at Arizona State University, featuring a Dolby 7.1.4 Atmos system composed of Genelec Smart Active Monitors. Photo: Qianhui Ma
Tempe, AZ (March 27, 2023)—The new Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center, home to The Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University (ASU), houses mix, scoring, ADR and Foley studios, audio post rooms, video editing and color grading suites and classrooms all outfitted with Genelec monitors.
A new 118,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is in Mesa, AZ, seven miles from the University’s main Tempe campus. Located within the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, it hosts The Poitier Film School’s 750 undergraduate film majors. The Poitier Film School offers students a curriculum in film and media production and filmmaking practices, as well as enabling students to earn a four-year degree in film with access to industry-standard production facilities and equipment.
The emphasis on audio at the facility, which opened for the fall 2022 semester, is made clear by how much of it is dedicated to sound: three main studios focused on mixing, ADR/scoring, and foley, are all equipped with immersive Dolby 7.1.4 Atmos systems. The main mix control room, which is also a 25-seat classroom, is capable of 3rd-order ambisonics monitoring. There are also three 5.1-surround-capable audio editing rooms, three 30-seat computer labs and 16 video edit bays with three of those focused on color grading, as well as a color grading classroom.
The components were sourced through the Burbank, California-based firm ALT Systems, who were also involved with the installation and calibration of the systems.
ASU MIX Center Opens, Focused on Immersive Media
Every room, from the 7.1.4 spaces to the stereo-oriented video editing rooms, has Genelec active monitors which creates a sonically consistent environment through the entire facility. For instance, the three largest mixing rooms use Genelec 8351B Smart Active Monitors as their LCR array and 8341As for the surrounds and overheads, with a pair of 7370A subwoofers.
The 5.1 audio-editing studios and two video-forwarded computer labs, which are heavily used for film, TV, streaming, game design and a diverse set of student projects, each use five 8330A monitors and a 7360A subwoofer. The audio-forwarded computer lab has a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos set with additional side and overhead monitors.
The color grading and QC classroom is Atmos-capable. The video editing bays are set up for 7.1, and the rest are configured for stereo monitoring with a combination of Genelec 8020D, 8030C, and 8040B monitors, plus 7360A subs.
“I’ve been using Genelec monitors for about two decades,” says Prof. Rodrigo Meirelles, Clinical Assistant Professor of Sound Design/Film and Media at The Poitier Film School at ASU. “Monitoring choices can be a matter of personal taste, but here we needed a near-field monitoring solution that we not only trusted but also could apply as seamlessly as possible to the entire facility, that could quickly switch between monitor combinations and configurations that our projects might call for.”
