Netherlands production company The Outstanding Podiumtechniek has invested in a 48-fader S500m SSL System T console to further its work in high-end production of live broadcast and eSports.
Founded by Diablo Mense in 2018, the company has a history in theatre and live FOH production. Now, equipped with an expandable 256 channel TE2 Tempest DSP Engine and two SB 32.24 stageboxes, Mense says the investment has improved efficiency and productivity by enabling the company to handle larger, more complex broadcast jobs.
‘As we started to get more technically demanding broadcast work, we found our existing equipment was holding us back,’ says Mense, who is Technical Director of The Outstanding as well as its founding partner. ‘We needed much more streamlined routing, faster set-up times, more comprehensive audio metering, and scalable DSP capacity. ‘System T allows us to work much more efficiently and respond quickly to changing production demands, without compromising sound quality or workflow.’
Packed into a standalone flypack configuration, the flexible System T set-up has enabled the company to not only deliver higher-quality audio productions, but to expand into more diverse markets, including live television broadcast, theatre and stage events, and sports productions.
Within days of completing its first major job at the 6,000-capacity AFAS Live in the south of Amsterdam, the console was live streaming a four-day live eSports event from a US Air Force base in Germany for YouTube.
‘Its inaugural outing was as FOH for a comedy show in Amsterdam, and we supplied the entire audio infrastructure at scale,’ says Mense. ‘We had one person on the ground for set up and tech support and that was crazy fast – thanks to System T’s Dante integration, we got the entire audio infrastructure including the PA up and running in less than three hours. We ran just two fibres from FOH to the back of the stage, and all the lighting, audio and video are connected through us.
‘Before System T, our set-up involved running multiple Ethernet cables, networking laptops, and planning redundant systems. Now, everything is centralised, fully integrated, and offers built-in redundancy and Dante control.’
Meanwhile, onsite in Germany, Mense’s team managed 12-hour daily schedules with remote Shoutcasters patched in via Zoom and vMix, each with their own personalised foldback mixes. System T once again helped reduce build times and kept things simple during the tournament.
‘System T really helped us to reduce the workload because we could automate everything we needed, such as audio-follows-video for the gameplay and audio ducking whenever the Shoutcasters are talking,’ says Mense. ‘Features like these allow us to focus on sound quality and consistency, as well as avoid issues like unintended playback over the PA.
‘The ability to patch everything in Dante is also really useful, especially during large shows where set-ups can get complicated. It allows us to easily recall configurations through showfiles, which is helpful for regular events and means we can quickly and consistently set up our gear between jobs. We also appreciate System T’s automation features like its Ember+ capabilities, flexible scene handling, and audio fade times. The ability to automate things makes a real difference on long-format shows like this eSports event; it helps reduce fatigue and it minimises technical errors.’
Although Mense says the System T’s TE2 Tempest DSP Engine is more than sufficient for The Outstanding’s current needs, it has the capacity to quickly scale to 800 channels if required, giving the company the freedom to adapt to any size production. Featuring SSL’s patented Optimal Core Processing technology to provide dynamic resource allocation and processing in real time and without audio interruptions, the application allows Mense and his team to manage every audio path with full SSL dynamics, EQ, and immersive panning, as well as a comprehensive FX rack.
‘I really like it,’ Mense reflects. ‘It sounds great, it is easy to operate, its fast and it’s very capable. More importantly, it has helped us unlock new opportunities. We’re not a big broadcasting company; we don’t have eight audio guys on a show, but with System T we can do it all with one or two people.’
SSL Vice President of Console Sales Rob Davidson says that System T’s ability to adapt to different environments makes it a perfect all-round workhorse for agile, multi-skilled companies like The Outstanding Podiumtechniek. ‘The System T S500m is such a flexible system and its native Dante support makes it very simple to set up even with smaller teams. Networked environments are easy to manage, and the console can be upgraded should production demands change. For a company like The Outstanding, who has a broad range of clients with very different requirements, the system allows them to quickly configure set-ups and keep everyone happy.’