Founded in 2002, London Metropolitan University is the largest single university in London and one of the largest in the UK, with over 25,000 students including 7000 international students from over 155 countries. It is one of the foremost providers of undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and vocational education in Britain and has an enviable international reputation for constant and creative educational innovation.
This forward thinking attitude is perfectly characterized by the opening of its suite of professional video editing studios and 5.1 digital audio recording studios to coincide with the launch of a new SA Honours sound & media course and the acquisition of three Yamaha DM2000VCM mixing consoles which form the heart of the new facility. The studios have also been designed to be capable of full professional commercial use and consist of three control rooms of equal size all identically equipped with full (high-definition) 5.1 monitoring, thus providing one industry standard system for students. The suite has also been configured to enable simultaneous recording from the live room to all the control rooms, allowing instantly comparable results. Any of the spaces can be transformed into control or live rooms, with up to six live rooms available to a single control room, all interlinked via Cat 5 data and audio wall- box systems.
Course leader Javier Garavaglia comments “We are seeing a tremendous upsurge in the number of people seeking full-time careers in sound & media. Things are changing fast and we need to stay ahead of the game. The fast pace of change is providing new opportunities for our students in areas such as website design, computer games and CGI. Our world-class facilities will equip our students with the knowledge and experience to compete in these new areas. The new system also needs to support our existing BA courses and, therefore, we needed a creative approach and a fully flexible platform for sound design for the media, especially video.
The studios were installed by West London-based total audio solutions specialists, Pro Music International (PMI). PMI owner Paul Rayner-Brown, who is also a council member at London Met, worked closely with department head Dave Horn and Yamaha Commercial Audio to ensure that the facilities offered both a flexible configuration and maximum educational and commercial capability. PMI recommended and installed a 1Gb data system that makes it possible to move a project quickly between suites without having to transfer or back up data. This is a professional capability unusual even in many professional studios. Simultaneous access to data also enables students to work at their own speed.
PMI Managing Director Paul Rayner-Brown comments, "Ability to work in Hi Def is key in the current industry climate. The BBC recently announced the merging of Off Line and On Line editing, and intends to install 400 new Final Cut Pro HD workstations for this High Definition work. Indies will have to follow this lead, and all will need qualified personnel. The new London Met facility enables students to obtain the practical skills needed. The Yamaha DM2000VCM consoles were an industry standard first choice for The Met and with its Genelec 5.1 audio monitoring, we’ve taken the installation to a level even the BBC may not yet be able to reach."
For additional information please visit www.londonmet.ac.uk
About
Yamaha Commercial Audio is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of professional audio products for a wide range of applications including live sound reinforcement, post production, recording, worship and broadcast. With a world-wide presence, Yamaha’s Commercial Audio subsidiaries and dealer networks provide comprehensive local services backed by a global Yamaha CA support policy.
