New Zealand production house White Bait Media installs Calrec Brio36 console for new OB truck
WhitebaitMedia, the producers of New Zealand’s longest running kids show What Now have chosen the Calrec Brio36 as their new mobile broadcast console.
Airing at 8am every Sunday, What Now is broadcast on New Zealand channel TVNZ 2, as well as a number of other channels around the Pacific Islands. Each episode is traditionally recorded at the production company’s studio in Christchurch, however for the first time in its 36-year history, 2018 saw the show taken out on the road. According to WhitebaitMedia’s Technical Manager Tim Murdoch, each episode consists of two hours of “fun, mess, games, mess, skits and more mess”, and regularly features celebrities and different types of live performances.
To meet the demands of filming in a variety of locations, WhitebaitMedia decided to build a new high-performance OB truck, for handling the recording, mixing and distribution of audio. “We’ve been producing What Now for 14 years in Christchurch, starting in TVNZ’s studio and moving into our own studios in 2009,” explains Murdoch. “When we decided to take the show on the road, we needed to build an OB truck and find equipment that would fit inside a small space without compromising on quality. Due to its size, our current audio console was deemed too big, and it was starting to show its age. To replace it, I began the search for a new audio console.”
“Like most people looking for a lower budget compact audio console, I looked at options from the live PA market. However, these lacked the power and flexibility that a show like What Now requires, where no two shows are the same and the script is more of a guideline. The Calrec Brio was the logical choice, because it was the only one to offer the power and flexibility of a larger broadcast console, but at the budget and size of the smaller consoles normally fitted in small-to-medium OB trucks.”
“The Calrec Brio was the logical choice, because it was the only one to offer the power and flexibility
of a larger broadcast console, but at the budget and size of the smaller consoles”
“We were immediately taken with Brio’s features; it has excellent built-in loudness meters and its detailed metering means we don’t need to purchase extra meters. It also has an impressive number of faders, so our operators have access to everything, which is really useful for a show like What Now that doesn’t follow a dedicated script. The Brio also allows each of our operators to set up their own user file, as well as show template files, and this is a real bonus when using multiple freelance operators.”
Calrec Brio – Calrec’s biggest tiny console, ever
Calrec’s Brio36 and Brio12 are the most compact and powerful broadcast mixing consoles in their class. The most affordable Calrec desks to date, the Brio36 and Brio12 have made Calrec’s class-leading features and functionality available to smaller broadcasters and media / production houses.
Speaking about WhitebaitMedia’s decision to add a Brio to their setup, Calrec’s International Sales Manager Anthony Harrison says, “We’ve achieved considerable success over the years in the Antipodes and it’s an important region for us. We’re delighted that WhitebaitMedia is taking advantage of the powerful capabilities of our Brio36 console for its new OB truck. We designed Brio with versatility in mind and to work across a myriad of broadcast applications, with mobile trucks being a key example of where Brio really shines as a compact yet powerful console.”
To find out more about the Calrec Brio Console, give us a call on 01727 821 870. You can also find out more about the Calrec Brio and Hydra2 audio networking range here.
If you’d like to know more about Calrec Brio and Hydra2 broadcast audio hardware, give us a call on 01727 821 870 to speak to one of our team, or to arrange a demo.
You can also contact us here.