N E SMA Studios’ THX Room W S

P R O F I L E MA Studios is the latest addition to Sydney’s everything you see and hear – the screen, speakers, the growing number of post production facilities. SMA signal path to the speakers and the EQs etc. The A-chain S(Satellite Music Australia) provides satellite is what feeds the B-chain – so in a cinema the A-chain broadcast of music programs to establishments such as involves factors such as the Dolby decoding, and in a Star City Casino and Woolworths shopping centres – in vision sense it’s the projection system and the actual simple terms, think of them as a ‘Sky Channel’ radio. print of the film. Here ’re concerned with the B-chain. Recently SMA has expanded its services to include audio So the acoustics of the room, the speakers, the amps... post production with the completion of Australia’s first the chain between the volume control and the amps and and, to date, only THX pm3-approved studio. I had the speaker, along with the noise floor and the isolation. opportunity to chat with SMA’s General Manager, David BW: So does stipulate the equipment you use? Raines, about the new room... but firstly a little about DR: They do, but only to a certain extent – they have a list what THX actually is. of approved equipment that you can choose from. In our THX is fundamentally a set of standards devised by case we used JBL LSR28 for the front L/C/R monitors, the Lucasfilm in the early ‘80s. The THX label comes JBL subs, and Miller & Kreisel MPS 1525 speakers for the from ’ first feature film, THX 1138. Mr Lucas surrounds. There’s a lot to choose from – a lot of it being decided that if a film was to sound exactly as when it was theatre equipment. They then specify speaker position, made, theatres would have to exhibit a set of identical speaker angles, and the position of the speakers in relation characteristics. The standard takes into account factors to the video monitor. This is all done relative to where the such as the equipment used, the noise floor of the room, engineer is sitting – much as you’d expect when you monitor placement, room isolation and acoustics, equali- design any mix studio or control room. In a room like this sation, reverberation times... and the list goes on. In the it’s set up far more for the engineer than the client’s case of a studio, it results in a room that is capable of listening position because it is a comparatively small producing product that’s exactly reproducible in THX- space. Once you’ve designed and built the room, THX approved theatres. The pm3 variety of THX is a set of engineers come and test and calibrate the room for a few requirements for multi-channel surround mixing. days and, once they’re satisfied the room meets the Brad Watts: So what’s involved with gaining the THX standard, you get approval. That allows you to display the stamp of approval? THX symbol on your product. With this room we actually David Raines: The way it works is that you begin by exceeded THX’s requirements for the noise floor of the paying Lucasfilm a licensing fee – which effectively gives room. You’ll notice the only noise you can hear is the DVD you the right to ask them how to build your studio. From player spinning. With the dynamic range required for film there, Lucasfilm guides you through the specifications you need that silence. and requirements of the room you intend to build. It’s BW: So who’s looking at using the room? Any calls more or less a collaborative effort between the facility from Baz, Russell or Tom? and the THX people the whole way. Gerald Stewart from DR: Well, the room is approved for film mixing but we’re ITC in Sydney is the man responsible for the design here, aiming more at work in high definition TV, DVD audio so there’s been considerable communication between mixing and multimedia production. We envisage a lot of him and THX. You send them information about the size work here will involve mixing for other 5.1 rooms that of the room, mix and listening positions, that sort of aren’t standardised. They then know their product will thing – all the information that pertains to the ‘B-chain’. translate correctly – it’s like being a mastering room for BW: The which train? 5.1 surround. DR: The B-chain. THX define everything in a movie SMA Studios: (02) 9566 7777 theatre as either ‘A-chain’ or ‘B-chain’. The B-chain is AT

26