Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Freelance Sound Re-Recording Mixer Mike Aiton Relies on AJA Gear for Video and Remote Workflows

25/03/2021

Freelance Sound Re-Recording Mixer Mike Aiton Relies on AJA Gear for Video and Remote Workflows posted: 25/03/2021

As a seasoned freelance sound mixer with more than 30 years of experience, Mike Aiton has worked on a diverse range of projects spanning film, TV, and proAV. In addition to mixing and sound designing for Mikerophonics clients in his London studio, Mike also works remotely as a Solutions Architect on the Solutions Team for Source Elements, the leading real-time remote audio and video collaboration solutions provider. In both roles, he relies on gear from AJA Video Systems. When building remote collaboration workflows, he uses and recommends an AJA U-TAP SDI USB 3.0 capture device, and for independent sound to picture mixing projects, he'll harness either an AJA T-TAP Thunderbolt - powered SDI and HDMI output device or an AJA Io XT Thunderbolt-powered video and audio I/O box.

One lesson I've learned during COVID is that any emotional stress caused by unreliable gear can prove costly to the overall experience of all participants, which is why I love using and recommending AJA, Mike explained. AJA gear is simple to set up and configure and performs without fail. You simply plug it in, install the latest software updates, and you're working; there's no driver roulette' like with some other tools. In the case of U-TAP, it's not only bus powered, but class compliant on MacOS and Windows PCs, so there are no drivers at all.

To facilitate a remote mix and approval collaboration session, whether working with the director or a larger team, Mike typically outputs a referenced Avid Pro Tools Video Engine feed from his Io XT to a large display in his mixing studio using HDMI. He also sends the same feed via SDI (from a separate output on the Io XT) into an AJA U-TAP SDI to re-capture the feed and send it via USB 3.0 to a computer running Source Elements Source-Live Pro: Low Latency software. With this setup, the director, editors, or team members can see and hear Mike's work to picture in high quality with digital genlocked frame accuracy in full 1080 HD at up to 60fps, and in virtually real-time. The low latency that the setup provides makes it easy to involve the director in all of the important conversations live, and with a video chat window, everyone participating can comment on the mix with the utmost precision, without any lag in audio or video sync.

Source-Live Pro and U-TAP are a winning combination, as there is no computer CPU or GPU overhead from trying to capture screens or windows. Together, they allow me to reach out to the virtual global village of creative collaborators with an experience that largely mirrors the real world; my studio is extended out to them, and they can come into my studio from afar to collaborate interactively, Mike noted. U-TAP plays a huge role in enabling the workflow, and I love that it doesn't tie me down to a specific Mac or PC. Everything has USB 3.0 these days, so I can just plug U-TAP in, and it's recognized as a legitimate picture source. I can then easily capture a Pro Tools video engine stream, perfectly digitally in sync, via a BNC connector into a USB 3.0 capable computer.

Orchestra Record Workflow

Mike recently used this workflow for a project for Source Elements' presentation at the AES (Audio Engineering Society) conference. Using his AJA U-TAP with Source-Live Pro: Low Latency, he helped fuse a 5.1 classical music recording in Chicago, IL of the Synchron Stage Orchestra in Vienna with animated graphics and voice-over performed in Melbourne, Australia. Spread between seven cities worldwide, the creative team managing the project was able to access the visuals, the conductor-cam, and a live symphony stream in stereo, all via Source-Live Pro:Low latency.

They all ran the session together, allowing the director to ask the conductor to make adjustments in real-time, such as slowing down a bar to better match the visuals or changing the beaters of the tympanies to leave some bass frequencies free for the voice over. For the voice recording, Mike was able to control the remote voiceover's picture in Melbourne using Source Elements' Source-Connect RTL (Remote Time Line) solution, and simultaneously transmit the picture, the voice over, and the music mix to a studio in Chicago for approval. AJA U-TAP SDI captured the Pro Tools video engine output from his Io XT, and the output was then ingested into Source-Live Pro: Low Latency for broadcast to Chicago in virtually real time.

VO Remote Time Line Record Workflow

In these sort of remote collaboration environments, you have no control over the device with which people are watching the feed, so it's crucial to avoid any unnecessary video degradation, and I love that about my AJA gear. I can always be confident that it's not doing anything to degrade the signal quality. It's in sync, frame accurate, easy to use, and it just works, Mike concluded.

About AJA U-TAP

AJA U-TAP devices are 3G-SDI or HDMI USB 3.0 capture solutions that bring professional connectivity and high quality video capture to laptops and workstations. A bus-powered device with the ability to simply and easily bring in video across 3G-SDI or HDMI for use within a wide range of software without any drivers to install, U-TAP is supported directly in macOS , Windows and Linux . www.aja.com/products/u-tap-sdi and www.aja.com/products/u-tap-hdmi

About T-TAP Pro

T-TAP Pro is the newest generation of AJA's proven T-TAP device, featuring the latest 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 connectivity for working with up to 4K or UltraHD 60p video over a single cable. It allows for easy output of deep color, high frame rate, SDR and HDR video to a wide range of pro and consumer monitors and devices, all at the highest 10- and 12-bit quality. T-TAP Pro is a compact,
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/products/freelance-sound-re-record...
See more stories from liveproduction

Europe Stories

23/12/2024

Broadcast and the IT industry: an inevitable evolution?

At IBC2024, Grass Valley CTO Ian Fletcher told attendees at GV Forum that broadcast is now an IT industry. During our discussions at the show, TVBEurope heard v...

23/12/2024

Cracking creation: Fun facts from Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

According to co-director Nick Park, the production team embraced technology to help create the iconic duos latest adventure By Jenny Priestley Published: Dec...

23/12/2024

Mapping the great wave: how Lux Aeterna produced data-centric visuals for Tsunami: Race Against Time

VFX house Lux Aeterna used wave height data from the National Oceanic & Atmosphe...

23/12/2024

DAZN acquires Australia's Foxtel in $2.2 billion deal

We are committed to supporting and investing in Foxtel's television and streaming services, across both sports and entertainment, using our world-leading te...

23/12/2024

Looking back at 2024: the industry trends that stood out

From AI to IP, the cloud to virtual production, key industry executives take a look back at some of the biggest trends that impacted the media and entertainment...

23/12/2024

Leading Through Change: In Conversation with Michal Masset, Chief People Officer

With the holiday season in full swing, we are delighted to bring you a special digital event, Leading Through Change with Technicolor Group's Chief People O...

20/12/2024

Thinking of Launching a Podcast? Let Our New Guide Show You How

Podcasting has become one of the most popular ways to tell stories and connect with audiences, but getting started can be intimidating, especially when it comes...

20/12/2024

Spotify Presents the First-Ever Billions Club Live Show With The Weeknd

For any song to rack up billions of streams is an impressive accomplishment, but being a part of Spotify's Billions Club is something The Weeknd knows quite...

20/12/2024

Curl Up Under the Mistletoe With These Holiday Romance Audiobooks

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but if you seek an escape, pop in your headphones and enjoy the soothing sounds of a story. And this season, a rom...

20/12/2024

Revisit 2024 With Some of Your Favorite Podcasts From The Ringer

As the year draws to a close, Spotify's The Ringer is celebrating the best of 2024 with an exciting lineup of retrospective podcast episodes. This December,...

20/12/2024

Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Clear-Com Partnership Refines Communication for...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...

20/12/2024

Clear-Com Provides Communication Solutions at the 2024 Singapore Airlines Formula 1...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...

20/12/2024

Sport Lisboa e Benfica Enhances Stadium Communications with Clear-Com's Arcadia...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...

20/12/2024

Calrec recognised in Feed's Honours List

FEED Honours List | Calrec recognised by FEED for outstanding contribution to sports broadcast FEED's sports broadcast segment Xtreme is taking this opport...

20/12/2024

If you're IP and you know it, clap your hands

If you're IP and you know it, clap your hands (First published by TVB Europe) By Sid Stanley, General Manager at Calrec To mark World Television Day, Calr...

20/12/2024

Goal: Liverpool (assist: Wasabi)

Liverpool Football Club produces over 100 pieces of content every week across its linear TV channel, OTT platform and social media channels. LFC's Drew Cris...

20/12/2024

How AI is reshaping media workflows and competitive strategies

Media Excel CEO Narayanan Rajan ponders whether AI will be the catalyst for medias future, and suggests that companies need to embrace AI today or risk falling ...

20/12/2024

Catching the Christmas train

Filming one of the world's most scenic rail routes in the depths of winter needed a planning operation that was second to none. Sohail Shah, MD of King of S...

20/12/2024

Renderboxes unveils Photon transportable workstation

Compatible with the latest Nvidia RTX GPU, Photon delivers HEPC performance in a transportable chassis By Matthew Corrigan Published: December 20, 2024 Co...

20/12/2024

DCMS announces Creative Industries Taskforce members

The taskforce will inform the Creative Industries Sector Plan, which aims to boost economic growth under the wider Industrial Strategy By Matthew Corrigan Pu...

20/12/2024

Watch: TVBEurope's Story of 2024

TVBEurope takes its annual look back at the biggest events in the media and entertainment industry during 2024, from the rise of AI to major live events, its be...

20/12/2024

SES's Seventh and Eighth O3b mPOWER Satellites Successfully Launched, Bolstering MEO Constellation

Additional satellites bring incremental capacity to scale up services provided b...

20/12/2024

Rohde & Schwarz offers extended test capabilities for GMSL(TM)-based solutions

Rohde & Schwarz offers extended test capabilities for GMSL(TM)-based solutions Rohde & Schwarz has collaborated with Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) to create a wi...

20/12/2024

Give Back Friday: Mission Christmas

Christmas is known as the season of joy and gift-giving, but for many families across the UK, it is also a time of anxiety. With rising living costs and tight b...

20/12/2024

Cablefax Most Powerful Women: Our Vice President of Marketing Honored

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 20, 2024 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that the company's Vice President of Marketing, Pamela Gillies, has been recogniz...

20/12/2024

Comscore Expands Long-Term Local Currency Partnership with Gray Media to Include Advanced Audience Measurement in Multi-Year Agreement

Comscore Expands Long-Term Local Currency Partnership with Gray Media to Include...

20/12/2024

Cinegy Unlocks NVIDIA H.264 Interlace Encoding on NVIDIA GPUs

Munich, Germany 20th December 2024 - Cinegy announces the release of a new version of its Cinecoder video codec SDK that solves a fundamental problem for TV a...

20/12/2024

RT News Announces Aengus Cox as new Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Correspondent

RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Aengus Cox as its new Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Correspondent. Currently a multimedia journalist with ...

20/12/2024

RT is Supporting 13 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this January

Watch our promo https://about.rte.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/RTE-STA-January-2025.mp4...

19/12/2024

VEON Completes the Move of its Headquarters to Dubai

19 Dec 2024 VEON Completes the Move of its Headquarters to Dubai Dubai, 19 December 2024: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or the G...

19/12/2024

Teaser released for the re-imagined series of Bergerac on U and U&DRAMA

UKTV today releases a first look teaser for the upcoming re-imagined series of Bergerac (6x60') on U and U&DRAMA. The six-part U&Original series is produced...

19/12/2024

Sky Business backs pubs with PubAid sponsorship of PDC World Darts Championship Players

Sky Business backs pubs with PubAid sponsorship of PDC World Darts Championship ...

19/12/2024

CES 2025: Rohde & Schwarz unveils cutting-edge automotive testing innovations, to ADAS, electric drivetrain and connectivity

CES 2025: Rohde & Schwarz unveils cutting-edge automotive testing innovations, t...

19/12/2024

Pacha Passionate About CODA Audio

Founded in Ibiza in 1973, the international club brand Pacha has had a presence in Munich's city centre since 2000. As is the case for its other sites aroun...

19/12/2024

Thales to enhance vehicle access with reliable and secure contactless solutions

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Car industry players can rely on Thales to provide digital and physical solutions that improve car access experiences, while ens...

19/12/2024

SEACURE : a major European defence project led by Thales to prepare European navies for underwater warfare

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Within the framework of the European Defence Fun...

19/12/2024

Heartwarming documentary What Daire Did Next to air on RT over the Christmas season

Liverpool fan Daire Gorman takes us into his extraordinary world during a whirlw...

19/12/2024

Kabin Crew release brand new single Christmas Cipher

Kabin Crew's Christmas Special on RT One Christmas Eve | RT One at 5:15PM Watch Now: NEW Kabin Crew | Christmas Cipher Music Video | Kabin Crew&...

18/12/2024

Level Up Your Holiday Season With Spotify Jam

As we gather together with friends and family this holiday season, music helps amplify the memories we'll make. Spotify Jam is one way to create a personali...

18/12/2024

The Enchanting World of Wicked

Home Applications The Enchanting World of Wicked Wicked , the highly anticipated film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, has captivated audienc...

18/12/2024

New Partnership with Savana Comunicaes in Brazil

Calrec's Regional Sales Manager for Brazil, Mike Reddick says, The transition from baseband networks to more flexible and scalable IP infrastructures is de...

18/12/2024

Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera to launch in Q1 2025

The Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive is described as the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture Apple Immersive Video By Jenny Priestley ...

18/12/2024

Serious Fraud Office makes arrest in Arena Television investigation

A man in his 40s was arrested earlier this week as part of the SFOs ongoing investigation into the collapse of the company By Jenny Priestley Published: Dece...

18/12/2024

Meet the UK managing director

Richard Halton, UK MD, Roku, tells TVBEurope why every year feels like a revolution in the broadcast industry By Contributor Published: December 18, 2024 U...

18/12/2024

SES - publication as required by article 13 of the law of 11 January 2008 on transparency requirements for Issuers

Luxembourg, 11 December 2024 - For the purpose of the publication required by ar...

18/12/2024

UKTV goes Down Under for double Prospero commission

UKTV has commissioned two new series from Prospero Productions. Brit Cops Down Under (8x60) for U&W and The Legend of Outback Gold (w/t) (6x60) for U&YESTERDAY ...

18/12/2024

Inside Scoop | 10 For 10 With Kranti Sarma, Senior Vice President, MPC

As Senior Vice President of Creative Delivery and Production Operations at MPC India, Kranti Sarma, a member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts a...

18/12/2024

Romesh Ranganathan embarks on brand new travelogue series Can't Knock the Hustle' (working title) launching on Sky Max in 2025

Romesh Ranganathan embarks on brand new travelogue series Can't Knock the H...