Cutting Edge Double Up on Calrec
Australia’s largest operator of HD capable OB vans is expanding…and is on the road with two brand new Calrec consoles.
With facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin and London, Cutting Edge has installed an 48 fader Omega with Bluefin console as part of a major overhaul of its existing OB 5 unit.
Meanwhile a 56 fader Sigma will be installed into OB4, Cutting Edge’s brand new unit due to hit the road in August. OB 4 is the company’s fifth remote unit and is a quad expansion vehicle with over 60 sq metres of internal floor space. It will support up to 48 cameras and will be the flagship of Cutting Edge’s fleet.
“The Calrec consoles will enable us to offer producers and audio directors much more bang for their buck in a small footprint,” says Cutting Edge Business Development Manager Peter Laird.
“Calrec’s Bluefin generation of desks have more I/O and processing in a limited space…with these consoles we are able to triple our previous capacity, which is necessary to accommodate the needs for growing 5.1 surround sound demands. They also offer unparalleled efficiency and accuracy through the digital interface - this is especially important to us in helping reduce rig times for OB’s.
“Setup recalls from location to location is a very useful feature, and the on-board AFV (Audio Follow Vision) feature which uses the desks’ extensive GPIO facilities, enables the vision mixer to automatically fade up and down specific channels, which is a real benefit to us, rather than using 3rd party boxes to achieve the desired results.”
Cutting Edge is one of Australia’s biggest production and post production houses. Its OB division has worked on a wide variety of productions including Australian Football League for Network Ten, and national cricket coverage, Super 14’s (National Rugby Football), NRL (National Rugby League), NBL (National Basketball League) and A-League football, all for Fox Sports. For the last two years Cutting Edge has also provided full broadcast and post facilities on Big Brother for Ten.
“The refit for OB5 is now complete, and was onsite for its first job in Sydney the day after its completion!” adds Peter. “OB4 is scheduled to hit the road by the end of August 2007, ready for the Network Ten AFL finals, produced in 5.1 surround sound.“
The Cutting Edge Sigma will be on display on the Synchrotech Systems Design stand on SMPTE, stand no: HO4
