iZotope, Inc., a leading audio technology company, has announced that Brussels-based Film and TV post production facility, Studio MM, has successfully integrated iZotope’sRXaudio repair and enhancement suite within every studio throughout its facility. A boutique post facility, Studio MM meets the need for clients who need an approach where the latest digital technologies support and empower the creative audio mind.
Whilst Studio MM’s managing director and lead sound engineer, Mark Mommaerts, is clear on the importance of working with a staff of creative editors, he is equally focused on equipping all the studios with the best production tools that the market has to offer. It is for this reason that Studio MM started using iZotope RX - not in one, but in all the studios at once.
Since starting to work with RX, Studio MM has found that when using on projects, its staff can work in different and more efficient ways. “RX 4 is always active in every Pro Tools session we use. With RX it’s fast and easy to achieve immediate results for voiceover recordings (De-click), removing unwanted sounds (De-noise), clipping (De-clip), and matching takes between boom and close mics (EQ Match),” Mark Mommaerts explains.
Looking ahead, Mark sees audio editors such as RX becoming more important in Studio MM’s day-to-day operations. “The reason why is simple,” he explains. “In Belgium, as in most countries, both public and commercial television broadcasters are cutting budgets. And in Belgium this is amplified since it is a small country with a small audience.
“Inevitably in this environment, content creators need to record quicker with less rehearsal time and fewer takes. In this situation, finalizing and restoring the audio recordings is significantly less costly and a lot can be done in post production. I’m afraid this will not change in the near future, so thank heavens we have tools such as RX!”
“What drives us professionally is the desire not only to be a company that exists at technology’s cutting edge, but also one where human creativity thrives,” explains Mark Mommaerts. “Audio post production is much more than getting every sound element in perfect balance. With every project you must try to lift up the performance to a higher level. And of course, in today’s economic environment, we need a combination of flexibility, competitive budgets, and technically the most up-to-date production tools.”
Looking at the issue of audio and dialogue quality within broadcast TV and film productions, Mommaerts is frequently surprised by the poor quality of some broadcast dialogue – he’s amazed that content creators don’t do more to address the issue. “The critical issue is to deliver the message to the audience in a clear and interesting way. To this end all the audio elements play equal roles - music, sound FX, dialogue, sync sounds. They all have to hook the viewer and encourage them to discover more about a subject. When one of these elements is out of balance, then the message is lost.
“Today it’s possible to distribute content all over the world. But to make this content attractive for viewers, that is a completely different story. What’s the use of shooting on location? You want to get involved with the subject or character. But when an audience experiences poor field recording, bad lyrics, or distracting background noise then they just click away and change the channel. At Studio MM, we believe that a perfect sonic balance is key in keeping the viewer’s focus,” explained Mark Mommaerts.
