52 TECHFEED Live Audio
MASTERING IMMERSIVE REQUIRES THOUGHT IN THE SAME WAY THAT DELIVERING SIMULTANEOUS STEREO AND 5.1 MIXES TOOK A BIT OF WORKING OUT
Arts via the Sky Q set-top box. Additional recorded material in UHD and Dolby Atmos was captured for various platforms, with CC-Lab producing the content. In advance of the festival, CC-Lab executive producer Justin Rees spoke about using Dolby Atmos to “create an all- enveloping 3D sound experience. With the added dimension of height, this will place the viewer right in the centre of the crowd and at the very heart of the festival.” With the 5.1.4 configuration looking set to be dominant for immersive audio production, effectively capturing and mixing audio at height is always going to be critical – and may well be easier said than done in the open environment of a festival. It’s more straightforward in an indoor venue, such as the Royal Wedding where, as Hooper descibes, ‘an enclosed kind of feeling’ contributed to the immersive atmosphere of the event. CAPTURING LIVE MUSIC IN NGA Equipment-wise, adopting immersive audio for live music broadcasts doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated. “In terms of microphones, the main concern is how to capture the crowd – whoever the artist or band on stage,” says France. Invariably, deployment is relatively venue- specific: “So if it’s a big outdoor crowd, you’re probably going to be aiming for a
general atmosphere. Generally speaking, you’re not looking at a huge number of additional microphones.” In terms of OB facilities, many broadcasters are already taking steps to build in capacity for NGA production, both in terms of new units and retrofits. “We’ve observed a trend towards ceiling speakers for the height elements, with many opting for a 5.1.4 configuration,” explains France. Genelec and Dynaudio monitors are popular choices for immersive-capable trucks, although France notes a tendency in some quarters to specify “high-end home theatre speakers”. Audio console manufacturers are also rising to the challenge of helping engineers deliver immersive audio mixes without unduly adding to their existing stereo and 5.1 workloads. Jim Green, international sales manager of Calrec, highlights the duality of broadcasters wanting to explore immersive for different types of content, while ensuring workflows don’t become unworkably burdensome. “Our philosophy has been to allow broadcasters to begin NGA production in as simple and straightforward a manner as possible, in order to minimise additional workload,” says Green. “Of course, different broadcasters have different ideas and, as a manufacturer, you need to be able to let them implement those.” It’s early days for all concerned, but clearly the interest is growing. Calrec is among several manufacturers to have announced processing innovations that will offer support for NGA productions. Due to ship later this spring, the Impulse core audio processing platform is designed for use with existing Calrec Apollo and Artemis control surfaces, and provides 3D immersive path widths and panning for NGA applications, with multiple immersive configurations supported. Broadcast engineers have had to get up to speed with many new technologies over the last few years, so it makes sense
SOUND BARRIER Broadcasters are realising the potential benefits of NGA beyond just sport – from music, to documentaries and drama
for OB providers to want to minimise the impact of immersive on day-to-day life. Drawing on NEP’s experience with football coverage, Hooper believes it can be done in a managed way: “Mastering immersive requires thought in the same way that delivering simultaneous stereo and 5.1 mixes took a bit of working out. It’s been great with the football in that we have had a lot of chances to practise.” Some challenges, however, are likely to be more enduring. With outdoor festival coverage, broadcasters need to contend with issues arising from multiple performance spaces – sometimes in very close proximity to each other – meaning all kinds of problems involving spill between stages. NGA implementation might need to be phased over time, as the time and cost implications of going fully immersive across multiple stages could be significant. CREATIVE CHOICES Some creative choices may also take a while to assume clarity. A few of these are neatly summarised by Adrian Murtaza,
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