A world tour of the most prestigious recording facilities used for film scores.
Coming as it must in the final stages of film and television projects, scoring can be a formidable beast. Composers are pulling their hair out because of last-minute editorial tweaking, contractors are vying for the best musicians, recording studios are juggling last-minute bookings, and engineers are under the gun from the producers and director to deliver nothing less than perfection. The pressure is intense and the results can make or break a film.
Major scoring stages and the hierarchy of recording professionals may gravitate to obvious centers such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris. But fine scores have been consistently generated in many other locales since the birth of the talkies. There's a world of great music to explore, but a tour of scoring stages rightfully begins in the capital of the film world.
L.A.'s recently-refurbished Todd-AO Scoring Studio may have the largest scoring stage in the world. At 100 feet by 72 feet with a 35-foot ceiling, it can accommodate a 150-piece orchestra in its 11,000 square feet. Chief scoring mixer is the accomplished Shawn Murphy, who routinely works with such stellar composers as John Williams, James Horner, James Newton Howard, John Barry, Marc Shaiman and Danny Elfman. Todd-AO has a Neve console with a custom 6-channel film-monitor section and Flying Faders automation. Recent scoring projects include “The River Wild” for Jerry Goldsmith, “The Lion King” with Hans Zimmer, and “The Quick and the Dead” with Alan Silvestri.
Over in Burbank at Warner Bros., senior vp of postproduction Don Rogers oversees the completion of the studio's first phase of updating and remodeling. They now have six dubbing stages – four of which are entirely new – and 25 digital audio workstations handling 15 sitcoms and six episodics around the clock. On the main stage, a workhorse since the ’30s, jazz artist David Benoit just completed his first score for Clint Eastwood's “The Stars Fall on Henrietta”, and “The Bridges of Madison County” is coming up. With a capacity of 125 musicians, it is acoustically one of the finest stages around, and in 1995 Warner Bros. is pumping in big bucks for a total overhaul of the main control room. In February a new all-format 518-seat screening theater will open with a Warner Bros. museum adjacent.
In the heart of Hollywood is Paramount Pictures' famed Scoring Stage M. With dimensions of 90 feet by 75 feet, a 40-foot ceiling and massive adjustable acoustics, Stage M is the home of hundreds of hit scores. Upgraded two years ago, M's console is a Neve VRSP 60 Legend with custom cue mixer. Recent projects include “Nell”, “Star Trek: Generations”, “A Pyromaniac's Love Story”, and “Losing Isaiah”. Located on the bustling Paramount lot, the commissary is nearby, with even a shoe repair if you're down on your heels.
In Culver City, Sony Pictures Studios encompasses a wealth of new digital technology as well as the legacy of the MGM days in a scoring facility famous since the days of Busby Berkeley. The acoustics are so good that they are reluctant to even dust the hallowed woodwork. The main room is 93 feet by 66 feet with a 27-foot ceiling, and the control room is one of the biggest in the world at 59 feet by 42 feet. Sumptuous dubbing theaters feature advanced Harrison consoles, with digital and film editing available and (count ’em) 180 film editorial rooms. Coming in 1995 are two large digital dubbing theaters.
In addition to these L.A. giants, there are a number of other fine studios designed for visual music, among them Capitol and Ocean Way, both of which have some of the last real underground echo chambers.
In the Bay Area north of Los Angeles, Berkeley's Fantasy Studios easily accommodates large orchestral dates and is near two international airports. With four studios sporting Neve, Trident and SSL consoles, Fantasy is well-known for fine recording and offers a 24-track MIDI room to satisfy hybrid synth-acoustic work.
Further north is Bad Animals/Seattle, with S.P.A.R.S. (Society of Professional Audio Recording Services) president Steve Lawson at the helm. The six-studio complex features scoring, digital post and Studio X, the premiere scoring studio in the Northwest. Recent scores include “Picture Bride” (Cliff Edelman) and “Evil Dead III
(Danny Elfman). The Seattle Symphony, one of the most recorded orchestras in the country, is kept busy at Bad Animals for projects with people from all over the world.
For full digital audio post one might consider hopping across the border to Vancouver's Post Modern. With 7,500 square feet and six control rooms, Post Modern does sound for such shows as “Cobra” and “Highlander” and provides services for hundreds of specials, series and commercials.
Continuing eastward and to the south on the soundstage one finds Dallas Sound Labs, a multistudio complex just five minutes from DFW International airport. Featuring a 2,000-square-foot scoring studio with room for 55 musicians and complete with 35mm projection, Dallas has worked for Universal, Paramount and TriStar among other major and minor players.
Next stop is New York City, a studio haven since the birth of recording. With big space a scarcity in the Big Apple,
The Hit Factory raised the roof of their full-floor rooftop scoring stage to a height of 35 feet. Big enough for 150 musicians, it is surrounded by four isolation booths and a control room housing a 72-channel, eight-bus Neve
VRSP Legend console. Recent dates include “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Immortal Beloved”, “Wolf”, and
“'Interview with the Vampire”. Three other rooms can handle 35 to 40 musicians from the wealth of nearby talent, and creature comforts are satisfied with nine private lounges with playback monitors and a 24-hour gym and steam room.
From Madison Avenue, cab it over to West 54th for a visit to the impressive Sony Music Studios. At 94 feet by 75 feet, the facility has the largest soundstage in Manhattan, with fully integrated facilities for video, film and television production, music recording, rehearsing, mixing and mastering. Sony also has satellite uplink, fiber optics and ISDN for global hookups. Recent projects include audio and video for “MTV Unplugged Bob Dylan”, “Mariah Carey Live”, “Top of the Pops” in England, and a Broadway cast album for “Beauty and the Beast”.
Clinton Recording on 10th Avenue has a great history and a sweet room big enough for 80 musicians, featuring a classic Neve 8078 console. Clinton recently took care of David Shire for “Reunion”, Rachel Portman for “Smoke”, and a two-hour orchestral score for the Japanese animated feature “Space Battle Cruiser Yamato”. “Mixed Nuts” and “Ready to Wear” also passed through Clinton's portals.
Across the pond, London serves the needs of scoring as well as any city in the world. The renowned Abbey Road can hold The London Symphony Orchestra plus a huge choir with room to spare. Studio One's 40-foot ceiling is just one of the elements helping to create the magical sounds of “Philadelphia”, “The Pagemaster”, and “M. Butterfly”. Neve and SSL consoles, 35mm projection, video sync and a pub right in the studio make for a pleasant and productive session.
CTS Studios in Wembley was established 30 years ago and has been a success ever since. With a 130-musician capacity in the large room, the staff includes Dick Lewzey, recording engineer for the full series of James Bond movies. CTS, which will install a Neve Capricorn digital console this spring, has also recorded scores for such recent films as “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “The Browning Version”. There is parking for 100 cars, with full catering and bar facilities available.
Under the guidance of George Martin, the new Air Studios are in a beautifully-converted Victorian church. The Hall is 4,000 square feet by 54 feet high, with three large galleries and two booths of 500 square feet each. Studio 1 is 1,600 square feet, and both control rooms have full LCRS Dynaudio M4 monitoring plus all video and multitrack formats. With easy access to all major U.K. orchestras, recent scores include “Mary Shelley's Frankenstein”, “Legends of the Fall”, and “The Jungle Book”.
In nearby Dublin, Windmill Lane's Brian Masterson and Andrew Boland have engineered scores for “The Mask”,
“Wagons East”, and “A River Runs Through It”. A truly rich musical community provides a wide range of musicians, including the highly respected Irish Film Orchestra.
But a tour of the continent is not complete without noting that in 1992 Record Plant founder Chris Stone formed a consortium of studios dubbed The World Studio Group. After operating Paramount's Stage M for a number of years and bringing the latest technology to scoring, Stone realized the need for a global studio network that could ensure standards of excellence and experience. The concept has proven itself with many film and TV companies calling on the WSG for sessions here, there and everywhere.
Across the English Channel is WSG member Studios Guillaume Tell (William Tell), a lovely complex housed in an old movie theater just 10 minutes from the Champs Elysees. What better place to assemble 120 Parisians and to enjoy the same fine sound heard in “Jean de Florette”, “Cyrano”, “Les Miserables”, and “Ready to Wear”? Another fine Paris operation is Plus XXX, recently enlarged to three studios. Established in 1980, Plus XXX offers ample scoring space and mixing, private lounges and three splendid residential apartments for visiting clientele.
In artsy Munich, Germany, Arco Studios was once home to Deutsche Grammophon and is still one of the finest-sounding scoring studios on the continent. In its 3,500-square-foot stage, the Philharmonic Film Orchestra Munich has performed for such films as “The Piano” and “The House of the Spirits”. An ambitious operation, Arco participants also arrange for scoring with orchestras and fine studios in Budapest, Berlin, Prague and as far away as Perth, Australia.
In Cologne, Sound Studio N has recently completed scores for Harold Faltermeyer as well as recording “The Best of John Williams”. The studio is installing the new SSL Axiom digital console this spring and has great musicians available, especially for strings and brass.
North to Stockholm, Sweden, finds the tour at Europa Studios AB. Recently remodeled, the great 60-year-old facility has scored everything from Ingmar Bergman classics to the recent comedy 'YRROL.' Sweden is home to many fine musicians and orchestras, and this studio has a long history of bringing their talent to the silver screen. To the east is Mosfilm, the equivalent of a Russian Hollywood in a self -contained film city dating back to 1922 and the great films of Sergei Eisenstein. Designed for large-scale scoring, the Tom Hidley-designed studios easily accommodate huge orchestras, 150-member choirs, top engineers, SSLconsoles and THX sound.
Leaving Russia, the tour continues at BOP Studios, 45 minutes by air from Johannesburg in southern Africa. Completed at a cost of $22 million in 1992, BOP is the eighth wonder of the world, with huge rooms, top Neve, SSL and Focusrite consoles, luxurious accommodations and a private five-acre preserve. Disney recorded vocals here for “The Lion King” and has spread the word that the new stages here rival the best rooms in the world.
The last stop on this whirlwind tour is Tokyo, a city with precious little space but with a great history of film music. Hitokuchizaka, an affiliate of the mammoth Fujisankei group, is located near the Imperial Palace and has orchestra-size studios, Neve and SSL consoles and an amazing array of brick and cherrywood interiors. Sound Inn, an affiliate of NTV, has four studios, one with a 75-musician capacity, and Over Quality consoles – the most expensive in the world and arguably the finest sounding all discrete boards ever built.
The world seems to have shrunk via digital fiber optic satellite computerized communications networks, but there will always be a need for great studios, great orchestras and skillful practitioners of artful recording.