Located on the historic 100-year-old Hollywood Center Studios lot, Sound Design Corporation is a digital audio post production facility that specializes in all types of programming including variety and award shows, comedic series, documentaries, dramas, concert specials, animation shorts, commercials and DVD projects.
From its inception in 1996, all five of the facility’s studios have been Fairlight-equipped and this equipment has been regularly upgraded to take into account the latest Fairlight technological advances.
The most recent upgrade has seen Sound Design invest in a Fairlight Xynergi desktop Media Production Centre, which organizes and delivers all the tools needed for high-end audio for video production in all widely used surround formats. The system harnesses the ‘green’ processing power of Fairlight’s CC-1 digital media engine and incorporates integrated PyxisTrack video.
Facility owner Paul Sandweiss says: “Sound quality and ease of file transfer were the main reasons why we decided to invest in Xynergi. There is a lot to learn with the new system, but the Fairlight team has been very helpful and have greatly assisted us in addressing some of our unique application issues. We believe that the new system will help us integrate easily into the coming work flow, where we will be doing less tape based delivery, and more file based delivery.”
The Xynergi Media Production Centre features the Xynergi controller, a desktop user interface that allows engineers to access all features and functions of the Fairlight CC-1, as well as commonly used Windows applications such as Email, Word and Excel.
A Xynergi system can be specified as a controller-only system (MPC 96/144) or delivered with a Xynergi 12 fader sidecar (MPC-144F and MPC230F), which can be standalone or sunk into custom furniture to provide an integrated working environment harmonious with the studio’s aesthetics.
Sound Design is so impressed with its first Xynergi that it has now ordered two more Xynergi systems and plans to replace its remaining three QDC machines with Xynergi throughout the course of 2009.
“We have already used the new Xynergi system to record all the live music performances at the recent American Music Awards, which took place at the Nokia Theatre and was broadcast live on ABC in November last year,” Sandweiss says. “We have also used it for the live music performances at the Grammy Nomination Concert and to record BET's annual celebration of gospel in December. The celebration of gospel was taped before a live audience but was mixed back here at Sound design using the new
Xynergi.”
Sandweiss adds that Xynergi’s next project will be building packages for the forthcoming SAG Awards, Grammy Awards, BET Honors and a whole host of comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central and others.
“I have always been impressed with the sound of the Fairlight through all its incarnations and I really do feel that it is the best sounding platform available,” Sandweiss adds. “My plan for 2009 is to take all the time that I save working on the new and more efficient Xynergy platform, and apply it to my golf game, which in turn will lower my handicap going forward, so not only will the new Fairlight have a positive effect on my business workflow, it will actually allow me to lower my golf scores, which is a great use of new technology.”
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About Sound Design
Sound Design Corporation specializes in television production and digital audio post production. Its five Fairlight-equipped mix suites support most audio and video formats and the facility provides full digital laydown and layback to and from Sony HDCam Sony HDCam SR, D-5, Digital-Beta and D-2. It also supports all analog formats such as Beta-SP, 1", and 3/4". Services offered include full sweetening, voice-over rooms for live voice or instrument recording, ISDN circuits to connect to other facilities anywhere in the world and a comprehensive sound effects library that includes custom designed sounds. Sound Design also provides location broadcast and recording services for all types of television productions, whether that be a one-off event or a long running series. For more information go to www.sounddesigncorporation.com
About Fairlight (www.fairlightus.com)
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia Fairlight designs and manufactures media production systems powered by the company’s groundbreaking CC-1 FPGA digital processing engine. The Fairlight product range includes Constellation, Connie, Xynergi and the new Pyxis MT, all of which feature in the world’s leading broadcasters, commercial post facilities, music studios and film production studios. Fairlight has a rich tradition of innovation and development and is at the forefront of green computing technology.
