Maryland Public Television used two Hydra Networked Calrec Alpha consoles to cover a performance of Baltimore’s Soulful Symphony, an orchestral and choral group.
The performance, “Song in a Strange Land,” traces African-American music from its origins through the jazz age.
The 90-minute HD program is set for air in late February as part of the organization’s Artwork series.
"I am always impressed by the solid performance of the Calrec Alpha consoles and how well they are integrated via the Hydra Networking System," said Jim Bigwood, audio supervisor at MPT. "For this enormous project, we also added a borrowed remote input/output box (RIOB), and frankly, I was apprehensive about the headaches of integrating a new piece of equipment into the system. As it turned out, there were none. To my mind, this is another example of Calrec's flexible, robust, and functional technology."
MPT decided not to attempt a mixdown during the Soulful Symphony’s performance; but instead to make a multitrack audio recording and then perform the final mix in post production.
The public broadcaster’s largest facility—Studio A—was taxed by the project. The large number of performers, coupled with multiple cameras and other production hardware squeezed out any hope of accommodating a standalone multitrack rig and its accompanying operator.
To ease the crunch, Studio Consultants, Calrec’s Eastern United Stated distributor, loaned the needed remote input/output box and offered additional support. The added hardware provided a total of 80 inputs and 72 outputs and was tied to two Calrec Alpha audio consoles in separate control rooms at the MPT facility via a Hydra Network system, allowing the production to move forward.
