Post Magazine

DYK? 6 Post • May 2009 www.postmagazine.com Bits & Pieces N EW YORK — AudioEngine (www.audio- engine.net) recently opened two new large audio post suites that were designed by archi- tect/acoustician John Storyk of the Walters-Storyk De- sign Group. The rooms are par t of an entire floor that AudioEngine took over just below its existing 8th floor studios on Broadway. Hillary Kew Martell's chic Dolby-approved Studio E is based around a Digidesign Pro Tools|HD3 system, JBL surround monitors, self-powered KRK nearfields, Sharp Aquos 32-inch LCDs and a Sony VPLFE40 projector with a 122-inch Stewar t screen. The room's qualifica- tions make it well suited for mixing theatrical spots, in addition to broadcast commercials. Kew Mar tell uses a Digidesign ICON D-Command for mixing. To the left of the main mixing desk is a mid-sized voiceover booth.The room also takes advantage of nat- ural lighting, with two large windows that can be cov- ered via motorized shades. John Storyk says the design is a true room within a room, creating an isolated environ- ment with a rating of NC15. Rob DiFondi's new space is called the "Cabin in the Sky," and incorporates a rustic/woodsy theme, complete with wood and slate reminiscent of the Adirondacks. Di- Fondi star ted working in the room in February, relying on a Pro Tools|HD3 system, an Apple Mac Pro and B&W 5.1 monitors. A 65-inch Sharp flat screen is front and center, recessed into a wall that resembles a stone fireplace. The room also has a VO booth comparable to the one in Studio E. By Marc Loftus New AudioEngine suites come online Did You Know... Noise Floor: The inherent noise of a recording medium, a noise floor typically sounds like hiss and differs with the makeup of different types and qualities of tape and film. A con- sumer-grade cassette tape has a higher noise floor than a profes- sional 1/4-inch tape, and a high qual- ity digital recording has a lower noise floor than an analog magnetic tape recording. Optical soundtracks tend to have higher noise floors than magnetic tape. In general, with older material the noise floor can be very noticeable. Noise reduction processes such as Dolby A, Dolby SR and DBX are designed to re- duce the noise floor while still main- taining the intended program level. For more, visit TriggerTone.com. (Content courtesy of Chace Audio). AudioEngine's new WSDG-designed rooms feature Pro Tools gear. "I listen to my iPod in my while driving in my car, enduring LA traffic... on my afore- mentioned iPod, I'm currently listening to Minibar, [the greatest California folk rock band that's from England that you'll ever hear] and J.S. Bach's 'Brandenburg Con- cer to,' because it calms me down. Calm is good when driving in LA." — James Knight, Giant Studios Right Now What Post readers are experiencing Toronto's Elliott Animation (www.elliot- tanimation.com) is using Craft Camera Tools for GCS3 to produce Rollbots, an animated children's series from Amber- wood Entertainment that premiered in Canada and is soon coming to the US. Craft Camera Tools for GCS3 eliminates the process of manual keyframing for plotting the paths of animated objects and virtual cameras within 3DS Max and Maya. Users instead lay out animated scenes the same way they would shoot live action — by looking through a cam- era viewfinder and panning, tilting and zooming with real-life camera controls.

• Cover