“The Soul Train Awards is an incredibly challenging production and we were extremely pleased that BET and Concert Support Services selected RIOT for the project again this year,” said Chuck Brock producer and VP of creative services at RIOT. “This year the window for posting the show was more collapsed. We were under an even more aggressive schedule to produce a one-hour red carpet pre-show and the two-hour show in only four days. Under tight timelines, RIOT’s turnkey services are of great benefit to our clients as we can provide them with editing, audio, writing, graphic design/animation and producing.”
Prior to the live taping, Brock worked closely with senior editor Willie Giles to create three tribute pieces honoring legendary artists Earth Wind & Fire, Gladys Knight and Ashford and Simpson. “We wrote, produced, and edited each tribute in their entirety,” said Brock. “Our talent was on site during the live event to assist where needed and to experience the big event first hand.”
The live show was captured as a non-linear production in HD to a large media drive. RIOT received the material in the form of a line cut, recorded live during the event, along with all cameras’ ISO recordings. RIOT edited the show down to time and, using mixes of the live recordings provided by Music Mix Mobile, provided the final mix for the final broadcast. The video editing was done in multi-camera mode in RIOT’s Final Cut Pro suites. A combination of Fairlight and Digidesign Pro Tools workstations were utilized for audio editing, mixing and sweetening. “The workflow we established made for a smooth process when making editorial adjustments to the show,” added Brock.
