With a year full of promise ahead, Valhalla Studios New York continue their commitment to immersive audio and to provide excellence to clients of all genres and media, while expanding their participation in a groundbreaking solution in audio production that connects creators and audiences around the globe like never before. The name of this solution: Remote Recording, aptly captioned “Around the world in 80 milliseconds”.
On November 22 and 23, 2020 Remote Recording Network (RRN), Riedel Communications, Valhalla Studios New York, TV Skyline, The Black Project, and 13 other partners collaborated in the production of a landmark virtual live event that brought together teams working remotely across four countries and three continents. Headed by Peter Brandt, CEO of RRN, the show represented the first-ever fully decentralized production of a live, global music event.
On Nov 22 the live-streamed program opened with German artist Purple Schulz playing an intimate, center-stage concert in the One2One Studio in Bottrop, Germany, with Stephan Ullrich and Daniel Klein thrilling audiences with a performative reading on Nov. 23. iPads placed in seating positions around the stage enabled interaction between the streaming audience and the artists, adding a powerful immersive element and making the event more tangible for all.
The on-site production team worked with a minimal cast, with the director working remotely and in real time from Vienna, the lighting designer from Munich, and the lighting operator from Frankfurt. FOH and broadcast sound was mixed in Cologne, and the parallel sound recording was controlled in 5.1.4 from Valhalla Studios in New York. The TV Skyline Skycenter in Mainz acted as a hub for camera control, image mixing, and stream delivery, while teams in Berlin managed quality control and remote audience aspects.
The technological heart of the production was the Riedel ROC, the communications and signal control center through which all remote production connections converged. The ROC team managed, programmed, and monitored all intercom signals, data streams, audio feeds, and CCTV feeds.
“Created five years ago, RRN’s RemoteShowProductions concept was designed for different times — but it has taken on special momentum given the global situation over the past few months,” Brandt said. “This production not only demonstrates the ability of the technical disciplines involved to remotely control an entire show, but also provides a blueprint for future applications in a wide variety of genres. This revolutionary form of remote production enables a completely new concert, event, or theater experience, is much more sustainable, saves budgets, and thus creates jobs as well as financial and creative flexibility.”
“This is an amazing solution for artists and creators everywhere!” said Ronald Prent, Valhalla Studios New York’s Head Recording and Mixing Engineer. “This opens a whole new world of opportunity, and we are excited to be part of it!”
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Photo credits: Thomas Holz Showphotography / Riedel
