Capturing audio from unscripted judging panels or multiple game show contestants is difficult; if you leave all microphones open, the mix gets noisy, if you turn someone down when they're not talking, you might miss them when they speak unexpectedly. Broadcast doesn't get second chances, so it has to be right the first time. That's why Final Mix Post use their Studer Vista 5 digital mixer with VistaMix automatic mixing.
John Simpson of Final Mix Post is a long-time user of Studer mixers. "They sound fantastic" said John. "They're also very reliable and an intuitive surface to work on." Final Mix Post's Studer Vista 5 has been John's go-to surface for most jobs, and he keeps abreast of new products from the Swiss manufacturer. While visiting Studer to demo new gear, John was blown away by VistaMix, which can run on any Vista system with an SCoreLive DSP engine and software version 4.9.
John upgraded his Vista 5 to run the new feature and immediately rolled it out. The first show to get the VistaMix treatment was Network 10's A League of Their Own, a fast-paced, sports-themed comedic panel show hosted by comedian Tommy Little. Two celebrity teams, captained by swimmer Eamon Sullivan and tennis legend Pat Cash, banter, clown and physically challenge each other to win. Filmed at Sydney's Fox Studios, it was a technically demanding job for John.
"The show was so rapid fire it was almost impossible to capture" John related. "We also had a PA for an audience of 400, and reverse monitors for each side of the panel. We did it with three VistaMix feeds - VistaMix across both panels and another instance as a master. We implemented it from the rehearsals and it's been fantastic." In addition to cleaning up the live audio feeds, VistaMix also helped in the edit suite; "It made the post production much easier because the dialogue track was much tighter", John explained.
With such stellar results, VistaMix is now an integral part of all Final Mix Post's work. "VistaMix is a game changer for us - it's exceeded all expectations and it's a regular part of our setups" John continued. "It's across the judging panel on X Factor and Australia's Got Talent, and we'll be using it on The Voice as well."
(Jim Evans)
