Midivision has become the first certified Dolby Atmos studio in Nigeria, with installation support from HHB Communications in the UK.
As the Nollywood film industry continues to grow, OTT content providers are increasing the profile of Nigerian films in their programme libraries – a direction that Midivision founder and CEO Dr Bayo Adepetun is looking to exploit, positioning his Lekki facility as the only local production studio able to provide Dolby Atmos postproduction services.
A medical doctor by training, Bayo’s passion for music composition and production lead him to close his practice and build his first studio in 1998. Now he focuses on championing audio technology and sound quality in the Nigerian film industry.
HHB supplied Bayo with an Atmos studio that includes a Dolby Rendering and Mastering Unit (RMU), an Avid S1 mixing desk, two Pro Tools MTRX Studio audio interfaces and a Genelec loudspeaker monitoring system. Once the equipment was set up, the HHB tech support team were able to configure the new system remotely, with HHB CTO John Johnson able to set up Midivision’s new studio from London. This enabled Bayo to quickly start the Dolby Atmos certification process.
‘Since installing the first HE-RMU in the UK in 2017, HHB has gained considerable experience from specifying, installing, commissioning and supporting numerous Atmos systems. This experience and a dedicated technical support team mean that we can offer a remote service with detailed instructions on installing the hardware and then connect remotely for commissioning, training and support,’ says HHB Head of Sales, Matthew Fletcher.
‘I first met Dr Bayo around three years ago when HHB provided advice and equipment for an upgrade to 5.1. He is always a pleasure to deal with and, although we could not carry out any training or other meetings in person this time, it was great that HHB could assist with his Atmos upgrade.’
With the room now up and working, Bayo is already enjoying using his new system: ‘The simplicity of the Avid S1, and the all-in-one features of the MTRX Studio are very straightforward,’ he reports. ‘The automation control and responsiveness of the S1 make it a valuable tool. And I have always found Genelec to give the best reference I need for any studio I’ve ever worked in.’
Since the studio’s September commissioning, Midivision has begun work on two feature films – a documentary and an enhanced audio book project. Bayo and his team produced the score, and handled audio post and sound design to show the Nollywood what Atmos can do for local industry.
More: https://hhb.co.uk
