Ideas on Finishing Suite for College

I'm responsible for a developing film program at the collegiate level. Like all higher education institutions, we don't have loads of money but they have invested a half decent amount into it.

The school is a couple hours east of Chicago, and I'm wondering if any of you know any color grading consultants in this region who we might be able to consult with to build our finishing suite?

I would also be interested in any input from you about building it from the ground up. Consider it an entry-level budget. What would you purchase and build if it were up to you?

From the computer itself, the card or I/O device, monitoring (I'm thinking Flanders Scientific CM-170W (not sure if there's anything cheaper worth getting), as well as client monitor around 65". I'm also assuming if we get a decent reference monitor like the Flanders, we don't necessarily need to spend as much money on the Plasma and maybe we can get away with something consumer. Also, what kind of audio monitors are you using? The part I now least about is how to create proper lighting/background, etc.

Minus the computer, overall I'd like to keep it as close to $5-7000 as possible, but if that's unrealistic I'm open to ideas.

It would be sweet to see any photos of the spaces you all operate in if that's not asking too much. We see this as a space not simply for students finishing their major projects, but also for instruction and review. So we'd probably squeeze in 6-12 people once in a while.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks a lot, these are the details I'm looking for. The BlackMagic HD Extreme is what I was planning on. I wasn't sure what card was preferred though.

I think it is highly unlikely that we'll be dealing with anything uncompressed or 4K (at least for several years), as most of them are working with ProRes.

The spacing is a concern, as it's both for senior projects and for smaller, advanced classes. I'd have to look at the blueprints again to give dimensions. I was thinking 65" monitor because a lot of the projectors I've looked at that have enough lumens to not bring the room lights way down are really expensive, plus I felt it required a little bit more thoughtfulness to take care of, as opposed to a master power switch for all the monitors. But if you do know some good options, I'm all ears.

You make a really good point about the size of the calibrated reference monitor--for instructional purposes I should have something bigger than 17" so that multiple people can view it. The 24" does look nice. What control surface are you using?

Any recommendations for proper audio out and control? I'm a bit out of touch in the audio realm, although I'm pretty familiar with the actual monitors themselves, but I don't know what people are currently using to connect to their NLEs and keep them timed properly to the images.

I use the Tangent Devices' Element set, but I think that the lower cost options of the tangent wave or MC Color panels are good for the general idea of using a control surface.

KC

Prehistoric Digital