Edit Suite Guide 2022

The Commons edit suites are a resource for students and staff, offering high speed computers with significantly more processing power than the iMac labs we use for teaching sessions. They have high spec audio speakers, colour calibrated grading monitors and are the ideal place for individuals and small groups of students to finish video post projects.

We have 9 bookable suites:

CM.G42, CM.G43 - lower ground floor, outside Studio B

CM.143, CM.144, CM.145, CM.146, CM.147, CM.148, CM.149 - upper floor corridor, upstairs past the Viewing Theatre

Hardware List

CM.G42, CM.G43, CM.143-149

• Mac Studio (M1 2022)

• Genelec 8030B Near-Field Monitors (Pair)

• Palmer MONICON Passive Monitor Controller

• Dell P2723D27 Monitor - QHD 2560 x 1440 at 60 Hz, HDMI

• Eizo ColorEdge CX271 Colour Grading Monitor - 27′′ 16:9 LCD, 10-bit, Wide color gamut (Adobe RGB coverage: 99%), 2560 × 1440, HDMI

• BlackMagic UltraStudio 4K Mini - up to 4Kp60 DCI., 4:4:4, 10-bit, REC 2020, 48 kHz/24-bit audio

CM.145, CM.149 Differences

• BlackMagic Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K - up to 4Kp24, 4:2:2 and 4:4:4* (*4K is 4:2:2), 10-bit YUV up to 4K, 12-bit* RGB in HD and 2K, REC 601, REC 709, 48 kHz/24-bit audio

• Panasonic TX-50AX802B 4K UHDTV - 65” 16:9 LED, 3840 x 2160p24, 50/60 Hz, HDMI

Guide Content

This guide will show you how to do the following:

Power on/off the suites
Use the hardware
Troubleshoot common problems such functioning speakers and grading monitor
Ask you to read and agree to the Safe System of Work (SSW) for the edit suites

Power on the suite

All kit in the room is powered by the desktop 6-way power strip.

There should be no need to switch on anything else via the wall.

Power on the computer

The power button for the Mac Studio is located at the rear left hand side of the machine.

The computer will boot and you will be asked to log on to the machine.

All peripherals in the room should be powered on, ready to use.

Palmer MONICON Passive Monitor Controller

This is your volume controller for the Genelec speakers. It’s best practice to make sure the large volume control knob is turned fully counter clockwise. This ensures the volume is off and that no sudden loud sounds damage the speakers. Make sure the ‘Mono’ and ‘Mute’ buttons are not pressed down. If ‘Mute’ is pressed down, you won’t hear any audio.

The Genelec speakers should be powered on at the front, and when an audio signal is detected the green light will appear. Slowly turn the volume knob up on the Palmer Monicon to hear sound through the speakers.

BlackMagic UltraStudio 4K Mini

This breakout box sends audio to the Palmer Monicon and Genelec speakers. It also sends video from your edit sequence to the Eizo grading monitor. Audio should be setup and working by default, but video output is not.

To see your sequence on the Eizo grading monitor you need to change the video output/playback preferences in your chosen software to ‘Blackmagic’. Here are some examples:

Premiere Pro > Preferences > Playback > Set to 'Blackmagic Playback'

DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > Video and Audio I/O > Video I/O > Capture/Monitor Device > Set to 'UltraStudio 4K Mini'

Rooms CM.145 and CM.149 have the option of a large 4K UHDTV (wall-mounted). This will be beneficial for monitoring any 4K video and be useful if you have a larger group of people in the room. If you’re seeing your sequence on the grading monitor, you should see it on the TV screen at the same time.

Please don’t unplug and replug cables in an attempt to get things working - ask a member of staff to help you.

As well as an additional SD card reader to the one on the Mac Studio, the box can also function as an audio interface for a single microphone input. There’s a 1/4 inch headphone jack with its own volume control, if you want to use headphones.

Eizo ColorEdge CX271 Colour Grading Monitor

This is your colour grading monitor. The HDMI input has been calibrated to the REC 709 colour space. The monitor should detect a video signal and be working by default, but if not, press the ‘signal’ button to HDMI and the mode button to 7-CAL3.

If you have your own external drive, you are welcome to use it. Please connect it via the USB-C ports on the front of the Mac Studio, or via one of the USB 3.0 ports on the back. Please do not unplug any other cables from the ports on the back of the machine.

Never store projects or media on the local boot disk of the machine (‘Macintosh HD’), in locations such as the Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders.

To keep the suites working properly tech support staff reserve the right to wipe all data from the local boot disk without prior warning and at any time.

It is your responsibility to ensure all your media and project files are copied to your own storage drive by the end of your booked session.

If you are using the Avid NEXIS SAN to store your projects and media, please consult the dedicated guide for it.

Powering off

When you’ve finished your session, please shut down the computer first. Wait for it to finish and for the computer screen to switch off before you switch off the power strip.

Read and Agree the Safe System of Work for the TV Studios

All users of the edit suites need to read and agree to the Commons Edit Suite Safe System of Work agreement within SiSo. The main points to raise are:

No food or drinks to be consumed in the edit suites
Access is programmed on your student keycard by the Asset Store, via the SALTO system
Access is 08:00 - 22:00

Room Access

Once you’ve understood and signed the Commons Edit Suite Safe System of Work agreement, your card access will be updated to let you into the edit suites between the hours of 08:00 - 22:00, provided you have booked a room on SiSo.

The suites are open between 08:00 - 22:00. You will be asked to leave the edit suites by one of the evening security team. Please take all your belongings with you as you won’t be able to re-enter via the fire door (ground floor corridor outside CM.G48) after you have left.

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