NASCAR Images records “Dale” score at StarCity Recording

The score for the upcoming documentary “Dale,” about the life of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was recently completed at the StarCity Recording facility in Bethlehem, PA. A 22-person orchestra, led by composers David Wolfert and John Loeffler, performed the score. It was then mixed in 5.1 surround sound on StarCity’s Solid State Logic XL 9000 K Series console.

Scott Perry, chief mixing engineer with NASCAR Images, worked closely with Zak Rizvi, head engineer at StarCity, on this project. Industry vet Perry was impressed with StarCity’s state-of-the-art facilities and knowledgeable staff, making special note of the outstanding acoustics of the Live Room in handling a full orchestra.

During recording, Perry used a “Decca tree.” This is an apparatus developed by engineers at Decca Records that mounts three large-diaphragm condenser microphones on a single device that is placed high above the orchestra, capturing the orchestra’s performance as it appears acoustically in the room. Since the production was to be delivered as a 5.1 digital mix, an additional array of microphones was used to achieve the surround perspective of the orchestra. The score was performed once through, and then Perry and Rizvi double-tracked it to effectively simulate a 40-plus-piece orchestra. Not only was the orchestra seemingly larger, but this technique also made StarCity’s already massive Live Room sound essentially limitless.

Conveniently located near both New York and Philadelphia, StarCity Recording offers music and post-production clientele more than 50 years of combined professional recording and state of the art 5.1-surround sound experience. The documentary “Dale” is scheduled to air next year on the CMT network.

For more information, please visit www.starcityrecording.com.