www.psneurope.com
March 2014 l 05
news EUROPE BEIRG issues further call for industry support
The work of BEIRG, the award-winning partnership of pro-audio protagonists formed to manage and safeguard the long-term future of the radio spectrum, has never been more critical. Alan March explains why it’s important for more industry businesses to take heed
THE PRO Sound Award was nice, but the RF struggle is far from over. Formed nearly a decade ago, the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) recognised early on that changes were on the way with regards to the usage and allocation of the frequencies that our industry uses for the deployment of wireless systems. To that end, BEIRG set out to engage with our regulator to ensure that Ofcom UK were fully informed as to what our industry does, how it does it and what our requirements will be for the future. And we’ve been successful: helping Ofcom to understand that we could not, as an industry, bid for spectrum in an open auction process, and securing the funding to assist with the migration from Channel 69, are just two examples. BEIRG was presented with the inaugural Grand Prix trophy at the Pro Sound Awards 2013 for its unwavering commitment to the spectrum crusade. Now, our current level of engagement has never been at a higher level, as there are still many hurdles ahead. This year will prove to be a definitive one for
UNITED KINGDOM Baftas submit to the force of Gravity By Dave Robinson
THE GROUNDBREAKING space drama Gravity was the runaway victor at the Bafta Awards in London last month. The sci-fi thriller, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, won six Baftas, including Best Sound and Best Original Music. The victory for audio was well
deserved by the team from Sound 24, Glenn Freemantle’s post-production service based at Pinewood Studios, who began working on Gravity in late 2010. Freemantle, in the role of sound designer and supervising sound editor, led the Best Sound Bafta-winning team of Niv Adiri
(sound design editor/sound re- recording mixer), Skip Lievsay (sound re-recording mixer), Christopher Benstead (music editor and sound re-recording mixer) and Chris Munro (production sound mixer). “There’s no sound in space…
but there you go, we’re all right!” joked Freemantle on receiving the award. Munro, Freemantle and Lievsay have already won the inaugural AMPS award for excellence in the craft of sound for their work on Gravity. The team used mainly DPA microphones for gathering material for the project. Steven Price won the Best Original Music award for the
Gravity soundtrack, recorded in part at Abbey Road (through the AMS Neve 88RS console) and British Grove (also AMS Neve). “Thank you to my Mum and Dad for having such a great record collection and starting this whole thing off,” said Price at the podium. While some mixing for 5.1 and
7.1 was performed at De Lane Lea Studios in Soho before the final Dolby Atmos mix, other work was undertaken in Chiswick: “Although we are only credited as ‘Recorded at’ – as we did a couple of days of string and other pick-ups – we actually did the 7.1 music mix here over 17 days,” David Stewart of British Grove told PSNEurope.
“[This was] a quite
extraordinary and complex feat involving three MADI-linked Pro Tools, hundreds of audio tracks, Apogee and Prism Audio I/O analogue interfaces, four
The now-familiar site of the 2012 Olympics: but without suitable spectrum provisos and the lobbying efforts of BEIRG and Ranelagh, the smooth running of the comms during the event could have been very different
the PMSE (Programme Makers and Special Events) sector’s future, for three reasons. One, there is likely to be a
re-allocation of the 700MHz band for new mobile broadband services (4G and beyond). BEIRG must ensure that suitable mitigation is on offer: principally, the assignment of new frequencies for PMSE (wireless microphone and IEM) use. Two, White Space Devices (WSD) are likely to be introduced into any remaining interleaved UHF frequencies soon. Here,
interference to wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems must be prevented. And three, we must fully
engage in a new project that is set to explore future use of the whole of the UHF TV band (that’s the majority of all the frequencies in use for professional wireless systems). But fighting the cause for the
pro-audio industry requires time and financial support. Do not underestimate the
power of the mobile sector’s ability to lobby – the telecoms
giants are pressing their case (a highly questionable one, as far as BEIRG is concerned) for the allocation of greater chunks of spectrum to deliver their services at every level. Meanwhile, this year has seen the beginning of the first live testing of WSD. Developers such as Microsoft and Google are now coordinating related projects. BEIRG continues to resist the introduction of these unlicensed devices unless absolute guarantees can be given that they will not result in interference for our industry. This can only be achieved by fully engaging with the testing programme, which BEIRG is doing. BEIRG, in conjunction
with Ranelagh International (political consultants), continues to engage with UK-based (and international) politicians in order to further the cause of our industry. This work is essential if we are to secure a satisfactory outcome for our industry sector in light of pressure from other industries. In 2013, BEIRG responded
to many of HM Government’s consultation documents (‘condocs’) on behalf of the industry.
Examples are:
Multiple consultations on the operation of WSD in TV white space Award of the 600MHz band Future use of 700MHz band Ofcom’s long-term spectrum management strategy This involved written
responses in addition to ongoing high-level face-to-face meetings, in an effort to ensure that our industry has a wireless future. In 2014, there will be even more. We’d like to express a big ‘thank you’ to all those organisations that recognise and continue to support the work of BEIRG: radio mic manufacturers, audio rental companies, theatre producers, trade associations and so on. However, there are many, many names missing from the list at a time when BEIRG’s work is paramount. With increased help from the PMSE community, BEIRG can represent and protect the best interests of the pro-audio ecosystem that it serves. For more info, please drop
BEIRG man Duncan a line...
duncan@autograph.co.uk
offline suites and a direct ISDN link to Los Angeles.” During the Bafta Awards,
held at the Royal Opera House on Sunday 16 February, audio pioneer Ray Dolby and sound editor David Campling (The Terminator, Platoon) were remembered in a tribute to leading lights of cinema who passed away in the last 12 months.
www.bafta.org www.sound24.co.uk
(L-R): Olga Kurylenko, Niv Adiri, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro and actor Richard E Grant, for Best Sound
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