John Rodd

Burlington, MA, 2013/08/28

Renowned music recording, mixing and mastering engineer John Rodd selected Avid solutions to create and deliver the summer blockbuster’s cutting-edge score

Avid® (NASDAQ: AVID) today showcased another example of its industry leadership with the announcement that Pro Tools® | HDX was the digital audio workstation (DAW) used to produce the score for Elysium, one of this summer's most hotly anticipated films. Elysium is a Sony Pictures action film starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster about one man's mission to save Earth. It was written, co-produced and directed by Neill Blomkamp, whose previous work includes District 9, which was nominated for four Academy Awards®. Ryan Amon composed the score.

John Rodd, the film's score recording and mixing engineer, selected Pro Tools|HDX for this project. A loyal member of Avid's preeminent customer community since 1995, Rodd is best known for his work with composers including Cliff Martinez (The Lincoln Lawyer), Jack Wall (theme by Trent Reznor, Call of Duty: Black Ops II), Frederik Wiedmann (Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox), Dave Porter (Breaking Bad), Ryan Amon (Elysium) and his ongoing work on Blizzard's World of Warcraft series.

Major productions like Elysium require advanced editing tools capable of keeping up with the demands of complex mixes, which incorporate a large number of tracks. Rodd credits the raw horsepower and speed of Pro Tools|HDX, combined with the uninterrupted creative workflow it provides, as critical factors in successfully recording Elysium at Abbey Road Studios and mixing it at his studio, Clearstory Sound. The HDX system provided unparalleled audio quality while facilitating the complete recording, editing and mixing process.

Rodd praised the speed and efficiency of Pro Tools | HDX and its support for additional tracks, increased headroom between plugins, and up to five times more dedicated DSP power. "When collaborating on large, complex mixing projects such as the score for Elysium, Pro Tools | HDX is my obvious choice," said Rodd. "The system lets me quickly and efficiently share, edit and mix audio, while streamlining workflows. I can use a single rig to do incredibly elaborate score mixes, and simultaneously print many stem mixes in a single pass."

"John Rodd's success with Elysium is yet another example of why it is so critical for industry professionals to rely on the industry's most proven, trusted solutions that integrate into the most complex workflow environments," said W. Sean Ford, vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer, Avid. "Elysium is an audibly stunning film and includes an impressive array of technical elements, making Pro Tools|HDX the ideal tool to help bring Amon's music composition and Blomkamp's vision to life."

As part of its ongoing commitment to providing its preeminent customer community with best practices, Avid has teamed up with Rodd for a four-part video series on pro mixing. In "Pro Mixing Without Limits: John Rodd," Rodd discusses staying ahead in the industry, using Pro Tools | HDX on Elysium, and collaborating with colleagues across the globe. The video series can be viewed here on the Avid website.