In Broadcast - April 2013 - 72

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 18 - APRIL 2013

N E W S

InSOUND
Audio Post – II: Workstations & Plug-ins Cont.

72

DFC to do additional mixing.”
Now in version 8, Pyramix is
designed to work with a range of
other manufacturers’ controllers
and hardware. Wadsten says that
while Avid, as a big corporation,
is able to either develop its own
control surfaces or buy a console
manufacturer like Euphonix, Merging
is a small company and so has to
work with any controller hardware.
This includes Mackie, Yamaha, ISIS
and the Smart AV Tango 2. Pyramix
can even connect to Avid (formerly
Euphonix) consoles using Merging’s
OASIS (Open Audio System
Integration Solution) proprietary
protocol. Merging is also a partner
in the Ravenna programme for
connecting audio over IP.
Fairlight has evolved its product
range from its original synthesiser
and sampler into a DAW and now
also produces control surfaces
and video systems. The latest
versions of the small-scale Xynergi
controller and larger form EVO
console, featuring Dream version 4
software, are able to offer 192 track
editing and integrated recording,
plus features for ADR (automatic
dialogue replacement) and a
sound library.
Another manufacturer that has
branched out from roots in music
recording into post-production is
Steinberg. The Germany-based
developer produces a range of
audio editing-mixing software,
with Nuendo in particular ﬁnding
favour in post-production. Nuendo
6 features full editing and mixing,
along with ADR capability and
loudness monitoring.
Steinberg is owned by Yamaha
and the two companies have
collaborated to produce an
integrated audio post-production
system connecting the DAW and
control surface/console. Nuage
integrates Yamaha control and
interface hardware with Nuendo 6
software, which features a special
mixer window and expanded
set of features.
A variation on this kind of
integration is DiGiGrid, the audio
processing and control network
developed jointly by console
manufacturer DiGiCo and plugins specialist Waves. DiGiGrid is a
scalable network I/O (input/output)
system combining mixing and
processing, integrating plug-ins
and the control and management
of audio material.

Plugged In Parallels
A plug-in is a software component
that adds speciﬁ c features and
greater capability to a standard
computer-based conﬁguration. In
music and audio post-production
terms this means additional

Yamaha Nuage system, comprising Yamaha control and interface hardware
with Steinberg Nuendo 6 software

processing power and manipulation.
Waves is a leading developer
of plug-ins; its range includes
equalisers, compressors and
surround processors.
Plug-ins expand the variety of
tools available to the audio engineer
and can be easily added to the DAW.
Mixing consoles, both analogue and
digital, have processors built into
the channel strips but with more
being done in the box, plug-ins have
carved a useful niche for themselves.
The big issue in audio terms,
however, is whether they are a likefor-like replacement for hardware
processors, the outboard gear
that would routinely sit in the
studio racks alongside the mixing
desk. These useful but bulky units
provided EQ, mic pre-amps and a
range of effects. Digital versions are
produced by companies including
TC Electronic, Lexicon and Yamaha
but many engineers prefer their
analogue predecessors, particularly
if valves are involved.
There is the feeling among older
engineers – and their younger
audiophile colleagues – that standalone boxes like SSL compressors,
Rupert Neve mic-pres and Focusrite
mic amps produce a better quality,
warmer sound in general but
particularly on voices. Another
objection to plug-ins is that they
can sound the same, so traditional
outboard gives more individuality
(although the argument works
the same way if everyone uses
identical hardware).
Tom Graham at Avid quotes the
opinion of Recording Engineer
and Pro Tools user Mike Shipley,
who sees plug-ins as “an amazing
emulation” of hardware processors
but still works with favourite pieces
of analogue equipment. “People
don’t have to leave things behind
just because we’re in the digital age,”
Graham says. “Everything can live
in union side-by-side.”
Computer programs can, of

course, do things that analogue
systems either cannot or that would
take a long time to achieve. ReVoice
Pro is a software system designed
to take ADR tracks and adjust them
for ﬁne synchronisation. If necessary
this can involve changing the pitch,
timing and even the inﬂection of an
actor’s performance.
ReVoice Pro was developed by
Synchro Arts, a software company
founded by Jeff Bloom, who was
part of the development team behind
the DAR SoundStation DAW in the
1980s. While at DAR Bloom created
the VocAlign sound alignment
program, which was designed for
ADR on ﬁlms and TV dramas.
Bloom left DAR to concentrate
on VocAlign, which was adapted
into the more consumer market
oriented ReVoice Studio during the
late 1990s and early 2000s. This
interactive program allows people
to put their own voices to scenes
and songs from ﬁlms including Shrek
and the Austin Powers series.
Another potential area for VocAlign
Bloom explored was mobile phones
but he had not considered the
professional market. Regardless,
dialogue and ADR editors showed
interest and ReVoice Pro was
launched in May 2012. The idea
behind ReVoice Pro is to reduce
the amount of time spent in altering

Nigel Heath (left), Co-Founder and
Dubbing Mixer of Hackenbacker
Post Production in London with Chris
Sturmer. The facility has used the
VoiceQ software on its ADR sessions

timing, pitch, vibrato and inflection.
The system comprises two main
components: the Audio Performance
Transfer (APT) process; and the
Realistic Doubler. APT is based on
an advanced version of VocAlign and
automatically transfers designated
characteristics (including pitch and
inﬂection) from a guide recording to
the re-recorded track. The Doubler
generates natural sounding mono or
stereo double tracks from a single
input, as well as providing timing
and pitch modulation effects.
Another attempt to streamline
the ADR process that appeared
last year came from console
manufacturer SSL. ScreenSound
ADR brings together hardware –
computer, I/O and Nucleus control
surface – with dialogue spotting,
session preparation, session
control and management and audio
recording software.
ADR is a long-established part of
the audio post-production process
and, despite the “automatic” part
of its name, relies more on the
skills of the sound editor and the
actor revoicing the scene. This can
involve trial and error, replaying
the sequence until the performer
matches the original lip movements.
Mechanical aids appeared during
the heyday of ﬁlm, including the
rythmo band, or lip-sync band. This
has been used primarily in Canada
and France and is based on the
lines being written on clear 35mm
leader that runs in sync with the
projected scene.
New Zealand company KIWA
International has taken a new
approach to this method of ADR
with its VoiceQ software program.
This scrolls a script over the ﬁlm/
video image being projected on the
screen. It is synchronised with the
original dialogue to provide precise
cueing and, the manufacturer
claims, makes looping sessions
more efficient.
UK post house Hackenbacker
works on many ADR projects and
has installed the software at its Soho
facility. “Dialogue recording and
replacement is a vital and integral
part of making ﬁlms and television
programmes,” explained Company
Founder and Dubbing Mixer Nigel
Heath. “Successful ADR requires a
great deal of skill because you need
to get the best performance from the
actors, while also concentrating on
capturing a high-quality recording.”
Post-production bosses always
emphasise that the expertise
and knowledge of their editors
and mixers is the key element in
any session but, to support that,
today they have a broad choice of
equipment–digital and analogue,
software and hardware – to help
them do a high pressure job.
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