Audio Media - September 2008 - (Page 30) > recording and 13 were there for playback; it was the biggest configuration that we’ve ever had and possibly one of the biggest on the planet. The necessity came from the vast number of tracks they had.” Pro Tools|HD and Merging Technologies’ Pyramix V-Cube were employed by the audio staff, side by side. “Three years ago, I don’t think we would’ve been able to do this,” tells Jarvis. “At the time, Pro Tools systems weren’t stable enough in terms of playing back large amounts of tracks. We got more of the possibility of up to 500 paths with the console… and we could’ve used more, really. Now, we just have the ability to chain Pro Tools systems and throw them in, one on top of the other.” The consoles – AMS-Neve DFC Gemini, used in Studio 1 and Studio 3 as main mix room and effect premixes, respectively – needed to be in tip-top condition, and the Pro Tools installation needed very stable clocking and synchronisation. “We have Soundmaster synchronisation that looks after most of it, which does a very good job,” says Jarvis. “The Soundmaster ION system is very stable, very reliable.” “As tracks were laid up, they would be premix dubbed in 3 and then printed downstairs in 1 for the final,” explains Cooper of the dual studio process. “The final mix took three weeks, but I actually spent at least 80-90 hours a week here for those three. There were a lot of man-hours that went into it by that point. I think they could’ve even spent more time, but that’s the same for any film. You always spend at least as much time as you have available to you for the mix.” The Hellboy II project was also the first time that De Lane Lea used a KVM-based system, a device to control multiple computers from a single keyboard. “It allowed us to collect any one of the playback machines from any one of the workstations in the main theatre,” Jarvis explains. “We just put in a brand new, very simple, system. It allows you to handle two DVI screens, in one USB port and an audio pair, by one system. It’s KVM over IP, so you can manage switching.” For Hellboy II, Cooper was ultimately the man on call. The challenge of this particular job mainly resided in its aural scope and material at mix time. “It was the sheer amount of what was to be done and the time constraints of trying to achieve it,” Cooper offers. “The film is very busy; there’s loads going on in every reel. It was a challenge in trying to get all the material that was laid up for the sequences presented within that frame… but probably more so for the mixers and the editorial staff than for us.” As a staff mix technician, Cooper configures the AMS-Neve DFC for De Lane Lea clients who utilise his skills. “For each film, there is a different configuration on the DFC, as the music, dialogue, effects, background, Foley, reverbs, and so on, are all different. Really, the DFC is just a console completely tailor-made for a particular film. Once that’s all done, my job is just to manage the automation through pre-mixing and the final mix stages.” O n Staff, O n Call Electronic Series 6000 for reverbs, and dbx 120A subwoofer synthesisers. “Because they were so large, some of the sessions were pre-mixed virtually within Pro Tools,” explains Cooper. “They needed to have control of both sessions externally to the DFC as well.” All of the Foley for characters Abe (Abraham ‘Abe’ Sapien) and (Johann) Krauss were mixed virtually, offers Cooper. “Krauss’ gas suit is filled with moving parts and is very involved as far as sound design. The mixers didn’t feel that it would be a good idea to tie stuff together into hard pre-mixes. They just wanted to keep all their options open until the final, when the Director was in, so they could get to everything easily. It was something like 130 tracks of Foley between those characters as well. If there’s a rotating metal part of Krauss’ voice box that required a level of adjustment at any point, keeping flexibility was a good idea.” Flexible Foley Director – Guillermo del Toro Technical Manager – Paul Jarvis Sound Mix Technicians – Doug Cooper, Markus Moll Supervising Sound Editors – Scott Martin Gershin, Martín Hernández Sound Re-Recording Mixers – Michael Keller, Mike Prestwood Smith, Mike Prestwood Smith Supervising Dialogue & ADR Editor – Tom Bellfort Sound Effects Supervisor – Markus Moll Foley Editor – Christopher Wilson Report – Strother Bullins To Cooper, the attributes of the DFC lie in its limitless functionality, which served Hellboy II well. “You can tailor it for how the film is laid out,” he says. “Some may criticise the DFC because, effectively, you must build the console from scratch each time you use it. For my concern, that’s good; you may need a different processing layout from another guy, and it’s achievable very easily with the DFC. It can be achieved with other consoles but not as easily. From an operational point of view, I think it feels great to use.” Meanwhile, the film’s final stage mixers also had Digidesign D-Commands on stage at the same time. Other notable gear included Euphonix Artist Series MC Mix controllers for backgrounds, two Lexicon 960L units and one TC Work ing With The G ear While the gear and track count of Hellboy II may have been record-setting, the pace was nothing but professional: “The way [our clients] use their equipment is very static; they’re generally all very professional people and know the limitations of the equipment. Things go wrong, and we have to provide a solution as quickly as possible.” And it certainly doesn’t hurt that Jarvis and company are intimately aware of their gear. “We generally do everything ourselves,” proudly offers Jarvis of his firm’s gear maintenance skills. “Before I was here, I worked at AMS-Neve for about seven years, so I’m very familiar with the consoles. I’ve been a regular visitor to De Lane Lea since then.” ∫ Professionals Work ing For Professionals AUDIO MEDIA SEPTEMBER 2008
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