Evercast–the remote collaboration platform for creative professionals in media, entertainment, gaming and advertising–has entered into a partnership with Mach1, a preeminent sound technology company, setting the stage to integrate new product features that will enable remote surround mixing review using the Mach1 Spatial SDK.
Mach1 was founded in 2015 by Jacqueline Boลกnjak and Draลพen Boลกnjak who had already established the ongoing Q Department, an award-winning NYC-based studio known for original music and sound design. Mach1’s team develops precise tools for audio engineers while preserving traditional standards. Now Mach1 joins forces with Evercast, loking to establish a common framework for remote audio review, regardless of deliverable format or mixing environment–while remaining adaptive to an ever-changing landscape.
Q Department started doing mixes remotely during the pandemic using Evercast. Efforts included Squarespace’s “Launch It” which was shortlisted at the AICP Show, underscoring Q Department’s success with the technology in mixing high-end work for creatives and clients. The Bosnjaks aimed in the bigger sound picture to provide some standards and best practices for mixing in headphones and wanted to be able to mix in 5.1 7.1 9.1 Mach1 Spatial Dolby Atmos and more–and have clients all sign off on the SAME mix. Mach1’s Spatial sound technology now being integrated into Evercast remote workflow software marks a major progressive stride in terms of elevating remote mixing.
While there has been an influx of new technology for video streaming in the past several years, surround sound streaming solutions have yet to fully emerge. Many Evercast clients currently stream 5.1 and 7.1 audio through the platform, but with users working in a wide variety of audio monitoring setups, it has been a challenge to create a standard reference point for remote surround mixing review. Many facilities have attempted to address this by either providing specific approved headphones or installing surround audio monitoring setups for stakeholders to review content. While these approaches offer a short-term fix, they are cumbersome, unreliable, and not accessible to all remote users.
Evercast’s partnership with Mach1 aims to solve this by providing a flexible surround interpretation that will give mixing engineers control over remote listening environments, ultimately facilitating better collaboration, faster turnarounds, and more time for creative iterations. Mixers will be able to specify channel layouts for specific hardware, including reference headsets that provide head-tracking data to create more immersive and accurate audio reviews inside Evercast sessions.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Mach1, continuing our mission to push the boundaries of remote technology, streamlining collaboration and empowering creatives to produce great content together,” said JP Castel, head of innovation at Evercast. “We’ve seen significant growth in global remote post-production through Evercast, which means greater demand for a more robust solution for surround sound review. Mach1’s revolutionary technology standardizes the remote working environment, making surround sound accessible to all of our clients, regardless of hardware. We see this as a step towards establishing a new industry-wide standard, making remote finishing easier and more efficient.”
Jacqueline Bosnjak, CEO of Mach1, added, “The emergence of new mediums and global remote production standards have changed production workflows. Evercast identified the need for a future-facing audio tech stack that addresses the challenges of high-quality content production that can safely scale as audio deliverables evolve technically. Whether it’s using Mach1 Spatial to more faithfully compare surround mixes remotely or using Evercast to structure new production pipelines for interactive audio projects that require spatial audio mixing and review, it is important to ensure that tools are in place that allow the creative process to continue without compromising or coloring with simulated effects and that the intended creative process can remain intact throughout the production pipeline.”
The new technology will require significant development effort and industry feedback. Mach1 and Evercast are currently working with leading sound professionals across industries to test and gather insight as they continue to build the solution.
Evercast and Mach1 will join leading audio experts to discuss this technology and the future of remote audio production during the “Next-Gen Sound Mixing on a Global Scale” panel at SXSW on March 15, 2022.
