Sarah and broadcaster Bob Jonescatch a moment with pianist andClassic FM presenter Myleene KlassFormer principal with the Royal BalletDarcey Bussell chats to the FlashMicGrabbing a few seconds withsinger and TV star Amy NuttallOn the red carpet with violinistNicola BenedettiThe great Plácido Domingo talks tothe FlashMicBackstage with mezzo-sopranoKatherine JenkinsCLASSIC FM AT THECLASSICAL BRIT AWARDSCovering the Classical BRIT Awards in London for Classic FM, journalist Sarah Kirkupused her HHB FlashMic Digital Recording Microphone to gather interviews for Classic FMMagazine, and for broadcast on air and via podcasts.“With no fiddly cables, the FlashMic was so easy to use” comments Sarah, who also picked up on the effectthat the FlashMic’s physical presence had on potential interview subjects. “Everyone on the red carpetseemed happy to stop and speak into the FlashMic and I’m not sure that that would have been the casewith other handheld recorders. The sound quality of the FlashMic is so good that I only had to listen to eachinterview once when transcribing for print, and locating and downloading the interviews for broadcast couldnot have been more straightforward.”Listen to Classic FM ‘Arts Daily’ podcasts at www.classicfm.comFlashMic combines a studio quality mic capsule with a broadcastquality Flash recorder and USB file transfer.Used by broadcastersand news organisationsworldwide, FlashMic is theone thing a seriousjournalist is never without.Classic FM journalist Sarah Kirkup interviews opera star Natasha Marsh with the HHB FlashMic at the Classical BRIT Awards in LondonSEND US YOURFLASHMIC CASE STUDYAnd you could win a great prize. Visit www.flashmic.info for detailsFLASHMIC RANGEDRM85 Omni-directional digital recording microphoneDRM85-C Cardioid digital recording microphoneDRM85LI Omni-directional digital recording microphone with line inputDRM85-CLI Cardioid digital recording microphone with line inputwww.flashmic.infoHHB Communications Ltd T: +44 (0)20 8962 5000 E: sales@hhb.co.ukIn the USA and Latin America: Sennheiser Electronic Corporation T: 860 434 9190 E: HHBSales@sennheiserusa.comIn Canada: HHB Communications Canada Ltd T: 416 867 9000 E: sales@hhbcanada.com
what’s upUKwhatsupuk@audiomedia.comCranes dominate the urban skylines of the UKright now. Around London and to the southand the north, the spindly-armed giants canbe seen for miles. Many of the projects are newapartment buildings. Others are colleges. Then thereare the media centres. Greater Manchester is seeingall three of these springing up, creating new districtsaround the city centre.<strong>Media</strong>City:UK is the most high profile of these.Being built at Salford Quays, the old wharf area on theManchester Ship Canal is where raw materials werebrought in and finished goods sent out to around theworld during the industrial heyday of the Two Cities.It has already seen a great deal of regeneration,notably the acclaimed Lowry Centre, celebratingthe work of local artist LS Lowry, and the obligatoryapartment blocks; but now the broadcast complexesare being built.This private property development by PeelHoldings moved on from running mills in Manchesterand Salford during the 1920s to owning land andbuildings around the world. In its portfolio arethe Manchester Ship Canal, John Lennon Airportin Liverpool, the Clydesport docks <strong>Media</strong>City:UK inScotland, and a stake in UK Coal.<strong>Media</strong>City:UK is to be the new home for fiveBBC departments, but the area’s film and TV life isalready underway through the Pie Factory, a jointventure between Peel Holdings subsidiary Peel<strong>Media</strong> and local post-production facility, Sumners.Previously a freshbake pie factory, the facility hasthree sound stages, equipment stores and offices; andthe premises of ancillary companies offering casting,lighting hire and crewing services now occupy whatwere food stockrooms, preparation areas, and themassive ovens.Sumners was founded 15 years ago in centralManchester by former Granada Television film/VTeditors Andy and Janet Sumner, and has 35 videoedit rooms and four Pro Tools-based sound suites.Peel Holdings approached Sumners two years agowhen it was looking for ideas as to how <strong>Media</strong>City:UKcould progress in the future. Andy Sumner says PeelKEVIN HILTON finds what the Pie Factory can offer to Manchester’s TV and film industries. And it’s not puff pastries.EuropeMoving To Manchesterwas looking to build something along the lines ofPinewood Shepperton studios in Manchester.The developer’s media ambitions are clear;at that time it already held a stake in Pinewood,which was recently increased to 20.4 percent,and now it is creating its own complex.“They asked for advice about the studios and thenasked if I would run them on their behalf,” saysSumner. “What we’ve done withSumners over the years is buildup a production centre andwe’re applying that model to thePie Factory, which in turn is theblueprint and the hub for themarketing of <strong>Media</strong>City.”The Pie Factory studiocentre is by no means finished.The big sound stages – namedManchester, Salford, and Leeds– have been operating sincethe beginning of 2007; the solidconstruction of the building lent itself to this new lifeand the thick walls just needed rock wool and fireresistant cloth to be added for more effective acousticisolation. The loading bays mean that equipment canbe brought in and out easily.In the year since opening the Pie Factory hasworked on TV productions including Smalltime forBBC Comedy, Cold Blood (Granada/ITV) and DropDead Gorgeous (Hat Trick). Sitting in reception onecould be almost be in a London studio centre, withmessengers and extras walking in and out. And there,carrying a cup of tea, is veteran director Ken Loach,who is in the city making a film about ManchesterUnited football hero Eric Cantona.Outside broadcast companies NEC Visions andBBC OBs, bought by sports media and uplinkinggroup SIS (Satellite Information Services) at the endof March, both have trucks on site and rent officespace. Sumner says that for TV programmes needinga control room a scanner truck can be backed up to aloading bay for easy access. “The fact that both Visionsand SIS are here offers producers a competitivechoice.” That certainly fits in with SIS’s plans for itsnew acquisition.As well as maintaining its current contracts likeBSkyB and Setanta, which would never have hiredBBC OBs, Chief Executive David Holdsworth iskeen to move into what he calls “non-traditional OBareas”, which include studio-based programmes thatrely on trucks rather than permanent productiongalleries, and expanding itssound operations.But attention is still focusedon the BBC move. In May2007, Director General MarkThompson confirmed thelong-standing intention torelocate BBC Children’s, BBCChildren’s Learning, BBC Sport,parts of BBC Future <strong>Media</strong> andTechnology, and the sports andnews radio station BBC RadioFive Live to <strong>Media</strong>City:UK by2011, creating “a multimedia digital broadcastingfacility from scratch”.The plan is to hand over the BBC centre, which willhave a hotel above the studios, during the first quarterof 2010. This will give the broadcaster enough time toget the complex running, ready for the Olympics in2012. This gives the impression that <strong>Media</strong>City:UKis all about the BBC. “We have a 200-acre site hereand the BBC is only ten percent of it,” Andy Sumnercounters. Others with plans to take up residenceare Granada TV, the commercial broadcaster for thearea, and its studio’s joint venture with the BBC,3sixtymedia, although this is still to be confirmed.The University of Salford’s post-graduate mediastudies course will also have a presence.And at some point Sumners itself will moveat least part of its operation to Salford Quays.Andy Sumner observes that broadcast television isgoing through changes, with multimedia and datadelivery having an immeasurable influence. “The faceof media is changing,” he concludes,” and that’s theconcept behind what we’re doing here.” ∫“CAN YOU RECOVER MY DATA?”Choosing a storage system is not only about speed and capacity... it’sabout the support you’ll get when you need it most.Accidental deletion, data corruption, or hard drive failure can happen, the question is howwill the manufacturer help you? Most drive vendors simply re-format returned drives.Glyph takes the opposite approach with your data: we make every effort to keep it safe.TWO YEARS FREE DATA RECOVERY.Using hardware and software tools, we’ll do our best to recover data on yourGlyph drive, and move it to a replacement drive, FOR FREE, in the first twoyears of warranty - It’s our policy, that’s what we do.Steyler Str. 121 D-41334 Nettetalwww.glyphtech.com16Store in a cool place..AUDIO MEDIA NOVEMBER 2005AUDIO MEDIA MAY 2008
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