DMT completes HKAPA Sound for Film and Television School upgrade
Published: ASIA
CHINA: Situated in close proximity to the Conference & Exhibition Centre, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) provides comprehensive and performance focused training for students who wish to become professional performers, filmmakers, composers and teachers of music. Hong Kong continues to experience a rapid and continuing expansion of the performing arts, with a corresponding rise in job opportunities. Courses in Chinese and western music run side-by-side, with students choosing to major in a Chinese instrument, a western instrument, voice, or composition and electronic music. A mixture of dance, drama, music, theatre and entertainment arts, film and television and Chinese traditional theatre are all extensively covered.
Upstairs in the Sound for Film and Television School, technical manager Joe Wong appears relaxed at the end of a day of tuition sat at the helm of the SSL C10HD console recently installed by Ideal Systems, for whom Alex Wong was the project manager involved.
‘It took eight years to finally get the upgrade to our facilities,’ he attests, ‘but it was worth the wait.’ Following a submission to the Home Affairs Bureau department to upgrade the film and television studio in 2005, the school was finally given approval in 2007. Unfortunately, two years in entertainment technology proved to be a long time and most of the equipment that had been requested just 24 months earlier was deemed to be out of date. Following another resubmission, the same government body finally approved the application but only several years later owing to budget constraints.
‘We opted for an SSL C10HD console supplied by Digital Media Technology Ltd (DMT) as it is easy for our students to learn and operate on and offers many functions. It was an easy decision for us to make as we can use the C10HD for both post production tuition with Pro Tools in addition to broadcast surround sound. Employing it as two separate systems in live TV and postproduction is a distinct advantage when you have a limited budget.’
In addition, DMT – subcontracted by Ideal Systems to handle the audio system design – also supplied a Universal Audio UA2610 mic pre for the audio booth to add warmth on the vocals, plus a surround sound system comprising a PMC twotwo.6 with an SB100 sub. In the adjacent Master Control Room, there is an extensive upgrade consisting of Grass Valley digital production switchers, EVS LSM servers, Sony HDC1400 cameras with RCP-1500 camera controllers and Leviton GLT8724 lighting controllers. The students can either enrol for a four year degree course or two years masters course, in which they immerse themselves in all facets of live TV production.