Audio post facilities The Surround Factory in North Hollywood, Calif., and Arvintel Media Productions in Marietta, Ga., which have worked in partnership over the past 10 years dubbing films, cartoons and commercials into English and Spanish, announced that they have “gone paperless” by adopting Apple’s iPad to display scripts for voice-over talent. The Surround Factory states that the two facilities had discovered Avatron Software’s Air Display software, which allows an iPad to act as a wireless display for a Mac OS X computer. The Air Display support software is compatible only with Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Intel only) or greater. The Surround Factory found a way of sending a computer screen’s image to an iPad located 25 feet away.
Actor Camille LeBry uses an iPad to read a script for a dubbing session.
“I found the Air Display app on the iTunes store and thought it sounded useful to be able to just extend your laptop monitor, which is basically what they advertise the app to do, but I wanted to find a way if making it more useful and wanted to know if it would work using the iPad 25 feet away,” says Peter McDonald, president of The Surround Factory. “As they have to be on the same network, as long as the iPad can pick up your wireless Internet signal, then it will work. You have to go to the display preferences in your computer and click the Mirror Monitor box. It just clicked into my head that this would save so much ink and paper if every studio did this. Arvintel Media Productions and I first used the concept last week recording voice-over, and it worked like a dream.
“We open an Excel file on the computer in front of the director and the software sends it to the iPad,” explains McDonald. “When the director highlights the appropriate script lines on his computer screen, the information is received on the iPad directly in front of the voice talent. This allows the actor to concentrate on acting without having to shuffle through script pages. The process is sped up, giving the session a much better flow.”
McDonald says that the benefits of a paperless studio include saving paper and ink; instant line changes; an illuminated script that is easier to read; and a reduction of time spent on printing out scripts.
For more information on Air Display software, and to download a copy, go to Avatron’s Website.
Air Diplay is also available for $9.99 from the Apple iTunes Store.
Visit the Surround Factory at www.surroundfactory.com and Arvintel Media at www.arvintelmedia.com.
