Post-production Suites
The arrangement of VTRS, edit controller, vision mixers, and any digital video effects devices in an editing suite is called a ‘post-production suite’. Editing is a creative operation, and all control panels for ancillary equipment must be arranged so that the editor has immediate and easy access to them.
Equipment and layout
At the centre of the layout should be the edit control panel, with the vision mixer/digital effects unit immediately above or to one side of it. Within easy reach should be a vision monitor select panel, and to the right or left of all of this should be the sound mixing desk. (It is assumed that the editor also mixes and edits the sound.)
Assuming that the arrangement is for three machines (two play and one record), there need to be four small preview monitors, either colour or black and white, depending on the budget available. Each VTR has one monitor permanently connected to its output, with the fourth monitor connected to the output of the vision mixer/digital effects unit.
The visual display unit (VDU) is linked with the edit controller. It displays all the information relating to the editing process, i.e. in and out times, elapsed time etc. The position of the VDU will depend on the type of edit controller, but it should be sited such that it can be easily scanned by the editor, without much change in viewing angle from the preview monitors. A large colour monitor should be sited above and behind the bank of preview monitors. This should be selected to the output of the record machine under normal circumstances, but switchable to any of the sources.
Sound monitoring should be on two high-quality loudspeakers, one of which is always connected to the output of the record machine, and the other to the sound-desk monitoring circuit. An audio recorder, which can be remotely controlled by the edit system, should be placed within easy reach. This is needed to play sound effects, music, voice-overs etc., and to allow sound to be easily lifted from the VTRs to be used as an additional source for mixing and laying atmosphere.
Wherever possible all technical equipment, such as the VTRs, the editor, mixer/digital effects hardware etc., should be sited in a separate room from the control panels; the noise of cooling fans makes sound monitoring and indeed concentration over extended periods very difficult.
