Award-winning sound mixer Terry Fountain is using Fairlight’s new Pyxis-MT on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” syndicated nationally by Warner Bros. Television. Pyxis-MT is a versatile audio and video capture, playback and file transfer system that acts as a full-featured HD nonlinear recorder/player with a 192-track audio recorder. The system can record up to 96 tracks of sample-locked, floating-point audio along with HD video. HD and tapeless, the facility was specified by consultant David Crivelli for Telepictures on Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the Warner studios and built and engineered by systems integrator National Teleconsultants.
To ensure that the show captures the excitement of the on-stage performances, rehearsals are shot in sequence in real time, with the Fairlight capturing 48 tracks of audio along with video. The mixer, along with the music guest engineer, can replay the rehearsal and modify EQ, balances and dynamics of every input until all parties are happy. These parameters are then saved for use during the recording of the show, virtually eliminating the need for remixing while still allowing adjustments should there be any issues from the guest artist.
The Pyxis-MT is connected via MADI to a Studer Vista mixing console, where the final mix is carried out. Post production can instantly locate the exact point where a remix is required, make changes, copy/paste with time stamp and export as necessary. This allows editors to seamlessly drop the newly mixed audio back into the timeline prior to the delivery of the show for air. In addition, the system includes a Blackmagic Design HDLink video card that makes it easy to archive and retrieve audio and video from previous shows if the material needs to be repurposed. Because the Fairlight has video capabilities built in, there is no need to repurpose video servers to work with the workstation for video accompaniment.
For more information, visit http://www.fairlightus.com/products-pyxis.html.
