Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1230474
BUSINESS www.postmagazine.com 30 POST MAR/APR 2020 rchitect and acoustician John Storyk has been designing pro- fessional studios for more than 50 years. After studying architecture at Princeton and Columbia Universities, he got his start by creating Jimi Hendrix's legend- ary Electric Lady Studios in New York City. He later partnered with a talent- ed interior and fabric designer — and his wife — Beth Walters, to create the Walters-Storyk Design Group, which is responsible for more than 3,500 audio/ video production facilities to date, includ- ing spaces for artists such as Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and Ace Frehley, and facilities that include Electronic Arts, Crawford Post, Technicolor, AudioEngine and Blue Table Post, among many others. He is also active in the education market, creating media facilities such as Full Sail/ Platinum Post and the Ex'Pression Center for New Media. Recently John Storyk took time to look back at his career and how the studio design business has evolved to reflect changing trends and technologies. Here's what he had to say. You've been involved in the studio design business for more than 50 years. Do you remember when you got your first request for a post production facility? "It's going to be hard to remember exact dates, but I would have to think mid- '70s, when I met Alan Mirchin from Aura Sound and Howie Schwartz (Howard Schwartz Recording). Both were the leaders in audio post — particularly for the ad industry in New York City, which was the center of the world at that time for that type of production. Those two became special clients and friends. Alan is not with us anymore, but Howie remains a dear friend and lives, ironically, less than mile from me in the mid-Hud- son Valley." What was a studio like back then? "A lot of tape machines and large-format gear requiring machine rooms — both audio and video. This is where I learned about how rooms needed vibe, as well as hardware. And that they had to be spa- cious enough for lots of clients. It was an era of large studio dates, so live rooms had to be big enough to accommodate large groups of musicians. "Today, 80 percent of the equipment is not needed. The era of large studio musician dates is over, sadly, but vibe and great acoustics still top my list of goals and interest." Can you call attention to a few interesting post facilities you have worked on in your career and why each may be unique? "I think one of the issues with this type of question is the very definition of 'post'. I am not sure when we are in 'record' or when we are in 'post'. The line between these two content creation functions has recently grown more and more blurred. These might be somewhat old ideas. "Podcasting is certainly at the top of our list of 'studio prototypes' these days. As I think about it, podcasting is more or less talk radio without a license — thus a relatively easy threshold to enter. Due to the need to compete for podcasting listenership, the level of production for podcasts has suddenly increased to the point where podcasting facilities look and function like traditional music studios. "No surprise, radio stations are enter- ing the podcasting sandbox too. While you're creating radio content, might as well make a podcast, or even better, sim- ply re-purpose your shows as podcasts. "All of this makes for some fascinating architectural and studio design chal- lenges. As rooms get smaller we often need more of them. The more rooms you need, the more important isolation issues become. Also, low-frequency control in small rooms has always been more difficult than in large rooms. But as music is added to these productions, low-fre- quency content increases, as does the need for more accurate low-frequency behavior in production environments. So, never a dull moment!" Educational facilities have become a notable portion of WSDG's work. Was that intentional or more unexpected? "I always enjoyed teaching — and still do. The notion of teaching and mento- ring interns and apprentices has always been an effective way of developing valuable staff members for us, and has also brought me close to schools. Not surprisingly, those teaching experiences led to our designing educational facilities for a number of wonderful schools. They typically present a slightly different set of design parameters — combining real world architecture and technology with teaching concerns and requirements. Teaching studios are often designed as high-visibility showcases for tours, student interaction, etc. And these rooms are frequently oversized to accommo- date large classes, etc. The education world is always stimulating, always chal- lenging as new formats and technologies are introduced. And, there are plenty of times when I am not sure if I am the teacher or the student." From a business standpoint, you have been working to bring in partners and share ownership in WSDG in recent years. What was the idea behind it, and how do you see it evolving in the future, both for WSDG as a company, and you personally? "In 1969, when I started on this path — in what certainly has to be considered a most serendipitous beginning — if you told me that 50 years later I would be the founding partner of a 60-plus member team of international design and consulting experts specializing in technology, acoustics and architecture, I would have laughed! "I came out of college — Princeton '69 — more or less assuming I would be a musician. With a love and passion for WSDG AT 50 — LOOKING BACK, AND AHEAD BY MARC LOFTUS A ARCHITECT/ ACOUSTICIAN JOHN STORYK REFLECTS ON HIS CAREER & MODERN DESIGN TRENDS John Storyk