out post sound blog

OK, so all the winners are known for both the BAFTAs and the OSCARs. We predicted five category winners and got, a big fat one right!

BAFTAs

We said:

Sound - AVATAR & Music - UP

They said:

Sound - THE HURT LOCKER & MUSIC - UP

OSCARs

We said:

Sound Editing - STAR TREK, Sound Mixing - AVATAR, Best Picture - AVATAR

They said:

Sound Editing - THE HURT LOCKER, Sound Mixing - THE HURT LOCKER, Best Picture - THE HURT LOCKER

Good job we didn't put any money on it. Is everyone sure the AutoCue didn't get stuck at the OSCARs? Anyway, congratulations to all the winners.

Dolby Labs have just announced that all of the films nominated for an Oscar in the Achievement in Sound Editing and Achievement in Sound Mixing categories used at least one Dolby technology in the process.

This is the 32nd year in which films released with Dolby technology have earned an Oscar nomination. The technologies include Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Surround EX as formats for the audio release.

The films include Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Star Trek, Up and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

It is gratifying to know that out post sound utilises both Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II systems, although we have yet to be nominated for an Oscar there is always the possibility!

out post uses Neyrink SurroundCode for Dolby Digital within Pro Tools, Compressor from Apple for projects outside Pro Tools and Dolby Surround Tools plugin for Dolby Pro Logic projects. We also work with partner studios in Soho to provide Dolby certified mixes for cinematic release.

We better start saving for some suits!

I was lucky enough to be flown out to Hong Kong and China by Music Group, the holding company setup by Behringer that now incorporates Midas Klark Teknik.

At the beginning of the year much scandal hit the interweb at this purchase was announced. Would Midas consoles now come bedecked with a brushed silver finish? Would Behringer rape the Midas high end quality for integration into its lower end equipment? Will the Empire ever really Strike Back?

Suffice to say, with my journalistic hat on, I was whisked from Heathrow to Hong Kong and then onto a giant new opera house in Guangdong. The project, costing around 1.6 billion Yen (quite a few pounds) incorporates probably the largest stage I have ever seen or had the chance to stand on and four Midas digital consoles.

The Midas quotient includes two XL8s and two PRO6 consoles as well as a Heritage analogue console as, get this, backup!

However, the most important reason I was there was to visit the Behringer manufacturing facility, officially called EuroTec or Behringer City, meet Uli Behringer and also the MD of Midas, John Oakley.

The factory tour was impressive, if a little overwhelming. 3,000 staff making Behringer products by hand — the only automation of any note being the pick and place machines for the integrated circuits.

Yet, the boys at Behringer are not sitting still. Uli himself announced the purchase of a 700 acre site very close to the existing factory where they will be building a factory three times the size of the existing one along with extensive recreational facilities for the 3000 on site staff, including a cinema, football pitch and tennis courts. The company also announced a new installation arm, BIG, Behringer Installation Group, that will aim at the middle part of the market.

John Oakely also expressed his excitement that Midas were now a part of the Music Group and went to great lengths to explain why this was good for Midas. Bosch apparently had had a freeze on investment and additional employment, whereas Behringer has already committed around £1 million to Midas to implement a manufacturing floor at EuroTec as well as giving the go ahead for the employment of another DSP engineer.

Oakley stressed that the partnership of Midas and Behringer would not be detrimental to the Midas brand and that already the two companies had been exchanging working methods and experience to the benefit of both.

Only time will tell what Music Group and Behringer's real motives are behind the purchase, but at this point there seems to be little doubt in Oakley and Behringer's mind that this is a mutually beneficial marriage.

It seems to me that the media in general has run the expenses claim scandal in the UK parliament to death and now they have to pick on another public body. Don’t get me wrong, it would appear that the MPs deserved a good kick up the a**e.

But the BBC? OK, so they may not be 100% transparent, but just for one moment, stop and look at what we have here. Compare the BBC to the travesty that is, on the whole, the American news media. The BBC is pretty constantly neutral and does an amazing job. It provides excellent coverage across a huge spectrum of the community on an extremely wide range of cultural and political issues.

The BBC has to be respected and nurtured, not undermined and used as a political pawn.

Yes, it uses our hard earned cash to fund it, but who doesn’t use it to some degree? It is worth much more than the £142.50 it costs per year. That is less than £3 per month for a ridiculous amount of choice and quality programming.

We don’t realise how lucky we are as a country to have a world renowned broadcaster that is basically free to all, is impartial and not owned by a large corporation with its own political agenda.

Come on UK. Think before you take the easy option and jump on the media bandwagon of slagging of a gem in the world of broadcasting.