want the Filmmaker back, you’ll have to find me first…

The Reviewer Jerry Ibbotson has worked in pro-audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

EVENTIDE ANTHOLOGY X Key Features

PLUG-IN BUNDLE

n 17 plug-ins with over 1,000 presets n Includes ‘studio mainstays’ like the H910 and H949… n …and ‘future classics’ such as the UltraChannel and UltraReverb n Compatible with a wide ranging of leading DAWs n Free 30-day demo license

Rich Tozzoli, a fan of the original hardware, tells us why using this new collection of plug-ins is like ‘hanging out with an old friend.’

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onsidering how we upgrade our software and computers so often, sometimes certain plug-ins get left out for a cycle or two. We go about productions and then one day realise: “Where is that piece I used to turn to?” Such is the case with Eventide’s Anthology X; I now understand how much I missed it.

Anthology X is the same bundle from the Pro Tools HD platform, but with new additions and greatly expanded Native compatibility. It contains 17 plug-ins with over 1,000 presets and now runs 64-bit AAX Native, VST, and AU, operating on Pro Tools 10+, Cubase 7+, Nuendo, Wavelab, Logic 8+, Ableton Live 7+, SONAR, Reaper, GarageBand, Digital Performer and Studio One. The bundle features Eventide’s H910, H910 Dual, H949, H949 Dual, UltraChannel, UltraReverb, Octavox, Quadravox, H3000 Factory, H3000 Band Delays, Instant Phaser, Instant Flanger, Omnipressor, EChannel, EQ45, EQ65 and Precision Time Align processors. Licenses can be activated via PACE’s iLok License Manager but it does not require the USB iLok dongle.

The license can also be activated in two separate locations, either on the computer or iLok. This cool collection features recreations of classic Eventide hardware pieces along with modern takes on things like UltraReverb, EChannel and UltraChannel. Getting some plug-ins back that I haven’t used in a while is like hanging out with an old friend. I first called up the H3000 Factory – I once had the hardware version – and used it to tune a kick drum with the SubKick 40

RRP: $1,195 www.eventide.com

preset. Upon selecting, the Tuning soft key is already engaged; I just turned the big rotary dial on the right to find the right frequency. It took no more than a minute, using one knob, but it added a lot of cool sub information to increase the weight of each kick impact.

Instant classic Next I called up a classic, the Model FL201 Instant Flanger; hardware production dates ran from 1976 to 1984. Adding it to a distorted electric guitar part, it’s classic flanging bliss that simulates true tape flange. Once again, I didn’t have to go crazy tweaking to get what I wanted; I simply turned up the Feedback, which adds output audio back into the input.

What it does to my ears is increase the apparent width and depth of the flange effect. I then turned the Oscillator Rate up to slow (20 seconds, 0.05 Hz), which makes the overall effect of the flange slow and subtle.

Then I called up my latest favourite in this package, the Dual H949 Harmonizer. Available in single and double, the latter recreates running two 949s in parallel for some seriously cool doubling effects. On top of the plug-in are three buttons: Mono, where the output from a single unit feeds back into the unit; Stereo, where the output from the top unit feeds into the bottom;

and Both, where the output feeds into itself and the other unit.

The other interesting buttons on the top are for Stereo Link, where Mono allows you to set all the controls independently; Link, which changing one correspondingly changes the other; and Reverse Link, where changing the Pitch Ratio on one unit causes the other unit’s Pitch Ratio to move in the opposite direction – great doubling effects! What I do is set the Pitch Ratio to 1.000 in Mono mode, then click it into REVLNK and turn the Manual knob. The smallest movement immediately creates this lush stereo width effect. Simply leaving it in Mono and tuning each Pitch Ratio independently works, too. Either way, it’s like having two 949 hardware units feeding into the stereo signal.

The other piece that I like to use a lot in this bundle is the H910 and the H910 Dual Harmonizer. The H910 was actually the first harmoniser and one of the first commercially available digital audio products. Who would think, many years later, we could have it all on a software desktop, which didn’t even exist at the time these units were first released?

Like the H949 mentioned above, the Dual H910 simulates using two units in parallel. The controls for Stereo Feedback and Stereo Link also work the same as the 949, but the 910 has a

Stereo Width Slider for 0 to 100% and a Mix slider on the bottom for 0 to 100% Wet/Dry control.

All of the plug-ins in this collection have excellent presets. The one I use the most on the 910 is the MicroPitch Shift setting, which offers a dropdown menu from 01 to 50% (yes, 50 settings!).

Even something as simple as 6% on a stereo drum loop or keyboard patch offers up a nice widening/doubling effect. Then I drop down and use the Mix slider to control Wet/Dry, dialling it in to fit the track.

Conclusion No matter how you slice it, Anthology X’s 17 plug-ins offer up a huge variety of classic and modern sounds that can push virtually any production over the top. There is a free 30-day demo license available from their website to check it for yourself, which I highly recommend.

The Reviewer Rich Tozzoli is a producer, mixer, engineer and musician/composer for TV programmes such as Duck Dynasty, History Channel’s Pawn Stars, Harpo Studios’ 21-Day Meditation Challenge and more.

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INTERVIEW

CATCHING THE EYE

Being faced with audio recorded on a boat in a storm with no proper sound crew is not everyone’s idea of good fun – that’s unless you’re Bob Bronow. Adam Savage chats to the re-recording mixer, who has rightfully received recognition for his work on extreme reality TV shows and other projects in recent times.

Technicolor and those stages can be on the lot and off the lot. I also have my own system at home.

You’ve done a lot of TV shows over the years but you’re best known for Deadliest Catch. Surely it must be difficult to achieve good sound on a series like that?

Without question it is the most challenging of any show that I’ve worked on. There are no production mixers and everything we get is either from a camera mic or lav [mic]. If I was a camera guy on one of these boats I would be so concerned about not dying that [audio] would probably be my last concern!

I have nothing but respect for these guys and I’m just amazed that I get any audio because I certainly wouldn’t be able to do it.

There used to be guys [fishermen] who wouldn’t even wear lav mics – they would just throw them off – and a lot of times they’re underneath layers of rain gear which certainly make it more difficult.

When we’re lucky we get someone right on mic and on Season Four or Five I had them put Sennheiser 416s on the cameras so I knew that at least if I was going to be pointing it at somebody, the chances were we were going to get something that was useable.

They were a little reluctant at first because at the time pretty much all the equipment that went out there did not come back.

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It’s on Season 12 now. Has the equipment improved much since the early days?

The equipment has certainly gotten better. Because of the unusual shooting locations and just the way it worked, we were tape-based for quite a long time as it was the most efficient workflow to get the work done, but now everything has gone file-based, which makes some stuff really easy – namely they don’t have to ingest all this stuff in real time.

The audio equipment has changed, but the equipment on the boat hasn’t.

There are still hydraulics, cranes, huge diesel engines, waves and wind, and that doesn’t change ever.

I spend about a third of my time doing nothing but noise reduction.

Everything is evaluated and processed so that it’s the best it can be before we even start mixing.

We hear that iZotope RX is your preferred way of doing this?

In the very early days [of RX] they found out I was using it and were very surprised it was being used in post-production. I was basically telling all my colleagues in post ‘oh my god you’ve got to try this, it’s amazing’ and you could see when RX 2 came out that it was really aimed towards the post community and that’s when things really took off.

You seem to specialise in shows about people in potentially hazardous situations. How do the others compare to Catch?

They’re similar but not really the same.

Some of the best audio I’ve received was from Ax Men! Yes, there are usually a lot of chainsaws in the background, but they have sound crews out there and when you’re way out in the woods it’s pretty quiet, so when they’re [the logging crews] not working, getting an interview is great.

And then there’s the new fictional drama series The Family. That’s a bit of a change for you?

It’s actually very nice to get up on a stage and not think ‘how am I going to clean everything?’ This is my first foray into an area I’ve been wanting to get into for some time, and I was really very excited when I got the call that Technicolor wanted to partner me with Frank Morrone (Lost, The Strain) to mix alongside him.

We’ve known each other for years but never had the opportunity to work together. It’s been amazing and I hope we get to do more.

Where do you spend most of your time working?

I do Catch out of Max Post in Burbank; other shows like The Family are through

As a member of the Television Academy Sound Peer Group executive committee and CAS Board of Directors you must get into some interesting discussions. What are the main talking points right now?

For me one of the biggest things is keeping the art and craft of sound relevant in people’s perceptions. We’re in a weird area where if we do really good work, nobody ever knows that we were there. The fact that some of these shows sound so good is only because of the really talented sound people.

It does not come out of the camera sounding like that!

What went on with the Tonys [theatre awards], where sound was dropped from the categories, for me was a wake-up call because it was like ‘people don’t know what we’re doing here’ and it’s important that we’re not marginalised because we, like picture editors, colourists, visual effects people, all contribute a lot to these shows, only our stuff isn’t visible on the screen.

Education seems to be another big part of what you do...

It’s really important because we have some great talent coming through and they’re the ones that are going to push this industry to the next level. I’m not a digital native speaker, but these people have grown up knowing nothing but digital. One of the reasons I like going into universities and meeting these kids is for the most part encouragement and letting them know that it’s not possible to do this if it isn’t truly your passion.

It’s wonderful when someone comes up to you afterwards and you can see the fire in their eyes. A lot of the guys I used to see on the East Coast I’m now seeing working their way up in Hollywood and it’s awesome to see. www.audiococktail.com

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