Germany - Audiovisual equipment

Description

The German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) is located in the SONY CENTER in Berlin, near Potsdamer Platz. The DFFB provides comprehensive training in the creative and technical trades of film production, including directing, screenwriting, cinematography, sound, editing, etc. All activities related to training for professional film production take place on the premises. In detail, the following areas are occupied by the DFFB:- 2nd UG: Sound mixing in two studios (Studio A and Studio B). Film production studio- 6th floor: seminar rooms for theoretical training- 8th floor: administration, equipment lending as well as post-production, consisting of CGI/VFX, editing, grading, sound design, audio editing, transfer, quality check, conforming, mastering- 9th floor: administration, teaching and screening cinemaThe main parts of the room layout, infrastructure and technical equipment were equipped in 2011 and 2012 as part of several partial measures. In the meantime, some necessary renewals and replacements have been carried out, but no fundamental technical renewal.Comprehensive modernizations of the technical equipment are currently being carried out as part of a measure planned for three business years. All measures are designed in such a way that the investments can be migrated as far as possible and are thus secured in the event of a possible spatial redesign in the coming years.The entire measure is divided into three tranches in accordance with the financing:Tranche 1: mobile film production equipment (already being procured)Tranche 2: sound studio and monitoring equipment (this award procedure)Tranche 3: post-production technology (still in preparation)Within the framework of Tranche 2, the focus is primarily on the technical modernization of the two mixed cinemas and the projection cinema.In Lot 1 of the award, high-quality active cinema sound systems and professional audio processing solutions will be installed.In Lot 2, in addition to the sound system, the presentation and feed technology in the projection cinema will be renewed and equipped with camera technology.A third separate lot deals with a large free-standing modular sound booth for sound studio and screening applications.
Monitoring Equipment (Studio A and B)Studios A and B will be equipped with similar construction active monitoring equipment. For this purpose, the front loudspeaker systems are to be connected to the power supply accordingly and supplied with AF lines. The surround loudspeakers are supplied via hybrid cables from corresponding system power supplies. In Studio A, the front speakers are mounted on free-standing stands. In Studio B, a facing wall will be created (by the customer) into which prepared wall niches are recessed for the installation of the loudspeakers. The surround loudspeakers are screwed onto the acoustic modules or the existing expanded metal wall cladding. The speaker systems are dimensioned in terms of type, number and arrangements so that a later expansion to Dolby Atmos is possible. In close coordination with Dolby, certain compromises due to structural conditions and budgetary constraints were taken into account in the positioning and equipment.The control of the monitoring speakers is carried out via a programmable audio DSP. This is to be configured in such a way that appropriate routings and presets are available for switching between 5.1 and stereo mode for metering and monitoring, as well as for switching between the main and nearfield monitoring systems.The audio DSP takes over the room equalization (cf. previous chapters), loudspeaker equalization, limiting, routing, crossovers, delays and further filtering. For all programming and calibration, the services of the system manufacturer should be consulted. The top priority is to achieve as uniform a monitoring environment as possible in the two mixing studios and the projection theater under the given spatial conditions. The signal supply to the audio DSP via AES/EBU signals must also be set up and coordinated with the DAW mixing console and output interface. The monitoring control is done via a separate monitoring controller to be connected via EuCon. It must be ensured that the functions of the monitoring controller can be fully used in the overall network, including solo, mute and dim functions as well as preset switching.Studio technology (Studio A and B)For some time now, an "in-the-box" workflow has been used for the film mixes, in which almost all signal processing within the DAW system AVID Protools is done internally. The existing computer systems for both studios will continue to be used in the future. The DAWs are operated via hardware controllers connected via EuCon protocol, using a configuration of AVID S1 consoles in Studio A (inventory). The configuration of the DAW system network is only adapted here to the extent that a new, modular audio interface is to be connected for audio output. The interface is currently designed in the basic configuration, but offers possibilities for future expansions. All activities for the integration of the new audio interface and the above-mentioned control logic, including any necessary port expansions (switch for EuCon) and software updates, if required, must be taken into account (adjustments to the DAW configuration are generally not necessary). An adjustment of the KVM and other audio cabling in the studio is not planned.To improve the less than optimal spatial situation, acoustic modules are integrated on the walls as well as free-standing on the floor. These serve to create better room symmetry and are intended to allow the reverberation time to decay evenly towards low frequencies. Care must be taken during design and installation to ensure that the modules can be reused elsewhere in the building. Suitable mounting plates are to be integrated for loudspeaker installation.Studio B meanwhile also works with a similar workflow. Unlike Studio A, however, a new modular DAW controller is procured here that offers some expansion options. This controller is set up as a free-standing unit in the studio and the open module bays are covered with suitable blanking plates (custom-made if necessary). For the connection to the DAW, integration of the audio interface and monitoring controller, the same specifications apply as for Studio A. In contrast, the KVM cabling will be renewed here. Instead of the existing complex mimic with DVI matrices and extenders, four fiber-optic-based display port extenders are now used, which are connected to existing fiber-optic lines. These are used to connect 4 monitor outputs of the workstation to 4 27" KVM monitors. The monitors are mounted using existing Ergotron LX swivel arms and a linear guide with recirculating ball bearing carriage. To accommodate the linear guide, a self-sufficient stable metal/table construction is to be built around the DAW console. This moves the linear guide vertically and horizontally to a position directly behind the metering display modules. Vertical columns are to be mounted on the carriages (several already exist in the inventory). The swivel arms are to be modified so that only the front part with the gas pressure element is used, which is plugged onto the columns. This allows the screens to be moved to a minimal vertical position without obstructing the view of the bottom edge of the projection.Both studio systems are connected to an existing clock distribution with clock generator (Rosendahl Nanosyncs HD) and clock crossbar. Further parts of the clock distribution for analog components (biphase, etc.) will be decommissioned in the course of the work and dismantled by the client.As part of the factory and installation planning, all connected systems as well as inventory taken over are to be cataloged and documented. The ultimately used studio cabling is to be renumbered and labeled (as far as subject of the described service). The goal is to create a set of plans and documentation that clearly shows only the system parts used.Acceptance suite / DAWOn the 6th floor, a modular room-in-room construction is to be created in a vacant seminar room that offers controlled listening conditions with good sound insulation from the outside. The sound booth will create largely optimal listening conditions with low ambient noise levels, which are not available in this form in the other areas of the DFFB. At the same time, a space is made usable that is currently not used by the DFFB.The booth serves two purposes:- Acceptance suite: For this purpose, a high-quality 65" HDR TV device is installed, which is to be professionally calibrated to the color spaces used. The device allows playback on a home theater-like setup for up to 10 people. The material is played back via a powerful Apple host computer (provided) directly from the respective applications. The sound is reproduced via the surround monitoring system based on Adam AX8 migrated from Studio A (basement) as well as a further nearfield monitoring system. For this purpose, the table is positioned in such a way that up to 10 people can sit down with a good view of the TV.- DAW suite: Second application is the use as a further mixing, editing and sound design suite. In this case, only 1-2 people work at the workstation. For this purpose, the table is moved to the optimal listening position in the room (RLP).The integration service includes the delivery of the movable table, the audio and KVM cabling, as well as the cabling of the power supply inside the booth to enable optimal use. It is important that the equipment and the booth itself can be powered down when not in use. Inventory TechnologyThe cinema represents one of the most important spaces at DFFB. It is used for the following purposes, among others:- Screenings in 2K DCP, E-Cinema, 35mm and 16mm film, as well as directly from a connected editing system- Screenings as part of festivals and events- Lectures and teaching eventsFor the multitude of use cases, the cinema already has extensive inventory technology in various states of modernization. Some system parts are deliberately not processed and are therefore only to be considered informatively in the corresponding trade. These are in particular:- Analog cinema technology 16mm and 35mm incl. perforated runner- DCI cinema chain consisting of Barco DP2K projector, IMB (Dolby IMS 3000) and surround decoder (Dolby CP-950),- Lighting (only control via interface)- Power supply- Speech reinforcement system (passive loudspeakers and amplifiers)Parts of the existing technology that are no longer used will be deactivated and dismantled as part of the measure.Presentation technologyIn the course of the modernization, the cinema sound system is to be renewed in order to replace the system that is only functioning to a limited extent and to bring it into line with the studios in the basement. In addition, the feed and presentation technology from the auditorium will be renewed in order to be able to cover current requirements and formats. In the course of this, a simple microphone and camera solution will be integrated in order to be able to cover digital and hybrid event formats. The heart of the presentation technology is a height-adjustable lectern with technology integration. A playback computer is permanently installed in this desk, which enables the direct playback of productions from editing, grading and other processing stages by means of appropriate software equipment. At the same time, the computer serves as a permanently installed communication system for MS Teams and Zoom. Further players are a professional UHD bluray player and a connection for a lecturer's notebook.Switching between the devices is done via an integrated HDMI /USB-C matrix system. The PTZ camera (including image-based auto-tracking) is also connected here, as well as the audio DSP unit via USB audio. The matrix system provides the USB routing between integrated computer and external notebook (BYOM). On the output side, a high-quality, uncompressed fiber optic converter is used to extend the HDMI signal into the projection room.On the audio side, a two-channel microphone system based on uncomplicated DECT radio is used. A handheld/pocket transmitter and an audience microphone are available. Auto-mixing and room equalization including feedback suppression, echo cancelling, delay, volume control and preset switching are provided by an audio DSP unit which is to be configured for full automatic operation. Audio playback is to be set up so that speech is played back exclusively over the on-site stereo sound system, while being very robust against feedback. On the other hand, feeds from the lectern are to be routed to the Dolby decoder with the full number of channels and fed into the cinema system from there.Another system component is an integrated streaming/recording production system with two inputs. This can be used to record camera and sound signals and, if required, to stream the content input live as PiP. The unit is set up in such a way that it is available in the cinema as standard, but can also be used as a mobile and self-sufficient unit if required (in this case combined with mobile production technology from the rental warehouse).Cinema sound systemThe sound system follows the system concept of sound studios A and B. It replaces the existing JBL system. It completely replaces the existing JBL system. The installation of the front speakers is relatively simple here due to the existing screen stage. To mount the surrounds, the wall cladding is modified in some places with the help of an external trade. It can be assumed that there is a directly screwable mounting level in the correct position for each speaker. The cable pulling work should be coordinated with the work on the wall cladding so that optimum synergies can be achieved.ControlThe control technology of the cinema will also be completely replaced. A flexibly programmable PC-based system will be used, providing web-based control interfaces. The system is to be configured in such a way that all relevant control protocols or parts thereof are implemented and a standard user interface as well as a higher-level switchover for the modes cinema presentation, lecture incl. MS Teams/Zoom, and streaming event are each programmed. The programming, in particular of the user interfaces, is to be carried out as training-on-the-job together with the software manufacturer and employees of the AG. The aim is to enable the customer to create his own control interfaces, adaptations and simple processes and logic links on the basis of the implemented control commands. At least the following functions have to be implemented: Signal switching USB-C/HDMI switcher incl. USB routing Camera control incl. recall of 5 presets as well as tracking on/off Transport control Bluray player Transport control Playback Pro software DCI projector on/off, input switching IMS-3000 (internal, HDMI, SDI input), transport control IMS Mediablock Dolby processor input switching resp. recall of preset, volume control IMS Media block, volume control IMS Media block Dolby processor input switching resp. recall of preset. Control is done by a tablet, which is to be configured in such a way that it displays only the operating pages of the control system in kiosk mode or protected mode. The user interface(s) must be set up and the network connection must be made in such a way that they can also be operated for remote service from other computers in the DFFB network. Password protection shall be implemented for this purpose. The DFFB needs an acoustically well-controlled environment for sound design and sound mix recording. In addition, another area is needed for screenings and film pick-ups in order to relieve the cinema. In most cases, sound is monitored at standard volume or higher. Due to structural limitations in the existing building, the required sound insulation values and quiet noise levels cannot be maintained with standard building constructions in the existing rooms. The aim is therefore to improve the structural and room acoustics of a currently unused area of a seminar room on the 6th floor. For this purpose, a free-standing sound booth is to be installed, which will allow screenings with up to 10 participants. The construction of the booth creates a room-within-a-room construction for a high level of sound insulation, while at the same time creating suitable geometric conditions to enable a high-quality listening situation together with adapted room acoustics.The booth is to be constructed from individual modules in such a way that it can be completely dismantled and reassembled at another location with the same function.

Opportunity closing date

15 July 2022

Value of contract

£100k-1m