When making a checklist of essential equipment for a recording studio, most prospective buyers cite only the gear that handles the audio. In many cases, little attention is paid up-front to non-audio staples that are needed by every studio. These “comfort” items tend to send many budgets over the top.
As audio facilities move away from professionally built studios to homes, offices and other locations, the precise matching of listening components becomes more tricky. Many of these makeshift studios use budget monitors with no software for matching with the acoustic environment. This can result in audio sounding different from place to place.
Audio over IP (AoIP) has become one of the most important technologies to ever enter the media landscape. The protocol allows facilities to leverage today’s mature IP platforms for audio applications resulting in lower costs, faster installations, improved quality of service, all while creating a scalable and future-proof network.
A pilot goes down a pre-flight check list before taking off in an airplane. Since the pilot’s life is at stake, this idea is not a hard sell. However, an audio professional should do the same thing, since his professional reputation is on the line.
In the 1980s, it was easy to define a recording studio. For major studios, most of us would name the Record Plant, the Hit Factory, Criteria or Electric Lady among the premiere American studios. There were also some private studios, mainly owned by artists for making their own music. Today, however, the concept of the recording studio has been turned on it’s head.
Microphones — depending on the owner — either are treated gently or with abuse. This treatment often extends to how the microphone is used. There is a big difference between shouting mindlessly into a dynamic mic in a small club and recording pristine audio in a studio. Here are some tips on how to use microphones to their fullest potential.
Building reliable, flexible IP networks requires an understanding of infrastructure components and the interoperability of systems that run on them, especially when working in fast-paced, dynamic studios. Protocol interfacing is relatively straightforward, but as we investigate application level connectivity further, systems become more interesting.
A revolution in storytelling for TV, cinema, VR, and related forms of entertainment has just begun, enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). This computer-science and engineering-based technique, including machine learning, deep learning, language understanding, computer vision, and big data - is poised to dramatically shake-up both production and the form of future content for entertainment.
