Kill The Messenger Pushes the Limits of Audio Production with Avid S5 Fusion Mixing Console

Burlington, MA, 2014/05/15

Award-winning post-production facility deploys flexible, scalable control surface to quickly create and distribute live sports entertainment across multiple channels

Avid® (OTC: AVID) today announced that award-winning audio post-production house Kill The Messenger - the exclusive audio producer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) - has chosen the Avid S5 Fusion digital audio mixing console for its flagship Santa Monica facility. The powerful, hybrid console and control surface enables the facility to meet the demands of fast-turnaround live sports production and diversify into the growing market of TV, web, and mobile projects.

Kill The Messenger will use the S5 Fusion for long-form episodic mixes for UFC events, as well as for independent producers and mixers. The scalable console also enables Kill The Messenger to bring more creative, immersive and complex content to TV, web and mobile productions. Faced with the relentless pressure of tight deadlines and last-minute changes involved in producing audio for live sports events and broadcasts, Kill The Messenger chose the S5 Fusion for its ability to accommodate immediate turnarounds and a variety of workflows. Kill The Messenger’s workflow is based entirely on Avid systems, including Pro Tools® | HDX -- which, like the S5 Fusion is now part of the Avid Artist Suite of content creation applications.

“As an industry, we always test the limits of production capabilities to deliver the most captivating and creative content in the fastest time possible, at the lowest cost,” said Mike Sak, president of Kill The Messenger. “We needed an adaptable and powerful work surface that could satisfy the most discerning mixers, producers and sound supervisors. The S5 Fusion fits the bill perfectly. It’s given us a powerful new tool to create and integrate into our daily workflow in ways we were completely unaware existed before. It also allows us to bring ‘large stage’ immersive technical capabilities to ‘small screen’ productions at a more modest price point.”

“Audio facilities are under relentless pressure from clients to produce more and more projects with much faster turnaround times – and they are provided with lower budgets and fewer resources,” said Jeff Rosica, senior vice president of worldwide field operations at Avid. “With the S5 Fusion, facilities like Kill The Messenger can expand into new markets and manage a variety of formats and deliverables with ease.”  

The S5 Fusion gives Kill The Messenger the flexibility to handle a wide range of audio production in its unique, all-purpose suite. The room can transition quickly and seamlessly between live voice-over sessions, promo production and mixes, film pre-dubs, M&E mixes, near-field film mixes and client review sessions.