AMI October 2015

International TECHNOLOGY AND TRENDS FOR THE PRO-AUDIO PROFESSIONAL October 2015

www.audiomediainternational.com

A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB Oscar winners Glenn Freemantle, Niv Adiri and Ian Tapp discuss the demanding sound of ‘Everest’ p24

FEATURE

We ask a number of firms ‘what makes a good club system?’ p20

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BROADCAST FOCUS

The TLS team on mixing some of ITV’s top shows p26

REVIEW

An in-depth test of Nugen’s Halo Upmix p32

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WELCOME

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EDITOR Adam Savage asavage@nbmedia.com

Experts in the issue

SOUND MATTERS

MANAGING EDITOR Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com STAFF WRITER Matt Fellows mfellows@nbmedia.com ADVERTISING MANAGER Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-kahn@nbmedia.com HEAD OF DESIGN Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com DESIGNER Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com © NewBay Media 2015.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.

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Front Cover: (credit: Jasin Boland)

Mike Aiton was weaned at the BBC, but after breaking free nearly 25 years ago and becoming one of London’s busiest freelance dubbing mixers, he can now mostly be found in his Twickenham dubbing suite, mikerophonics.

Jim Evans has been involved in and reported on the professional audio and music industries for more than four decades.

Founding editor of Pro Sound News Europe, he has written for Audio Media since its inception and is a regular contributor to a number of leading industry publications and websites.

Mike Collins is a studio musician, recording engineer and producer who has worked on music recording, TV and film scoring sessions since 1981, and since 1988 has written more than 2,000 articles and equipment reviews for various magazines.

From the year 2000 onwards, Mike has written nine books for Focal Press, mostly about Pro Tools.

Ryan McCambridge is a freelance audio engineer, writer, producer and programmer from Toronto, Canada. He has taught audio production in workshops and universities, is the creator of the production blog Bit Crushing and is the frontman of A Calmer Collision.

I

’m well aware this could be wishful thinking, and possibly something that’s been said many times before, but it does seem as though the huge contribution that film sound professionals bring to successful big-budget movies is being more widely recognised.

Just take a look at some of the reviews of the new adventure thriller Everest – one of the main focuses of this issue, as you will have discovered already thanks to our cover image – and you’ll see what I mean. Comments like “powerful sound design effectively accentuates the sense of stormy isolation” (Mark Kermode for The Observer) and “the most transporting element of the technical package may be the superior sound design and mix” (Justin Chang for Variety) are good signs that people are at last waking up to the fact that these epic cinematic experiences don’t happen without a great many hours of hard graft in both production and post.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found it – pleasantly, of course – surprising to

see so much praise for the film’s aural qualities, rather than a rambling analysis of the mise-en-scène, or whatever else your typical arty film critic usually harps on about.

We’re probably a few years away from a situation whereby hordes of cinemagoers flock to their local multiplex solely to experience the sound of the latest star-studded flick to hit the big screen, but if technology continues to improve – which it no doubt will – and we begin to see a greater adoption of new immersive formats and more investment in cinema sound systems then who knows, maybe we’ll start to see audio professionals further up the bill at the Oscars and BAFTAs in future.

While it might be debatable whether sound editors and re-recording mixers get the credit they deserve, one area of application where sound is unquestionably of key importance is the nightclub business.

It’s not hard to see why. You could own the best-looking venue in town, run impeccably with a line-up of DJs and club nights that otherwise would have people queuing out the door, but if you have a rubbish sound system then you won’t get very far. That’s all pretty obvious, but how has the club sound sector changed over the years, and in what ways has the technology moved forward in recent times? Turn to page 20 for a feature that tackles these very topics.

Adam Savage Editor Audio Media International

October 2015

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CONTENTS

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PRODUCT NEWS

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Six new broadcast products from RØDE

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AMI’s IBC2015 Best of Show winners

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Studer unveils Vista 1 Black

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Calrec demos transparent broadcast automation

42 PEOPLE

14 OPINION

Kevin Hilton runs through the main audio-related

talking points from last month’s IBC event in Amsterdam

16 Mike Collins on tape-to-WAV transfers and the

importance of preserving old recordings 42

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18

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INTERVIEW Dean Jones discusses life at Dublin’s newest post house

ALSO INSIDE

SHOW PREVIEWS: AES Convention and PLASA London GEO FOCUS: SWEDEN Cautious optimism sets the tone for this transitional market

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20 20

FEATURES

CLUB SOUND: Jim Evans looks at the state of the club industry and finds out how technology is helping venues to diversify in this difficult market

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FINAL CUT: The sound team behind ‘Everest’ reveal the techniques they used to take audiences to the highest point on Earth

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BROADCAST FOCUS: The London Studios team explain how loudness regulations have changed their way of working

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STUDIO FOCUS: We step inside the newly expanded Factory Studios – the UK’s first Dolby Atmos-licensed facility for commercials and trailers

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LIVE FOCUS: Creating a focused sound design suitable for ‘The King and I’ on Broadway

28 32 34 38 40

32 REVIEWS

Nugen Audio Halo Upmix Spitfire Audio BML210 Bone Phalanx Source Elements Source-Live Pro 3.0 Yamaha TF3

October 2015

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PRODUCT NEWS

JÜNGER IMMERSES ITSELF IN 3D AUDIO Jünger Audio used IBC to showcase a prototype audio monitoring solution that will allow broadcasters to check the quality of all immersive audio transmissions, regardless of format.

It will also help maintain compliance with existing loudness regulations, while avoiding the known processing artifacts of traditional loudness control approaches.

The hardware-based product will offer a future platform to host all the emerging immersive 3D audio encoding formats from different vendors, including the MPEG-H TV audio system and Dolby’s Atmos.

Peter Poers, Jünger Audio’s managing director, said: “We envisage that this solution will be deployed not just in production and postproduction, but at all stages of the audio workflow where programs running future immersive audio standards need to be controlled or monitored effectively.”

Comprising a combination of hardware containing I/O, decoding

stage, monitoring functionality, audio control software and an advanced user interface, the unit allows for monitoring and auditioning of up to 16 channels of audio. All metadata, including dynamic description of included objects for 3D projection, or personalisation of audio services, can be handled and controlled.

A variety of physical input and output formats will be offered including SDI, MADI and AoIP. For object-based encoded content, the graphical interface allows the user to perform 3D panning for audio objects to move and pan them around the screen, along with controlling the level.

At the Amsterdam show, Jünger showed its audio monitoring system working with the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG-H TV Audio System. www.jungeraudio.com

‘ONE FOR ALL’ SLOT-IN CAMERA RECEIVER FROM SENNHEISER Sennheiser has introduced a new slotin camera receiver. The manufacturer describes the EK 6042 as a truediversity, two-channel receiver that works with both analogue and digital Sennheiser transmitters across a bandwidth of 184MHz. The unit is able to operate with all analogue transmitters that feature Sennheiser’s HiDyn plus or HDX companders. The camera receiver chooses its own operating mode depending on the transmitter, and also selects the appropriate bandwidth and frequency in the UHF range between 470 and 654MHz. As a true diversity receiver with four separate receiver circuits, the EK 6042 promises extra-reliability, even in difficult RF environments.

The EK 6042 can be combined with either a 15-pin adaptor to slot directly into Sony cameras, or a 25-pin adaptor

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for Unislot- and SuperSlotcompatible devices.

For camcorders without an audio receiver slot, a backpanel adaptor for the EK 6042 is available as an accessory. If the camera does not supply power to the receiver, a ‘piggyback’ power adapter can be attached to this housing and fitted with two hot-swappable BA 61 battery packs.

The EK 6042 camera receiver will be available in Spring 2016. www.sennheiser.com

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RØDE REVEALS SIX NEW PRODUCTS RØDE launched a host of new gear at IBC2015, including the Newsshooter Kit, an addition to the RØDELink range that includes a camera-mounted transmitter and the new XLR transmitter (TX-XLR, pictured), compatible with both handheld presentation microphones and shotgun microphones.

Two new models in the VideoMic on-camera microphone range were also unveiled: the VideoMicro, an 80mm-long lightweight directional mic designed for use on compact cameras, and the VideoMic Me, a directional microphone designed for iPhone and iPad, featuring a TRRS connector and adjustable mount. Both

microphones include a deluxe furry windshield, aluminium construction for a high level of RF rejection and are finished in RØDE’s ceramic anti-glare black coating.

The new i-XLR, a digital XLR interface to connect professional XLR microphones to an iPhone or iPad for field recording, features a headphone jack with variable level located on the body and a +20dB level boost for lowoutput dynamic microphones.

Finally, two new professional carbon fibre boompoles, the RØDE Boompole Pro and Micro Boompole Pro, complement the company’s existing range of aluminium poles. www.rode.com

IZOTOPE SHOWCASES RX 5 AND NEW POST PRODUCTION SUITE

iZotope has released its new RX Post Production Suite of editing and mixing tools, as well as RX 5 Audio Editor, an update to its RX platform.

The RX Post Production Suite contains solution-oriented tools for everything from audio repair and editing, to mix enhancement and final delivery, including RX 5 Advanced Audio Editor, RX Final Mix, RX Loudness Control, a one-year pass to Groove3 online video courses and training and a choice of 50 free sound effects from Pro Sound Effects.

RX 5 Audio Editor and RX 5 Advanced Audio Editor are designed to repair and enhance common problematic production audio while

speeding up workflows. They include tools such as the new Instant Process to “paint out” unwanted sonic elements directly on the spectral display and the new Module Chain, which allows users to define a custom chain of processing and then save that chain as a preset.

For even faster workflows between Pro Tools and RX 5, RX Connect has been enhanced to support individual Pro Tools clips and crossfades with any associated handles.

In RX 5 Advanced, a new De-plosive module has also been developed to minimise plosives, while the Leveler module has been enhanced with breath and sibilance detection. www.izotope.com

October 2015

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PRODUCT NEWS

AUDIO MEDIA INTERNATIONAL’S IBC BEST OF SHOW AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED Prior to this year’s IBC, exhibiting companies were invited to nominate new products they were set to showcase in Amsterdam; those submitting entries were then asked to carry out a demonstration to a member of our judging team during the show, making sure to outline key features and point out any unique selling points.

The winning entries – along with comments from the judges – are as follows: Nugen Audio – Halo Upmix A remarkably easy to use but feature-packed stereo to 5.1/7.1 upmixer that provides the user with an array of control options for both TV and film work. Tools such as the ‘Exact’ downmix mode and full dialogue isolation are particularly impressive and it won’t take long to find your way around the very well presented interface.

Nugen Audio co-founder and technical director Paul Tapper accepts the award

Sennheiser – AVX For video camera users who would rather not have to worry about the complications of setting up and operating a wireless microphone system, the AVX is certainly worth considering. Getting started couldn’t be much simpler: the EKP receiver switches on straight away when plugged into the camera – pairing with the transmitter automatically – and license-free 1.9GHz operation is another clear plus point. Overall, a very clever product.

A digital publication featuring all the products nominated across the spectrum of the NewBay Media Best of Show Awards will be available later this month.

Sennheiser’s Achim Gleissner and Stephanie Schmidt with their certificate

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PRODUCT NEWS

TC ELECTRONIC UPDATES CLARITY X SYSTEM TC Electronic has announced a number of changes to its Clarity X multi-format monitoring system. The company plans to release a new MADI version of the system in response to user requests this month.

TC Electronic is also changing the Clarity X pricing structure to a licence-based concept that decreases the starting price point from $7,000 to $4,200. A number of features are now available as optional licences. For instance, 7.1 surround is optional, but Clarity X will still run 5.1 surround as default, and AES channel 9-16 also becomes optional along with other selected features.

Another request from audio professionals has been support for 96kHz. This is now a reality with a free software update that also includes multiple sweetspots, dose meter for headphones and SPL on headphones. It also introduces an

improved speaker calibration process as well as improved SPL calculation. www.tcelectronic.com

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STUDER UNVEILS VISTA 1 BLACK EDITION Studer has introduced a new iteration of its Vista 1 digital mixing console, the Vista 1 Black Edition.

With a look and feel identical to that of its larger sister models the Vista X and Vista V, the Vista 1 features true broadcast monitoring, talkback, red light control, GPIO, N-x (Mix Minus) busses, snapshot automation and DAW control.

Its 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 load different Strip Setups and UAD plug-in snapshots. With software v5.3, the Vista 1 Black Edition user will also get the most powerful SpillZone and FollowSolo functionality, according to the manufacturer, as well as a server-based event logger application, which logs Vista system and user-events.

With an integral DSP engine of 96 channels, the Vista 1 can handle mono, stereo and 5.1 inputs 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.

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

The Studer Vista 1 Black Edition also features a redundant PSU, while RELINK integration with other Studer Vista and OnAir consoles means the Vista 1 can share signals across an entire console network. www.studer.ch

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF AT LAWO Lawo has lifted the curtain on KICK, a new automated control solution for close-ball mixing in live sports production.

When interfaced with modern image analysis and tracking systems, KICK delivers a consistent, fullyautomated, close-ball audio mix, the firm says. Its graphical user interface allows adjustment of all of its parameters, including the placement of microphones, their polar patterns and microphone prioritisation.

The system ensures transparent sound pickup with its ‘noise-to-kick’ ratio, reducing crowd noise, and

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a consistent audio level without noticeable fades for a mix that is 100% repeatable from match to match.

KICK is available as a softwareonly solution for productions using Lawo mc² mixing consoles, as well as a hardware bundled solution for productions using consoles from other manufacturers. It requires a standard host PC (running Windows 7 or Windows 8) for the host application, and an HTML5-capable browser for the user interface.

An optional Lawo mc² Micro Core hardware processing engine is available for interfacing micro core to third-party consoles via MADI and Ravenna/AES67, and can be controlled by a variety of external studio control systems, as well as Lawo’s touchscreen mxGUI software. www.lawo.com

EUROPEAN DEBUT FOR DTS:X DTS:X, the object-based multidimensional audio technology for immersive experiences received its European debut at IBC2015. According to DTS, it conveys the fluid movement of sound to create ‘an incredibly rich, realistic and immersive soundscape – in front of, behind, beside and above the audience – more accurately than ever before’.

DTS:X offers the ability to automatically adapt the audio to the speaker layout that best fits the

space, from a TV’s built-in speakers or home surround theatre system to a dozen or more speakers in a commercial cinema. Brands such as Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Trinnov Audio and Yamaha have agreed to launch DTS:X-enabled products in the near future, using the DTS MDA Creator Tool, DTS’ license fee-free, open platform for the creation of object-based immersive audio. www.dts.com

October 2015

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PRODUCT NEWS

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CALREC DEMOS TRANSPARENT BROADCAST AUTOMATION Calrec used IBC to reveal its new automation system for the Apollo and Artemis consoles.

Designed to record the movements of a console’s channel and bus controls in real time, Calrec’s implementation differs in that it operates entirely in the background during a live broadcast.

“The Calrec automation system has been designed for the highly stressful live-broadcast environment, where there is only one opportunity to get it right. Because it operates almost invisibly during the live broadcast, the system allows the user to concentrate on the task at hand without additional controls interfering with the console user interface,” said product manager Karl Lynch.

Calrec’s system comes as a 3U rackmount unit and is connected to the primary and secondary

master controllers of the console, creating a redundant connection for peace of mind. The system provides video synchronisation and comprehensive machine control via 9-pin, LTC, MIDI and GPIO; it works alongside all major DAWs and can interface with external machine control synchronisers if a full post-production environment is required. www.calrec.com

SSL REVEALS SYSTEM T AUDIO PRODUCTION SYSTEM Solid State Logic has launched System T, a new ‘fully-networked broadcast audio production environment’.

Featuring new ways to combine multiple hardware or software control interfaces, processor cores and I/O devices on a single network, the System T allows users to create previously impossible system configurations, the manufacturer claims.

Routing and I/O is Dante-based, with System T featuring the first consoles to use the new Dante HC (High channel) connectivity. The Dante AoIP network, integrating the AES67 transport standard, offers large-scale routing and remote control of a range of Dante-compatible I/O devices.

The Tempest processor core at the heart of the System T mix engine uses SSL’s Optimal Core Processing for real-time, 64-bit CPU-based floating point mixing and processing. Each processor core can handle up to 3,072 inputs and outputs and provides 800 fully processed, fully configurable mix paths, 192 mix busses, 800 EQs, 800 dynamics and 400 delays. Multiple Tempest cores can be connected anywhere on the network and used as mirrored redundant pairs or as additional processing resources. www.solidstatelogic.com

BRIEFS

LINEAR ACOUSTIC As well as announcing the addition of software solutions provider Minnetonka Audio to the Telos Alliance, Linear Acoustic also launched the AERO.10 DTV audio processor at IBC. The fully featured processor supports up to 10 channels of PCM audio via AES, SDI, or stereo analogue I/O and comes with a processing engine identical to those in the AERO.100/1000/2000 products. It also features tools such as AEROMAX loudness and dynamics control, UPMAX II automatic upmixing and downmixing algorithms, along with ITU and EBU compliant loudness metering and logging. www.telosalliance.com

RIEDEL Riedel was proud to announce that there was no news at this year’s IBC, despite the fact that it had a whole host of recent projects from across the globe to shout about and an impressive new stand design. In terms of tech the manufacturer highlighted its new AES67 client card for Artist digital matrix intercom systems. This add-on card makes it possible for users to take advantage of AES67 audio networks. With the existing AVB card for Artist and this new development, Artist now can accommodate both AVB and AES67 audio networks. www.riedel.net

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October 2015

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Open & Closed

The new flagship studio headphones

ATH-R70x PROFESSIONAL OPEN-BACK REFERENCE HEADPHONES ATH-M70x PROFESSIONAL MONITOR HEADPHONES Audio-Technica introduces the new leaders in studio headphones: ATH-M70x and ATH-R70x.

Both models offer extremely accurate audio reproduction along with the comfort, durability and convenient features that are bound to make them studio mainstays. So whether you prefer the sound isolation of the M70x or the spacious sound of the R70x, deciding on your next pair of studio headphones is an open and closed case.

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SHOW NEWS: AES / PLASA LONDON

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NEW YORK STATE OF MIND The 139th International AES Convention hits New York this month, and with an exhibitor and speaker list featuring some of the biggest names in pro-audio, it promises to be another big one.

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he AES Convention settles in New York this month, opening its doors at the Jacob Javits Center from 29 October-1 November.

The latest outing promises to ‘bring together the world’s largest gathering of audio professionals’, and looks set to live up to that promise; just some of the confirmed exhibitors at the event include Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Genelec, Radial, Meyer Sound, SSL, Calrec, L-Acoustics, Focusrite and PMC, each exhibiting the latest offerings from their product range for attendees to get up close and personal with.

This year’s event marks the return of two popular programmes from previous shows. The Live Sound Expo comprises a series of dedicated presentations and panels with a different topical focus each day, from ‘Broadway Day’ and ‘House of Worship/Fixed Install Day’ to ‘Tour Sound Day’.

Information

What? 139th AES Convention Where? Jacob Javits Center,

New York City When? 29 October-1 November

The Project Studio Expo also returns to offer visitors a new perspective on how they can better achieve best practice in today’s personal and project studio environments, including presentations on recording vocals, preparing multitracks for mixing, monitoring, DAW use and economic studio design.

The four-day convention also offers attendees the opportunity to hear from a broad spectrum of top audio industry

figures, learn from the latest research and essays, and hone their skills through tutorials and workshops.

Be sure not to miss chief Oculus scientist Michael Abrash as he brings 30 years of experience in performance programming, high-end graphics and VR to deliver the convention’s opening keynote speech, titled ‘Virtual Reality, Audio and the Future’.

“This year’s AES Convention programme is set to be one of the largest

and most in-depth in recent years,” remarked AES139 convention co-chair and technical programme committee chair, Jim Anderson. “The committee has put together a very timely and important set of presentations for our return to New York City, with the hope of reaching every attendee on a level that inspires and enlightens them.

“Once again, our convention will serve as the hub of professional audio ideas and innovations for the international community.” www.aes.org

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PREPARING FOR PLASA

PLASA is soon set to return to the UK capital as London’s ExCeL once again plays host to three days of new product showings, professional development sessions and more.

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ow entering its 38th year, the annual PLASA show will again unite an international audience of pro-audio, lighting, broadcast, AV and stage technology professionals under one roof at the ExCeL Centre in London from 4–6 October 2015.

The event will present visitors with new launches and live demos from brands and companies including d&b, Cadac, Flare Audio, SSE, Tannoy, Polar Audio, Midas and Lab.gruppen.

To promote streamlined navigation and networking for attendees, the event will be divided into dedicated zones for each of the five industry sectors. New to the show this year are five sector12

specific seminar stages across these zones hosting over 150 speakers, each sharing new knowledge, insight and developments in live entertainment technology as part of the popular PLASA Professional Development Programme.

Among the rich breadth of industry figures offering their expertise is Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews, who will host a session entitled ‘Audio and Consciousness’, a discussion of the

importance of sound and its effect on human emotions.

London-based rental giant Britannia Row will host three sessions, while the Institute of Professional Sound will discuss topics including ‘Loudness and R128 – What’s it all about?’

Other sessions to look out for include ‘What future for wireless audio?

Content creation under threat?’, where Sennheiser’s Alan March will discuss the ever-growing issue of wireless spectrum allocation, and its threat to the Programme Making and Special Events business.

Soulsound’s Jon Burton ponders the line between accurate live sound reinforcement and personal taste in ‘Is mixing personal?’, and Annie

Information

What? PLASA London Where? ExCeL Centre When? 4-6 October Jamieson, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Leeds, addresses the ever-important issue of aural health and safety in ‘Your aural toolkit: a guide to preserving your hearing for sound professionals’.

Finally, in ‘Line arrays unravelled’, d&b’s Adam Hockley examines line array directivity, the pros and cons of the technology and how to optimise it, and a panel of experts from Soundcraft, Allen & Heath, PreSonus and Music Group put their heads together in ‘Digital mixing for the real world’. www.plasashow.com

October 2015

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OPINION

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IBC2015: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

Kevin Hilton shares what he believes were the main audio talking points at this year’s event, and the new launches that helped spark debate on the showfloor.

KEVIN HILTON

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BC2015 offered a plethora of technologies all vying to be the current standard or the ‘Next Big Thing’. On the audio side, audio-over-IP, loudness control and, particularly, immersive – or 3D – sound were the big noises. But away from the more obvious, I found other indications of how broadcast audio might be produced in the coming years.

Live audio automation is here to stay Whether we like it or not, increasing time pressures and demands for greater efficiency – and increased multi-tasking by operators – are making this more commonplace. Calrec Audio introduced a new automation system for its Apollo and Artemis consoles, which superficially followed the ‘traditional’ model of automating recall settings. This has been extended into allowing users to mix a recording without seeing the automation working and then go back to make adjustments before the programme is locked.

More extensive was Jünger Audio’s news studio automation system, originally developed for German public broadcaster NDR. The company has incorporated two Level Magic loudness managers – one for source control, the other for loudness – into a Vizrt Mosartbased video automation system to run basic presenter-clip-outside source programmes. There is still scepticism about using such set-ups for productions 14

where things can change rapidly, but Jünger Audio MD Peter Pörs said this form of automation worked well for news bulletins where the running order remained the same for much of the day.

Multi-format networking is the way ahead There’s still a battle going on between Dante and Ravenna in the audio-over-IP (AoIP) war, but since the advent of the AES67 interoperability protocol the signs are that people will choose the best network format for the job in hand. This gives the possibility for several systems to be connected on a single production. A good indicator of when a way of working has established itself is when monitoring equipment designed specifically for it begins to appear. TSL Products launched the MPA range, which includes units for MADI, Dante, Ravenna and the Calrec Hydra 2 system, which forms the basis of many broadcast studio audio installations. Glensound built on its Danteoriented products with the Paradiso three commentator unit, while new Ravenna/ AES67 systems were introduced by Neumann, Merging Technologies, Lawo (of course) and Sonifex.

Video is catching audio up on the social media front Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are everywhere in life so why shouldn’t they be all over IBC? Radio has long appreciated the contribution social media can make to programmes, with comments on sites, as well as emails, now important to help presenters pad out either before the next record or if there isn’t someone more compelling to interview.

Broadcast Bionics has been at the forefront of this with its PhoneBox call system, Oasis social media manager and now the Virtual Director, which adds in-studio camera capability. This style of working has been picked up by newsroom and weather systems developers, including Avid, AP ENPS and WSI. The latter’s Max One allows weather forecasters to record audio and video at their desks and then post short updates to their station’s website.

Integration with video continues…

As it has to, but this IBC showed that audio manufacturers were offering the kind of equipment the vision community could not sensibly ignore. Among these were two different approaches to oncamera sound: Sennheiser’s EK 6042 twochannel slot-in wireless mic receiver; and two additions to RØDE’s VideoMic range.

The EK 6042 can be slotted into Sony and Panasonic camcorders as well as stand-alone audio recorders; in the second configuration it conforms to the Sound Devices SuperSlot interface standard. It can run either two analogue or two digital channels – or one of each – and works with Sennheiser’s main radio mic ranges, including Evolution and the 9000 series. The new RØDE on-camera mics are the VideoMicro, for more compact models, and the VideoMic Me, designed for shooting on iPhones and iPads. From the other direction RED launched the Weapon digital camera, which has two integrated microphones.

A spokesman said these were not for production audio but could give good enough ‘scratch sound’.

Timecode and sync still have a place…

Which might seem a redundant statement but different forms of TV programmes

and their accompanying production methods have raised the likelihood of lipsync discrepancies between sound and vision. Multi-camera reality shoots are the key example, with hours of footage being shot and recorded, often with isolated mics and cameras that have to be married up later in the edit. Timecode Systems was showing its wireless sync system, which it introduced in 2012. Since then demand for rock solid synchronisation has risen. Managing director Paul Scurrell observed that while timecode stamps have proved effective enough, the new way of making TV runs the risk of audio and video being out of time with each by the end of a long take, so tight timecode sync is vital.

Kevin Hilton started his career in radio news, where he combined his interests in journalism and audio. During the mid-1980s he freelanced for video software and music magazines before joining Pro Sound News Europe as staff writer.

He later moved on to Broadcast Systems International before taking over the editor’s position at Sound & Communications Systems.

He went freelance again in 1993 and has written for a range of technology, broadcast and home cinema publications.

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OPINION

www.audiomediainternational.com

ACCOMPLISHING CASSETTE TAPE-TO-WAV TRANSFERS Engineer, producer, musician and writer Mike Collins outlines some of the issues he faced when attempting to bring a number of old recordings from the 1980s into the modern age.

MIKE COLLINS

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n 1981 I co-produced two instrumental tracks, Winning and Rude Movements

by Sun Palace, subsequently released as a vinyl single in December 1983.

This has since sold about 20,000 copies in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, the US and Japan and has been included on many influential compilation albums, such as David Mancuso’s The Loft and Masters at Work Stop And Listen 5.

In July, an interesting email arrived from Berliner Flavia Lamprecht. “Some time ago I discovered your record Winning

by Sun Palace and I became completely fascinated by this timeless gem!” Later, I spoke with Flavia and her business partner Massimo Di Lena, founder of Berlin-based record label Early Sounds. I played them cassette mixes of It’s In The Music, the original Sun Palace demo, and What’s The Time, a Portastudio demo of a proposed follow-up. They totally loved these and asked to licence them for release on their new vinyl label, Halfway Ritmo. Then came a request to look for more: “We were also wondering if there are any other unreleased tracks from that period, even just a groove or a synth jam?”

I went to that cupboard under the stairs where I had two big boxes full of old cassettes to start my search. I used an old Walkman Professional cassette recorder to audition these, but after snarling up a couple of tapes, I realised this machine needed servicing before I could risk playing any more, and lots of the most 16

likely prospects were actually four-track cassette recordings made on the Fostex 250 Multitracker I used back in the ‘80s.

This machine, which I bought when it first appeared in 1981, runs at twice the speed of a normal cassette player (to extend the high frequency response) and lets you record onto four linear tracks in one direction (you can’t flip the tape because it uses four tracks spread across the whole width of the tape). You can optionally use Dolby C noise reduction, but (fortunately with hindsight) I mostly chose not to use this – to preserve compatibility with a friend’s TEAC 144 Portastudio that used DBX noise reduction. But I had sold mine in the early ‘90s.

So I rang FX Rentals’ Copyroom. They quoted £40 per cassette to bake then transfer recordings from the Tascam Portastudio to WAV files. I found about 30 four-track tape cassettes that may have old Sun Palace material on them, so rather than pay £80 to transfer just two tapes that definitely did, I decided to buy a second-hand Tascam Portastudio, then audition and transfer these myself (I couldn’t find a Fostex 250). I found a Portastudio on eBay and successfully bid £87 for this. It had been used for a short time then stored in a loft for the best part of 20 years so it was in excellent condition.

Introduced in 1996, the Tascam Portastudio 424 Mk II (pictured, above) uses DBX noise reduction. This can be switched off – so I could play my Fostex cassettes. Also, it will run at both high (9.5cm/sec) and low (4.8cm/sec) tape speeds, so it plays standard stereo cassettes as well – an added bonus, as my ageing Sony Walkman Professional is currently being repaired.

the fast track route I quickly auditioned several of my fourtrack cassettes, and was mightily relieved to discover that these tapes were not shedding oxide, so did not need baking. I digitised a couple using the two-channel line outputs via an Avid Fast Track Duo, transferring two tracks at a time using two passes per song, then re-syncing all four tracks in Pro Tools by lining up the start points of the audio tracks visually in the Edit window.

Although I accurately lined up the tracks, the second pair of tracks would inevitably drift out of sync with the first pair at some point. I should have remembered that the tape speed calibration was always likely to have drifted due to wear and tear (or the cheap build-quality) so these machines needed regular visits to a repair shop to keep them playing back at close to the correct pitch anyway.

So I set the Portastudio up to playback via the four individual Tape Outputs on the rear panel directly into a Digidesign 96 I/O interface to record to my Pro Tools HD system – and the audio quality was immediately, and vastly, improved.

Now I can transfer any of my old multitrack (or stereo) cassette recordings directly to WAV files, and I have all the digital tools available to correct any pitch or timing discrepancies, de-noise, equalize, or process these old recordings any way I like, then overdub additional material and make new mixes to my heart’s content!

Let this be a cautionary tale for all who have recordings in formats that are now obsolete – or likely to become obsolete in the coming decades. Who would have imagined that low-quality cassette demos from the ‘80s could be in demand today? I kept mine and had previously digitised all my important old reel-to-reel and some cassette tapes which were deteriorating. Now I will do the rest!

Mike Collins is a studio musician, recording engineer and producer who has worked on music recording, TV and film scoring sessions since 1981, and since 1988 has written more than 2,000 articles and equipment reviews for various magazines. www.mikecollinsmusic.com

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GEO FOCUS: SWEDEN

SWEDE TALKING Following in the footsteps of the bigger players in the industry, Sweden is showing tentative promise as it climbs the pro-audio ladder. Matt Fellows reports.

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n the northern reaches of Europe, a market is rising up. Sweden is wellknown for its economic strength and the prosperity of its citizens; the country is the seventh-richest in the world based on GDP per capita and boasts the eighth-highest per capita income globally. This can be something of a double-edged sword for many proaudio firms, however – while it means that the average Swedish consumer is relatively more affluent when compared to those in other markets, it has also dealt a blow to professional audio services that can increasingly be tackled domestically. But how is the industry fighting back?

“Like the rest of the world there has been dramatic changes in Sweden over the last few years, and the proaudio business has been forced to adapt,” explains Ida Persson, studio manager at Spinroad Recording Studios in Gothenburg.

Joakim Hammar, head of the audio department at rental firm United Audio Starlight AB, agrees. He

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believes that while Sweden appears to be slipstreaming other big players, this may be indicative of the country moving up in the global pro-audio pecking order: “I think the way the market in Sweden has developed is to become more like the larger markets around the world; this is probably due to the market becoming more mature.

But it also means that the technical level is quite high in Sweden as equipment has not had time to become old or obsolete yet – except with some companies that have been around for a long time.

“The market has become increasingly segmented in corporate/AV, live events, broadcast, etc,” he continues. “Because we have merged with a number of companies we have a presence in all market sectors and we can draw resources from all parts of our group.

But generally I think the market has compartmentalised more.”

Drawing closer to the home territory of Starlight, Hammar notes that despite complications in many other sectors,

Population: 9.7 million

the rental sector is performing well: “The rental market is quite healthy, with most companies having a decent amount of work and lots of co-operation. Many companies are specialised in a particular field or product, and there is a healthy amount of cross-rentals rather than trying to buy in to each others markets,” he reports.

Riding the wave When Persson speaks of ‘dramatic changes’ in the country, this could not be more true of the recording industry here. One of the greatest burdens on Sweden’s studio culture, like in so many other places, is the advent of a cottage industry brought on by the increased availability of high-end hardware and software outside of professional studios. And it’s only exacerbated by the otherwise beneficial level of relatively high personal wealth among Swedish citizens.

“One of the reasons why a lot of large studios are having to close down is the fact that over the last few years, people

have been able to record themselves at home or in smaller studios,” Persson tells us. “The recording technology that is out on the market now has a higher quality than before and it can provide pretty good results. Together with the possibility of spreading your music online, this has given artists the opportunity to reach out to new audiences without recording in professional studios.”

However, despite this move in the industry, Persson believes that home recordings can never truly close the quality gap when compared to professional recordings; a fact that consumers are becoming gradually more aware of: “I think that people are now starting to realise that professional studios can provide better results at a higher quality level –a level that the consumer used to take for granted only a few years ago,” she comments.

Despite the advance and availability of technology bringing seemingly unavoidable sector-specific woes, it

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GEO FOCUS: SWEDEN

www.audiomediainternational.com

What’s having the biggest negative effect on the market at the moment?

Economic uncertainty Falling budgets Slow payments Goverment legislation Other

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is Sweden’s strong cultural base that seems to be helping to pull the country towards success where others are falling by the wayside.

“I don’t think there’s a huge difference in Sweden compared to the rest of the world when it comes to the industry developments, but Sweden does have a thriving music culture,” Persson reveals. “Sweden has been investing in training musicians and facilitating the music culture for a long time, which has resulted in Sweden having an extraordinary range of talented musicians and artists. This, of course, is a good thing for the recording studios.”

In the face of such resonant changes to the sector, Persson believes the only real key to survival is to embrace the change and roll with the punches: “A lot of the large studios had closed down and the ones that are thriving are accommodating the changes. For example, instead of only dealing with labels, the large studios are now also working directly with musicians, bands and their managers.”

Shifting frequencies Likewise, the Swedish broadcast sector looks set to tread the same problematic path as other regions, with industry figures noting the evergrowing issue of wireless spectrum allocation, and its threat to Program Making and Special Events equipment.

“Allocations of frequencies for 4G and mobile broadband have encouraged us to replace a lot of wireless equipment to use new frequencies,” Hammar explains. “And over the next few years we will see a decreasing amount of frequencies being available for wireless microphones but the market seems to increase the use of wireless equipment. This will pose increasing challenges for users and equipment providers.”

Kjetil Laukholm, owner of Merging Sweden, reports that although business has been good for the distributor lately, the sector has also witnessed some notable upheavals: “The big change for us has been the move to audio networks, notably AES67 and Ravenna often together with Ovation, Merging’s

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playout system, and Pyramix. Most Swedish theme parks have already gone this way and the Royal Opera is currently looking at expanding from three to six Pyramix/Ovation systems with a Ravenna infrastructure.”

“Tighter environmental laws have had a major impact on the use of OB trucks in the cities,” he continues. “As a result, many engineers are looking at flypack solutions such as the Ravennabased Horus and Hapi interfaces.

Such changes have left the climate of the sector uncertain, leaving the future difficult to predict, according to Laukholm. “I think there is some flux in our segment of the market, in part due to the problems operating OB trucks and in part due to the quick shift towards audio networks. Audio networking is fairly new to most systems integrators.”

Placing bets Despite an ostensibly healthy climate, the future of the Swedish pro-audio market may not be as clear as others, but that isn’t stopping industry

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professionals from casting their tentative predictions.

“The market is quite healthy but near saturation, so growth will probably be quite slow. For example we have seen a few festivals this summer that have closed down due to poor ticket sales,” notes Hammar.

Laukholm, meanwhile, puts his money on a surge in audio networking dependence: “I am convinced that we will be seeing a big move towards audio networks such as Ravenna, Dante and AES67, particularly in broadcast, theme parks and large concert venues,” he predicts. “It is clearly the direction things are heading, but it is still unknown territory for most engineers.”

Amid a strong economy that finds itself in something of a transitional phase, like many in the country, Persson remains pensive but optimistic: “I wish I owned a crystal ball, but because of all the investment that has been made in musicians, etc in the last few years, we hope that the market in Sweden will keep on thriving.”

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24/09/2015 15:19

FEATURE: CLUB SOUND

CHANGES IN THE NIGHT

The nightclub sector, particularly in the UK, has suffered of late, but there are reasons to be cheerful at home and abroad as manufacturers and integrators address a changing market, reports Jim Evans.

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he newspaper headlines and reports don’t make for pretty reading. According to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), Britain’s nightclubs have almost halved from 3,144 in 2005 to 1,733 in 2015. “The music has stopped for almost half of Britain’s nightclubs over the last decade – and for many of the rest it’s beating a weary rhythm,” said the Daily Telegraph, citing tighter bureaucracy, the smoking ban, the effects of the financial crisis and a fall in alcohol consumption as contributory factors.

Lifestyle changes have played their part, but the industry is also being “suffocated” by overly restrictive planning laws and tax levies, says the ALMR. Total revenue for the nightclub industry has declined by almost 25% since the start of 2011 to £2 billion this year, according to research firm 20

IBISWorld. It is forecast to fall by another 3.2% next year.

Despite this apparent doom and gloom, there are plenty of positives out there on the high street and further afield and opportunities for manufacturers and integrators prepared to address a changing marketplace and tailor their technical offerings to suit, while embracing new technologies.

“Today’s club market has evolved in order to survive,” says Martin Audio R&D director Jason Baird. “Gone are the days of numerous ‘superclubs’ open perhaps only two nights a week. Pressure from more flexible licensing hours and the late night bar scene has forced the club market to look for ways to increase their usage, towards the holy grail of seven days a week operation.

“The knock-on effect for club sound is that it has to be more flexible. The weekends may still see the traditional

club nights but in the weekday evenings it is now more common to see live acts on the bill too. Add to that the possibility for corporate hire during the daytime and the modern club’s business model starts to become viable.

“So a good club sound system has to be configurable to meet the demands of the DJ, live acts and corporate presentation markets. It still needs to retain the wow factor that customers expect from a club night experience, as well as be acceptable to the touring acts visiting the venue.

“To avoid physical redeployment of the speaker system, Martin Audio’s MLA technology allows electronic configuration of coverage patterns and SPL profiles across the venue, which can be adjusted to suit different applications.

“Signal distribution around the venue has also taken a step forward, where

One of the most recent additions to the Patong nightclub scene in Phuket, Thailand, is the Illuzion Nightclub. The audio throughout is based around Outline systems

audio sources can be routed to different rooms/locations via a central control point. As our MLA series products are all powered and have their own processing on board, this makes deployment straightforward and does away with the need for air-conditioned amp rooms.

Using our VU-NET software, each speaker can be controlled and monitored via our proprietary U-NET network.”

Mike Igglesdon, design engineer at Funktion One, suggests: “A good sound system should deliver clear powerful balanced sound to the entire audience area. I often find that clubs that are naively requesting outrageous level without considering quality are missing the point. For me, enjoyment comes from being able to hear as much detail as possible. There has also been a trend for going after more and more bass. I completely agree that the physicality of the bass is very enjoyable, but there

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24/09/2015 14:26

FEATURE: CLUB SOUND Symetrix SymNet Radius AEC Dante-enabled DSPs and SymNet xOut 12s output expanders are part of the Pacha Ibiza Dubai setup

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is a limit. Too much for the space and it can not only hurt your ears, but also hide the other frequencies. Spectral balance of the system always needs to be maintained.

“For the most part, club owners are becoming more adventurous with the club design, but purely from a visual aspect. The sound is still generally the last consideration with the club design, and with their more adventurous design we are having to become more creative to get good results. Usually they are happy to make some small alteration to the layout to help with the sound, but better results would be possible with earlier input.

“I would say that with the huge growth of the worldwide nightlife industry, the club sector is dividing rather than moving away from its roots. I believe some people will always look for a ‘temple of sound’ where everything is designed towards creating a space to purely enjoy music on a dancefloor. I feel the other direction is where clubs combine many aspects including music (both from a DJ and live), visuals, exotic food and drink, table service and socialising to create an entertainment

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venue. It’s not to say that good sound isK not valued in these venues, but there is just a broader focus.”

Pioneer entered the professional audio market a couple of years ago with the launch of its flagship club sound system.

Working in close collaboration with Gary Stewart Audio (GSA) and Powersoft amplification, the GS Wave series quickly began to make waves on the island of Ibiza.

Pioneer’s Alex Barrand, the sound engineer behind the Ministry of Sound London’s award-winning sound system upgrade in 2008, oversaw the development process. He explained in 2013: “We didn’t just want to enter the market; we wanted to be the best in the market. So we gathered the dream team: Pioneer’s pro-Audio R&D expertise combined with GSA and Powersoft’s club system credentials.

“The bar is set high these days for the larger clubs and the owners want the best out there, so they know what they are looking for and will not settle for less.

Sadly, the big clubs are becoming less common these days but the shift to bars opens up many opportunities but the

24/09/2015 14:26

FEATURE: CLUB SOUND level of audio equipment is in no means compromised, as they want the best.”

So what makes a good club sound system these days, and have attitudes changed much in regard to this?

“Naturally, that depends who you talk to,” says Barrand. “As a sound engineer and designer of club systems I would say the key point never to forget is how the audience engage with sound. They want to feel the energy of the system, but not overwhelm them as this will lead to fatigue which then results in a very unpleasant experience.

“These days sound systems are extremely powerful compared to 10 years ago and technology is always moving forward, and so is the knowledge of the audiences on the damage that can be caused with high SPL levels. These factors must be the key focus before any system is installed.”

Changing market The club market globally has seen great strides to move into the digital age over the last decade. While DJs have largely moved away from the world of vinyl and CD mixing to WAV and MP3 playback, audio infrastructure has also progressed.

The traditional format of analogue inputs matrix units and large 4U heavy amplifiers are fast becoming history as we see the market move towards Class D amplifiers and ultra-flexible LAN-based matrixing.

Iain Cameron, technical sales manager EMEA for Symetrix, notes: “The traditional perception of a nightclub allows for a fairly simplistic approach to audio design. A dance floor, a bar area and booth seating are all common components in a typical entertainment venue. With clubs seeking a greater market share in a post credit crunch era, the need for flexibility is king. Dance floors must be able to accommodate private parties and stages for live acts while still delivering an intimate feel for your standard club night.

“Mega-clubs have taken on new heights also. We are seeing increasing numbers of multi-storey venues looking to deliver a unique experience to their patrons. Installations such as Pacha Dubai have focused on delivering a memorable experience to customers, not only through dance and club spaces 22

but also through relaxed outdoor terraces, making Pacha, and clubs like it, an ideal location for both clubbing and socialising.

“Meeting such high market demands has not been easy and through the years we have seen many manufacturers rise and fall in this market space.

Those who have succeeded have been at the forefront of technology. DSP manufacturers like Symetrix, have made a name for themselves in being able to deliver fast, flexible and powerful signal processing and connectivity. Paramount to all, however, is audio quality.”

Since initiating a paradigm shift in nightclub subsonic frequencies by helping to construct the ‘Wall of Bass’ for Pro Performance and Lambda Labs at Austria’s aptly named Club SUB, Powersoft has been continually turning heads, both with its active OEM loudspeaker customers, but particularly within the drum and bass and dubstep communities.

In Austria, 32 of the manufacturer’s ultra-compact but supremely powerful D-Cell504 IS modules helped deliver a staggering 25,600W amping power – the frequencies as low as 7Hz – creating a vibrating concrete block wall that prevented sound escaping and creating neighbourhood noise pollution.

Yet it has been the development of the M-Force system that has really excited the club world and OEMs, who for many years have been building custom club stacks fuelled by Powersoft Class D power.

At the beginning of this year Powersoft produced arguably their best nightclub tour de force when Avalon Hollywood was unveiled, revealing the world’s largest subwoofer club installation ever.

Fittingly the club was named after EAW’s Avalon system customised with the Powersoft technology, rigorously

“The acoustic of the room remains the most important factor when designing sound systems. This is still overlooked and misunderstood…”

Dave Millard, Full Fat Audio

developed over two years. “It creates earth crushing sub bass,” asserts John Lyons, the club’s owner and an audio expert as well.

Discerning taste Clubbers these days are far more aware of what they are listening to; we’re emerging from a period where brand was everything, and things are measured on a somewhat more subjective plane. “Technology has come on leaps and bounds since I came into the industry back in the days of Turbo and Nexo Alpha,” says James Cooper of PA system hire and installation

company Flipside Sound Systems.

“Advances in digital networking and amplifier technology have enabled us to achieve a standard that was rare way back when. For me the ability to minimise analogue cable runs has meant installs can provide a far more reliable, flexible and better sounding result. And installs that are not utilising things like Dante certainly fall below the curve.”

Full Fat Audio’s Dave Millard says: “There’s always been a requirement for high-quality sound in the club scene.

The acoustic of the room remains the most important factor when designing sound systems. This is still overlooked and misunderstood and systems are tasked with having to force sound into a space which straightway corrupts and destroys the audio. The best system in the world cannot compensate for this.”

He adds: “Club sound in my experience has been expanded to summer music festivals where the same equipment is used outdoors to great effect. The acoustic is as near to perfect as you could expect – there are no walls, mirrors and other reflective destructive interferences.

The result is happy people and a happy system engineer!”

www.flipside-soundsystem.co.uk www.fullfataudio.com www.funktion-one.com www.martin-audio.com www.pioneerproaudio.com www.powersoft-audio.com www.symetrix.co

Haven in South Beach, Miami, an eatery, lounge and nightclub known for its eye-catching video wall, cool music and onyx bar

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FEATURE: FINAL CUT

OUT IN THE COLD Ever wanted to know what it’s like to be trapped in a blizzard at the highest point on Earth? The new blockbuster film ‘Everest’ will bring you about as close as you’ll want to get to the real thing, and that’s largely due to the sterling work of the team at Sound 24, as Adam Savage discovered…

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fter rightly winning an Oscar last year for his work on the sensually stunning Gravity, Glenn Freemantle could’ve been forgiven for thinking he may never again get an opportunity to push his sound design skills to the limit. His latest project, though, turned out to be another truly testing one, also offering more than a slight likeness to Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi thriller from an audio perspective.

Everest tells the true story of two groups of climbers who are on a mission to conquer one of the world’s toughest physical tests, but are instead left fighting for their lives after finding themselves engulfed by one of the worst blizzards ever recorded.

One of the main challenges for sound designer and supervising sound editor Freemantle and his colleagues at Pinewood Studios-based Sound 24 – sound design editor and re-recording sound mixer (effects) Niv Adiri and sound re-recording sound mixer (dialogue and effects) Ian Tapp – was piecing together a sound mix that would meet two very different objectives: 24

provide enough aural razzle-dazzle to make the audience believe they really are taking a tour of one of the most dangerous environments on Earth – suffering the full force of nature’s wrath – while also ensuring that the bond between the characters – clearly important when telling a harrowing true story such as this – is not lost.

“It’s an epic so they wanted to shoot it wide and do these big shots, but it also had to be intimate,” explains Freemantle.

“It was about making the film as real as possible and pacing the film through the journey. We wanted it as though you wouldn’t question it – you think you are actually on the mountain. The great thing is that people have thought that as well.”

“A lot of the filming and the way it was cut was done very close-shot, and that helped us get the human contact of what was happening to them,” says Tapp.

“In every film we try to make the audience part of the experience, but for this one in particular it was important that people feel that tension, and with sound you have the ability to create physical reactions with people,” adds Adiri.

One scene that won’t fail to generate a physical reaction with viewers is the moment the storm hits. It’s impossible not to be blown away (no pun intended) by the sheer aural onslaught cooked up by the guys at Sound 24 once, as Freemantle says, “it all kicks off”.

“You really feel the weight of it – it literally pushes people back in their seats,” he notes. “There isn’t any music in a lot of that part of the film as well, so it really feels like you’re there. All of a sudden you’re put in that position where you really develop this fear for them and their struggle.”

“When you get that first cut to Jan [Keira Knightley] at home and there’s this sudden silence, you realise what you’ve just sat through for the last ten minutes and you really notice how strong that part is,” explains Tapp.

“The build-up to that is also very important too though, because you’re not hit with all that sound straight away – it all slowly comes together,” Adiri says.

EASY DOES IT Although the crew’s aim was to make Everest a white-knuckle ride for the

audience – and they’ve definitely achieved that – they knew there was a limit to how much the listener could take before it became too overwhelming.

“Wind and ice are quite harsh elements so there’s always the danger of pushing people away because it can be painful to your ears, so the job was to get them to experience that without going too far,” reveals Adiri.

Unfortunately – but unavoidably – the filmmakers were made to rely on visual aids such as wind machines, while the filming locations were less than ideal for dialogue recording, which made things more than a bit difficult for the sound department. It also meant Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) had to be used extensively throughout.

“We had to do a load of ADR and a whole pass of the film really quickly because when they were on the mountain or wherever they were [filming] you couldn’t hear anything that was going on,” recalls Freemantle.

“Loads of dialogue was recorded to start with just so they could cut the film properly and then it gradually got replaced.

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FEATURE: FINAL CUT

All images: Universal Pictures

“When they went up the mountain, though, we had a completely blank canvas and everything had to be done again because the film was 80-90% ADR. We concentrated a lot on really tiny details – all the snow sounds, footsteps and little bits like that we put a lot of effort into, and we did quite a lot of it a few times.”

“For every footstep and the sprays [of snow], for example, we concentrated on using different layers of elements so we had control of how we wanted it to sound in that moment,” Adiri continues.

In fact, Adiri is keen to stress the importance of the work that went into the spray effects, which might not sound like a big deal at first, but really helped achieve that feeling of intense, biting cold.

“We tried the sprays about six or seven times just to get it right – on clothes and on skin – just to try to get that sense of pain and the physical feel of it,” he states. “Then when the visual effects came in we could see whether we’d been trying too hard or not.

“The sprays were all added later. At the beginning we put the sound in and it wasn’t attached to anything, but slowly the sprays would start appearing and you’d know whether it was working. At the start it was hard to know because you couldn’t see it.”

Those of you who read Audio Media’s previous interview with Freemantle on the sound of Gravity will know that improvising with different sound ideas is a big part of how he works. With

Gravity, he was tasked with obtaining the kind of vibration sounds you would expect to hear in a spacecraft; this time the question was how to recreate the feeling of a sub-zero setting, and make those voices as believable as possible, especially when things really take a turn for the worse.

“They got these weight vests and the actors would put them on, tighten them up and in some cases they’d be lying on the floor, having the air squeezed out of their chests. They got these great performances from them, because in the film they were gradually dying.

It was pretty phenomenal how much they put themselves through,” explains Freemantle.

“They really got into it from what I heard – one of them was on the verge of throwing up because they pushed themselves so hard to get into the right sort of physical zone that he needed to be in,” adds Tapp.

“We also froze jackets, spraying them with water and putting them in the freezer overnight so it would sound right when they [the actors] walked in them,” recalls Freemantle.

TO AND FRO What also would’ve made Freemantle think back to the time he spent working on Gravity was the constant back-andforth between the audio and visual teams, meaning what was previously considered finished often had to be revisited and tweaked, sometimes several times – not unusual on a film like

this, but it can make things tricky to say the least.

“There was a lot to keep an eye on with this film as there was stuff [visuals] coming in all the time, which would have an effect on what you’ve done, especially with the sprays and the snow,” reports Freemantle.

“You’re also never quite sure how much sound a film will actually take until you start doing it and you learn as you go through the process. As long as you’re aware that you can’t ever just think ‘that’s it’, we’re always thinking that we can do something else to it. It’s like everything with films – you just run out of time, otherwise you’d never stop looking at it.”

This devotion to ensuring that a movie is not oversaturated with sound has arguably become even more important since the rise of new formats such as Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D – Everest is available in both – which allow postproduction specialists more freedom than ever before, and the ability to manage their mix much more accurately.

“The great thing about the way we mix today is that we have control over every single tiny little bit of sound. It’s mixed, but it’s separate at the same time,” explains Freemantle. “Up to the point where we can actually say ‘we’re finished’ we can adjust that one tiny little bit. That’s how you can get so much detail – you used to have to tie things up and didn’t have as much control.”

The ability to control sound with such precision was unsurprisingly

advantageous when trying to recreate the sheer ferocity of the snowstorm and the vastness of the landscape.

“The sound design was all about moving it around and making it feel like you were walking through that hostile environment – there was never a point where we just put wind tracks up,” says Freemantle. “We’ve really made it so you can tell the geography of where the climbers were on the mountain.”

So what were the main tools that they relied on for this job? There were no real surprises or new additions to the gear list on this occasion; instead their tried and tested Avid setup did the job once again. There was agreement that technology shouldn’t get in the way of the task at hand, too.

“It was all done through Pro Tools 11 and some of it was done on the [Avid] System 5 [large-format console] using EUCON control with Pro Tools,” says Adiri. “We try not to overcomplicate things and keep it as simple as possible – if I can have it all in one session then I will, rather than four.”

“Working with the System 5 and Pro Tools there’s real flexibility as each job is slightly different, and so is the workflow, so it allows us to work out between us what the best method on any given project would be – how much we’re going to do on the desk, how much we’re going to do in the box etc,” adds Tapp.

“When you stop and think of what we’re asking these systems to do and how they do it – most of the time with no problems – and how much time it’s saving us, then you realise it’s unbelievable,” comments Adiri.

The Everest sound team can certainly be proud of their work on this film.

Speaking to the three of them, it was evident that they enjoyed conjuring such a terrifying tempest for the enjoyment of millions, but it was essential that the seriousness of the subject matter was not ignored, and that the tragic story was told appropriately, with the help of good sound.

“It’s very much about the emotional contact between the characters, and whatever you do with the set you’ve got to make sure that’s there in a film like this, and you feel it all the time,” concludes Freemantle. “It’s a human tragedy and it’s something you won’t forget.”

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BROADCAST FOCUS

www.audiomediainternational.com

SOUTH BANK SOUND

In the wake of some significant regulation changes in the broadcast sector, Audio Media International caught up with the team at The London Studios to find out how the facility’s output has been affected.

Six studios in total make up the TLS complex

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he London Studios (TLS) on the city’s South Bank is ITV’s London-based studio facility. Built in 1972 by London Weekend Television, TLS has six studios and is home to popular light entertainment shows including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show, The Jonathan Ross Show and Alan Carr: Chatty Man. Much of ITV’s daytime content including This Morning, Lorraine and Loose Women are made in The London Studios.

The studios are known for the ‘South Bank Sound’, a crunchy live sound which has become the template for numerous big Saturday night entertainment shows – for many TLS entertainment productions, the audience is a central element of the show.

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Loudness regulations have affected how these shows are mixed, and an increase in content has changed the way they are treated prior to broadcast.

Here, sound supervisors Jon Matthews, Ben Corbett and Russell Smithson discuss the facility’s methodology in light of these industry changes.

What is the trademark TLS sound?

Matthews: This is one of the reasons people come here, to get that particular audience sound. The London Weekend sound was moulded by one guy, Nick Finch, and everyone loved it. We’ve just perpetuated that sound. We’re still using Neve limiters to slam an audience into, so everything is running quite hot on a light entertainment (LE) show.

Smithson: This sound set the template for Saturday night LE shows,

Ben Corbett especially the shows mixed in Studio One – although it now has a [Calrec] Apollo, anything from Studio One over the last 40 years sounds pretty much the same!

Corbett: It is down to the historical way we rig the sound – it’s definitely a

house style, but I do believe that the sound is down to the people, not the facility.

Smithson: We’ve always been dynamic about what the audience does, keeping them as an integral part of the show.

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BROADCAST FOCUS

www.audiomediainternational.com

Russell Smithson

Jon Matthews

How has that changed?

Matthews: The biggest difference in the last 30 years has been in the PA levels – today they can be running almost at rock ‘n’ roll levels, which is a problem for us when we are trying to create an audio landscape for the viewer.

Corbett: If you do have a loud PA you have got to be so careful it’s not distorting the audience mix. On shows like Ant & Dec they will have a FOH PA mixer, which can give you the edge.

Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton have FOH too, but often the budget doesn’t stretch to it.

Matthews: And a lot of LE stuff we do now does not even see a dubbing theatre at all – there is always a quick turnaround and so in the majority of cases the editor has to try to smooth it out.

consider as it is a situation that will only grow.

Smithson: This happens on Have I Got News For You (HIGNFY), and we do get complaints about it. The 250 people in the audience are part of the show, and HIGNFY is the best example of this as the audience are on top of the panel – the spill is considerable. Most of the work you are doing with the audience is making the spill sound nice, because you get a lot of it through the talent’s mics, which can be pretty nasty. To balance it all out you have to have the audience at a reasonable level, but it really is part of what the show is all about – if you don’t make the laughter part of the show and showcase it in the same way, the show loses a lot of its energy. The audience is as big a part of the show as any element.

But do viewers expect better sound?

Matthews: Well, ITV don’t do 5.1, and that’s probably fair – so much of it depends on how the viewer has set up their home system. More and more people at home these days have soundbars and other setups. But I genuinely think that if you do a good stereo mix it doesn’t matter what people are listening on; it will still be a good mix.

And because people are using soundbars, where everything has to be phase coherent, you’ve also got to have a good mono output.

A challenge we have is that an ageing population does not favour too much background music or loud laughs, because they find it difficult to hear the dialogue. So this is something we have to

So how do you mix to loudness in this environment?

Smithson: In this sort of environment, the way loudness is dealt with comes down to two things: expertise and experience.

Corbett: At TLS we do a lot of chat shows and panel shows, and they are all especially quick turnarounds – for example, HIGNFY is turned round in 24 hours. I do a show on Sunday which goes out on Monday and only gets an edit, and it is such a fast turnaround that the editor doesn’t get the time to mix for loudness; he doesn’t run it through the algorithm.

As sound supervisors we do our best to deliver to loudness, but after it has been chopped up it’s always going to be a different figure.

Matthews: When I watch a show that I have mixed to loudness, often it will run quiet because what comes before and after on the schedule is often much louder. That’s worse than it ever has been...

Corbett: … which is exactly why loudness needs to be enforced. Everyone needs to be playing by the same rules or it just doesn’t work.

Smithson: The fundamental flaw in [European Broadcasting Union Recommendation] R128 is that if you have a show that is averagely loud – which tends to be a lot of the shows we do because of the way we treat our audiences – the energy level is up. The only way that you can match that to anything else not of that genre is to bring the dialogue level down, which defeats the whole object. The voicings are therefore quiet. So you bring it back by about 4dB, and overall you go out quiet.

Matthews: Plus, if you’ve got a lavalier mic on someone, which is omni, they come on set and everyone is cheering and clapping; you are forced to compress everything right down. You can’t control it because it’s so much louder than the speech on the mic.

Smithson: The upside is if you can get close to getting the levels right – and at TLS we are very good at that now – you can use the increased dynamic range to your advantage. I still limit things in the same way, but I set the limiter slightly higher because it allows that dynamic – the laughs – to be subjectively even louder than they would normally be. The trick is keeping the dialogue at

a reasonable level. This gives us more flexibility than we used to have, but it is difficult to maintain that over a two and a half hour record, which you know will be edited down to a 45- or 30-minute show.

A show like HIGNFY is way over the average for the first five minutes when the audience are at their most excited. As the show goes on, it slowly trickles its way back and I always check 15- 30 minutes into the record. Now, the show is going to be cut back to around 28 minutes long so if I’ve reached somewhere in the zero point area around 30 minutes in I know that when it’s edited it should be pretty much the same.

Matthews: And if it’s just chat, it just happens; you’re pretty much there any way. Shows that aren’t audience based, such as sport, just work.

Smithson: Loose Women is a good example. In the VT I hold it so it doesn’t peak over five, and subjectively that’s a good level – that’s what loudness is all about. In the past, you’d have a VT and fade it up to zero, and in the context of the programme it would appear loud because it might have music and other sources mixed in, whereas if you hold that back a few dB it brings your 128 back a bit and it matches the programme better.

Matthews: I had Johnny Vegas on Loose Women and everything was going great until he came on, and suddenly everyone was laughing every 30 seconds.

It blew the levels out of the water! That can happen very quickly on live television, you can’t legislate for it. www.londonstudios.co.uk October 2015

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STUDIO PROFILE

ON THE FACTORY FLOOR Following an expansion, London’s Factory Studios now offers one of the first Dolby Atmos-certified mix rooms for commercials and trailers. Matt Fellows finds out what this means for the team.

The new Dolby Atmos-enabled Studio 4

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ith a remit primarily focusing on supplying audio and visual services to the TV, radio, digital, film, music and advertising industries, Sohobased sound design and audio facility Factory has built a back catalogue of revered work since its opening in 1997.

In July, the studio underwent an extensive expansion, extending from its Margaret Street base into the adjacent Great Portland Street thanks to an opportune lease acquisition on a neighbouring property.

The expansion included the development of one of its four studios into a much more spacious and effective area, and the addition of a new Dolby Atmos-enabled studio.

Factory Studios is now home to the UK’s first Dolby Atmos-certified mix rooms for commercials and trailers, and is only the second facility in Europe to gain the certification.

Acoustic specialists White Mark handled the studio designs, following its three previous design jobs for Factory – a new step in a business relationship lasting 15 years.

“They know the building, they know what we need, they know all the pitfalls and every room has always sounded fantastic,” Factory founding partner and 28

creative director Anthony Moore says of the partnership. “You know that room is going to be solid and you know that room is going to translate well.”

And the accuracy of translation that White Mark provides has been crucial to Factory’s success: “Because we work in advertising, you’ll get to your final mix and you just basically transfer to playing it on a TV or a radio depending on what it is, and we’ve always been advocates of that,” Moore continues. “It sounds great [in the suite], but if it doesn’t work [on the TV/ radio] then we haven’t really done our job right.”

New Avenues The newly refurbished Studio 5 is now a 5.1 surround-equipped facility, something that has allowed more freedom in the company’s overall workflow, according to head of technical support and sound engineer Ben Firth.

“It’s cool because it’s allowed us to translate and share material throughout the rooms,” he says.

Moore adds: “It’s geared to any film work or prep work we’re doing on bigger mixes because we can start all that in a smaller room.

“The idea for this room is to be a space for our sound designers to come and experiment and play with stuff and have that time to get new ideas.”

But the real game-changer for the facility is the new Studio 4, a Dolby Atmos-enabled suite. According to Moore, the decision to invest in the technology was a simple one.

“With audio you know when something’s good and when something’s just a flash in the pan,” he tells us. “As a studio we’re very creatively led and this is a creative tool for us to go to town with mixing, so it was a bit of a no-brainer.”

The design of the Dolby-Atmos room is founded on precision and functionality, with an Avid S6 desk as its centrepiece.

“We’ve gone for a pared-down, not overly-showy front end because we just want the room to be about the sound,” Moore explains. “We wanted it to be more like a film-viewing room.”

The accurate translation of sound was again key to the studio’s design: “The mix [in Studio 4] will scale up to a bigger room and be pretty transparent,” Moore adds.

“Every mix that we’ve taken out of the studio, it’s always worked really well when it’s gone to a bigger system, just because we understand what you need to push.”

With such an investment, for Factory it was a definite case of wanting to go down the Atmos route rather than needing to, according to Moore.

“It’s brave, but our peers and competitors are jumping on board as well.

We were always going to build [Studio

4], it was always going to be a 5.1 or 7.1 room, and it seemed silly to spend all this money and not future-proof it. I think because it’s new and there’s not many of us around with the system, I’d rather be at the forefront of it. I think if we didn’t have this, we’d be missing a trick.”

The new expansion has opened up avenues for the Factory team to tackle a wider range of projects in ways that previously weren’t possible, and the benefits of the new technology are already manifesting.

“We’re doing a VR experience, and there’s a couple of feature films in the offing for us, going into next year, which we’re excited about,” Moore continues.

“We’re going to involve our short film showcase and take films that warrant the use of the technology and make something great so that we can showcase it and get people on board.”

For Factory, remaining at the cutting edge of the industry is key to success.

“It’s about having the right creative tools for the job and being able to service all of our clients however they need it to be delivered,” concludes Moore. “If you’re not open to new technologies and ways of working, you can get left behind quite easily.” www.factory.uk.com

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LIVE FOCUS

www.audiomediainternational.com

AUDIO FIT FOR A KING

Acclaimed sound designer Scott Lehrer tells Audio Media International how he came to rely on tools such as Out Board’s TiMax SoundHub and Tracker systems for a recent Broadway run of The King and I.

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odgers and Hammerstein’s classic The King and I returned to Broadway recently for a residency at the Lincoln Center Theater’s (LCT) Vivian Beaumont Theater – with a veritable audio salute raised

by Tony Award-winning sound designer Scott Lehrer.

Lehrer’s goal for The King and I was to create a focused sound design that didn’t need high levels of amplification to keep the audience’s attention on the stage. To achieve this he incorporated precision ‘Source-Oriented Reinforcement’ (SOR) vocal imaging techniques, utilising Out Board’s TiMax2 SoundHub-S48 audio show control delay-matrix system controlled by TiMax Tracker, all supplied

by Masque Sound.

“The use of the TiMax Tracker automation system was very important in moving the sound around LCT, which is a big thrust house,” explains Lehrer, who had previously worked with Masque Sound on the 2008 production of South Pacific, for which he received the first ever Tony Award for Sound Design of a Musical.

“The team from Out Board and TiMax US Distributor 1602 Group helped us calibrate the system and ensure that it interfaced with our console,” he adds.

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Lehrer had used TiMax SoundHub earlier in the year on Broadway’s Honeymoon In Vegas production at the Nederlander, but this was his first outing with the TiMax Tracker UWB radar-based performer tracking automation.

Confessing to feeling slightly daunted initially, Lehrer and his team quickly noticed the significant burden it lifted from the mix engineer’s job: “An extremely large number of console cues is taken care of by the Tracker system, and it works great,” he continues.

Keeping track With TiMax Tracker every actor wears a small transmitter TT Tag about the size of a car-key fob, which transmits radarfrequency chirps of ultra-wideband noise in the 6-8GHz band. These are picked up by six TT Sensors located around the stage and pointing down at the action.

Just two Sensors need to see the Tag at any time for successful Angle Of Arrival (AOA) and Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) tracking, in three-dimensions and to an accuracy of about 15cm.

Placing Sensors on the balcony and either side of the stage creates redundancy to overcome blocking by scenery and other actors, and the use of 6-8GHz data means the system operates

well away from radio mics and the 2.4GHz 802.11 region generally crowded with lighting and staging control, comms and vendors.

The stage area is defined as multiple tracking Zones – some of different sizes and heights – and each time any Tag crosses a boundary between zones the TiMax Tracker server PC sends this positional information to the TiMax SoundHub as a stream of MIDI controller messages in real-time. TiMax SoundHub then applies specially developed morphing delay algorithms to each performer’s radio mic to ensure every audience member hears the voice coming from where they actually are on stage.

The small amounts of 10-25ms over-delay that TiMax applies between each mic and every loudspeaker exploits the psychoacoustic phenomenon of ‘Precedence’, which decribes the way our brains latch onto the sound we hear first, even if a secondary (amplified) version arrives 8-10dB louder. It’s something that sound designers and system engineers often have to battle with to deliver the sort of unobtrusive, realistic sound reinforcement that theatre demands, but TiMax provides a set of delay-based ‘Image Definition’ tools to overcome and manage the multiple arrival times

of speakers and acoustic sources to all audience locations.

For the console, Lehrer chose the Studer Vista 5. “I love the sound of the Studer,” he says. “We were going for a super transparent sound system, one in which the desk has a very clean and open sound, like the Vista does.”

All actors wear DPA d:screet 4061s with Sennheiser wireless packs and receivers. The mic signal path is 100% digital from the Sennheiser receivers all the way to the speakers, with 48 AES receiver outputs feeding DirectOut Technologies ANDIAMO devices, which send them as MADI to the Studer, and also provide a digital cross-patch and monitoring matrix for production sound engineer Lucas Indelicato under the stage.

Direct outputs from each Vista mic channel feed the TiMax inputs via MADI, then TiMax MADI outputs go to further ANDIAMO units for MADI/AES conversion into the distributed PA system, which is primarily comprised of d&b audiotechnik amps and cabinets. It includes C7s for the main system, T10s and E6s for front and rear balcony delays, as well as Q1s for the rear stalls, all augmented by B4 subwoofers. “My preferred choice of speaker is d&b; the tonal character of the d&b is pleasing to me and I find them easy to work with,” Lehrer observes.

With TiMax SoundHub and Tracker independently varying the delay relationships between each artist’s radio mic and the distributed speaker system Lehrer is able to maintain accurate localisation of every actor’s voice for all audience members, even as the actors move around the stage. These SOR techniques are also used widely in Europe and, as one sound designer put it “…with TiMax SoundHub and Tracker working correctly you don’t really notice we’re there, but if you switch them off it feels uncomfortable”. TiMax SOR will also be coming to two major West End productions in Spring 2016. www.outboard.co.uk

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139

th

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

New York City, New York J acob J avits C enter Conference: Oct 29 – Nov 1, 2015 Exhibits: Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2015

If It’s About LIVE SOUND, It’s At AES139!

LIVE SOUND EXPO comes to New York City this fall at the 139th AES Convention.

Whether you are in the hot seat as FOH engineer mixing to a crowd of thousands, in an intimate local club mixing your favorite band, or handling the audio for a house-of-worship facility, the upcoming AES139 Convention in New York City is your one source for all things audio.

With three days of exhibits, the Live Sound Track, and the Live Sound Expo, plus four days of workshops, technical papers and program content tailored to the current audio and communications landscape, once again, the AES Convention will be THE audio event of the year and cannot be missed.

Our Live Sound Expo at the 139th Convention offers expert advice for the broad spectrum of live sound engineers (some 25% of Convention attendees) with an emphasis on the practical, bringing professionals with decades of experience to the stage to inspire and educate attendees.

AES139 Live Sound Expo itinerary and areas of focus:

• Friday, October 30 – Broadway/Theater • Saturday, October 31 – Worship & Install • Sunday, November 1 – Touring Admission to the Live Sound Expo is included with your FREE Exhibits-Plus advance registration.

The Live Sound Expo sponsors are:

For AES sponsor opportunities contact Graham Kirk: graham.kirk@aes.org

If It’s About AUDIO, It’s At AES! For more information visit our website at:

www.aesconvention.com/139

Photo courtesy of Christian Heilman

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

NUGEN AUDIO HALO UPMIX STEREO TO 5.1/7.1 UPMIXER

Simon Allen travels to the Hertfordshire HQ of PMC – generous provider of a 5.1 system and demo room for this review – to test out this new mixing tool for film and TV post-production.

O

bviously, if a 5.1 mix is required, we’d all much prefer to purposefully create one at the mixing stage. However, this isn’t always possible, for a number of reasons, most common of which is there isn’t the time and budget, or the source material doesn’t exist as stems or in multichannel form.

These ‘upmix’ plug-ins are becoming more abundant, but each has their own strengths, and let’s be honest, often some issues. The problem is simple: trying to create more information from what you started with, for example how to either place music and sound effects in your surround environment, or focus elements centrally, such as dialogue for the big screen from a stereo mix?

Once you’ve created your surround sound, there can then be other issues to consider. For example, how will the new surround mix downmix to stereo again?

As most of us know, often the stereo mix, which most domestic systems play, is actually the 5.1 downmixed. Therefore, all this processing can leave the final stereo mix that is heard by the listener a long way from your original stereo mix as you intended it. I set out to find if Nugen’s first release of a solution to this problem could turn out to be as renowned as the company’s measurement tools.

In The Lab In order to make this review, I was offered one of the 5.1 demo rooms at PMC’s headquarters in Biggleswade, UK. This was great as it avoided installing a system elsewhere. Utilising the surround demo room equipped with some of the best monitoring available meant these were ideal conditions .

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I used a complete twotwo system, with twotwo8s along the front for LCR, twotwo6s (pictured) for surround and

a sub2 for the LFE. The full range of the twotwo8s with their great bass extension meant switching between

having the sub2 in the game or not was very transparent. It sounded great, so thanks PMC!

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www.audiomediainternational.com

Key Features

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW A complete twotwo system was used for the review

Available in AAX, VST and AU formats Exact downmix matching Precise centre channel control Performs powerful real-time analysis of original stereo material n Neural network dialogue isolation n n n n

RRP: $449 (until 31 October) www.nugenaudio.com

Overview The layout and choice of colours that Nugen has used for Halo look great and feel professional at the same time. The focus of the design being the sound scope actually works very well. Although I don’t usually get on with visuals like this, the way that the real-time display of the sound is sitting in the surround field is accurate, and gives you a sense of confirmation when you’re still working on some settings.

There are generally more user definable parameters than other similar plug-ins, and too many to explain one-byone in this review. Immediately you can tell this is an all-inclusive tool, and I would recommend spending some time with it before implementing it on a job.

The first most obvious setting is your destination mix type. Used to select between 5.1, 7.1, LCR and virtually any number in between, such as 4.0 or 3.1, Halo covers most types of surround sound format. Once your desired output format is in place, you can see the appropriate outputs displayed around the surround scope and their output meters at the bottom of the window. By default, any speaker or pair of speakers can be soloed from the surround scope, or muted from their retrospective meter.

Although you can configure it any way you prefer, this default works well and is very intuitive.

Panning your stereo sound in the surround field is achieved by a couple of arcs. Ultimately this sets how much of your original stereo track is sent to the surround and centre speakers. Halo also features an ‘Arc Link’, which enables you to move the panning as one, in order to affect the overall ‘size’ of the sound.

The arc for the centre speaker, aka the ‘Divergence’, allows some of the extracted

content that Halo has identified as centrally panned in the stereo field, back into L and R rather than isolating it in the centre speaker. Therefore, with this arc set to hard centre, Halo will isolate as much content as possible from the stereo image that sits centrally, and push it through the centre speaker.

This can be further enhanced with the advanced settings for dialogue rich content, to try and place the dialogue through the centre speaker as you would expect to find in films.

There is also a ‘Diffusion’ setting, which controls the definition of the upmix.

With high values of diffusion, the idea is to have a smoother sound that is less focused, i.e. the sound is more spread out in the surround field. With lower values of diffusion, there should be more detail particularly in the front speakers, and it should sound more focused.

When going with higher levels of diffusion for a well-balanced surround experience, another great trick Halo has to offer is a rear shelving EQ filter. This means that by dulling down the top end clarity of the surrounds, the details can remain at the front and the surrounds don’t become distracting.

The way you work with the LFE channel is well thought out. Typically, downmixes into stereo omit the LFE channel.

Therefore, the default mode in Halo is to ‘add’ some of the low frequency content through the LFE channel at a reasonably low level. This means you can supply some information to the LFE channel that should help some surround systems that don’t have full range satellite speakers to sound balanced, or simply to make it more exciting. However, if you know your downmix will consider the LFE channel, or you’re not interested in the downmix for certain applications, then Halo also offers a ‘Split’ function. As you’d expect, this

operates more along the lines of a typical crossover, where the low frequency energy only exists in the LFE channel.

One key feature you would expect to find on an upmix plug-in such as this is a downmix preview. The calculations for the downmix can be manually set, but the default is based on the typical method.

It is obviously important for most 5.1 or 7.1 mix engineers to check how the mix is translating to stereo, and Halo offers a very quick and accurate way of doing this. What’s more notable however is the ‘Exact’ feature. This doesn’t actually change the processing of the upmix, but simply locks out features from the user that have an impact on the downmix compatibility. As you would expect, Halo also offers standard parameters such as channel levels and output channel ordering, making this a very comprehensive tool.

It felt like high values of diffusion pushed the ‘room’ sound to the back and at lower values, the room sound ‘returned’ to the front. It’s very smart, working inline with the individual reverbs and spatial effects from each stereo mix I presented it with. I found that in most cases some level of diffusion was needed, otherwise the content in the rear didn’t seem rich enough. Most of the time, diffusion levels over 50% were the most desirable.

One very useful feature of Halo was the centre LF split. If you are trying to create a very centre-heavy upmix, perhaps with dialogue, then there is the risk of the centre channel clipping. To help avoid this, Halo can move some of the low frequency content to the L and R channels. This provides a much more efficient and balanced upmix, which will still downmix successfully.

For me, the big news regarding the sound quality of Halo is the fact it identifies and extracts locational sounds

in real time. This extends the stereo field without adding any reverb, chorusing or delay so that the downmix is very close to the original mix. In fact, especially with the ‘exact’ feature enabled, it was quite astonishing how extreme the surround image could be; yet the downmix was almost identical to the original.

A couple of other operational functions should be noted. Firstly, as this plug-in can be used in real time without the need to identify a spatial environment, features such as the dialogue separation into the centre channel can be fully automated across a program. This allows a more accurate and interesting sound field to be created as the content changes. I was also particularly impressed with how well loudness translated between the stereo mix and the upmix.

I typically like to avoid using presets, especially when testing plug-ins, but in this case the use of presets is very helpful. There aren’t too many to chose from, but they certainly guide you into using the plug-in in ways you might not have thought possible, or at least take you 90% of the way in one step. For example, Halo can create a large cinematic feel, or a more engaging musical approach via its many parameters.

Conclusion Nugen has released a very professional product with Halo right from the onset.

The parameters are surprisingly flexible, offering many different effects and solutions for a single stereo file. The quality of the processing is generally very pleasing, and competes very highly against other solutions. I can see future updates from this highly reputable manufacturer will not only ensure Halo remains at the top of the upmix game, but will continue to push the boundaries.

The Reviewer Simon Allen is a freelance, internationally recognised sound engineer and pro audio professional with over a decade of experience. Working mostly in music, his reputation as a mix engineer continues to reach new heights.

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24/09/2015 16:24

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

SPITFIRE AUDIO BML210 BONE PHALANX

SOUND LIBRARY

Ryan McCambridge delves into this featurepacked brassy addition to the company’s acclaimed British Modular Library.

Y

ou can’t help but be drawn in by Spitfire Audio’s compelling image.

It’s dark and dour with brooding imagery of yesteryears. There’s a story there, and you as the creator are here to tell it. At least that’s how I felt when I first came across it.

But being inspired by the façade alone wouldn’t help much without substance. For me, the substance of a sound library is founded in realism and it being able to provide a palette of textures to express yourself. I didn’t 34

know what to expect sonically from Spitfire Audio’s British Modular Library, or Bone Phalanx in particular, but the visual pretense certainly motivated me to delve further.

Bone Phalanx is a 9.6GB library of “six of the world’s greatest trombone players” – three tenor, two bass and one contrabass trombones – recorded at the Lyndhurst Hall of AIR Studios in London. This is the second trombone title from Spitfire’s British Modular Library, helping to round out its already comprehensive collection of orchestral instruments. The process of downloading and installing the library was uneventful, in a good way. You’ll need Native Instruments’ Kontakt to run any of Spitfire’s BML instruments, which might turn some people off, but for those who are willing to invest, BML pays back in dividends.

BRASS ROOTS Brass instruments are difficult to successfully recreate. I think that their subtleties are often overshadowed

by their capacity to be forceful, so emulations can very easily fall into that ‘synthesised brass’ sound that we’ve all endured at some point. The stereotype of brass recreations is nowhere to be found in Bone Phalanx though. Spitfire has taken into account the nuances of the trombone as an instrument and the result is a wide palette that I’m hearing for the first time here in Bones Phalanx.

It can be sonically assertive without being overpowering, or subdued without being washed out.

From a functional standpoint, this very much stems from controllability and a well thought out user interface.

The GUI starts with the Overview Panel of necessary functions like dynamics, tightness and expression, but for those who are willing to dig a bit deeper the GUI can change to include more parameters. The General Controls Panel adds mic mixing as well as controls relating to the samples you want loaded and how they’ll behave.

The number of samples needed to account for all the different mics,

Key Features n

n n n

n

9.6GB library of “six of the world’s greatest trombone players” 17,810 samples in total Requires Native Instruments Kontakt to run Available with standard and extended arrays of microphone mixes Utilises Spitfire’s trademark easy-to-use GUI

RRP: £149 www.spitfireaudio.com articulations and parameter variations is staggering, so it’s no surprise that Bone Phalanx is quite resource heavy. That said, Spitfire has gone to great lengths to mitigate memory requirements by allowing the user to turn off the elements that they’re not using. For example, if you weren’t using marcato notes in your current score you could simply turn them off to free up valuable memory. The same thing applies to the number of round robins you’d like to include. Consulting Kontakt’s memory meter shows that

October 2015

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW the results of any changes are nearly instantaneous. The last of the three GUI panels is The Ostinatum, a laboratory for developing elaborate patterns and further generating inspiration.

I am not a composer or an orchestrator but as a producer and mixing engineer I’ve worked with a lot of sample libraries and I am well acquainted with the huge variance in their actual realism. I’ve found that most libraries are passable at a distance and will often work fine for popular genres, but as you get up close you start to see the cracks. This is most apparent under the magnification of mixing, the moment that requires everything to gel. The texture of each instrument takes on clarity and the level of authenticity that is revealed is largely dependent on the breadth and meticulousness of the library. It was for this reason that I asked if Spitfire Audio would be generous enough to provide me with its BML Murals string library as well, so I could get a sense of context. I wanted to see how Spitfire’s BML catalogue blended together and whether it worked in the modular way that they claimed.

The idea of a modular library is fantastic and Spitfire’s commitment to using AIR Studios, which is debatably the most distinguished studio for orchestral recording, is an example of their dedication to making incredible libraries. It became obvious to me very early on that Spitfire Audio’s British Modular Library is unashamed of being exposed under the mixing microscope and the achievement of Bones Phalanx is a testament to that.

BEST OF BRITISH It took me a bit of reading and research to fully appreciate what Spitfire has done with its British Modular Library.

It’s long-term thinking. It’s working towards giving users the freedom to build and expand their palette as necessary. Given the amount of detail that Spitfire has placed into each of its releases, it’s obvious that they want to take their time to focus on each instrument. Spitfire’s BML is about specificity. There is care and empathy towards the unique characteristics of each instrument, which is hugely important to creating 36

www.audiomediainternational.com

realism. Besides the parameters dedicated to each instrument this approach also extends to the library as a whole. The most obvious example is that all of Spitfire’s British Modular Library has the musicians sitting in situ, putting musicians in their correct physical space in the stereo field. Bone Phalanx is even positioned around the original BML Bones Vol.1 placements, which again is also positioned within the orchestra at large. Panning at the mix stage can never quite replicate placements of this nature authentically so the British Modular Library benefits from an added sense of dimension because of it.

If that weren’t enough, you are submersed into the sound of AIR Studios, which is so captivating and wonderfully inspiring. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity there, as though this was how a score is supposed to sound. I suspect that we’ve all heard our fair share of scores recorded in Lyndhurst Hall. This is most apparent in the decca tree mics and

“Spitfire’s BML is about specificity. There is care and empathy towards the unique characteristics of each instrument.”

Ryan McCambridge

the ambient mics, both of which really showcase the room, and when blended together seem to really fill out the space. The additional close mics and outriggers clearly further the sense of dimension but the balance between all the mics will largely depend on the direction of the music being played.

Finding faults with the British Modular Library is difficult. The only real qualm that I could see some people having is the data size of the library.

Though Bone Phalanx is only 9.6GB, if you are extending yourself into other Spitfire BML titles that number climbs very quickly. But that’s the cost of this level of detail and given how inexpensive hard drives are these

days I would hope that this wouldn’t be a reason for passing over this incredible library. The only other thing that I would point out is the benefit to studying Spitfire’s buying guides and product explanations.

Despite the imagery that I so love, I found the product descriptions to be a bit arcane on the surface. By no means does this affect the products themselves but I found that I had to dig to really uncover what each product was, and how they fit into the overall library. I feel that some impatient onlookers might not give the library the time it deserves, which is unfortunate.

I suppose it’s safe to say that the mark of a great orchestral library is one that has the capacity to conjure a cohesive sound that is a reflection of an actual orchestra. The better the library, the less effort that’s needed to achieve realism. Bone Phalanx sounds incredible from the very first note but its depth still rewards those with an attention to detail. It can carry the load for the novice composer,

however, understanding the capacity of the instrument and the nuances of the different articulations really pays off. This truism extends to the rest of the BML as well. Even still, you get out exponentially what you put in.

Having heard much of Spitfire’s British Modular Library, including its new Mural – Symphonic Strings Vol. 3, I can say that it is the library that comes closest to achieving the captivating realism that we strive for in virtual instruments like this. For me, there is no better muse.

The Reviewer Ryan McCambridge is a freelance audio engineer, writer, producer and programmer from Toronto, Canada. He has taught audio production in workshops and universities, is the creator of the production blog Bit Crushing and is the frontman of A Calmer Collision.

To find out more, go to www.bitcrushing.com or www.acalmercollision.com

October 2015

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23/09/2015 15:22

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

SOURCE ELEMENTS SOURCE-LIVE PRO 3.0 AUDIO STREAMING APP

Remote working can be a frustrating process, but not with this handy tool, says Mike Aiton.

E

very once in a while, along comes a groundbreaking product that will revolutionise (again…) the way you work (yawn...).

Source Elements may now have actually created such a paradigm shifter, and it’s currently in public beta.

Source-Live Pro 3.0 is an app that allows you to stream your audio from your DAW to multiple simultaneous listeners. The really clever bit is that you can stream it with an HD video representation of your video screen in perfect sync! What? No more bouncing QuickTime movies out from Pro Tools, uploading to an ftp site, sending clients an email link, waiting for them to download the video and emailing comments back? Yup. That should have got your attention.

Source-Live Pro 3.0 is custom designed specifically for the media industry, where audio and video streams may be coming from separate sources. The soft ware uses the latest AAC/MP4 encoding and 24-bit audio.

Once you have started your audio DAW (it supports AAX, RTAS, AU and VST formats), you email a remote listener your gateway link, so they can connect to the stream in real time (anywhere) in a browser, or via popular media players such as QuickTime and VLC, or via a custom free iPhone or iPad app.

You will need a minimum of Mac OSX Lion 10.7, running on a 2GHz i7 with 4GB ram. As the soft ware can stream at HD, you will need very good upload capabilities (at least 1MB), but less for lower resolutions. It is recommended to connect to your router via Ethernet rather than wireless. My test rig is a Pro Tools PC 3.5GHz Quad i7 (8 core) with 32GB DDR3 ram, running OSX 10.10.3 and Pro Tools HDX 11.3.2.

There are two ways of getting audio out of your DAW into Source-Live Pro 38

3.0: using the Source-Live-Link AAX/ RTAS, or via Source Nexus.

Next you have to port forward some TCP ports from your router to your computer, so you’re connected to the outside world. I used ports 6000/6001 – the default ones. It is also a good idea to have a manually configured internal IP address. Follow the handy Source Elements Network Guide.

Setting Up Installation is simple and uses either ILok2 for its authentication or standard computer authentication.

Once installed, log in with your Source Elements username and password – you can set auto-login in future. Next you run the port test, which takes seconds.

Then, within Pro Tools, create an aux track into which the audio mix for the video is routed and add the Source Nexus plug-in – or the Source-Live Link – from Multichannel Native Plug-in/ Other, so that the audio can be sent from Pro Tools to Source-Live Pro 3.0.

The four tabs within the SourceLive Pro 3.0 soft ware are simple and uncluttered. Within Stream you can title your feed and set any login/password and network settings. The next tab is Listeners, where you can see the IP address, connection protocol and duration of any connected listeners, or disconnect them with a right click. The other nift y button is the Invite Listeners where you can send an online invite to your clients.

The third tab is Audio where you can set your audio input, the quality level (320kbps), sample rate (48kHz) and channel width (stereo or mono). You can also delay/advance the audio to the video to ensure accurate sync.

The fourth tab is Video, where you can select the video input (my Slate Raven MTi 27in screen), or any video input device that OSX understands.

You can select the entire screen or a

Key Features n Stream audio from a DAW to several listeners at once n Supports AAX, RTAS, AU and VST n HD streaming capability n Video chat and instant messaging options user selectable 16:9 crop. If you wish to transmit only an audio stream then you can select No Video.

Getting Started Press the START button to start your stream. In the preview display you will see a preview of your stream, and a red blinking light to show that you are transmitting. Source Elements has also put in a CPU meter in case your computer is tying its knickers in a knot downrezing.

There is a handy Share button that pastes the links to the OSX clipboard of either a web browser feed for sharing, or RTSP or HLS feeds for internal network testing or sync checks. You can then paste this into an email.

This blows other streaming apps out of the water for two big reasons: 1) You can delay/advance the audio to the video – fundamental to achieving good sync; and 2) The audio and video can be from separate sources.

So it’s easy to use and works very well. It’s also very secure with its one-time security tokens. Source

RRP: $995 ($650 upgrade from version 2) www.source-elements.com Elements has created ‘video voodoo’ by keeping audio and video in sync over the internet (sorry Vimeo and YouTube) for hours on end. Clients love it as it makes your studio just a click away.

Remote long form is now a reality without file share tedium. There are even paid extra options to help communicate with your clients in the gateway, such as video chat or instant messaging. Future plans include other services such as Roku and Apple TV – as well as surround.

The Reviewer Mike Aiton was weaned at the BBC, but after breaking free nearly 25 years ago and becoming one of London’s busiest freelance dubbing mixers, he can now mostly be found in his Twickenham dubbing suite, mikerophonics.

October 2015

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21/09/2015 11:33:56 18.09.15 17:17

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

YAMAHA TF3 MIXING CONSOLE Strother Bullins gets his hands on the new console, which sits at the centre of the manufacturer’s latest range for small to medium-sized applications.

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amaha emerged as a leader in high-end live sound mixing with its digital offerings long before many stalwart analogue-centric live console companies dipped their toes in the digital pool. As such, they’ve created now-standard ways of working for many live sound engineers that bought into the Yamaha camp and began specifying their desks from premier live sound firms handling the world’s biggest tours.

The TF Series falls somewhere between Yamaha’s top-tier PM Series and its non-touch-enabled digital desks; with the seasoned operator, it can more simply provide world-class results and is remarkably enhanced by today’s consumer-influenced GUI trends. Each TF Series desk is centred on a small touchscreen surrounded by tactile controls. I didn’t know what to expect upon first glance, but I quickly realised that this review was going to be an easygoing pleasure.

The TF Series are all-enclosed digital mixing solutions for today’s varied multichannel audio mixing needs.

Applications range from mid- to largevenue installs, mid-level touring and sophisticated houses-of-worship (HOW) environments. As such, users will find most of what they need, and perhaps more, within TF Series feature sets.

There are three tiers of TF Series mixers: 33, 25 and 17 100mm motorised fader versions with 32, 24 and 16 recallable D-PRE mic/line preamps, respectively. They feature 48, 48 and 40

Key Features n

n n

n

n

Recallable D-PRE preamps for the first time in a digital console TouchFlow operation for greater ease of use QuickPro presets created in co-operation with leading mic manufacturers Compatible with software apps such as TF StageMix and MonitorMix 1-knob COMP and EQ via a single rotary control

RRP: $2,999 www.yamahaproaudio.com

40 inputs, respectively (40, 40 and 32 mono with two stereo plus two return) and 20 aux busses. Sixteen XLR outputs are provided within each TF Series mixer. Each TF includes eight effects plus 10 GEQ DSPs and 32 x 32 recording/playback functionality (via USB 2.0 on Mac/PC OS) with stereo channel recording straight to USB HD or SSD, and likewise playback. Other I/O include an iOS-purposed USB port, Ethernet connection for comprehensive networking needs, an expansion slot (e.g. for Dante expansion cards) and a rear panel USB port for multichannel DAW I/O. TF Series desks operate at 48kHz and various Yamaha outboard and card I/O options are available.

The TF’s TouchFlow Operation is where it really gets interesting. There is a litany of available proprietary functions when it comes to processing within a TF via its 7in-wide multicolour, multi-touch UI. These begin with Touch & Turn precision adjustments for EQ and other parameters; useful visual overview settings; 1-knob comp and 1-knob EQ parameters; automated Gain Finder input signal feature; QuickPro presets with gain, EQ and compressorbased parameters; two-scene memory banks; many organisational features; and TF Editor, TF StageMix and MonitorMix remote/wireless mix capabilities for iOS. Regarding the TF’s QuickPro presets, TF Series development principal John Schauer explained to me, pre-review, that the TF features tech-based “short

cuts” from microphone manufacturers such as Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and Shure – giving the user a trustworthy leaping point for signal processing, no matter the source.

Like the rest of its parameters, I found these very logically adjusted via its smooth touchpanel surrounded by useful physical controls.

In Use With a snake-full of XLR mic inputs, I was up and running with the review unit – a 24-fader TF3 ($2,999 street) – in less than a minute. From there and in multiple settings – an outdoor gig of multiple acoustic sound sources; a HOW with choir, pastoral and youth band inputs; and a club gig with multiple acts – I found the TF3 quick to learn and easy to use on the fly. For the preliminary outdoors gig, I didn’t even crack the enclosed Quick Guide or refer to more in-depth console documentation found online; I simply powered up, input signal and pecked around on the touchscreen a bit until I was comfortable with the TF’s easy workflow.

After my live sound applications, I used the TF3 to mix some pre-recorded live tracks (via Cymatic Audio uTrack 24) with much success, further illustrating the TF Series’ potential flexibility in multipurpose installations.

TF Series processing can be deep and wide as it’s packed with processing power. Most needed features are within a range of ‘one knob’ simplicity, sufficient for near-novice needs as well

as seasoned veterans’ preferences; as such, users at either extreme can be pleased. I must admit that there are a couple of parameter adjustments I had to look up, rather than find intuitively; to me, it was comfortably within the normal range of proprietary pro-audio electronics, though still more intuitive than most I regularly find in my work.

The TF Series is a culmination of numerous Yamaha technologies centred on a logical, user-friendly proprietary OS. In most applications, it’s a complete live sound front end, all enclosed in one piece. I found most operations to be intuitive and had most of what I needed for general ‘pro-grade’ live sound results at my fingertips. Best of all, it’s a greatsounding desk – no doubt enhanced by third-party participation in the presets and carefully-set parameters – and is built to withstand beatings of the road.

When it’s easy to find audio processing in nearly every device we carry today, it’s refreshing to have an all-enclosed touchscreen-based mixing solution. That said, I love and rely upon my tablets and smart devices. Yet when it’s time to mix, the multitasking benefits of consumer devices can usually become a distraction – for me, at least. Here, Yamaha has created a proprietary mix surface with just enough of a learning curve to place its users in the moment and plenty of evolved tools to sculpt sound sources.

The Reviewer Strother Bullins is reviews editor for NewBay Media’s AV/Pro Audio Group. sbullins@nbmedia.com www.prosoundnetwork.com

October 2015

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What’s New at PLASA 2015 What event developments and new initiatives can visitors expect to see at this year’s show?

Major show developments for PLASA Show 2015 include focused hubs on the show floor for Audio, Broadcast, Lighting, AV and Staging building on PLASA’s successful focus model and enabling visitors to easily locate the products and brands facilitating business opportunities. The show will also showcase sector specific seminar streams hosting 150+ leading speakers; new facilitated networking for increased business generation and increased emphasis on product innovation pre-show and onsite at the PLASA Awards for Innovation.

Visitors can expect a business only focus to the show reflected by extending the opening hours and three day format from Sunday 4 October to Tuesday 6 October.

How does PLASA Show 2015 differ to PLASA Show 2014 - what visitor feedback did you receive last year and how has that influenced this year’s content and format?

Visitor feedback from PLASA Show 2014 was critical in addressing the needs of exhibitors and visitors alike, as their collaborative voice prompted new initiatives as well as the return of some popular features. Feedback allowed PLASA Events to focus on developing key areas including more sector specific seminars and demo areas, increased networking opportunities from the sectorfocused areas and the return of the show’s central bar, which will provide the all-important social element on the show floor.

Which audio brands can you expect to see at the show?

World renowned business event for the Live Entertainment Technology industry Featuring a brand new format with sector focused hubs for AV, lighting, audio, staging and broadcast; live demonstration zones, new exhibitors and new feature products. All backed up by PLASA’s renowned Professional Development Programme hosting five seminar streams with 150+ industry leading speakers.

Register today at www.plasashow.com /PlasaShow

GLASGOW | 20-21 JANUARY, 2016

@PlasaShow

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LEEDS | 10-11 MAY, 2016

With PLASA Show being one of the biggest showcase of live entertainment technology, it attracts the biggest brands including d&b audiotechnik, Music Group, Yamaha, Nexo, Digico, FBT, Meyer Sound, L’acoustics, Midas, Avid, Sennheiser, Pioneer and more...

Why should audio and live events professionals take time out of their office to visit PLASA Show – what will they learn and how will the show be of benefit?

A number of seminar sessions would be of particular interest to the audio community including four panel sessions chaired by industry journalist Phil Ward including: Digital Mixing for the real world; DON’T WORRY, BE IP – Networking for live sound and installation; NOISES OFF! Controlling event sound; MORE MIDI, PLEASE – Mixing monitors for artistic temperaments. The theatre will also host sessions from Justin

Grealy and Jon Burton looking at ‘time aligning inputs and outputs’ and discussing whether ‘mixing is personal’; an afternoon of training from Brit Row Productions Training and keynotes delivered by Tony Andrews of Funktion One, big games audio specialist Scott Willsallen, and Mike Lowe from Brit Row discussing the future of training in the industry.

Furthermore, the show floor will be packed with products, innovations and services as well as an audio focused networking zone to facilitate knowledge sharing and enable the audio community to check out cutting edge, contemporary technology solutions and keeping on the pulse of what’s new on the market.

PLASA Show, ExCeL London Sunday 4 October 10am – 6pm Monday 5 October 10am- 8pm Tuesday 6 October 10am- 4pm www.plasashow.com

55%

specify or are final decision makers, that is more than 5,000 key buyers

86%

of visitors use exhibitions as a key source to find product/service information

44%

of visitors haven’t visited any other show in the past year

INTERVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

TOP GUN

Adam Savage speaks to Dean Jones, one half of the partnership behind Raygun, Dublin’s newest post-production house, to see what it has in store for the industry.

Raygun is a new boutique postproduction facility based in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, run by Jess Felton and sound engineer Dean Jones, which aims to quickly establish itself as a leading specialist in TV, commercial and feature work, as Jones explains…

What are you planning to do with the new company, and how will you look to carve a niche for yourselves in the Dublin post scene?

We do sound and we do post work; we’ve noticed that some of our peers in town get quite competitive about trying to get absolutely every aspect of the job, whereas we’ve learned that sometimes people really want to just send you the audio.

So we’re really trying to sell that; while we’re a very hungry couple of people starting up a business, it’s the wrong way to think that you can get every piece of every project in. Sometimes splitting that up creatively around the town is the more efficient way to get more money through the door, and that’s kind of our ethos.

What improvements have you made to the place itself?

42

We’ve had the whole building revamped, and the response has been good. We’ve done it primarily to target the commercial sector and advertising agencies. It’s about trying to make them as comfortable as possible and creating a bit of a buzz around town.

We’re trying to make it a boutique-y, comfortable environment. I think people have sat up and said ‘I want to go down there, I want to see what it’s like’.

How many studios do you have, and what do they offer?

There are three audio studios, and they’re lovely spaces. Studio 2 is 5.1, and properly iAcoustics-designed – that would be the room that we do a bit of feature work in, loads of cinema mixes for commercials and television, and the one I put most of the acoustic control into; it’s very important that that room sounds good.

Studio 1 upstairs is a lovely space but a lot of engineers see that room and go ‘Do you not have crazy reflections off those glass windows?’ and I do, but I know what I’m doing to make sure a lot of the TV mixes that I do in there are absolutely fine.

The benefit of having those windows to the commercial people that we’re getting in is it becomes a little bit of a sales job – everybody absolutely adores the view we have from those windows, they love the brightness. We probably get more work in because of it.

We have a third suite as well. We do a lot of sound edits for film and TV programming in there.

Could you tell us a bit about some of the other members of the audio team there at Raygun?

Tim O’Donovan came to me from working in a very big animation house in Dublin called Brown Bag. I was looking to get another good engineer in and Tim was always on my periphery, and I found it refreshing that he came from the animation sector and had a strong music background because it crosses over into a lot of stuff that we do.

Colm O’Rourke comes from another post house in town called Screen Scene – he did a couple of years there. Within six weeks of being here he was already mixing for TV. I’m delighted with the way the audio team has progressed.

Any particular equipment in your arsenal that you’d like to shout about?

The DigiDesign/Avid Pro Tools thing – it’s the industry standard; once you’ve got the total recall on the D-Control Desks it’s amazing.

We use Genelec 1032A monitors, the Neumann TLM103s as our standard mics, and then our others are U87s – that’s what we use for the ADR. The most important purchase we’ve made at the moment was actually iZotope RX4 Advanced. In Ireland, when budgets were slashed for TV programming and commercials, the first thing they’d cut a corner on was location sound and sound recordists. The dialogue denoiser on the RX4 is absolutely what every engineer has been dreaming of. So that’s really helped us in our TV programming.

With regards to plug-ins, we’re big fans of the Waves Gold bundle.

We understand you’re already working on some interesting projects?

We do The Voice of Ireland, and Colm has been my wingman on those sorts of jobs.

There are jobs that come in and they look very straightforward but they’re like 24 channels before you even get started.

That’ll come back to us in about December and it lasts for about 16 weeks; it feels like doing a film every week, there’s a huge amount of work that goes into it.

We’re also doing Zig & Zag’s new animation series – that’s in post, and there’s 26 episodes. Three of them have been mixed and we’re delivering that at the start of next year. It was very easy for us to get that work on the back of Tim’s experience in other animations.

We did our first feature film at the beginning of this year called You’re Ugly Too, starring Aidan Gillen. It was a low budget feature but it did really well.

I used to work for Windmill Lane – I was there for eight years – and I did do quite a bit of TV drama before I got here, so the drive is to try and attract some of that work with me. www.raygun.ie

October 2015

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