IMPROVING EFFICIENCIES WITH PRO TOOLS
AUDIO 71 DEGREES NORTH
Evolutions works on some of the biggest TV franchises out there, including The Apprentice, The F Word, Top Gear and The Secret Millionaire, but the recent celebrity challenge show 71 Degrees North presented the company with fresh obstacles, as dubbing mixer Richard Ashley recounts.
“A plethora of plug-ins is available (for Pro Tools) that can instantly transform a dull whoosh into a glorious aural event”
RICHARD ASHLEY Dubbing mixer EVOLUTIONS
www.evolutions.tv
create STO R I E S
“The show was shot in Norway on Sony XDCAMs and was a challenging audio task. Not only were there16 contestants and two presenters to deal with, but there was also the small issue of working in temperatures below -30 degrees,” explains Ashley. Each cut from the show would often result in 16 or more tracks to edit on one of Evolutions’ 11 Avid Pro Tools systems, and Ashley had to turn all of them around in next to no time. “As usual nowadays there was a limited time to get all these into shape
and achieve a good mix,” he says. “Pro Tools made the job a lot easier with its intuitive interface.”
Ashley details the different stages of the audio processing: “The show was cut using low-res audio from the XDCAM, then the sequence was relinked to the hi-res audio, which we then worked on. Last minute changes could be uploaded from the client directly to the suite, which saved time. Pro Tools’ ability to interface efficiently with Avid edit sequences meant that the process went very smoothly.” As well as mixing the audio, Pro Tools was also used more creatively with some sound design. “Pro Tools made that job easier,” says Ashley. “Its background in music programming has meant that it has a plethora of plug-ins available that can instantly transform a dull whoosh into a glorious aural event!”
PRO TOOLS’ QUICK TURNAROUND
“In the broadcast area, as in other areas, budgets are diminishing and efficiency is the name of the game,” he continues. “To achieve and maintain audio standards gets tougher and tougher with ever decreasing time frames. Pro Tools enables us to maintain those standards and with its ease of use, come in on budget.” In fact, Pro Tools has become such an integral part of the Evolutions set- up that all of their systems will see major upgrades soon.
“Here at Evolutions, we are currently running Version 7 Pro Tools,” says Ashley. “In terms of the future, we plan to upgrade all 11 suites to version 8 and continue our upgrades of plug- ins, specifically for restoration work, which has become more common now with seemingly more and more poor quality audio being recorded.”
SOUND FOR 71 DEGREES NORTH • Pro Tools’ speed and ease of use means major mixes can be turned round quickly and on budget • Its ease of interfacing with other equipment and software greatly eased the workflow on 71 Degrees North
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