Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
23/11/2017

Nugen Audio Provides Precision For Sound Designer Mark Henry Phillips

News Image
Mark Henry Phillips is a composer, sound designer and producer who has worked on a variety of podcasts, films, radio and TV shows. He trusts NUGEN Audio and its VisLM-H2 loudness meter and ISL 2 real time, true peak limiter for all of his loudness needs. This encompasses several seminal podcasts including the first seasons of Serial, Homecoming, and StartUp.

Phillips said: "I know how important loudness precision can be when working in post-production. When I first started working in post, I acquired several NUGEN Audio products and started using them on all my projects. I've really been enjoying VisLM because it saves me time by remembering the loudness for the entire project and lets me adjust the volume accordingly. It's highly intuitive and clearly designed by people who understand post-production workflows."

Phillips used VisLM on Season 1 of the extremely popular podcast, Serial.

He continued: "The main character on the show was recorded over a bad phone line because he was in prison, so sometimes the audio tended to be louder than the rest of the dialogue. It was about balancing the information from the VisLM with what I was hearing to come up with a level that was in the perfect spot. VisLM was like an assistant always keeping an eye on the loudness and making sure things didn't get out of control."

On the first season of the Homecoming podcast, Phillips used both VisLM and ISL. "I was always keeping an eye on the dialogue level with VisLM and I had the ISL limiter set on the master bus," Phillips added. "For some scenes, I started to notice that the dialogue was a lot lower than I was used to. It was great to have a little alert from VisLM to see that the overall loudness was lower than I was expecting. We decided that some scenes were OK quieter, because the recording was more dynamic than a typical in-studio podcast interview, but without that information from VisLM it wouldn't have been as informed of a decision."

Along with VisLM and ISL, Phillips uses Pro Tools | HD as well as its OMNI preamp, I/O and monitoring interface for sound design and composition, and Ableton Live as his digital audio workstation. He also relies on a Vintech x73i preamp, a Purple Audio MC77 (which is based on the popular UREI 1176 compressor) and Native Instruments KONTAKT for virtual instrument samples.

"VisLM is my go-to meter and I always use it when I'm mixing podcasts, films or videos," Phillips said. "I also use the ISL limiter for all of the podcast and film projects I mix. Since it's a true peak limiter, I know I can just set it and forget it. I don't like to use too much (or any) compression on a master bus for most projects. This makes ISL all the more important and just like VisLM, I have faith that it's working and I'm not going to run into any issues down the line. Loudness monitoring or limiting shouldn't be things that you constantly have to watch, so it's nice to leave it up to NUGEN products to relieve some stress without fail."

Phillip's has a long, varied history of experience including working as a public radio producer and reporter for shows like Radiolab, The Brian Lehrer Show and Studio 360, in addition to a staff position at NPR's On the Media. He has also freelanced as a sound designer on many films, including Cutie and the Boxer, Teenage, Northern Light and Ballet 422. His most recent projects include Baynard and Me and Hold On, which both appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. He is currently scoring a feature film for Lionsgate titled, Most Likely To Murder.

nugenaudio.com

(MH/JP)
VMI.TV Ltd

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

18/11/2024
W E Audio Invests In Martin Audio WPL
Long-term Martin Audio rental partner, W E Audio, recently underlined its commitment to the British manufacturer, by making a massive investment acros
02/10/2024
Radio Clodia Selects DHD SX2 And XC3 Audio Mixing System
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Radio Clodia has chosen a DHD SX2 audio mixing console and XC3 IP processing core in a major upgrade of th
01/10/2024
Audio-Technica Launches System 20 PRO
Audio-Technica has launched the System 20 PRO, a self-managing, plug-and-play 2.4 GHz digital wireless system that is scalable to 20 channels and deli
27/09/2024
Audio-Technica Appoints Technical Sales Manager For The Middle East Region
Audio-Technica has appointed Akhil Raphael as Technical Sales Manager for the Middle East region. Raphael brings a decade of extensive audio industry
13/11/2024
Shure Unveils The MXA902 + ANIUSB-MATRIX Audio Conferencing Kit
Shure has introduced the Shure MXA902 + ANIUSB-MATRIX Audio Conferencing Kit. The Audio Conferencing Kit comes in a single, ready-to-go package that i
11/11/2024
Martin Audio Powers Dolby Atmos Learning At Full Sail University
Specialising in Audio Production, Music Production, Show Production and Recording Arts degrees, Full Sail University recently commissioned a new Dolby
08/11/2024
Plus 4 Audio Joins Clair Global Group
Plus 4 Audio has joined Clair Global Group. Founded in 2001, Plus 4 Audio has built an impressive reputation for innovation and development in broadca
29/10/2024
Nixer Pro Audio Launches Two New Products
Nixer Pro Audio has launched two new products – the PD Ravenna and the RL Series – both powered by Merging Technologies' ZMAN card. These solutions ar
28/10/2024
Audio-Technica Releases ATH-ADX3000 High-Fidelity Open-Back Headphones
Audio-Technica has released the ATH-ADX3000 high-fidelity open-back headphones. Handcrafted in Machida, Tokyo, each pair has been meticulously assembl
25/10/2024
Creating Audio Nature Soundscapes With Wounded Buffalo
Studio manager Jim Jacobs and veteran mixer Ben Peace share insights into their work, highlighting the tech that powers their audio nature soundscapes
24/10/2024
StreamGuys To Shine Light On Business Models For Audio And Video Streams
StreamGuys will shine a light on business models for audio and video streams in a new webinar series beginning next week, emphasising how broadcasters
21/10/2024
Martin Audio CDD Solution On The Albanian Green Coast
Green Coast is a luxury tourist retreat located in the Albanian resort of Palasë. Known as the Albanian Riviera, and overlooking the Ionian Sea, it is
17/10/2024
Light Year Studios Go Above And Beyond With Nugen Audio
Based in the UK, Light Year Studios is a one-stop shop for creative audio recording and post-production on both high-end and independent productions.
17/10/2024
Atlona Unveils Additions To Its GAIN Series Of Audio Products
Atlona has announced the latest additions to its GAIN Series of audio products. Now shipping, Atlona's AT-GAIN-M50-LZ is a two-input mixer amplifier d
15/10/2024
Milk Audio Store Opens PMC-Equipped Solby Atmos Mixing Facility
Italian Pro Audio and Synthesiser distributor Milk Audio Store has opened a PMC-equipped Dolby Atmos mixing facility at its premises in Rome in order