In the 10-studio facility on the first floor of the newly christened dave – Dome Audio Video and Effects – the latest imax feature is being mixed, a process that has been described as mixing an anthill one ant at a time.

Survival Island was produced by Gold Harbour Productions of Bristol, Eng., spawned from Imax Corporation’s natural history unit. According to James Porteous, post-production manager at dave, the mix for the film utilized two 48 tracks plus six DA 88s or 144 digital audio tracks. Finding one analogy inadequate, he compares the task to connecting nerve endings in neurosurgery, creating a moving mosaic and, of course, to mixing individual ants.

Budgeted at about $4 million and narrated by David Attenborough, the film looks at the wildlife community of Georgia Island, the world’s largest albatross roosting island situated several hundred miles from the Antarctic coastline.

Porteous had previously worked on Across the Sea of Time, a film employing 3D imax sound for which u.s. audience members wore slightly embarrassing but effective experimental headsets to translate the experience.

According to Porteous, the film required the most complex mix ever, with over 450 tracks. The sound track involves binaural sound, providing a proximity effect that Porteous says allows everyone in the audience to have a sound source about two and a half inches from their ears.

‘We’re giving the best anyone can get anywhere,’ he says. ‘It gives us a place to experiment with new technology, and the trickle-down effect from what we learn is huge.’

In case any of the technical capabilities of the facility sound threatening, the company’s management opted for a decidedly friendly name.

The congenial dave moniker was the result of a client quip when Dome Productions’ audio and video services – Sounds Interchange, Dome Animation and Dome Video – were brought together this fall, that the new entity be named after him.

‘We wanted a less corporate, more relaxed name,’ says Phil Keeling, dave’s vp of operations.

dave’s nascent digital video post and transfer facility, on the second floor of the expansive 49 Ontario Street space, benefited from a significant measure of client input.

The space, adjacent to dave’s animation facility, was gutted last spring and full-size mockups of proposed rooms were constructed, with clients bringing their deepest desires and wishes to the design table. The 8,000-square-foot facility, valued at around $8 million, with $5 million invested in new equipment and leaseholds, officially opened Nov. 1 with work still being done on a third editing suite.

While the name is laid-back, dave’s post hardware, which includes a Flame compositing system and an SGI Onyx for processing, is no-nonsense. In one of three transfer suites resides an Ursa Gold Telecine, one of a kind in the city.

Keeling says while clients often go south seeking Gold, he is now fielding calls from u.s. clients interested in availing themselves of the system. The Gold is the first telecine system which allows tilting of a picture and accommodates optical effects right on the telecine. The machine accounts for $1 million of the $1.8 million invested in the suite, whose civilized features include a computer for client use between riveting bouts with the telecine.

In addition to attention to digital components, physical layout and design were rationalized for the peculiarities of post. A colorful reception area atones for the monochromatic color scheme throughout the facility. Gray walls and uniform lighting are not a statement in minimalism but a nod to color sensitivity. ‘The color temperature doesn’t change from room to room,’ says Keeling. ‘It’s important for color-corrected things, dops really notice it.’