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Another Dimension
Wilfried Van Baelen’s studio has more than 30 years of international credits and a new Auro-3D® dubbing stage. Jake Young reports.
The AuroTorium features an AMS Neve DFC Gemini console and the Avid ICON D-Control
Galaxy Studios
GALAXY STUDIOS has taken a leading role in building a vivid and creative community in Mol, Belgium. As well as being the mother ship of Auro Technologies and its immersive Auro-3D format, Galaxy offers film post production, scoring, music recording studios, and mastering facilities. Its staff is a mixture of experienced UK film and broadcast supervising engineers and new Flemish talent. CEO Wilfried Van Baelen, who co-owns the studio complex, founded Galaxy in 1982 at the age of 20 together with his brother Guy, CFO and leader of the new building expansion. “I always had a special
passion for sound in film, so when Galaxy Studios was expanded with a mixing stage in 1999, I started to do sound design, editing, and the final mix for more than 20 films. Being busy with the full workflow on sound for film allowed me to understand that process to the smallest detail. This knowledge became very important in the development of the Auro-3D concept, the workflow solutions we offer in the Auro-3D Creative Tool
34 October 2013 Suite.”
The new expansion of Galaxy Studios will host 3D audio-post facilities, including six sound design rooms in Auro-3D; two extra pre-dub rooms in Auro-3D; an Auro- 3D mastering room with CAT speakers and amplifiers; a QC room for all kinds of Auro-3D content; new offices; and the AuroTorium, which can be switched between a reference mixing stage and a reference screening room in a few minutes.
AUROTORIUM The AuroTorium offers an AMS Neve DFC Gemini large-format mixing console and the Avid ICON D- Control. “Both mixing consoles have dual operators and are placed in such a way that they have the central position of the room,” says Van Baelen. “Each is on a hydraulic platform that can be switched.” So why did Galaxy Studios decide to go with the DFC Gemini? “The choice of AMS Neve is based on a long-term relationship and trust we have in this leading company. The work that was required to
upgrade their console from 7.1 to all kinds of Auro-3D formats was not a small investment for them. But CEO Mark Crabtree believed my vision for the future of immersive formats and wanted to future proof his consoles. As a result, all AMS Neve clients worldwide can easily upgrade to Auro-3D workflow using their existing DFC.” The AuroTorium also
includes a Meyer Sound system, which Van Baelen chose when he heard it at Skywalker Sound for the first time. “I was impressed to hear details in my Auro-3D recordings that I never noticed before,” he says. “We installed 59 speakers; 44 surround speakers; six screen speakers; and nine subs, six under the screen and three in the room for full-range surrounds as defined by the Auro-3D specs.” Van Baelen says another
great feature of the AuroTorium is the LED lights around the speakers that follow the selected monitor output. “Each speaker or group of speakers can have its own colour, which means switching between the different formats
[5.1, 7.1, Auro 11.1, Auro 13.1] can be immediately noticed by the director.” A Verband Deutscher
Tonmeister (Association of German Sound) seminar on recording and mixing techniques for 3D multichannel reproduction took place at Galaxy on 5-6 October. The idea behind this seminar was to inform all participants about audio in 3D. “The expansion of a new dimension [height] is not the same as just adding a few channels to the 2D formats like going from 5.1 to 7.1 surround sound,” says Van Baelen. “To better understand the creative possibilities and all its consequences in the down mixed master requires much more knowhow than many engineers would believe.” Another topic of the seminar was the recording of native audio in 3D using the Auro-3D system, which according to Van Baelen, “is the key for getting the most immersive sound. “It is not possible to record
natively object-based sounds. Object-based technology is an artificial system that tries to
Wilfried Van Baelen, Galaxy Studios CEO
enhance the realism of sounds. The Auro-3D format supports both channel-based and object-based systems, but starts from a traditional channel-based workflow that has many advantages over other workflows.” As we went to press Galaxy
Studios was starting up historical costume drama Kenau for Dutch production house Fu Works, finishing the worldwide deliveries for Diana, producing multiple foreign language versions for Sony’s Elysium in Auro 11.1, and finishing Chinese feature Detective Dee in Auro 11.1 with Hong Kong supervisor Kingson Tsang. (The Auro-3D® Trademark is owned by Auro Technologies NV.)
www.galaxystudios.com www.auro-3d.com
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