Audiophotoblog

A couple of newsworthy items in today's post. Firstly, we (CTV) built a new room downtown, and for the past few weeks I've been down here getting the ball rolling, working out kinks, and mixing for MTV, Much Music, etc. It's been a total blast. There's something about working downtown... lots going on... more energy, you know? Looking out the window and seeing people walking by, going about their daily business is surprisingly energizing. As opposed to seeing, you know, the 401 and a Walmart.

The second bit of news is that we got a new lens, and it's totally fun! We were always frustrated with how our other lens couldn't handle remotely low lighting.. to the point that shooting indoors was usually seriously suspect. So we picked up this baby as a solution... it's a Nikon 50mm prime.

Soooo... I thought I'd combine the two and make a photoblog! Been a while since I tossed up some pics. And granted, they aren't of Kar or myself, but I believe you'll find them equally glorious! A few details on the room included, for any audio buddies checking in:




The room is centered around a ProTools HD3 rig driven by this 24 fader D-Command. The surface is extremely fun to use... really quick and hands-on. Main monitors are Klein/Hummel O300s (5.1), plus a K&H small mono and access to the stereo TV speakers. An SSL Delta-Link handles I/O in place of the usual 192 interfaces.



Dolby gear! A CD player tied into ProTools. Dolby DP570 Multichannel Audio Tool allowing for immediate downstream monitoring of applied metadata. DP563 and DP564 ProLogic 2 Encode/Decode for upmix/folddown. LM100 Broadcast Loudness Meter for dialnorm measurement.





If God designed a metering solution for pro audio applications, this would be it. RTW metering station.



Two things of note in this picture. Firstly, Starbucks is right around the corner. Secondly, I have a window. A big one!!!



All I/O in the room centre on a MADI-based ring by Optocore. Which means gobs of I/O, all at the click of a button. No hard patching necessary! The Digi XMON provides monitoring control via the D-Command master section (In reality, only being used as a downstream mute/dim).



Ok, so hard patching is available... but not necessary! Rosendahl sync engine, and an SSL Alpha-Link for analogue I/O off the Optocore ring.



Working on Olympic Hockey mixes for the upcoming hockey-specific BluRay/DVD release. Crazy how I watched every game, and know every final score, and still find myself watching with rapt attention and cheering for every goal!



Faders!



Neyrink VMON is the engine that drives all monitoring. There are an unholy number of monitoring requirements in this room (or any proper 5.1 post room, for that matter) and this system handles them all. It's a plugin-based design that pulls audio from ProTools on a basis of which plugins you've placed where... I can access almost anything from this controller, including the outputs of all of my Dolby gear.


So that's that. Gonna be tough to head back up to Agincourt after having spent a few weeks down here, but no doubt I'll be back. I've learned a ton these past two weeks, which is always incredible. I really fell in love with this kindof work because of how diverse it can be, and how much there is to learn. There's nothing like sitting down in a brand new room based around a completely new concept, and figuring out how everything works and how it can positively affect your workflow and efficiency. Seriously, like a kid in a candy store!!

Peace.. and happy warm weather eh?
JB