Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1516067
ob Pomann's interest in filmmak- ing dates back to the 1970s, when, as a high school student in Queens, New York, he got involved in the stage & light- ing crew. Initially, Pomann thought he might like to pursue a career as a lighting designer, while working as a spotlight operator at Queensboro College. But a discouraging conversation with a lighting pro for the musical "Godspell" led to a change of heart. A friend would introduce him to an in- ternship program at a New York record- ing studio, and his teacher recognized his enthusiasm, ultimately approving his ap- plication. His dad also saw his potential, noticing how he fiddled with the family's FM tuner and recorder that they'd use to capture the Metropolitan Opera on Sundays. This led to an internship at a studio on West 43 rd Street, where he'd work on radio spots for movies and National Lampoon's Radio Hour, which featured talent that would go on to make names for themselves on Saturday Night Live. He even created sound e©ects for the long-running show. This interest in audio led him to open Pomann Sound (https://pomannsound. com) 40 years ago — an independent facility that grew over time, adding multiple rooms and working on sound for animated projects that included Nickelodeon's Doug, and more recently, Kiš on Disney+, as well as commercials and longer-form productions. Now, after four decades at their West 46 th Street location, Pomann Sound has moved into new space on the 11 th floor at 315 Madison Avenue, just a few blocks away. The move was part by design and part circumstantial. When COVID hit, Pomann and his team of mixers/design- ers Justin Kaupp, Max Conklin and Diana David, along with EP Josh Moyer, reeval- uated their current set-up. No longer was there strong demand for their larger Studio A, as most of their work was being finished in smaller rooms and remotely. Clients were becoming more comfortable with remote approval, and their use of Connection Open (www.connectionopen. com) — a VOIP service that doesn't com- promise on audio quality — helped them secure work with Warner Bros. for remote recording, including support on the 2020 animated mystery/comedy Scoob!. "That gave us money during COVID," he says of the remote work, "because the other things weren't happening as much. And then the ad stu© started picking up more, and we would send mic kits out. We'd mix a lot of reality shows, and we got two di©erent cartoons." He's referring to Apple TV+'s Duck & Goose, for which they worked on 20 ep- isodes, spanning a year and a half, along with Disney+'s Kiš, which began with 20 episodes and is now up to 50. "COVID pushed us to somewhere we were going already," says Pomann of the move. He got lucky with the new space. It was already built to be used as a studio, requiring only cosmetic touches and his equipment installation to get up and running. "I didn't have to build any walls," he explains. "This was a recording studio. It was designed in the '90s. Someone spent a good deal of money for an architect to design an audio post place that has three rooms that are identically sized. They're all Dolby-sized rooms. It was made for music and audio post for commercials." The space was unoccupied for nearly three years, so Bob was able to negotiate what he feels is a fair five-year lease. "It was the first time in 40 years of paying real estate to New York City landlords that I had the upper hand in my life," he jokes. Pomann contacted studio builder Chris Harmaty to help get the space up to speed. Work began in February of 2023 and spanned several months before the team ultimately moved in last May. All three studios are set up for Atmos mixing and are equipped with Avid Pro Tools, along with voiceover booths. Bob also uses Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve and Fairlight tools. "It's so convenient," he says of the Blackmagic software. "I build it in there and then I'll give it to one of the guys to mix. Or I'll do it myself. There are a lot of things that are quicker (for) sound on the Fairlight than they are on Pro Tools…And it has some ADR stu© that's really cool." The new location is already seeing an increase in sessions, with more in-person work taking place in a single month than in the past two years, he notes. The studio was also mixing a documentary that's aimed at a festival run. NOW 40, POMANN SOUND RELOCATES TO NEW SPACE BY MARC LOFTUS A STROKE OF LUCK LANDS THIS STUDIO IN A PRIME LOCATION B OPEN HOUSE Pomann Sound's new Studio B Principal Bob Pomann and mixer Justin Kaupp