FILM CITY POST

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"Bavaria film studio"

Sitting in a heavily-wooded area just  outside the most southerly city boundaries of Munich ties Bavaria Film studio facility, one of Europe's oldest film studios and one of the major tourist attractions of this part of southern Germany.

Bavaria Film's post production departments have always been keen to use new technology, and it has given them several worldwide claims to fame. In 1988 they used a Lexicon Opus for Last Exit To Brooklyn, making it the first feature film with sound completely prepared on a digital hard disk system. Avid have advised them that their use of an Avid Film Composer on the 1991 film Knight Moves was a worldwide first for a feature film completely cut on an Avid - although they have expressed some surprise at this. In 1992 they mixed the first European film to have a Dolby SR-D digital soundtrack, with Joseph Vilsmaiers. In more local terms, 1993 saw the installation of the first Harrison MPC console in Europe.

0ver half a million visitors a year take the Bavaria Film tour to look behind the scenes of the 'Film City Geiselgasteig'. Actually the tourists get to see very little 'behind the scenes' activity, but they do gain some insight into the history of one of Europe's oldest film studios that has always been a major player in the German movie business, and an international influence.

The Bavaria Film studio's 15 shooting stages, its outdoor sets and other production areas sit side-by-side with the diverse mix of media companies that are also based here amongst the woods and parkland just outside the southern most boundaries of Munich. From its beginnings in 1919, the studio has hosted directors such as Hitchcock, Welles, Kubrick, and Wenders. Films made here in recent times include Rainer W. Fassbinder's Lilli Marleen, Jean Jacques Annaud's Name Of The Rose, and Uli Edel's Last Exit to Brooklyn. But, as is the case at most modern studios, film has to share with TV and now also with multimedia production. Two TV stations are based on the site - RTL2 and Bavaria Interactive. The production arm of Bavaria Film itself produces about 150 hours a year of new programming, a daily soap (Marienhof), plus two or three feature films a year. All other post production work comes from the German or international markets.

Post Production Center

Bavaria Film's post production center is positioned quietly in one corner of the studio complex, and well away from the Filmtour. A large, fairly anonymous white building, it houses five mixing stages of varying sizes, four dedicated ADR/Foley studios, a screening theatre and a host of rooms and small studios, some of which are let to independent sound editors, sound designers, film and video editors and production companies in a semi-symbiotic relationship.

Head of the Sound Department, Toni Ketterle, begins tours of the facility with a series of photographs that trace the development of the dubbing theatres from 1938, through mix consoles by Klangfilm, from Western Electric, the state-of-the-art in-house construction of 1951 that coincided with the first use of four-track in Germany, the first film being The Robe. 1968 saw the arrival of a Siemens film console - the first with two-man operation -followed by a Neve console in 1981, which was the first NECAM automated console supplied to a film studio. It was used for the first time on Das Boot, and it had George Lucas sending two engineers over to check it out. This console remains in use today in Studio C (the original theatre) but it is now predominantly used for major TV drama, although it does have full SR-D mix capability. Ketterle notes: "The console will have to be replaced in the near future, at the same time as a complete studio rebuild, and it will be completely digital."

Studio C was the original 1938 theatre and retains many of the elements of design that have evolved since that time, with wood predominating. In complete contrast, Studio A houses a Harrison MPC console, installed in 1993. Large and quite spectacular in appearance, THX-certified Studio A now handles all of the major film work. For such a large room it retains a 'cosy' feel, with a raised producers' area at the rear, a gantry to the projection area and large amounts of outboard gear in movable and fixed racks.

There are still plenty of mag film dubbers everywhere around 50 in the department - which are virtually all Albrecht MB51s with six-track heads and equipped with Dolby SR. Studio A and several of the other larger studios normally use these as recording machines while, for the last two or three years, replay has been from Pro Tools systems. Toni Ketterle: "Up to now we haven't made a decision about dubbers, but we know that it has to be done urgently because all the customers are asking me about it." However, hard-disk systems and a range of digital Dubber replacements have actually been adopted by default around the studios. They are also quite confident in hard-disk replay, even on the mix stages.

Mix Engineer Hubertus Rath: "Last year we did a major French film production and they used a 32-track- AudioVision and 24-track Pro Tools at the same time - all the tracks were coming from these machines and recorded on mag film. We had no problems at all.

In fact, those same systems are to be found throughout the facility in most of the rooms and their use has been fully integrated in each different environment, together with other more specifically applied equipment.

Studio 8 is the main film ADR studio, used for dialogue and Foley work. One of the biggest in Europe, it is as large as the theatres on either side. A wide range of Foley pits and extra dead areas cater for virtually any requirement. A small control room at the rear houses a Harrison Pro 790 console with its output normally going to mag film and then into Pro Tools, or into a FED Audio Solution four-track MOD recorder, which is frequently used as a medium for TV ADR/revoicing in Germany. In some situations around the studio Augan MOD recorders are used as well. Safety backup copies of all takes are parallel recorded on a pro MiniDisc recorder set up to create new tracks on every take.

A 50-seater THX-certified screening room completes the large rooms in the facility. Fully equipped for 5.1 playback, this is where most new German productions are screened, even if they are not made here. The room is particularly notable for the architect's decision to avoid placing seats in neat rows to "aid ease of communication".

The last of the ground floor studios is Studio D, a medium-sized studio, equipped with an SSL 5000. Studio D largely handles dubbing German versions of TV shows.

All of the studios so far mentioned have full 35/1 6mm projection facilities plus video projector and TV monitors where appropriate. Most of the equipment is held in separate projection/machine rooms, so in-studio noise levels are very low.

There are different consoles in each of the rooms covered so far, and there are several more. I asked if this wide variety of consoles and hard-disk systems was a support nightmare. Rudi Neuber, of the technical department: "It could be, but we can manage quite well with the hardware; there are far more problems with the software. Sometimes we wonder if we are the only ones in Europe that have a particular problem when we speak to the manufacturers." The five-man technical department is also responsible for the technical support of visiting productions.

The Digital Floor

The upper floor of the building is referred to as the digital floor - here a large number of Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer suites are available for rent or for use by regular freelance editors. Suites are available to visiting productions and numerous sound design companies with their own facilities who work with the studios, feeding work back into the main facility. There are plans to rebuild the studios' own edit suites with a central machine room. When these rooms were built seven years ago it was felt that all equipment should be in the room for one-man operation, but experience has shown that this is not the most effective. A central machine room will remove the technical worries from the editors so that they can concentrate on editing.

The upper floors also house three more TV ADR studios, and Edit Mix 1 -a very successful 'experiment' in one-man post production where a single operator handles both edit and mix. The major challenge facing the facilities at the moment is that of declining budgets for TV post production. Toni Ketterle estimates that the budget for TV audio post may now be as low as one percent of total production costs. Edit Mix 1 proved that single operator use is possible and may be necessary. At present the studio is handling a daily soap with the productior sound delivered on two tracks of Betacam SP, loaded into Pro Tools, with music and atmospheres added and mixed via a Soundcraft DC2000. It was also their first room without mag film.

The TV Mix Studio houses an Octagon

A related approach is to be found in the newly opened TV Mix studio. This is designed to be a single operator TV mix room, capable of handling a wide range of TV work, in all sorts of surround formats but with a daily cost of about a third of that of Studio A. It is also of a size that is more appropriate for TV mixing.

The centerpiece of the TV Mix studio is a D&R Octagon console with K&H LCR monitoring, and JBL Control One surrounds. The studio had previously been a preview theatre and the old projection booth has been converted to give a machine room and a very flexible O/D studio.

Equipment includes digital Betacam, Betacam SP and DoReMi V-Mod for pictures, with the digibeta normally being used for the final mix master due to its four digital tracks - which are convenient if you have to make two independent mixes. A Mac 9500 is used to run Pro Tools or AudioVision systems and comes with two docking stations for hard drives

An Augan MOD system runs as a dubber replacement. If necessary, mag tracks can be played from the next door transfer suite but recording on mag has not been catered for. It is, however, pre-wired for Tascam DA-88, should there be a need to use a unit - it is far less common here than in the UK or USA.

At present the studio is only doing Dolby Pro Logic mixes but this will expand to full 5. 1 - There are plans to add a second set of JBL monitors to allow mastering of DVD mixes, in the near future

D&R Octagon

Principle mix engineer for the TV Mix studio in Eberhard Weckerle, who has also been behind much of its development. So why did they choose the Octagon? "We looked for a console that had: at least 32 inputs, but 48 was our goal," say Weckerle. " It had to handle at least four-channel surround format and should have an analogue-like( control surface, which is important for us a different sound engineers work on the console and it should be intuitive - we wanted one fader/one channel and one function/one knob. We wanted automation of faders and at least the aux sends or soft switches. Eventually the choice came down to the Otari Elite or the Octagon. After much studying, the Octagon seemed to be easier to handle and it has some features that the Otari didn't have, such as routing to single busses rather than just in pairs, and this seem more intelligent to us."

The Octagon is a 60-module frame size, equipped with 32 double in-line modules, and pre-wired to handle up to 40 modules which would, when filled, give 80 inputs. The desk will generally be working with Pro Tools or AudioVision systems and mastering onto audio tracks of a Digital Betacam.

The console follows an in-line philosophy but takes it some distance forward. Effectively with each channel strip there are two complete signal paths arranged as lower and upper banks. Both have very similar facilities - long throw fader, virtually identical EQ and, even where feature default to the lower fader path, they can normal be assigned to the upper path. When used as post production console - predominantly in fulltime mix mode - you can think of these signal paths as almost independent.

All channel routing to the 48 output busses (just 32 active on this console), input selection assignment of the aux sends to the upper and lower signal paths, and the format selection for the surround panning are handled by the Control Module, of which there can be up to four in this frame size for multi-operator use. In this console there is just the single control module place next to the Master panel, for ease of operation Access to these functions is handled on a local or global basis. The Control Module also allows pan pot assignment to the main output busses, calibration of the upper signal path fader (useful when handling stem returns), group set-up, meter control, copy/paste of module setting, console status interrogation, the ability to set up multiple macro switches, and four control group faders.

The Master panel handles all monitoring, automation, talkback/comms, solo masters and is dominated by a recessed TFT screen for showing automation status. The console itself can store up to five console snapshots of total console status, just separate modules or just EQ, which can then be dumped to off-line PC. Recalling them gives instant reset of all motorized fader levels and soft switches, and the ability to manually reset all control pots and any non-soft switches. All the console faders are motorized but the automation is VCA-based -the fader being only a level indication.

The input channels are densely populated 40 knobs, 89 LED’s, 28 switches and two faders, but the use of colour-coded dual concentric pots and clear labelling overcomes any difficulties, and the positioning of the LEDs along the edges of the module aids visibility.

Eberhard Weckerle: "The layout is good. The way that you work is quite similar to other desks. It is very intuitive. You select a channel but you need to remember that not all the facilities are on the module - it's on the Control Module - enabling you to find what the inputs are, where you are going to mix, what you are seeing on your meters, which input is routed to the upper fader and which to the lower fader, and which busses you are using. This is very easy - far easier than on some digital consoles."

The Control Module can be accessed for any channel through the on-module Select button or through the Control Module itself. Weckerle: "I usually work on the lower bank as it is ergonomically easier. We have divided the console into two sections: an eight-module section that is to the left of the Master panel (the reason being that we have to use return modules for stems, for pre mixes or anything like that where you do not have to move the faders every moment, you do not have to change EQ or routing), then the master section, then we have a section of 24-input modules for the working part of the desk. So I use the lower faders for my 16 or 24 Pro Tools inputs and the upper faders as effects returns or as group outputs or group masters.

"The design of the equaliser is very familiar if you are used to a full parametric." They are four bands with variable Q mid-ranges, a switched bell shelving LF, and are identical but there are no hi-pass/lo-pass filter on the upper fader path.

Indication of the settings programmed on the Control Module for input module knobs such as pan pots are indicated by the use of LEDs. Full eight-way panning is possible for the input module. There is also local indication as to whether it is also routed to one of the two assignable joysticks.

The very top of the module has the basic input mic/line or tape selection, while the aux sends are positioned in the middle of the module just below the EQ for the upper fader path. There are 16 aux send busses with each module having 12 sends. All assignment of the sends between signal paths, to bus sends 13-16 and pre/post switching, is handled on the Control Module but again with local status indication.

A wide range of solo functions are available -either AFL or solo-in-place - centrally selectable with the ability to have the solos additive, momentary or interlocked. A separate PFL button is also present on both signal paths.

The eight pan status LEDs on each module also have a secondary function as an aid for automation reset of the console. On recall of a snapshot, the faders and soft switches reset but the deviation from the stored value of any selected control is shown by how many of these LEDs are lit. This system allows the desk to be reset quickly with extra manpower.

Centralised Functions

The ability to program macro keys adds considerable flexibility to the Octagon. The Control Module has switches that can be programmed with RS422 and MIDI machine control commands - Weckerle uses these to remotely control the Pro Tools system from the console.

He also finds the ability to set up solo presets virtually on the fly very useful, particularly when checking sections of the mix, such as groups of atmosphere tracks, and the ease with which channels have been added and substracted for the solo presets.

Also much appreciated is the way that is possible, with a combination of macros and flexible switched switching, to have real control of the monitoring environment. This includes the ability to switch the monitoring of the main output bus formats into different monitor modes, which is useful when needing to check compatibility between surround formats, ie. 5.1 to mono; plus the variety of monitoring arrangements that can be achieved switching around the eight-bus wide inserts for format encoders, for monitoring with or without the processor in the chain. A shortly-to-be-delivered option of an external Stems Matrix rack will allow use of the Stems Matrix Master panel to enhance control and monitor offering Trim, Mute, Direct and Playback switching.

Further Options

Bavaria Film chose a mixture of optional packages such as RTW metering on the main busses, and a DK-Audio meter. To meet their specific needs they also requested the change of 'aux mute' buttons to 'aux on' indication, some minor rewiring of output connectors to match DA88 wiring standards, dimmable peak meters, the fitting of a Colin Broad Electronics synchroniser system in place of the fixed QWERTY keyboard, the fitting on an infra-red keyboard, a touch pad instead of a trackball, and a jog wheel for the synchroniser control - all of which D&R were able to accommodate.

Eberhard Weckerle seems at home with the Octagon, and the mixers seemed to be equally happy with the choice. Sitting in on a session showed that controls fell easily to hand, and that even after just a few weeks, it was beginning to feel quite natural in use.

The TV Mix room generates a lot of interest because it appears to present a very cost-effective approach to TV mixing, yet with virtually no compromise, and it may represent an ideal way to meet budgetary pressures. Bavaria Film has never been shy of technical challenge, and, by holding back until they have to make changes, they will have learned from their own and others' experiences.

It is easy, in English-speaking markets, to forget that the pressures in the non-English language post production markets are considerable. The post houses can never forge that it's far cheaper for a US/English-language production to be revoiced than to make a new production, and they have to work with that knowledge in everything they do. Maybe one day the process will work the other way as well.

Bavaria Film, Bavariafilmplatz 7,

D-82031. Geiselgasteig,

Germany.

Telephone:  +49 89 64 99 36 4 1.

Fax: +49 89 64 99 30 27

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(No part of this online publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means - other than for the purposes of immediate viewing - without the express written consent of the publisher or author)