Trusting HHB Communications and Genelec’s GLM to have the room sounding right
Established in 1995 by MD Balvinder Singh Sanghera, runVT is one of the longest-serving post houses in the UK, known for their friendliness and high-quality broadcast content they deliver. In the past year the post-house has experienced a sharp increase in demand for their services. This demand enabled runVT to expand, initially recruiting more dubbing mixers and then adding to the facilities capabilities. They have recently worked with HHB Communications and built an all new future proof 5.1 mixing suite.
During the pandemic runVT expanded their team of mixers which initially did not impact the team due to work from home orders. To best follow the government’s mandate during the height of the pandemic, much of the work was done at a home set up and then brought into the studio to finalise the mix. With London opening there began to be logistical issues with multiple mixers having clients who are now willing and able to come in for reviews. Committed to their team’s well-being and to meeting their client’s needs, runVT made the decision to invest in adding a second mixing suite.
“Once the decision was made, we had four weeks to execute,” explains Happy Chhokar, Director of Operations and Business Development at runVT. “We wanted to get a suite built so that we could best meet the needs of our clients and make the lives of our team easier. We knew we had to make the jump and were happy to do so with HHB.”
Thaddaios Yianni, Dubbing Mixer at runVT, spearheaded the project and worked closely with Steve Jones at HHB to ensure the room would be expandable and able to match runVT’s current mixing suite. They also enlisted the help of Nick Langley, owner of Audio Schemes to design and build the studio. Nick was able to add the right amount of acoustic treatment while maintaining the unique look and feel that runTV is known for. Once that was completed Steve went about ensuring that the new room had the right tools. The two rooms are to be used interchangeably and the rooms sound needed to match as closely as possible. The team was also committed to building a room that would be able to expand upon its capabilities as needed.
Already partial to the sound of Genelec speakers due to their flat response and clear sound, runVT chose five 8330As and a 7360A subwoofer. A key reason behind choosing the SAM range of Genelec speakers is the use of the GLM system. GLM technology helps to ensure that the sound of the room matches that of their other mixing suite. Thaddaios adds, “GLM makes me feel confident in the rooms and our monitors allow me to feel confident that I’ll be able to catch and correct my mix, so nothing comes as a surprise during a review”
With the sound of the room ensured by the Genelec monitors the next decision the runVT team needed to make was regarding the console. There were two important factors in choosing the right console for the room. The first was that Happy and Thad were primarily concerned with ensuring the room was as future proof as possible. As technology trends in audio are constantly changing as are the demands of the market. Having the right technology that would allow for expansion was key. Then the room had its own physical constraints that necessitated a smaller format console.
For runVT it was a decision between the various Avid control surfaces, and it quickly boiled down to either two S1s and a dock, or an S4. Although the team found the S1 extremely versatile and well designed, they eventually decided that the S4 was the best choice due to the additional functionality. The S4 has four times as many encoder knobs per strip, more easily configurable spill zones and a huge amount of soft key functions that are accessible and customisable.
“The S4 just fit our needs from functionality to the size for our room. We had to get to work mixing with it immediately and have been busy on it since, it’s been a dream. Super intuitive and already speeding our workflow, everything in Pro Tools just seems right at my fingertips. We’ve been particularly enjoying using Routing Folders in conjunction with spill zones and I am sure there is a lot more to discover. Then we went with the MTRX Studio, which opened us up to the world of Dante. Making it that much easier for us to expand, whereas before it would be a much bigger decision to rewire the room.” says Thaddaios.
“It was a pleasure working with Happy, Thad and the rest of the runVT team on this project. The kit they chose is perfect for the space and sets them up for years to come.” says Steve Jones, Account Manager at HHB, “Great to see the suite up and running – can’t wait to see what runVT are working on next.”
