ProSound News - December 2008 - (Page 39)

special report W Deliverables Define HD Post by Steve Harvey ith the switchover from analog NTSC to digital ATSC over-theair television transmission less than two months away, post-production houses are as busy as ever with HD projects. It isn’t only TV work—episodics, shortor long-form, commercials or promos—but also optical disc, theatrical and other special projects that are keeping them gainfully employed. The question is, does HD audio work require any changes to the existing post-production workflow? “The way we create content for HD video and HD audio hasn’t changed. The delivery mechanism has changed,” asserts Brian Slack, CTO of Hollywood’s Widget Post. “For many years, we and most of our colleagues have been using 24-bit, high-resolution audio to create all of the content, but it has only been recently with the advent of digital cinema and Blu-ray technology that higher-resolution audio formats have been available to deliver it to the consumer. The new drive for production audio is to go from 48 kHz sampling rates to higher sampling rates for final delivery and for music, such as 96k and 192k delivery, but aside from that, little has changed.” For example, he shares, “Last year, we did a film called, Baraka. Originally, all of the music for that film was recorded on analog, 2-inch tape. We took the original masters, recorded them all at 96k, and did all of the restoration on the original elements in 96k, and then released the masters. The Blu-ray master is a 96k Blu-ray master. But that is one of few projects where we could start with high-resolution audio and deliver it in that method as well.” Just as with any non-HD 5.1 mix, downmix compatibility remains important, according to Frank Cabanach, senior audio engineer at SoundHound in New York City. Cabanach is well-equipped to deal with HD thanks to his Fairlight Dream system, he says: “The monitoring package is very well set up and allows me to shuffle between the various mixes as the 5.1 folds all the way down to mono—yes, some people still have mono TVs. It’s important to know what’s going in and out of the Dolby DP563 encoder and the DP564 decoder at all times.” Matt Pedone, executive producer at New York’s Big Yellow Duck, reports that the company handles commercials, TV series, independent films and other sound design projects, such as the surround DVD menus for a Blue Man Group release. “It seems like an equal proportion of everything is going HD,” he says, with a caveat: “We’re still finding a lot of HD work is finished in stereo. There’s no 7.1 work as of yet.” Things are much the same on the West Coast, according to Slack: “The vast majority of our work is in 5.1. We have done some 7.1, but it is a small percentage. Out of the hundreds of 5.1 projects that we’ve done, only two or three have been in 7.1.” abuse—an L2 limiter on the back end of the Lt/Rt encoder. The JBL LSR 5.1 monitoring system sounds great and simplifies bass management by providing a footswitch that toggles between a direct feed to the sub and the bottom end of the LCR speakers.” Rather, he continues, “It’s the implementation of the new technology that gets tricky. Whenever the industry evolves, it takes some time to come up with a standard spec in which to conform. For instance, Dolby’s LM100 set an audio standard that some networks strictly adhere HDaudiopost [ [39] “The way we create content for HD video and HD audio hasn’t changed. The delivery mechanism has changed” Brian Slack, Hollywood’s Widget Post ] Cabanach certainly sees HD projects on the increase: “More and more television networks are switching over to HD, so we’re seeing a gradual increase in both long-form HD programming and the promotion of these new shows. Advertisers are also making the switch to HD for their primetime and high-profile clients. I’ve also been doing a number of HD theatrical spots in 5.1 that run during the trailers in the movie theaters.” The audio tools for standard def are just as appropriate for hi-def work. At Big Yellow Duck, the gear complement includes Pro Tools|HD 7.4, Genelec monitors, the Waves Mercury Bundle—360º Surround Tools and Dangerous 5.1 monitoring. Encoding is performed using Minnetonka Surcode for Pro Logic 2 Lt Rt encoding and Apple Compressor for Dolby Digital/AC3 encoding. Dolby’s Media Meter for Dialnorm measurement is used for QC. But Pedone does have a wish list: “I can’t wait for Waves’ Dorrough Meters to be released in a surround version. It’s currently only in stereo. And I wish there was one box or plug-in that could encode everything, instead of separate plugs for Pro Logic, and Dolby Digital and Dolby E.” The tools aren’t a problem, agrees Cabanach. “I think the equipment manufacturers are really on top of it.” His Fairlight system, for example, handles most processing: “Dynamics, EQs and effects are done in-board, although I do use—not to—and others ignore.” At Widget, says Slack, “We do current theatrical releases, current television releases and repurposing for home theatrical release. Our major client currently is Sony Pictures, and that work is mostly for Blu-ray.” In common with the few other studios beginning to work in 7.1, Slack has encountered more than one speaker layout. “There are two major formats. For current or new material, the popular format is to have three main channels of audio and four surround speakers. For restoration purposes—older material that is being re-released—the more popular format is five main channels and two surrounds.” The majority of work at Widget is performed in Pro Tools, says Slack. “There are currently a number of different plug-ins and pieces of software that we use to accomplish the various types of mixes.” But, he observes, there is always that one special project that pushes the envelope. “Last year, I mixed a special venue project for Coca-Cola that was 11.2. Of course, no one has an 11.2 sound system, we had to create it from scratch. Panning had to be done specifically to that format. There isn’t an 11.2 panning mechanism. We had to make it up as we went along. “That said, most projects that come along constrain themselves to current formats because they have to release to the public. If it doesn’t exist in the world, it doesn’t behoove them to create a format just for their project unless it is a very specific, special venue project.” In short, he says, “The major drawback we are finding now isn’t with the tools to create the material, but in the delivery mechanism to get it to the audience. Currently, there are more options in the home theater market, with Blu-ray and DVD and their various sound formats, than in the theatrical market. The theatrical market is limited to three options: Dolby stereo surround, Dolby Digital and DTS. SDDS, I don’t believe, is currently releasing any features, but the systems are still in the market to playback older releases.” Not surprisingly, engineers like to keep their cards close to the vest when talking about the techniques they employ. Asked to offer some tips, Cabanach responds, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Just kidding! My best tip would be to start rethinking panning, and develop an understanding of divergence. Try to stop thinking of a stereo file as just left/right, but instead as point A to point B throughout the room.” Pedone says to be always mindful of the delivery format: “The best tip would be to know where and how your project is being broadcast. You may do a great 5.1 mix only to find out that only the Lt Rt is going to be aired. Also, many older theaters only do Pro Logic 1.” Be sure that the stereo downmix of the 5.1 also sounds good, he adds. “Many people watch HD with the audio only coming from the TV speakers. They will likely only hear your downmix. The separate stereo mix you produce is usually for the SD channel.” Slack notes that HD audio at Widget has other, perhaps unexpected, applications. “One of the classic things that we use HD technology for isn’t necessarily for release, it’s for creating sound effects. We use the HD in Pro Tools to record at 96k or 192k and play the audio back at 48k. That slows the audio down two or four times and lowers it in pitch two to four times. That is how we recorded the voices for King Kong.” The problem is, all the HD audio technology in the world doesn’t add up to a hill of beans if the client isn’t prepared to pay for it. “Budgets are a huge factor. I think a lot of it is that the studios are still trying to shake out what they can do,” (continued on page 40) prosoundnews.com December 2008 http://www.prosoundnews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProSound News - December 2008

ProSound News - December 2008 Sound Business Contents Hank’s Best Yet Sound Recording Studio Showcase: Great City Productions Software Tech Tracks Sessions Anticipating Post’s Future Post Showcase: Eargasm HD Audio Post The Business of Being Creative Sound Innovations: VRsonics VibeStudio Spatial Design Suites Field Reports: Product Profiles Yes We Can Hear Obama Live Sound Showcase: Stone Temple Pilots Centerstage Soundcheck Sound People View From the Top Product Spotlight Classifieds Advertiser Index Company Index Music, etc

ProSound News - December 2008

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