Audio monitoring for dozens of new studios at the National Film and Television School has been provided by PSI Audio. After a long and meticulous selection process, the chose PSI Audio monitors from an initial set of seven brands and 15 models.

Founded in 1971, the NFTS – based in Beaconsfield near London – has established itself as one of the world’s leading film schools. Former NFTS students involved in major blockbusters, including From Harry Potter to Skyfall.

In the audio branch, every student gets their own studio for the time of their studies – a professionally equipped, industry standard studio they can use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One major aspect of the NFTS is bringing the students together for projects.

‘Everyone is invited to collaborate on the story,’ Senior Supervising Engineer Jérémy Rodeschini explains. This heavy focus on the creative part of the process also means that the technology involved needs to work without requiring too much effort and attention.

The high standards of the school, its staff and the students are mirrored in the choice of equipment: ‘All in all, it was a four-month process,’ Rodeschini says. ‘People are very passionate about speakers.’

The requirement was for monitors that would not colour the sound without fatiguing the listener’s ears, and that would perform for years to come. From an initial selection of 15 models by seven brands, more than half were quickly eliminated, and then a jury of industry professionals and tutors blind tested the remaining candidates. This second phase left three models still in the running, but one faltered in the low end and the other disappointed in the high spectrum. The only speakers that did not display any particular weaknesses were the PSI models, so they were chosen for the new stereo set-ups and 5.1 environments alike.

Rodeschini is quick to mention another appeal of the Swiss manufacturer: ‘They came over here on multiple occasions, so we knew they would be there if we needed them. We felt appreciated by PSI Audio.’

After the speakers were installed in the studios, Rodeschini noticed a remarkable change: ‘Nobody was talking about the speakers anymore,’ he says. ‘After all the discussions during the selection process, nobody was talking about the speakers after they were installed.’

So well did they perform, that students from the Composing for Film and Television MA wanted PSI Audio monitors for their own studios after hearing them in the film suites. But there is a downside to this acoustic excellence: ‘The students are afraid to leave the school, because they know they will probably not find such good working conditions anywhere else.’