Edinburgh College has opened a new Dolby Atmos audio production studio, choosing the Audient ORIA immersive audio interface and monitor controller as a key part of the new 7.1.4 setup.
“integration and the easy calibration of the system was very, very simple”
Head of School Media, Music & Sound Production Jonathan Bennett says, “As the industry between media, music and sound production moves more and more towards spatial and interactive audio, it’s brilliant that we’ve been able to realise such an ambitious space such as this one to give our students the skills they need to succeed.”
Lead technician, Steve Galbraith and his colleague Gordon Young were instrumental in building the studio. Gordon explains how they went about choosing an interface for the room: “We looked at a whole range of solutions, but most of them appeared to have some kind of half-measure. The Audient ORIA was the first box to come to market that had an entirely in the box solution to Dolby Atmos. The integration and the easy calibration of the system was very, very simple.”
“the move towards immersive audio production was the natural next step”
Edinburgh College already had a number of 5.1 equipped studios, so making the move towards immersive audio production was the natural next step. Steve Galbraith expounds on the progression to a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 layout. “We have seven speakers on a horizontal plane, a lovely great big sub in the corner and then our four height channels in the ceiling. The full Dolby Atmos setup gives us that full surround ‘dome’, if you like, over the entire audience and really allows for a much more immersive system.”
He continues, “We’ve also managed to build an entire Foley floor which is integrated into our seating riser. Really just something so conceptually simple as that really just opens up the possibilities for the room.”
Indeed, this studio space is already a hit with students. BA (Hons) Audio Production degree student James Sanderson says, “If you’re doing something towards a big project like a video game or a film, it’s very unique. There’s so much that you can do.” The possibility of “being able to experiment and further your knowledge,” is important to him.
Fellow Audio Production student, Jack Tidy agrees: “You’re getting a more hands-on experience with the mixer, the Dolby Atmos sound and the ORIA – just the sound of the room makes it more prominent.”
Edinburgh College prides itself in being one of the largest music and sound productions schools in Scotland, with world-class facilities available across two campuses. There are two 125+ seat auditoriums, over 10 highly spec’d recording studios (all with a suite of outboard and industry-standard software), 100+ fully equipped brand-new Mac workstations and a suite of rehearsal rooms, all bookable by the students.
ORIA: “an entirely in the box solution to Dolby Atmos”
Jonathan Bennett concludes, “Not only is this space for our students, it’s also to encourage the industry to come in as we continue to grow our collaboration between our students, the industry and our communities.”
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