ADR / Foley Suite Upgrades

Improvements to the ADR / Foley Suite

In our continuing efforts to modernize and streamline department equipment and facilities, we have completed several upgrades to the ADR / Foley Suite | NSC-172B. The new layout and workflow is covered in the updated Instructional Outline.These updates included four key ingredients:

POWER – Apple Mac Pro with Twin 2.4GHz Xeon Quad-Core Processors & 8Gb of RAM

The strength behind any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is at its core- the CPU! This new computer has the raw horse power to deal with the rendering challenges we lay before it today, and many years to come. Also, the forward facing Firewire and USB ports will make it easier for users to hook up their external drives. A silly point to make, perhaps, but the constant spinning of past iMac workstations (to access data ports) have wrecked havoc on the connectors.

CLARITY – Apple 27″ Cinema Display Driven by an ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPU

Pixel density and accurate color reproduction come along for the ride with the installation of a 27″ Apple Cinema Display. Combined with a powerful GPU with over 1Gb of dedicated memory, this display system can allow for ample desktop space for detailed graphical user interfaces as well as host a wide variety of native video resolutions. Simply put, it’s just a beautiful palette to work on.

CONTROL – M-Audio ProjectMix I/O Control Surface and Audio Interface

Control Surfaces are just magical. They allow you to manipulate complicated post-production software using physical knobs, faders, buttons, and dials. The hardware matches the software, literally. What you see on screen and in hardware are identical. The board is completely automated as well. Adjustments made using the SoundTrack Pro on screen mixer (below) will physically fly the linked fader on the board (above). The ProjectMix also comes with built in playback controls, making it a cinch to navigate through NLE sequences or timelines. This unit is also an audio interface. That means no more complicated routing of input signals through analog mixers, passing through separate digital interface boxes, and then making adjustments in software. Just set the microphone gain, arm your tracks, and get to work.

 

EASE – Mackie Big Knob Audio Monitoring and Talkback Station

This extremely easy to use mixer handles the DAW’s output signal. It’s used to route and adjust volume levels to the 2.1 channel audio monitors and stereo headphones. It also contains the two-way talkback communication system between the control room and the audio booth. It’s a very simple to use, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, device.

These updates, combined with our preexisting high quality Mackie HR824 nearfield monitors and M-Audio SBX-10 subwoofer, AKG C 414 B-TL II and Neumann S-KM 184 MT microphones; make up an easy to use sound room that can produce quality results for all of our sound recording and reproduction needs.

Control Room

Audio Booth“And That’s The Way It Is.”