Waves eMotion LV1 Plugins and Mixer Enhanced Audio at Eurovision 2019

To manage this high-end combined stage/broadcast production, which leaves no room for technical errors, engineers Omer Barzilay and Eran Ben Zur turned to Waves tools for superior sound quality, performance and setup. flexible.

The live sound team of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, led by the engineers Omer Barzilay (Big Brother) y Eran Ben Zur (Dweezil Zappa), chose the plugins de Waves and the Waves eMotion LV1 live mixer to enhance the sound of the musical contest that was broadcast live to more than 200 million viewers.

Broadcast from the Tel Aviv Expo, May 14-18, Eurovision 2019 featured three live shows (two semi-finals and one grand final) over three days, featuring 41 competitors, four onstage hosts and numerous guest artists, and featuring an exclusive two-song live show from guest star Madonna.

To manage this high-end combined stage/broadcast production, which leaves no room for technical errors, Omer Barzilay and Eran Ben Zur turned to Waves tools for superior sound quality, flexible operation and setup.

Omer Barzilay comments that “the sound directors of the local Eurovision production, Yair Goren and Yossi Edri, suggested that Pro Tools/LV1 engineer Jonathan Jacobi and myself mix everything on the Waves eMotion LV1 console. I was absolutely delighted to be able to use Waves plugins in such an easy and flexible way, running the plugins directly in the software mixer. For me, Waves is the obvious choice for broadcast mixing, so that was the perfect solution. Additionally, when it comes to streaming, you're usually looking for system redundancy and backups; eMotion LV1 provided just that. It is a clear advantage to have a software-based system: we were able to easily create two identical systems with two Waves SoundGrid servers each, and created even more backups on our personal laptops.”

Winning time

Barzilay goes on to state that “one of the biggest advantages of using the LV1 is that I was able to mix most of the songs ahead of time. I was mixing about a month and a half before the show, in my studio, sending all the tracks I received beforehand from Pro Tools to eMotion LV1, creating all the automations and effects so they were ready for the show. “Time is crucial when mixing so many different songs for such a huge musical event, and if I hadn't used a software-based mixer, I would never have been able to be prepared this way.”

Barzilay adds, about his workflow, that “during the show we routed all the audio to the eMotion LV1 mixer and a multitrack recording computer. We used the A/B input on the LV1 mixer to reroute the recorder so we could continue mixing the show between takes. This was very quick, and as soon as one delegation finished their first take, we continued mixing it until the next one. "We didn't waste any time."

“My contacts are the Scheps Omni Channel, which was the only thing I used for all vocals, including de-essing, EQ, compression and saturation. On lead vocals, the Waves C6 multiband compressor was extremely valuable for controlling high and low frequencies and for controlling pops and hiss. We also use the Waves Dugan Automixer plugin for all host and guest microphones. The Waves H-Reverb Hybrid Reverb is my main reverb – we used six examples. That said, we also used the Waves IR1 Convolution Reverb and the Renaissance Reverb. My main delay is the Waves H-Delay Hybrid Delay, which I used for about 90 percent of the delays in this production. Additionally, I used the Manny Marroquin Delay for L/R separation. Finally, the Abbey Road TG mastering chain was on our master chain – ALL the music was routed through it,” he notes of using the Waves plugins.

“The biggest advantage of the Waves eMotion LV1,” summarizes Barzilay, “is that you can take your studio with you to live events. Some of the plugins are effects that I have been using for the last two decades”

FOH Mixing Engineer Eran Ben Zur comments on his workflow and using Waves plugins: “When mixing a live show that is broadcast to over 200 million people, a FOH engineer must combine two main objectives: It is necessary to mix the show for the 8,000 spectators seated in the stadium, achieving the appropriate sound pressure level to ensure that the audience receives the appropriate amount of sonic energy. But you also have to make sure that the PA does not interrupt a clean and clear transmission.”

The FOH setup included two DiGiCo SD7 consoles with Waves MultiRack SoundGrid setups complementing each console, Waves SoundGrid Extreme servers and touchscreens for running Waves plugins, plus two DiGiGrid MGB audio interfaces and two Mac computers running Waves' Tracks Live DAW for multitrack recording.

“One of the challenges of the show – explains Eran – was to mix not only the music, but also the microphones of the four presenters who interact on stage. To do this, I used the Waves Primary Source Expander (PSE) and the X-FDBK feedback removal plugins,” concludes Eran Ben Zur.

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