FEATURES: EDUCATION
Widening options
progra 9.1.4 The conte Rw sp a 9.1 three 3635 This e
A Dolby Atmos HE mix studio is the latest addition to Singapore’s YST Conservatory of Music as it strives to offer cutting-edge facilities to its students. Richard Lawn reports SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN 2003, SINGAPORE’S YONG Siew Toh (YST) Conservatory of Music continues to distinguish itself as a first-of-its-kind educational institution in the region. Throughout his 16-year tenure, associate professor Zhou Xiaodong has played a key role in advancing the student programme courses at the conservatory. As head of audio arts and sciences (AAS) and founding manager of the YST Conservatory recording studio, Professor Zhou continually draws upon connections, awareness and the latest technologies to realise his aspirations in the inner sanctum. “From an educational point of view, YST needs to provide the students with as wide a choice of career paths as possible,” comments Professor Zhou. “When I first came here in 2006, the focus was on classical music production, but we offer so much more now.” Linked to the conservatory concert hall as well as to the Steven Baxter recital studio and conservatory orchestra hall, YST’s main studio is equipped with a 48-input SSL C200 digital console, Pro Tools Ultimate software and an impressive microphone collection. The floating construction, which benefits from variable acoustics, is flexible enough to handle both classical and modern music production. The adjacent Dolby Atmos immersive mixing studio, however, differs markedly by providing first-hand production techniques to tomorrow’s audio engineers, music producers, sound designers and acousticians. “As a school we need to invest in the latest technology for our students and adapt accordingly to the changing job market,” continues Professor Zhou. “Upon graduation from YST, their opportunities to gain employment at a film or postproduction studio are significantly enhanced if they can mix in surround sound. Today, you cannot ignore the need to mix in an immersive audio setup. Therefore, as part of our audio arts and science programme, YST is following current standards and developing a multichannel sound in the studio where you can listen to everything in the correct space.” Supported by Avid’s local distributor, IMS Mahajak Pro Audio, together with Dolby Singapore, YST’s Dolby Atmos
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music mixing studio has once again been upgraded. Having incorporated an Avid S6 M40 16-fader control surface with a surround joystick, a 7.1.4 3D monitoring system was created in late 2018. “The course format we originally developed was for film production, but I wanted to teach the whole workflow to the students by expanding the dynamics from classical to commercial,” explains Professor Zhou. “Although YST previously possessed an immersive listening environment for home certification, it lacked the whole production workflow. Building an entire cinema in this 10m x 7m space is impossible, but a home entertainment [HE]-certified Dolby Atmos studio could be created. Dolby’s certification programme was helpful in providing guidelines to build a worldclass reference studio, which are consistent around the world.” Previously a music and audio technology lecturer himself at a local polytechnic, Dolby Singapore’s staff content engineer Geoffrey Low has worked closely with Professor Zhou. “YST had been looking at immersive formats as a new area of research and teaching over the past three years,” explains
The new Dolby Atmos studio’s Avid S6 M40 16-fader control surface
Low. “With the development of Dolby Atmos offering end-to-end workflow and deliveries in theatres and home entertainment, YST reunited with IMS and Dolby to create a reference level studio. Their initial setup was an experimental 7.1.4 3D monitoring setup, so Professor Zhou took the decision to upgrade to a Dolby-certified 9.1.4 system.” IMS Mahajak Pro Audio was called upon to upgrade the Pro Tools setup. Up to 128 audio channels can be transmitted via DigiLink from the MTRX interface to the Dolby Atmos Rendering Master Unit (RMU) where the audio is then rendered in 3D. Following rendering, the encoded Dolby Atmos 9.1.4 mix is further equalised by the MTRX Studio B-chain unit that comes with SPQ processing cards, before being output to the JBL monitoring system. “Because of its stability and flexibility within the Dolby Atmos routing setup, we decided to adopt the Dante protocol for transporting the audio channels between Pro Tools [MTRX] and the Dolby Atmos RMU unit,” says IMS Mahajak Pro Audio product specialist, Edwin Wijaya. “All the devices are connected to a Gigabit network switch and the MTRX interface is loaded with an onboard Dante card for enabling audio signals to be routed to the RMU. The MTRX Studio serves as a monitoring controller for which the routing and source selection are configured within the Avid DADman software. This allows the mix producer to change the sources being played back.” Connected to a Dante switch and the S6 Eucon control surface, a Mac Pro computer is installed with a Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) application. Configured to be the Mac audio output device, audio can be played back from here using the iTunes and QuickTime players, web browsers or other DAWs. The studio can also stream Netflix or Disney+ content with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack via a Denon AV receiver that is connected to the MTRX Studio and a 75-inch Android TV display. Having commissioned the immersive studio environment, Low feels that the students can truly experience Dolby Atmos for home entertainment in addition to the new wave of growing entertainment providers such as Netflix and Disney+. “By selecting content from Netflix, for example, the multichannel
The studio is equipped with a Dolby-certified 9.1.4 system
52 PRO AVL ASIA May–June 2021
PAA Pg52-53 YST.indd 52
26/04/2021 11:58
L–R: