With immersive storytelling gaining greater significance in today’s creative landscape and guided by a mission to ‘Make Great Stories,’ Windmill acknowledged the critical role of staying at the forefront of audio technology – and therefore opted for a studio and equipment upgrade. New consoles have been integrated into two state-of-the-art mixing rooms designed to support post-production services, with Studio One now equipped with a Genelec 7.1.4 monitoring system for Dolby Atmos immersive mixing.

Windmill moved to its current building in 2009, engaging the services of White Mark to design and build three Genelec-equipped 5.1 audio post-production studios, with local Genelec distributor Big Bear Sound supplying, installing and commissioning the monitoring systems. Studios One and Two were similar in size, both with VO booths, complemented by the slightly smaller Studio Three. Since then, the facility has expanded to include five post studios, five edit suites, two presentation rooms and a grading room – deploying a grand total of over 55 Genelec monitors.

When Windmill decided to upgrade Studio One from 5.1 to Dolby Atmos, it also took the opportunity to standardise the facilities in all five audio post studios, enabling a seamless transition for engineers moving between rooms. Studio One’s transformation involved significant changes, including a complete re-wire of the AV cable infrastructure, modification to the existing studio furniture and the replacement of the acoustic fabric. These efforts were supported by Big Bear which played an integral role in the installation and commissioning of the rooms.

Studio One’s newly upgraded immersive system comprises the original 1038B three-way monitors in the LCR positions, with an additional two 8050A two-way models supplementing the original pair of 8050As in the side and rear positions. Four new 8030C compact two-way models have been deployed for the overhead channels, with low frequencies handled by the room’s original 7073A subwoofer. This fusion of older and newer Genelec models has resulted in a streamlined workflow, allowing more time for creativity in the mix and expediting file exporting for remote approval.