NZVN dec13 web by Grant Cummuskey

DECEMBER 2013

Syntec is now Sennheiser

Vol 198

The change over happened some months ago but this was my first opportunity to meet with Bjørn Rennemo Henriksen as the general manager of Sennheiser ANZ. It’s always tricky when product channels have new owners but, in this case, all seems to have gone very smoothly – so smoothly that I doubt if any of you noticed. Bjørn’s name is a bit of a giveaway that he’s from Northern climes but where exactly? Ed: Bjørn, do you always have the Rennemo in your name? Bjørn: I do. Rennemo comes from Norway; Henriksen comes from Denmark. My mother is from Norway, my father is from Denmark, so I guess they made an agreement there. Ed: Let’s call you Bjørn. Now, we won’t beat about the bush because those who know about the acquisition have asked me if I know “what’s going on?” Can you give us all some reassurance that things for customers in New Zealand especially, and in Australia, are going to be well served by your presence as managing director of Sennheiser ANZ?

We look forward to seeing more of Bjorn in 2014 at a Sennheiser dealer near you.

Bjørn: Yes I would love to do that. Syntec ran a very, very smooth business here. They have done very well with Sennheiser; they have also done very well with “third party brands” as we call them – any other brand not owned by Sennheiser – they’ve done a great job and we have launched Sennheiser ANZ, as we call it, with the wording “business as usual.” We want to look after Syntec’s customers who are now our customers and we want to make sure that any Sennheiser user still feels comfortable with our products and service – and that we are a good source for complementary brands too.

Ed: I guess if they have to go somewhere else to get a windsock, they might also find that company sells microphones?

Bjørn: That’s correct yes. Amongst others, we had Rycote and it’s a fantastic product which goes hand in hand with our microphones.

Bjørn: Yes, you’re right, you’re right. It’s not only the Sennheiser brand we carry; we also have Neumann which is owned by Sennheiser since 1991. As you say, we carry third party products, as Syntec did, and we will continue to do that also looking ahead.

Ed: But you had other audio product as well, didn’t you – because when someone comes to an audio supplier, they want to know that there’s a bigger offer there, and Sennheiser doesn’t make everything?

You mentioned windsocks, talking about Rycote … we are not the only subsidiary of Sennheiser carrying Rycote. A lot of the other subsidiaries, amongst them Sennheiser Nordic where I came from, also carry Rycote. Ed: Okay, tell us a little bit about that Nordic background – there you had a number of countries that you looked after, it was all in that northern hemisphere region, are there any parallels between what you were doing there and the Australia/New Zealand situation? Bjørn: I would say yes. Sennheiser Nordic started off as four countries and that was four different currencies, two different levels of VAT and a headquarters based in Copenhagen. We had branch offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki as here we have our headquarters in Sydney and then we have sales reps in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and then we have our branch office here in Auckland. One subject where we put a lot of effort back in Sennheiser Nordic – and I can feel that here as well – is that communication needs to get out of our headquarters. We will make sure that everyone is in the loop, because every sales rep, every person within our company has an opinion and has a purpose for being with Sennheiser. Ed: They’re the connection to your customers. But in terms of the parallels, you’ve noticed that there’s a bit of rivalry between Australia and New Zealand – is this something new to you? Bjørn: Not at all, there is rivalry in any kind of sports game within the Nordic group. The Norwegians pick on the Swedes, they are our neighbours, but if Denmark for some reason … Ed: Well they have invaded you a few times haven’t they? Bjørn: Ed:

Yes, and we them.

We’ve never invaded Australia … yet.

Bjørn: Well you could try! No, so the rivalry is there and I think it’s a lovely cultural feature that we get to tease each other a bit. It’s good. And if Denmark didn’t make it to the World Cup and Sweden would, I mean we would cheer for them and I hope they would cheer for us. Ed: Now in terms of looking after third party brands, was this the same as here in the Nordic region – that you weren’t just Sennheiser?

Bjørn: That’s correct and we are very well aware that we don’t, that’s why any subsidiary anywhere in the world carries – not all sorts, but quite a different pallet of third party product. If you go to Sennheiser Hong Kong, they carry the K-Array brand as we do. So back in Nordic, we also carried a Belgian brand called APart which are conference products going into all sorts of meeting applications, conference rooms, etc and we also do have that here. Ed: So that’s it, there is a history within the group of having third party product that might be a legacy from a previous acquisition but also might be very complementary to your other products. I know, for example, back in the day, Syntec did a fit out of the Sydney Opera House, so there they would have needed more product than just what Sennheiser was able to offer? Bjørn: I’m not familiar with that, but yes, having third party products that can complement the dealerships that we already have or are looking at having, they are good to keep in our business. Ed:

Future plans?

Bjørn: Many! The acquisition was on September 1st and, until now, much effort has been put into our staff and assuring our customers that it is business as usual. Going forward, Sennheiser sees this area as a big one physically, but also as opportunities for us to gain market share. We want to get even better at looking after our customers; we want to host seminars, we want to educate, not only our dealers, but also the users. For example, on the topic of RF for the digital dividend and all the rest of it, there are lots of things for us to talk about and do. Ed:

So Bjørn, your commitment for 2014 is …?

Bjørn: The commitment for 2014 is to continue the great support that Syntec had. We want to build upon that and I want to get here and also around Australia to visit the dealers. That is where everything happens, it’s with the dealers. Ed:

Because of the support the company can offer?

Bjørn: The support that we can offer and that we will be also seeing more of in the future, is that we want to secure our dealer network; we want to secure them in their channel, within their expertise in what they’re good at. Ed:

Excellent news. We love our dealers to bits!

NZVN

Go www.finnzed.co.nz and follow the link to NZVN for more news. P11 Start your own channel with TriCaster. P14 Behringer Audio is at Protel. P20 Matthews at IBC. P24 Big Reveal at Sound Techniques. Page 3

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Jünger at IBC For Sennheiser, we are at Jünger with Peter Poers. Ed: Peter, Jünger has been around a long time in this business and you have a range of products that really is at that digital top end. Just tell me about what you’ve come up with recently? Peter: One new product we are offering here is the Voice Audio Processor that’s basically a channel strip for microphone recording. We have microphone inputs, high quality preamplifiers and then we have the digital combination of dynamics, EQs, leveller, so at the end, you get a well mastered voice recording that you can immediately use to send on the line or to mix with music or whatever you want to do. The interesting stuff here is that, in the short term, we will offer a digital microphone interface and that’s very much in the interest of companies like Neumann and Sennheiser, as they want to push digital microphone technology, but at the moment the market is missing quality interfaces. So that is the weak point of digital microphones – the microphones are there but nobody can use them because standard mixing desks, standard output gear doesn’t support the AES42 standard which is the one for digital microphones. Typically, some companies are trying to make just simple interface boxes like, let’s say, digital AES42 injectors to get a digital microphone working in a standard digital environment, but for real professional guys that’s not good enough. So our box is more than just a simple microphone interface but offers, for quality applications, the chance to use digital microphones in combination with a sophisticated signal processing to get high quality recordings. Ed: I want to go back a little bit – you’re saying this is a voice audio processor as opposed to an audio processor, so you don’t process music through this, it’s really specified for voice? Peter: In the past, the combination of dynamics and EQ was typically called voice processor until the guys in the music production found that it’s very nice for solo instruments like guitars to use and you can create effects that are not so easy to produce with a compressor of dynamics only and so that’s what it is. So of course, you can use it for any other stuff … you can use it for any audio that needs to get some, let’s say, proper conditioning for sound and level, that’s what it does. We call it voice processor because this one is targeted for quality microphones and to guarantee you quality output of a microphone recording. Ed: Okay, so really, saying that it’s “the voice” means that it’s at that top end … it’s more sensitive than just the standard …? Peter: In radio today, the narrators are more or less journalists, they don’t have a technical clue, and they need to run the transmission themselves. They can’t control the microphone fader all the time to have optimum microphone input. Sometimes they don’t even need to touch the faders because everything is automated from the scheduling system. So with this box in front of them, you can leave them because they never need to control the microphone amplification and the sound conditions, because that’s fully automatically done by the box in a quality that’s really impressive and that makes it good fun to work with. Ed: And again, is this a situation, technology-wise, that the hardware version is superior to a software solution? Peter: In this specific product solution, it is both, because to run a microphone the proper way, you need to have, let’s say, high quality hardware, as you need to

have the microphone fully remotable and the rest is software run of course – software in terms of firmware in the DSP that processes the audio as you wish. By the way, this firmware version or parts of the algorithms, you will find in other product solutions with us as well, but the combination of this hardware plus the package of algorithms that we call voice processor, while some of the filters in the dynamics section, or especially the leveller and loudness control, you will find in the television output processor same way. But here the hardware is more looking for 5.1, looking for SDI embedded, looking for Dolby D and encoding, but the voice processor of course does not. Ed: Now you mentioned loudness processing. This is something that I know was big in Europe a little while ago, has recently become big in Australia and New Zealand – you’ve got a very nice solution for that? Peter: Yes. We developed an algorithm that in my eyes, or for my ears, works close to perfect in terms of that the real time algorithm we are running in the DSP, what is performing every single moment, gives you a similar result to what a file based tool can do. The file based tool has one big advantage – you can scan the whole file before you take the decision what you want to do. In our real time algorithm, we don’t know what the next sample is bringing, so we need to perform every moment. But, if you compare what we can do with a real time algorithm compared to a file based, you will be surprised how close it comes. And that’s the point – in loudness, people are looking for solutions that don’t touch the audio; even if we need to touch it, because we need to create the proper control, but they don’t want to feel that somebody has mangled it just because of loudness. The file based, as I said, is very easy … you check the file, you get the difference, you add or you reduce the gain in terms of difference, done. The real time process is dynamically working so we

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need to process every moment, but we found a way to make it let’s say smart, in a way that people don’t feel it. And you check with the measurement and then you say “wow, the result is nearly perfect.” Ed: It’s always good if you don’t something’s been done to the signal?

notice

that

Peter: That’s the point, but interestingly, to make it the way that you can’t know that, that’s the most complicated thing. It’s easier to do it in a way that you feel somebody’s moving the fader all the time, but to do it in a way that it’s not audible, it’s difficult and as we know this is not the cheapest stuff we are offering, but I must say if you use it, then after the first hour you will forget the trouble that you got in the past and can save your time and efforts for other stuff, it’s definitely the money worth. Ed: Because you don’t need to keep working on it, it just does it automatically? Peter: We have people where, they start with the box and we call them after a week when the evaluation period is over, and they say “oh shit” that’s a nightmare now if we have to take that processor out, and also if a scratch happens they say hmmm, we still have this one in the circuit. We never have to think about that anymore. I have clients, we install huge systems with over 400 channels, they got training sessions with us in Berlin in our headquarters. After 1½ years, I visited the facility and they asked me questions and they told me “honestly we don’t know how to operate this anymore – can you explain us again?” and then I checked the Page 6

PRODUCTION | POST | VISUAL EFFECTS

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system and I found that, in more than 18 months, they never got access to the system; they never even checked the settings. Ed: I guess because nobody ever complained or there was no government agency coming along and saying “I’m sorry … Peter: In a lot of TV stations, they even don’t have a chance to get proper audio monitoring, so how they can get a qualified feedback this sounds good or not; the best feedback is if you don’t have any complaints – especially the audience. We got a case that was a very interesting one, years ago in South Africa. Accidentally, one of our circuits was switched to bypass – accidentally – and at this stage they got so many complaints from the viewers that finally one guy from the technical department went to the CAR ( Central Apparatus Room ) and found this one box in bypass. I got a phone call and they were really upset because you know “we locked the front panels after your description, how can it be that the bypass button can still be activated even if the front panel is locked.” And I explained to them that there were some US clients who requested that they can lock everything but never the bypass button. They said “okay, leave it as it is, we can live with this, but we just complained because we didn’t know.” Then I told them “you know what, you should think yourselves lucky because one circuit goes to bypass and immediately you get trouble back that you missed for more than a year now.” And that was a true story. Ed: That’s certainly affirmation that the product is working – that you don’t get complaints? Peter:

Definitely, yes.

NZVN

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NZVN COMP_AD_13.indd 1

23/09/13 10:14 AM

Start your own channel with TriCaster We are here at DVT talking NewTek TriCaster with Frank Nicolaci from Adimex Australia. Ed: Frank, would it be fair to say that TriCaster would be the industry standard for broadcasting in a box, because everything’s in there? Frank: Well I’d say that TriCaster – and my background has been at the broadcast level with traditional broadcast style studio equipment … I’d say TriCaster is “broadercasting” from the point of view that it handles an assortment of inputs and can deliver an assortment of outputs, something which a traditional broadcast production switcher, for example, either delivers in one format or another in most cases. It also “Things appear bigger thian they may actually be” say Frank ( left ) and Stuart. combines graphics, titling, audio, virtual sets and many more features not found in a single solution that sits on control surface or more production tools; start with the a table top. In terms of mixing formats, whether they entry level and build as the budget allows; or buy to be traditional broadcast analogue or digital inputs, all suit the demands of the content you wish to produce. the way through to mixing live IT based data streams; Ed: At the base level, a lot of it is computer controlled that’s what TriCaster is and can do. It can take many and there’s a little bit of hardware, but as you go up in different inputs and deliver to a number of different the world, as with many products …? outputs, be it an SD or HD broadcasting requirement, a Frank: More hardware and of course the control venue event to projector screens, or stream to the surface is expanded … larger control panel as the Internet. So we’ve got broadcasting, we’ve got number of mix effects rows are increased, greater video streaming, we’ve got large screen displays in stadiums, re-entry options and graphics capability, and a lot more conferences, church venues. We can do all that with buttons to push for greater production value add. TriCaster. Ed: Now TriCaster is not made in Australia but Ed: Well I guess the proof of the pudding is that Adimex looks after it rather well? broadcasters are using them? Frank: NewTek products come out of the US. Frank: There are plenty and they are widely used They are manufactured in San Antonio, Texas and that’s in the US for example – for Australia and New Zealand the original location for NewTek when they first came their use has been more intra-cast until now however out with the Video Toaster, I think it was in 1985. the soon to be added MOS automation may provide Ed: Aaah, so the Video Toaster has morphed into the broadcasters another reason to consider a broadcast in TriCaster? a box solution where the requirement may be for an automated studio environment. Frank: It has progressed considerably since the Toaster days, yes. Ed: So in terms of the product range, there’s not just “one box fits all” – you’ve got a variety there depending on how many inputs and outputs I guess? Frank: That’s correct but more so for the extra features for adding incredible production value to your content. There’s the entry level TriCaster 40 all in one live production and streaming system through three levels up to the TriCaster 8000, the most highly configurable, broadcast integrated content production platform ... a model to suit all manner of broadercasting tasks. Each model has key upgrade benefits both in software and hardware to increase production value and performance. Start with GUI control add a

Ed: Although TriCaster is available through a number of resellers in New Zealand, to comment on the local market we have Stuart from DVT. Stuart: We’ve certainly been doing a lot more work recently in the systems integration area. This is where existing customers have already got some sort of setup – it might be SD analogue and they’re moving to high definition and wanting to revamp their switching, recording, streaming solution at the same time. That’s where the TriCaster is a wonderful fit for that type of work. It does get quite complex in the higher end models with lots of different inputs and different ways in

Page 11

which you can use it, so you need to have a very careful look at the sort of equipment that you’re connecting to it, how you’re doing coms, how you’re doing prompting, how you’re doing your CG …

than waiting for the money to come in further down the track and in the meantime having to compromise the end solution by buying little bits as you go along the way. So there’s many different ways of looking at it.

Ed: And that’s the sort of thing you should do before you actually buy the model, and you don’t just unpack it from the box and say “right, where do these things plug in?”

Ed:

Stuart: Absolutely. You want to have no surprises, so having a good close look from an engineering perspective at how it’s all going to fit together. Also, quite importantly, is having a clear focus on the user and the operation of it, because quite often the people using these systems aren’t technical and so they just want to find the most efficient workflow to be able to do what they need to do without having to go through any technical hurdles to get there.

Ed:

Ed: I believe that the TriCaster slogan is “broadcast in a box” – is that right? Stuart: Yes, it’s an incredible product because it integrates so many functions in one single solution and some of those functions can be quite expensive to do separately. So for example, getting a proper CG system can set you back many tens of thousands of dollars; to get a proper vision mixing system can set you back many tens of thousands of dollars – so you can do all of these things separately, but TriCaster offers an enormous value proposition when they bring and integrate those together into one lower cost package. It also means it’s so easy to go from doing virtual sets to streaming, to switching, to CG, to recording – multiple recording of your isolated cameras as well as the programme output, all in one integrated package. It’s really good for that.

So you’ve got the money?

Stuart: Yes, well of course we can do finance for customers and it makes it very easy for them to get into things. And a final word from Frank about TriCaster?

Frank: There are a lot of other dedicated streaming solutions out there but the really good thing about TriCaster is that it adds production value to the output. So you can get video bloggers who, for very little money, can now add a level of production to their output whereas, before, they were just a single camera straight out to the Internet, which was pretty boring if you’re watching webstreaming on the Internet for example. Now we hear of the TV studio set up in someone’s garage. They can get three very low cost HDMI cameras and they’re on the air with a TriCaster. It really doesn’t matter what level they want to enter in, the fact is they can add production value at the lower end and they can be full on broadcast with special effects and virtual sets and a whole lot more at the other end with what TriCaster offers today. Ed:

Every boy’s dream?

Frank:

Ed: But even though Frank’s sitting right beside you, the TriCaster’s not the only way you can go is it – obviously Blackmagic and others have quite a few solutions? Stuart: Oh absolutely. There is the modular approach to it, but the funny thing is if you start with a Blackmagic vision switcher and then you add a CG system to it and you add some method of recording your output, you add some other method to do live streaming … by the time you add up the cost of all of that, you’re absolutely in TriCaster territory. And then of course you’ve got to maintain it, you’ve got to find some way to glue it all together, hold it together, particularly if you’re doing mobile systems as well where you want to travel around with them and be able to set up very quickly, TriCaster is exceptional – having everything integrated in a single box makes it really foolproof. Ed: But yet again there are plenty of options out there and that’s where having a talk to you as a systems integrator is vital? Stuart: Oh absolutely. You know one of the things that we like to do is to have a good idea of where a customer is starting from and ultimately where they want to end up. They may not necessarily have the budget to get to where they ultimately want to be, but having an eye on that helps your decision making processes in terms of setting a path to get there. Sometimes if you can’t afford to get into the right level of TriCaster, you’re better off to finance it so that you can get that system and pay it off over time, rather Page 12

And every girl’s dream ... absolutely!

NZVN

Behringer Audio is at Protel We are at Protel in Auckland’s City Road and we have the men from Behringer hosted by Tyrone Payne. Ed: Tyrone, I understand that Behringer are heavily into audio and that Protel has just become a reseller in NZ? You’ve obviously got a lot of audio products already in your stable, so what’s having Behringer adding to your offer? Tyrone: Well clearly there was a gap in our portfolio … most of our products tended to be at the very top end. Behringer has had a lot of really cost effective products, like speakers for example. Recently, they’ve put some R&D into an area where we’ve been looking for a while and that is in mixers. It’s the quality and the cost effectiveness of their mixers that fit perfectly into the gap that we had. Tyrone and Chris with the Behringer product. Ed: Okay, so there’s a lot of audio mixing software out there and a numcheaply for musicians. He started the company under ber of people in the video industry using audio would be the premise of trying to build cost effective equipment; looking at those software solutions because they’re but around the year 2000, he realised that what he cheaper. Behringer now gives them a hardware option? needed to do was to develop, not only good products, Tyrone: That’s right, and there are a lot of people but great products, and products that people wanted to that want a hardware solution, they want to touch and buy. That’s what he’s trying to achieve now in this feel things rather than just using a computer “in the range of products, so he’s gone from building cheap 2 dark” so to speak. and 3 and 5 channel mixers, through to product that is Ed: Now here today, you’re actually setting up a truly innovative. Part of that process in the last 2-5 training session but obviously, if people are reading years is that he purchased the Turbosound and the this, they’ve missed out on the training session. You Midas brands out of the UK – both top of the line have a solution for them? products. Turbosound is the product that Pink Floyd Tyrone: Yes of course. They can contact us and and bands like that used to use in the 80’s and 90’s and come in and see the product at any time they like. Midas is probably the most revered digital console and We’re going to do some more of these training sessions analogue consoles in the world for a production. too. The response has been phenomenal, clearly there Ed: So it’s taken some of that really high level is a huge interest in this product range, or is it just in technology and brought it down into the cost effective mixers. Clearly, the music scene in New Zealand is space? reasonably healthy at the moment and hopefully we can Chris: Correct. So the consoles that we’re support that. showing here have the Midas mic pre’s built into them; Ed: So having the two locations, one here in Auckland they have a lot of the Midas functionality like the and one in Wellington, gives people a good geographical colours on the actual scribble strips and things like that spread for coming in and having a play, seeing how … a lot of that information that was only derived by they actually work? Midas over 20, 30 years of experience, Uli was able to Tyrone: Yes, absolutely. We’re very happy with the buy with a cheque. response in both offices. I think it has been Ed: Now most of our readers are video people – there tremendous, so clearly there’s a willingness for a lot of are some dedicated audio ones there, but most are people out there to learn, even if they’re not buyers just looking for a solution to aid their video – the “audio for at the moment – to learn about what these consoles will video” solution. Looking at your website, the range do. there from about $800 up to about $4,000 – there’s Now for the good oil on the mixers themselves we have certainly something in there that would be cost Chris Cumming from Galactic Music Australia. effective, even compared to a software solution in some cases? Ed: Chris, is this Australian product? Chris: Yes, most definitely. It depends whether Chris: No, not Australian product. Behringer they’re working purely and simply in the software product is designed in Germany but built in the domain and they want a simple $99 interface to get a Behringer City factory in China, which is a city itself – better quality audio into their computer and manipulate some 3,000-odd employees apparently. I’ve not been it that way, or whether they want a tactile product that there yet, because I’ve been with the company now for they can get to grips with. Again it comes down to how three months or so. well that piece of hardware operates and how functional Ed: So this is a big company, it’s got a big long it is relative to software. A lot of people, particularly on history? the video side, have some great software, whether it be Chris: Very much so. The company was started in Final Cut or Premiere or any of those sorts of products, 1989 by Uli Behringer. He was based in Switzerland that will have a couple of audio components to it, but and, on his Mum’s kitchen table, used to build products oftentimes these days, what they need to do is they Page 14

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need to take a lot more source material and actually mix and blend it and do those sorts of things. So you’ll find that a hardware solution can be a much easier solution to do that in real time. Ed: And also, in the live situation where you are recording multi cameras, multi audio feeds, you’ve got a much better view with a board like this than you have with a screen that you have to touch? Chris: Yes. 20 or 30 years ago, you simply needed two channels of audio and you would tap that off. These days, to record for video, we need 5.1 or some sort of surround configuration, and what we’re doing with this product is that we’re using the board to mix the show live, so we’re either using a two channel or a centre monocluster, but at the same time we want to be able to peel off to broadcast or to video people a 5.1 mix. You need that capability in the console for the console to actually be doing both of those things simultaneously and they’re the sorts of things that this console can do. Ed: Do you get a faster response time with a console than with a software solution and a touch screen? Chris: Having much better way microphone feeding and grab something

the tactile response is always a to go. When you’ve got that back, you need to grab something quickly …

Ed: Not go into a window and haul up a screen? Chris: ... and go down a menu system. One of the things that occurred with the original digital products when they were first developed by various companies throughout the world, whether it be video or audio, is that they gave them to the electronics engineers in the lab and they said “can you build us one of these?” What they would build it from and the perspective they would build it from, would be from an engineering perspective, and so the menu system would go down in a layered system that the engineer followed because that’s the way that he wrote his software. Then to actually come over to the other side of the menu system, you would have to climb back up that ladder again, and then slide back down that other snake. In this instance, one of the things about the products that are being built now, is that they’re being interfaced with sound engineers or with video people, who are saying “well that’s great, you’ve built this digital product for me, but it’s not the way I work.” So it really is that challenge of bringing the human interface into the equation and making what’s happening in a digital world totally transparent – that’s what this does. So in this particular console, for example, to get around it, there’s a little tiny view button on every one of the major areas within the console. Rather than me having to page and menu down and go backwards and forwards, I can simply hit a button and I’m there straightaway. That’s what I want to do. If that microphone’s feeding back, I want to grab that gain control and turn it down – and that’s the benefit of a tactile response versus me doing it on the computer over here. You can see there’s an image of the software, but I’ve got to go and grab the mouse, find where the mouse is, move it up … Ed: It sounds as though the people who are coming to the training session today are going to get a pretty good session and they’ll go away feeling much better about their Behringer product? Chris: In these sessions, I don’t sit here and talk as if I’m a reference manual. You can go to a reference

Lots of knobs to play with.

manual and if you press button A and move button B and move letter C you will get end result D. I try to answer the question why … “why do I actually want to do that?” One of the things on a digital console, for example, is that we have a gate on every single channel and I can spit that word out and most people will say “well a gate is a thing I have on the side of my fence to get in and out, and open and close.” Well that’s exactly what it does, but why do I need it there? How does that benefit me? The difference is that, if you have just a simple five piece band on stage, you have maybe up to 15 microphones that are open all the time, so they’re all listening to all of the cacophony that’s happening on stage. All of that is being mixed by the mixer and moving sound in phase and out of phase and creating this muddy effect. If I can turn those mics on and off only when the sound is necessary for that part to occur, all of a sudden we have a very transparent sound and we have a very clear sound, and so for the end users watching the show, they can see the rhythm guitarist playing his part and hear it simultaneously, rather than some muddy mess. Ed: And you can demonstrate that? Chris: That’s what I do, yes. I don’t believe that there’s any point in me just walking round telling you how many things are in here, because I can just give you the manual and I can stay home. What it really is, is imparting some of that practical use of this, and why does that exist on this console. One of the elements about going from an analogue console to a digital console is the fact that, in an analogue world, if I turn the treble up or I turn the bass up, or any of those analogue components, it will add noise to the system. So we were always taught that “less is more.” You only want to have just a little bit here and a little bit there and if you couldn’t quite get it right with that, then it was your problem, it was your fault. These days, with a digital mixer, I can really crank up the bass or the treble, or I can actually shape my EQ so that my EQ only takes into effect the frequency response that that instrument sits within. And so I can be very, very radical and not add other components to it. Being able to do that means that, as a sound engineer, I can actually start and create things with the tools that I have, not just produce a bit of a mix of what’s happening on stage, and that is quite dramatic. Ed:

So the message is keep learning?

Chris: Yes, you’ve always got to keep learning – NZVN so learn about the Behringer way at Protel.

Page 16

Autodesk customer success story

DDB New Zealand

Autodesk Smoke increases DDB’s creative capabilities DDB Group http://www.ddb.co.nz/ New Zealand Autodesk® Smoke®

DDB New Zealand enhances its high-end production and workflow with Autodesk Smoke

Smoke is extremely fast and very efficient. It provides a single integrated solution that enables us to complete editing, colour grading, visual effects and finishing jobs inhouse. -

Steve Gulik Senior Editor DDB New Zealand

Image courtesy of DDB New Zealand.

DDB: A growing international agency Located in Auckland, New Zealand, DDB New Zealand is a branch of DDB Worldwide and currently has 220 staff. The creative agency works on many high profile clients including McDonalds, NZ Lottery, Sky TV and Cadbury and provides an end-to-end advertising and marketing service to its clients including branded TV and radio commercials, retail and experiential solutions. They are an award-winning agency and this year won a Silver and Bronze Lion for their Hutchwilco 'Secret Fishing Spots' mobile application at the Cannes Mobile Lions Awards. Enhancing efficiency through technology The DDB New Zealand production team consists of producers and editors who predominately work across multiple television and radio commercials. On video projects, the DDB team found that the workflow between multiple applications for editing, effects, and colour was difficult when frequent editorial changes had to be made. “We quite often are required to make editorial changes quickly and it became very difficult to work shot by shot,” said Steve Gulik, Senior Editor, DDB. “Performing the edits was messy and involved constantly going back and forth. Also, it was hard to time work with audio and these disruptions meant time was wasted.” The DDB team was also looking to enhance their 3D visualisation capability with improved 3D graphics and text which was hard to achieve with their existing video production and post pipeline. DDB team started looking at Autodesk Smoke and downloaded a free trial. Once they were comfortable with the technology, Autodesk Partner, DVT Solutions, helped DDB set-up the hardware and software solution with

assistance from Autodesk technical expert Rob O’Neil who provided hands-on training to the team. Streamlined workflow Autodesk Smoke video editing and effects software enabled DDB producers to work efficiently with essential video editing and high-end effects tools. Smoke allowed producers to easily make changes during the production and make precise timing decisions quickly. “Smoke has really changed our workflow. Everything is right there on our timeline, we no longer have to export out and don’t have to outsource for colour grading. If there is an editorial change you can simply drag it out and go from there and create versions,” said Gulik. “In the past, the number of versions we had to create was extremely difficult and frustrating. Now we can do it all in one through Smoke and it is flexible. Workflow is the key reason we use Smoke. Smoke enables us to complete projects twice as fast as before,” he added. “To be competitive in our line of work, you need to be equipped to produce high-quality content and make edits very quickly, often with clients waiting or even watching you work. Smoke is extremely fast and very efficient. It provides a single integrated solution that enables us to complete editing, colour grading, visual effects and finishing in the one suite and all in-house,” said Gulik. Improved flexibility by bringing editing and effects together With Autodesk Smoke, the production team is now able to complete entire projects within one application. They’ve eliminated the wasted time of exporting and creating versions when moving between multiple applications.

Page 18

Autodesk customer success story

DDB New Zealand

“Being able to take a lower budget production and give it higher production values is something we can now achieve easily with Smoke. There have now been quite a few cases where we have included 3D graphics for clients. Our capacity to produce this level of 3D integration really impressed them and was a capability we did not have before Smoke,” said Gulik. Looking ahead Gulik sees a huge potential for DDB New Zealand with Autodesk Smoke and is very keen to increase his team’s use of the software for upcoming projects this year. The company is looking forward to adding more seats of Smoke to expand its creative department. “Smoke is a one-of-a-kind tool and we are excited to continue to use it to deliver great results for our clients and increase our business profile.

Image courtesy of DDB New Zealand.

“Our production team is usually given raw footage which we must edit, grade and produce visual effects and graphics. Smoke enables us to take projects from the raw footage right through to the final output. Its intuitive user interface and enhanced workflow capabilities means a quicker turnaround and higher standard achieved for our clients,” said Gulik.

Smoke has increased our creative capabilities and reduced the need to outsource work. We will certainly be using the software for high-end production work in future,” said Gulik.

Bringing high-end solutions back in-house Smoke has finishing tools for 3D compositing, colour correction, and motion graphics which was an important draw card for DDB, whose clients expected 3D technology and high-end production results. “With Smoke we can push to do more work in-house. In the past, footage would be shot and then sent out to an external facility to be graded. Now we have the confidence to keep those jobs in-house and deliver the best possible solutions for clients,” said Gulik.

Being able to take a lower budget production and give it higher production values is something we can now achieve easily with Smoke. -

Steve Gulik Senior Editor DDB New Zealand

*Free Autodesk software licenses and/or cloud-based services are subject to acceptance of and compliance with the terms and conditions of the license agreement or terms of service, as applicable, that accompany such software or cloud-based services. Autodesk and Smoke are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Page 19

Matthews at IBC

Linda: Yes, this is brand new – not even in stock yet, but it will be very soon.

For a last look at IBC 2013, we are at the Matthews stand and Linda Swope is putting out the stands at the start of the day.

Ed: And it’s come from customer demand because they thought you needed something in the middle? Linda: Ummm a little bit of that, and we’re always trying to innovate and make new products. We’ve got a team that thinks up all these great ideas and does it for us, and I think they’re going to sell really well. Ed: Okay, now in the slider area, we’ve seen the DC Slider for the medium sized cameras, but for the big boys? Linda: For the big boys we have the Matthews Slider. It comes in three sizes – the smallest is 28 inches, 35 which is this one and 45 which is the longer one. The rails are of a fixed length, you can’t join rails together, because it has to stay seamless. So we’ve got three different sizes. We can do custom sizes up to I think it’s five inch increments, so if you needed a 12 inch or if you needed a 60 inch, we could make the rail to that length. And it comes with the sled. You can actually put two sleds on here if you like for A & B cameras, or you can take this sled off and undersling it, so you can get under. It will hold about 65-70 kilos, so this is for heavy camera packages. Ed: And of course it’s totally motion-free in terms of wobble in the bearings or on the rollers or anything, and very, very quiet? Linda: It’s quiet because of these rails and the plastic wheels. A lot of other sliders use these steel wheels, so when that steel is sliding, you hear it. So it’s very, very quiet. Ed:

But how is the plastic going to work for lasting? more on page 23

Ed:

You’ve got some new arms Linda?

Linda: This is MICROgrip. We’ve had MICROgrip for several years and you did a story on this. Ed:

But you said you’ve got a new little stand?

Linda: Ed:

We do, we have a new SUPERFLEX Arm.

And that’s not in the MICROgrip section?

Linda: No, because it’s a little bit larger. It’s basically just an arm, it’s very strong, one knuckle locks everything. So you get it in the position you want, right there … Ed: Oh that’s cool, so we’ll take a picture of this, but it’s just one turn and all three joints get locked? Linda: You’ve got a three-eighths thread on one side, a quarter 20 on the other sides, so you can put in a hot shoe adapter, any kind of adapter you want there. Since this is a five-eighths diameter, it works with all the other Matthews accessories. You can put it into a grip head; you can put it on a stand; you can put it on an arm – there’s several different ways to use it. Ed:

So is this one in a range?

Linda:

It is. It’s the SUPERFLEX Arm.

Ed: So you’ve got the baby which is the MICROgrip, then you’ve got the SUPERFLEX Arm and then you go up to the big stuff? Linda: stuff, yes.

And then you get the big heavy hardware

Ed: Okay, so it’s horses for courses. range for you?

Is this a new An easy “snap” fit. Page 20

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Linda:

It’ll last.

Ed: Are they replaceable? Linda: Yes. But I think we introduced these in April and we’ve sold – I don’t know, probably a dozen of each size, and not one issue has come up with it at all, so we’re quite confident that it’s going to be a long lasting and durable product. Ed: Right, and our third item? Linda: Our third item – actually I want to show you a very cool thing. If we go back to the FLEX Arm, there’s this piece that we have and nobody else has … so normally you’ve got your hot shoe or whatever and you’ve got to screw on the quick release plate, so you’re screwing it on, screwing it on – instead of having to screw and screw and screw that in, you can leave it on your camera, on your light. Ed: Wow – it’s a quick release lock? Linda: Ahuh. Ed: I guess you could use that for many applications other than just lights. You could put anything on there? Linda: Exactly.

The Matthews slider ( back ) and laptop tray ( front.)

Ed:

So how do the Europeans take to your product?

Linda: They love it. We’ve got a lot of European customers.

Ed: Wow – and it’s red? Linda: And it’s red, Matthews red. Ed: But we haven’t finished with Linda yet. Now there’s a little tray here that you could eat your lunch off, but it’s not actually designed for that is it? Linda: You could eat your lunch off it if you like to. Ed: But it’s got slots in it where your lunch would fall through? Linda: Well it’s a laptop tray. Say you’ve got six people in a room and everybody’s looking through the IPs, or looking at an on-board monitor. This way, the camera guy can do his thing and everybody else can be over across the room with a laptop or the tablet on it, watching. It’s just a very simple basic five-eighths – it fits onto any five-eighths pin. This comes off, it fits into this case, so it travels really easy and you can actually put it in the case with the laptop in this, so your laptop won’t get all scratched up. Ed: And there’s lots of slots there for of course where the threads are in the base of your laptop, or you would actually fit a tablet in there too I’m sure? Linda: Yes – it’s just a very simple new product that we had a demand for and we made it.

Ed: But I mean the Europeans are well known for their engineering. They perhaps look at America and think well it’s not really the place for engineering? Linda: Well our stuff isn’t exactly high tech – it’s grip equipment and it’s a name known around the world. You know, our bread and butter is grip equipment, it’s C-stands and it’s roller stands and it’s dollies, but to keep up and to continue to be successful, we have to come up with new products to serve the market, and that’s where the engineering for the slider comes in, and the DC-Slider which isn’t in the booth today, but those things we need to keep up with current trends. Ed: And obviously the quality’s there, because the customers keep buying it? Linda: They do. We’ve had a lot of interest in this particular slider during the show. I think this one may be sold to a guy from Munich. So it’s all good. Ed:

It pays for your trip?

Linda: It pays for my trip, yes, and we’ve got to keep moving forward, so there’ll be a lot of new stuff coming out. NZVN

Page 23

The Big Reveal at Sound Techniques We are at Sound Techniques and Mr Buckland has dragged me out of bed very early in the morning … not physically, it was an email, he didn’t actually appear at my bedside and say “come with me, I’ve got something to show you” although that might occur in my nightmares one day. Ed: 7 o’clock in the morning Stephen, with the offer of croissants, no dumplings – why no dumplings? Stephen: Well dumplings are more of a lunchtime thing Grant and, after our favourite dumpling house got the “D” rating from the Council health inspector, we thought it better to keep our paying customers away from it for now. Ed: All right, croissants it is. So, here we are and we’re about to reveal something?

Anticipation is high for the big reveal.

Stephen: Sound Devices have always had a policy of not letting out information before the time, because you just get yourself involved in discussions “oh, what if it had … or, where is it?” … they’d rather do things in their own time and keep the process under their control, so they generally don’t give you much lead-in time, as was the case here. A bit of a back story for readers – our

esteemed editor and I go to NAB each year and when we went to the Sound Devices stand, there was nothing new at all and this was a bit of a surprise. When I talked to their international sales person, he said “no, nothing doing” and I said to him that my customers are asking for a 3 channel recorder, like the 302 ( which is one of their original devices ), with a recorder onboard

Page 24

… a mixer with a recorder. He just looked at me with a blank stare and then answered that they will have some new products in November – this was April. Last Friday, I get an email saying you’re under oath of secrecy, we have something coming out next week … Ed: ... and we whipped off the blue cloth and there it was – a couple of boxes with just what everyone was wishing for? Stephen: Yes, the new device, the 633 mixer / recorder is the latest advance from Sound Devices. Basically, it works on what they learnt from making the 302, which was a 3 channel mixer, and what they’ve learnt from making the 664, which is a 6 channel mixer with a recorder on board. If you watch the video online, you’ll see them sawing a 664 in half, which is about the size of the 633 – http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=fzuJoB9LJXQ It’s all on the Sound Devices website – there are videos introducing it, there are videos on how to use it, there are videos on aspects of it … Ed: And videos on where to buy it? Stephen: And links on where to buy it as well. Being a “sound” company, you will probably know that we find video all a little bit frightening, so it’s good to see Sound Devices embracing the technology and delivering information to its clients by video. Ed: When I look at this from my perspective, not being an audio person particularly, I see a very compact device; it has lots of inputs and outputs which is what you want – but it also has a very nice little screen, clear display and lots of battery backup. Just go through the battery arrangement? Stephen: It will take power from four different sources. It will take two Sony L-mount batteries, which it only needs one at a time to run; it also takes six AA batteries and you can externally power it. Now if claims are to be believed, it should last a day’s worth of recording on any one of those onboard battery sources. Ed: And when one battery dies, it automatically flicks over to the other. If you suddenly lose all power, does everything disappear? Stephen: Well no, it also incorporates a thing called “PowerSafe”. If you lose all power sources, it has an internal device which will run the device for 10 seconds while it closes off your files and then gracefully ( it says in the brochure ) powers down the device. So you’re at no risk of losing any information.

Don: No, no, no … this is much more than I’ve got at the moment because, as I said, I’ve been waiting for something that could handle more than 2 tracks but also give me the ability to record ISO tracks as well. So now, for my larger shoots where you need, say, at least the ability to record 2 mix tracks, plus say 5 ISO’s, you can do that with this small recorder which is great, and still only cart a lightweight recorder round. Ed: So I guess your old recorder cost more than this one? Don: Absolutely. Ed: That’s the way of technology thought isn’t it? Don: It is, yes, but this is great. There is a hole in the market there; there are other brands with small mixer / recorders but they can’t handle more than 4 analogue inputs – well this can, so it really does meet a hole in the market. Ed: And the technical specs are up there where you need them to be? Don: Well I haven’t actually looked at them, but being Sound Devices they would have to be wouldn’t they … they don’t compromise on quality, so they’ll be good. Ed: So at the moment, what’s the workflow for you? Don: Well at the moment, I can either use a small mixer that doesn’t have the ability to record anything; or a large mixer and a recorder that mixes 6 channels together and records the output; whereas this can handle 6 channels and give you ISO tracks and record the mix track, so you’ve actually got a small recorder that does everything. Ed: When you say “records recording them individual tracks?

ISO

tracks”

that’s

Don: Yes, that’s recording individual inputs. Ed: So it gives you a chance to post mix if you got it wrong in the actual mix? Don: Yes, if you have a radio mic drop out or something and it’s on the mix track it may compromise the mix track, whereas if you’ve got it on an ISO track it doesn’t compromise the other tracks. You’ve got the ability to go to the other ISO tracks where the radio mics are good. Ed: In this case with the 633, you’ve got the choice of buying just the mixer or the mixer with its kit – does that kit look interesting to you?

Well, that’s what Stephen says but, what about a customer – a man well known in the soundie fraternity, Don Anderson continues. Ed: Now Don, you’ve been in the sound industry for quite some time and you’ve come along here for croissants and this wonderful reveal … are you in the market for something just like this? Don: Yes, I’ve been waiting for something that I could use with 6 channels on, say, 30 or 40% of my work, but other jobs maybe you’d only need 2, so you don’t necessarily want to cart anything larger around when you’re not using those extra channels. So this would fit the bill really well – and also, the ability to record more than just 2 or 3 tracks is great as well. Ed: So this is compatible with what you’ve got currently – if you use both recorders, there’ll be no problem mixing the two sounds?

Stephen holding the new 633. Page 25

Don: Not for me, no. I’ve got the extra bags and I run an external battery system so I probably wouldn’t need the kit, but certainly the mixer on its own looks very attractive. Ed: Now Stephen, is this 633 unit really filling a niche in the sound recording market in New Zealand? Stephen: I think it fills a niche because (1) it’s compact; (2) it’s lightweight; (3) it’s got extensive recording capabilities as well as being a mixer. The battery thing, being able to run all day on one set of batteries, is going to please a lot of people. The fact that you can put in metadata, name your files and such, is also a useful thing. This can be done using the front panel or via an external USB connected keyboard It has its own timecode generator onboard, so you can use it to sync with cameras. It has easy to navigate controls and display viewable in all lighting conditions; offers up to 192 kHz sampling on 6 tracks; stable mate to and benefits from development of Sound Devices’ family of mixers, recorders and video equipment; and local support through Sound Techniques. Ed: In terms of the technical specs, my impression is that Nagra is regarded as the gold standard for audio recording, but along comes Sound Devices. Is there a comparison that you can make between the quality of recording of these devices? Is it something that technically you can put numbers on or, at this level, does it become subjective? Stephen: You’re getting into an esoteric area here of what one person or another likes to hear at the highest quality. Rather than try to compare the two, which you’re only going to do in a listening test in a very controlled environment, Sound Devices looks at what

the market wants, what its potential clients want, and tends to incorporate those features. This 633 will record at 192 kHz sampling rate onto 6 tracks, so technically, in terms of the specs, it’s comparable to anything that’s on the market, which would mean you could use it for high quality music recording. I suppose because we represent both, it would be remiss of me to try and get into that debate; I think you’d have to listen in a controlled environment and have the requirement for very high quality recordings to even be necessary. Certainly Sound Devices for location work, it leads the field as far as I can tell. Ed: There are other products out there that will record sound, but you can definitely say the technical standard is not at this level? Stephen: Well yes, prior to this launch today, you could take your 302 mixer and get a handheld recorder and plug that into the output and record at whatever quality the handheld recorder claimed to work at, but I’m confident that in a $4,000 device, the audio chain is more sophisticated and higher quality than in a $500 recorder. Ed: Ummm – it’s not quite $4,000 though is it? Stephen: Well the basic recorder is $3,995 plus GST! Thank you Grant, your early days of doing Warehouse ads are serving you well. The last word goes to Andy Schurr who was so impressed with the 633 that he bought one on the spot. You can read Andy’s comments on this and other items of soundie interest by visiting his blog at – http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/news/columns/ how-freelancers-can-succeed NZVN

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Ed’s take on the Screen Industry Forum in Auckland I have published Film Auckland’s press release ( see p31 ) with my version so as to provide some balance – not that anyone has ever accused me of bias! There was a gathering of around 500 at the Mt Eden WMH in mid November to air views on the state of the screen production industry in New Zealand. There is major concern that we are losing good and talented people because our industry cannot compete on a level playing field with other countries. This is due to our high dollar value and the low government grants of 15% to overseas production companies, while other countries or states offer 20, 25 or up to 45%. Once the hugs, kisses and “Darling, how are you?” were dealt with, a panel chosen from a range of screen disciplines took the stage to put forward their thoughts for later audience reaction and participation in discussion. The sign at the door said “No media allowed” but, after sanitising my presence with the scrutineers who allowed me in as my alter ego from Finnzed Video, I went in to listen and pen some notes from which I have constructed the following memories. Alex Lee ( Film Auckland ) asked for solutions from attendees – not gripes. There had been no interest from the government in consultation, but Jacinda Ardern ( Labour ) was present ( much applause ) and she had been active in parliament raising questions. She said that Labour will repeal the “Hobbit Laws” when in government and increase support for local drama. Other comments from speakers were  There are no “industry thugs” here ( a reaction to a comment by John Key.) Our studios are no longer competitive. Current enquiries are 1 per month compared to 3 per day 2 years ago. People are leaving the industry. The government study into grant returns is highly flawed.  We need a balance of local and international production. This is a national issue – not just Auckland.  We could become an offshore location for the Australian industry leaving little here.  Government has a policy to let overseas companies run the industry here rather than to help make an industry of our own. We need to grow a sustainable industry here.  A solution is to expand co-productions with industries in China and Korea. Explore our IP.  The NZ games industry has no subsidy but grew 85% last year. We sell our IP via new media outlets. This is a model screen producers could emulate.  NZ on Air funding not increased in years. Ed comments … Here we are discussing “screen” and not “television” but, NZ on Air funding is in the big picture of providing incomes to the local production industry. If NZ on Air funding is supposed to be an investment that productions pay back once they get returns, where is all this money going? Have they not chosen wisely and so get no returns? Perhaps the government looks at the flaws in this model and so does not want to throw more money to the screen industry for the same results? Our current government is not easily providing handouts to any group and, I believe, rightly so – although I’m not the 100% “no” that a recent Herald editorial advised. Our government has to see a

The panel ( photos courtesy of Dorothy Kyle.)

business / social case that is in tune with their philosophy – they were elected by a majority after all. The climate for a solution comes about when both parties are willing to compromise. On the government side, measures to reduce the high dollar have wider implications that put that option off this table. Increasing the grant is an obvious way forward. On the screen industry side, efforts to reduce the cost of productions should be offered with the thought that it’s better to have some work than none. This has happened in the television industry gradually over the last 20 years and there are more people in work now than back then and it’s more efficient. A younger man ( conservatively, the average age of attendees would have been over 40 ) suggested that the new graduates from training institutions should be given more opportunities as they are full of enthusiasm, new ideas and energy but they are up against established producers with their own interests. He was not applauded! I leave that comment to last because, to me, it captures what I feel is a problem with our screen industry that is of their own making – putting aside our dollar and low grant percentage, and that is “not meeting the market.” They want things to go on as they are and have been so they can continue to live as they have become accustomed. The artists who they in turn employ, suffer as a result. I think that “change is good” and that a rethink of costs and workflow ( which has happened in the television industry already ) is the order of the day. This would be a sign of good faith to our government who may then look to offer wider industry support. How about granting locally as well as to overseas production? Bring back a state media production organisation? The meeting did ask for solutions – not gripes – so feel free to offer yours to Film Auckland. Hopefully they will answer your calls more efficiently than mine. Ed. NZVN

Page 28

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Film Auckland

the voice of the Auckland Screen Production industry

PRESS RELEASE 15 November 2013 A state of the nation meeting of over 400 screen industry practitioners and businesses, ranging from the creative sector (directors, writers, producers) to service industry (technicians, postproduction facilities, location managers, line producers, production managers, film accountants etc) as well as screen guilds, screen associations and film schools, was recently held at the Mt. Eden War Memorial Hall to discuss the current decline in screen business which has come about by the government's recent decision not to enable New Zealand to be competitive in attracting international screen productions. In spite of our world class facilities and talents, New Zealand has not been able to compete with other countries due to our low rebate. Our once thriving screen industry has recently seen screen businesses close down, facilities and equipment sold and many of our best and brightest talents leave for work overseas. In an effort to bring together the different sectors of the screen industry, Film Auckland Inc. organised the Screen Industry Forum with the support of film guilds and other industry organisations. The vocal and passionate attendees came together from all parts of New Zealand voiced their concerns that the screen rebates were too low to be competitive, that the government's call for more IP creation must be not be exclusive and to the detriment of attracting international screen productions. As a consequence, the meeting felt that this would lead to a loss of a vital sector of our economy, the brain drain of the intellectual property being the skilled and experienced screen practitioners and businesses along with the loss of a valued cultural taonga, storytelling on screen. A panel was chaired by Rod Oram to discuss the challenges facing the industry and the panellists were Dave Rowell, (Studio West), Richard Bluck (NZ Cinematographers Society/Head of Technicians Guild in Wellington), Brendon Durey (Technicians Guild), Jeff Szusterman (Equity NZ), Michael Bennett ( Director/Writer), Stephen Knightly (NZ Game Developers Association) and Rachel Jean (Head of Development, South Pacific Pictures). The meeting was firmly of the view that the Government's Screen Sector Review analysis of the screen rebates is faulty and that it did not consult with appropriate industry. The meeting called for the Government to enter into more open dialogue and consultation with the industry and passed a motion mandating that a pan screen industry structure be facilitated for this purpose. The meeting was also concerned that the wider community needs to know that the screen rebates are only paid when money is spent by international screen productions. The following resolutions were passed:â&#x20AC;&#x2018; RESOLUTION ONE A pan-screen industry structure will be formed that provides a unified voice on issues that strongly affect the industry ("the Pan Screen Group"). The aim of this group is to actively support a healthy and vibrant industry that contributes positively to the New Zealand economy. Film Auckland Inc. will co-ordinate the first meeting of this group. RESOLUTION TWO That the Pan Screen Group shall seek an urgent meeting with government. The group will advise the government that it is a pan industry group and, therefore, should be consulted on all key matters regarding the New Zealand screen industry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; domestic or international. RESOLUTION THREE The LBSPG and PDV Grant should be increased to a level which will restore New Zealand's international competitiveness with immediate effect. The increased rate should apply for at least three years while a new strategy supporting "IP creation" ( including its funding, investment and infrastructure model ) is developed.

For all press enquiries, please contact: Alex Lee, Acting Chairman, Film Auckland Inc. ph: 021 682868 Felicity Letcher, Board Member, Film Auckland Inc. ph: 027 2226669

Page 31

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