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| Richard's cockpit |
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We think that a picture of artfully blurred moving faders and long lists of equipment does not show how good we are. Good audio mixes are the result of skill and taste, not a bunch of knobs, virtual or otherwise. Through the years we have acquired many specialized devices to help us do our best work. Does it matter to you what those devices are? We think not. Results are important, not the tools used to get them, therefore STOP READING NOW. Or, here are some things to know if you are curious.
You will find an expensive, comfortable, fully adjustable chair rather than some old squeaky contraption that should have been tossed out decades ago! We want you to feel comfortable and happy during long or short sessions. Bottled water and coffee flow freely, minus those other costly and unhealthy "client services" that can make you feel remorseful. Outside, our neighborhood is clean, safe, populated, and encompasses a variety of food and stores including the world famous Strand bookstore. There are seven miles of books waiting for you just downstairs alongside all manner of edible goodies to bring back or order in.
We mix for film or broadcast and have designed our pair of rooms for the job. At 16 feet long, 9 feet wide, and with a 10 foot ceiling, the mix room's front wall is filled by a big and bright projected image. Speakers are behind the perforated screen and around the room. Strategically placed acoustic treatments and bass traps create a controlled mixing environment. Full range Genelec speakers deliver 5.1 or 7.1 channels of sound with flat power response (appropriate for home listening) or "modified-X curve" response (appropriate for theater film playback). The system is carefully calibrated each way to assure our work translates to the outside world the way it should.
Video projection is via a powerful Mitsubishi LCD projector to the front screen, supplemented by an NEC CRT monitor. The Foley/VO room uses a dead-quiet Samsung LCD monitor. Perfect AV (audio/video) synchronization of our playback systems is assured with SyncheckII™ alignment tools.
Audio monitoring is the heart of any mix room and we use a custom 36in/8out A/B stem combiner/switcher, Tascam DSM7.1 for calibrated volume and bass management, and Genelec full range speakers. Small speakers are Auratone sound cubes. Ashley Protea System II equalizers instantly change speaker power response for a modified X-curve (appropriate for the room dimensions), or flat response, as appropriate on a job-by-job basis.
Audio and video data are separated onto two tightly linked systems for utmost flexibility and uncompromised processing power. Audio is handled by a large and robust Pro Tools 8, HD3++, Pro Control/16, Mac G5, with dozens of digital and analog IO streams for flawless connectivity to outboard equipment and monitoring devices. Video playback of any and all picture resolutions and frame rates, up to and including uncompressed 1080i/59.94, is handled by Avid Media Composer NitrisDX. At the touch of a button, audio and video systems are linked together and function as one, using Digidesign's proprietary Video Satellite software. This recent innovation ensures uncompromised audio workflow with no loss of audio processing power, a common problem when sound and picture are handled within a single computer. Our sound-picture synchronzation is guaranteed to be "near sample accurate", the best attainable, and is unsurpassed by anyone, anywhere. What you see is what you get.
A private voice/Foley room, adjacent and isolated, is approximately the same size as the mix room and treated to be very dead. (It doubles as our business office when not needed for recording.) A third, medium sized recording space exists for traditional music recording, overdubs, and dialog loop groups. All rooms are floated and isolated. A separate machine room area isolates the noisy equipment.
Clear and simple communications are critical to any recording session, and we provide it. Visual feedback is via 2-way video cameras. A custom talkback system allows you and your talent to communicate with or without headphones.
The finest tools are used for critical dialog cleanup including Cedar Audio DNS2000P, TC Electronic System 6000, Sonic NoNoise, and iZotope RX. These high end processes, when used with lots of tricks we've learned through the years, give us extremely powerful noise control and audio restoration capabilities. Does an average production really need all this firepower? When you know the difference in results these tools make, you know the answer is absolutely, unequivocally, YES. There is no added charge for these tools.
TC Electronic Unwrap is always available for stereo-to-surround up-mixing of music or completed programs when needed. Contact us for a demonstration. TC Electronic System 6000 provides world class reverb and processing. A fully-stuffed Yamaha 02R96 supplements mixing and routing needs, along with a DBX120A sub harmonic synthesizer (for really impressive subwoofer control), "vintage" Purple Audio MC76 analog limiter, TL Audio tube EQs, Kurzweil 2500RS sampler, Behringer MDX2100, hybrid phone patch, numerous other toys, Eureka vacuum cleaner, and several fire extinguishers! While mixing we regularly and frequently check for proper Dolby Pro Logic and Pro Logic 2 performance, using a Dolby DP563/Dolby DP564 encode/decode chain. Broadcast dialog levels are measured via a Dolby LM100, using leq(A) Dialnorm or ITU-R BS.1770-1 LKFS specifications. Like all of our high end services, these are freely used as needed without adding to your bill.
The microphone locker includes Neumann U87ai, U89, and TLM193, Sennheiser MKH416, MD421, and MKE2 lavalier, and AKG414EB.
Operation at any sample rate between 44.1kHz and 192kHz is possible. Broadcast and film delivery standards are predominantly 48 kHz.
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