I felt compelled to write this because I just received word that a studio I had designed was the location for an Golden Globe winning song for an animated release. I started to think about how it came about and what some of the feedback that we got along the way was. I know that if I would have listened to some of the experts I would not be writing this. Many say that you absolutely must have a large facility to mix surround in and that it would be crazy to even attempt a mix in a room like the one in this story. Well here is where we are at as an industry. Every setting where music is done is real. Every “project” studio is real. We are now in an age of adapted spaces and major production with minimal equipment. It was bound to happen as the evolution of our recording equipment has increased, it has helped usher in a technology that allows us to condense the largest of conditions into the smallest of spaces.
At the core of any musical situation you will find one question: “What does it sound like”? This question should be on your mind at all times as an engineer and even when attempting to make changes to garages, small offices, bedrooms. Etc… You get my point. When constructing new facilities top designers and architects create a road map to get the desired result for a room. Drawings, plans and schematics are all documents that get it done on the large scale. Well when adapting a location that already exists you must do many similar steps. List the pro’s and con’s about a room before you begin. Take basic measurements of the space, and do a pencil sketch notating all the doors, windows, and electrical outlets. List all the intended gear that will go in the room. Test the electrical connections to every area of the room. These are some of the questions I asked before we undertook conversion of the space.
The room was being used as a tape storage and media room. It measured (9’,6”wide x 14’long). It was originally used as a projection room so it had a thick sheet of glass on one side. This allowed the projector to stay inside the room and make noise and the movie to be shown through the glass on a wall. This room also had a dropped ceiling with limited airflow. Over the years the rooms use had been changed so in many places the ceiling tiles were broke and many wires were run into it without proper terminations, (wires twisted were together with electric tape).
Our finished room was designed to simulate the conditions found in most home studios. The transition to surround required us to bring in an HD rig from another studio. We worked with Dave Holland from Omni-Raxx designs on filling the modified space with a workstation that utilized all the space but did not crowd an already small room. I have always been able to submit them my sketches and ideas and have them craft really great furniture. It really helps to have a vision for what is possible in any room. While it is nice to have space to work with, many studios and creative situations now start in spaces that are the size of a standard bedroom. Below is an overhead view that Omni-rax came up with based on front room wall measurements and operational notes.
We used very minimal treatment. Carpet was installed on the floor and walls to help with reflections. We added a pitched ceiling and flush mount lights to create the perception of large expanse in a small space. Air ducts were re-routed and a multi input flat screen was added in front. Studio mains were concealed behind screens in each corner.
We were trying to create a room where the focus was on work, instead of what monitors you are listening to. So many times people draw conclusions about what a room will do by what they see. Remember that one question? “What does it sound like?”
We had originally brought the Blue Sky system in because when re-fitting the studios the topic of surround had been mentioned but had not been a primary concern. I knew that we would have to have a system that could work in any of our control rooms. Some of the other products available are just not the right fit the needs of a facility like this. When we have to change a control room for surround we sometimes have very little time. The Blue Sky system allows us to set up in each room and create a pre-set for the systems placement in each location. This system’s flexibility was instrumental, as this project was tracked in the smallest room of the facility and worked on in the larger studios A & B while on it’s way to completion.
The Blue Sky Monitors surround system was responsible for the conversion of this small production studio into a viable surround mix room. Their system instantly makes surround production a reality in any setting. While the size is small, just as is the case with our studio looks can be deceiving.
I hope that you get some insight on the thought process for how to use a small space and achieve maximum efficiency.
One more thing, the facility that this studio is in as called Paisley Park, in Minnesota. The artist who wrote the Golden Globe winning song from the animated feature “Happy Feet” is Prince.
