Meeting Topic: the 2nd Swiss VDT meeting 2018
Moderator Name: Terry Nelson
Speaker Name: Christophe Sauder, VDT chairman
Meeting Location: Basel, Switzerland
The 23rd of June saw a joint meeting between the VDT Swiss Section and the Swiss Section of the AES. These joint meetings follow on from the initiative of the VDT chairman, Christophe Sauder, and are a welcome addition to the Swiss AES programme.
The all-day event started with a visit to the Radio Basel Studios (SRG) with special attention to the radio drama studio. As the premises are destined to become apartments in 2019 and the radio moved to new - and smaller - rooms, this would be the last opportunity to visit before the studio is dismantled.
Radio Basel not only features an impressive drama studio but also houses news and sports studios. An added feature is a small but comprehensive collection of equipment that traces the history of radio.
The drama studio would make a very good Foley stage for film and TV and also features voiceover booths, a large studio floor and control room overlooking the main floor.
Once again, it would appear that ´management' are out of touch with technical realities: the buzzword today is
"Immersive" and the studio would lend itself admirably to multichannel production. A smaller studio space is definitely a retrograde step.
Radio drama remains a powerful medium and the visitors were treated to several excerpts from recent productions before being invited to an excellent buffet lunch offered by Radio Basel.
The afternoon saw the meeting continuing with a visit to the new Oslo Studios in Munchenstein.
Oslo is purpose-built studio complex with an AV presentation room for events and seminars, several small production studios and a small mixing stage for film and television. The mix stage is the first Dolby Atmos room in Switzerland and participants were able to see - and hear - content in Dolby Atmos. The stage can naturally handle the more established formats such as 5.1 and 7.1 audio.
Monitoring is all-JBL with the M2 speakers for L-C-R and the console is an Avid S5 working with ProTools.
The AES Swiss Section would like thank the Swiss VDT, Radio Basel and Oslo studios for the organisation of this interesting joint event.
Written By: Terry Nelson
