Firehouse's fiery flexibility: this new studio, in business since June, has picked up some impressive TV and film work - Audio Today & Tomorrow - Firehouse Recording Studios - Company Profile

Post, Jan, 2003 by Christine Bunish

PASADENA, CA -- Things have been heating up at Firehouse Recording Studios (www.firehouserecordingstudios.com) since it opened last June. The recording facility, built in the livery of an 1889 firehouse, has quickly gained a following in the television, film, commercial and music recording industries. It is currently recording and mixing to picture all the music for the John Ritter sitcom Eight Simple Rules, the drama The District and episodes of Seventh Heaven. And it's slated to handle audio post for an upcoming Brad Pitt feature.

"For a facility to survive today it needs to be as versatile as possible," notes studio manager Melanie Mullens Hoyson. "A lot of people like to categorize you -- 'Do you do music for film or television or records?' They want to call you a post house or a label house. We wanted to make sure we could be used by any sort of client, so we're extremely flexible. We can handle any analog or digital set-up, and any combination of the two."

Hoyson came to Firehouse experienced in bridging the analog and digital gap through years of engineering and is well versed in the technology that's at the heart of Firehouse. "At Firehouse we don't have to deal with the hassles of tedious recalls and automation crashing," she says. Hoyson guides clients through Firehouse's hassle-free digital post, explaining how the process can ultimately save them money. Eight Simple Rules usually books eight hours of audio post for two episodes but is now completing two shows in just half that time.

Firehouse is a division of Disc Marketing. It was formed five years ago by gold and platinum selling songwriter/producer Tena Clark to create targeted marketing CDs and Enhanced CDs using music and interactive content for clients such as Target, Toyota, 7-up, Coca-Cola, General Mills and Victoria's Secret. In addition, its in-flight division programs audio channels for United Airlines worldwide and the president's Air Force One and the vice president's Air Force Two.

Clark had been using LA-area recording facilities to execute both Disc Marketing's and her own projects when she decided to build a studio of her own. She originally conceived a one-room, in-house studio, says Hoyson, "but it grew from there. Tena's used to doing huge projects that require a great deal of bandwidth. She realized one room just wasn't going to cut it."

So Clark set her sights on constructing her dream studio, a facility with a much higher price tag than initially envisioned, which would also appeal to outside clientele.

THE STUDIO

Firehouse Recording boasts three rooms, which may be used separately or tied together. The 5.1 Studio A, the main tracking room, can hold 30 musicians and has four additional iso rooms. Its control room features an all-discrete Class A signal path through the client's choice of vintage Neve API or Calrec modules feeding the most fully loaded Digidesign Pro Tools/HD3 system available. A ProControl 48-fader; 80-input-wide console and dual cinema displays are also on hand. The room can lock to picture from traditional 3/4-inch video or to digital picture using the Pro Tools system. "Match that with a seven-foot, four-inch Bosendorfer piano and vintage mic selection and clients are ecstatic with their equipment options and how true the room sounds," Hoyson says.

Studio B, another 5.1 room which flanks the main tracking room, offers a smaller control room with a second Pro Tools/HD3 system, this one with a ProControl 24-fader, 24-input-wide console, plus dual cinema displays and a flat-screen video monitor. "I'm expecting it to be a really hot mix room," says Hoyson. "We've had some projects start in A, move to B to mix and use B's iso room for additional tracking or overdubs."

Studio C has been booked primarily by Disc Marketing's in-flight division. It has a Pro Tools Mix3 system, a Control/24, Focusrite mic pre amps and dual 20-inch monitors. Gabe Moffat serves as Firehouse's mix engineer and Ed Woolley is assistant engineer.

"Usually for facilities to get the technical depth we have here they'd have to retrofit, which would prove to be too expensive," Hoyson points out. "They handle this technology on a rental basis. They might take two hours to set up for a session, and that comes as a cost to the client. Since we're designed at our core to be flexible, that's a savings we can pass on to clients; we can be extremely competitive in pricing out the rooms with no sacrifice of quality to the client."

For clients with music needs, Firehouse has a roster of staff composers and offers Five Alarm Music, a boutique music library.

THE WORK

Firehouse has enjoyed a busy first six months and projects are lined up through the first quarter 2003. Hoyson believes the company is positioned ahead of the curve and as soon as people become aware of the new facility and its fast, efficient, streamlined way of doing business "even more business will come our way because we can save clients money."