Skylark Sound Studios, a digital audio facility located in the Burbank Media District which specializes in voice recording, recently completed construction of a second control room, Studio B, which is outfitted with custom Argosy Console 90 Series studio furniture.
Skylark Sound’s Studio A already features a custom Argosy 90 Series console housing the control room’s production equipment and also includes a Mirage 240 Series desk for clients.
Skylark, at its present location on Hollywood Way in Burbank for the past 11 years, is a one-stop voice production facility that offers a menu of digital audio services, including recording, mixing, editing, mastering and sound design.
A SAG/AFTRA signatory, the studio boasts a client list of high-end video game, animation and toy companies, including the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Sony Entertainment, Square Enix, THQ, EA, Leapfrog, and many more.
Skylark’s new studio was in the works just over a year ago, and has recently been completed. Studio B features a Tascam DM-3200 digital audio console positioned at the center of the custom Argosy desk. The control room’s recording and processing equipment, including Martinsound MSS-10 and Avalon VT-737SP 737 microphone preamps, dbx 160-SL compressor, Apogee Electronics Rosetta converter and Big Ben clock, and Avid Pro Tools HD system, are located close by the engineer in the Argosy desk’s double 19-inch rack bays.
“As a studio that focuses primarily on voice recording, we like to have our preamps within arm’s reach,” explains Rita Kedineoglu, who worked in the audio department at Disney before opening Skylark Sound. “So we had Argosy put in two rack spaces so that we could be at arm’s reach to adjust the mic preamp gain at any given moment.”
She continues, “We do a considerable amount of dialog recording for video games; that has been our niche. We’ve also worked on several animated films, DVD bonus features, Apps, audio books, and many consumer products that contain voices such as talking toys. We also do a lot of ADR recording and foreign dubbing.”
The new room, a little smaller than the 535-sqare-foot Studio A control room, is configured for voice recording and surround mixing.: “The engineer is positioned in the center facing a 60-inch LED monitor, so it’s set up nicely for both ADR and mixing to picture,” she says.
Kedineoglu also had Argosy customize the client’s end of the desk to better accommodate a laptop computer or tablet. “The blank desk inserts are usually at an angle, but I figured that a lot of times the director or producer will have a laptop. Rather than have the computer slide down, we had Argosy custom create the flat surface so that the client can put the computer a little further back and have the script up front.”
Studio A has an Argosy 90 Series console of a similar size to the new furniture in Studio B, including a double-19-inch rack, but is configured for a Panasonic DA-7 digital mixing console. Studio A’s console was modified to position the Avalon mic pre closer to the engineer’s hand. The recording and processing chain is otherwise identical to the new room.
