Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/121914
Bits & Pieces Golf Channel's post workflow O RLANDO — Golf Channel (www.golfchannel. com), which is part of the NBC Sports Group, offers extensive live coverage of golfing events. The network is home to three sound-for-picture suites that rely on fully-networked Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools|HD 10 digital audio workstations. "In these three rooms — Post Audio 1, Post Audio 2 and Post Audio 3 — we handle a wide cross section of shows," notes Golf Channel's senior director of engineering, Ken Botelho, "including audio sweetening for Big Break and Top 10, as well as for our promos and on-air commercials. With all three rooms running virtually 24/7, we need fast turnaround of material; the integration of Pro Tools|HD 10 with Media Composer via Video Satellite to our Avid ISIS server with Interplay lets us run at maximum efficiency." Post Audio 1 features a 24-fader Avid System 5-MC digital console, which provides full control of Pro Tools|HD 10 files and full compatibility with Video Satellite for control of Media Composer projects. Post Audio 2 and 3 are equipped with identical four-fader Avid MC Pro Control Surfaces. The System 5-MC and MC Pro systems offer high-speed EUCON Ethernet control of Pro Tools sessions from various front-panel rotary controls and fully assignable faders. All three suites are capable of handling 5.1-channel mix-to-picture. "With realtime control of all audio and video functions from the same control surfaces, we can mix in the box and retain full control of all EQ, dynamics and level changes right up to layback of the final multichannel mixes," Botelho continues. "And the System 5-MC's and MC Pro's user ergonomics — the ability to instantly access all mix and edit functions via a couple of button presses — is outstanding." "The ability for Pro Tools|HD 10 to provide direct control of audio and video files stored on our central ISIS server is a game changer," adds Scott Perry, Golf Channel's post production manager. "There is no DSP overhead, and external control does not tax our Pro Tools systems; the combination works very well. Post production mixers working on The Big Break reality show and other high-end features appreciate the speed advantages offered by the new system configuration," with fully-assignable control surfaces. Access to a large number of Pro Tools|HD 10 plugins offers additional flexibility during post sessions. "We use a lot of iZotope plug-ins," Perry states. "We cannot say enough about the creativity they offer our mixers. We use TC Electronic and Waves CL-1 and L2 compressor-limiters. Our mixers like to use the Euphonix Avid Channel Strip plug-ins on every channel, to provide compressor-limiter and EQ functions. Teen Wolf composer talks sound L OS ANGELES — The popular Teen Wolf series on MTV is doubling its amount of episodes this season to 24. The show tells the story of an awkward teen, who is attacked by a werewolf and inherits the curse itself. Dino Meneghin, the show's composer, is also challenged with keeping up with demand. "I like for each season to have a distinct sound," he explains. "I've done a lot with processed sounds and synths over the past two seasons. We've been putting together our tonal palate for Season 3, and I'm really excited about some of the new sounds. One of my favorite drones was created from a recording of a dog howling in our obedience class!" Meneghin's main sequencer runs Pro Tools that prints into a second machine running Pro Tools|HD. Additionally, he uses Ableton Live and Native Instruments' Maschine. As far as synthesizers, u-he's Zebra is his favorite. He'll even use the iPad for out-of-left field sounds, namely the app, Bitwiz. "[I like] when I can feel a piece 'lock in' in my head, and I know that I've just found a way to make a scene really come together." 6 Post • April 2013 Post0413_004-6, 8-BitsRAV4FINALREAD.indd 6 Hero Punk shoots with Cinema Camera S AN FRANCISCO — Hero Punk is one of the first indie films to have been shot the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Written and directed by Kanen Flowers, and produced by Scruffy.TV (www.scruffy.tv), here, the sci-fi thriller is set in 2042, where the government is working to rid the world of people with mutant abilities. More than half of the feature was shot on a 1,100-squarefoot greenscreen. "After shooting some tests, we realized we needed a camera that could handle the richness of the greenscreen and the fidelity of the More than half the film was shot greenscreen. tracking markers, but that was flexible enough to support our sometimes 'run and gun' workflow where we could grab SSDs and go," explains Flowers. "We also had to stay conscious of our budget and the fact that we needed two cameras for weeks of shooting." Paul Del Vecchio and Patrick Johnson served as cinematographers and made use of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera's superwide 13 stops of dynamic range, as well as its high-resolution 2.5K sensor, built-in SSD recorder and open file format support. Shooting ProRes 442 in a 10-bit color space against greenscreen, the team was able to easily capture tracking markers and correctly light the actors, preserving their natural look without requiring a tremendous amount of tweaking in post. "During one scene, we had the two cameras on shoulder rigs in a very tight kitchen," Flowers recalls. "The scene would have never happened if not for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. There was so much movement that a DSLR would have sacrificed quality and any other camera would have been unwieldy and sacrificed movement." The feature is undergoing final editing and finishing, and will employ Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve for color grading. www.postmagazine.com 3/26/13 7:29 PM