Daniel Pellerin is the Genie and Gemini Award-winning director of mixing services at Deluxe Post Production Sound in Toronto. In this article he discusses how two Toronto audio shops have succeeded through cautious strategies and the combination of film and digital techniques.

When I arrived in Toronto in 1980 to seek my fortune in post-production sound, the landscape of our industry looked and felt very different than it does today. It is mind-boggling to think of the distance we have covered since then, technologically speaking.

Technology has always determined the pace of change for technicians. Digital technology has made it much faster, easier and more stable for everyone using it to his or her advantage. From a creative standpoint, technology has been a liberating force that has allowed our studios to evolve and, yes, survive the harsh economic realities of today’s post-production marketplace.

Because of its strong and highly creative independent film community, Toronto has always supported a wide variety of post facilities. Some of these facilities embraced new technology during the turbulent transition between film and the more convenient videotape/multitrack-based technology, and as a result adapted well to the shift in market demands.

With the digital revolution that continued in the mid-1990s, it became a free-for-all. Basement studios flourished, and anyone who had Pro Tools and knew how to use it was a post expert. Mixing and editing were at your fingertips without having to resort to any formal training. Because of this phenomenon, the post landscape is now quite different. Audio post facilities have had to depend on strong financial alliances to maintain stability in a fragmented marketplace that has been realigning itself for the final stages of the digital revolution – D-cinema.

An exceptional survivor of all this change is Spence-Thomas Audio Post, launched in 1967 by Patrick Spence-Thomas. Opening on Jarvis Street just below the CBC, he decided in 1971 that a move into studios on Charles Street – across from CTV – would be good for business. Throughout the 1970s, while recording sound for feature films around Toronto, Spence-Thomas developed his studio to service a growing list of broadcasters, including CTV and TVOntario, as well as documentary and corporate clients.

In 1983, his son Richard joined the team, following the training stages then considered essential. He began as a machine room operator and tape loader, learning to align and maintain studio machines, and also did voice recording in the studio. Within two years, he began mixing with his father, and by 1990, he took over the mixing tasks altogether while Patrick managed the studio.

In 1995, the shop moved into the same building as Eyes Post Group, with the addition of another studio in a separate location on Carlaw Avenue, once occupied by sound maverick Larry Johnson and his now-defunct Sound Techniques. Since his father semi-retired from the business two years ago, Richard has owned and operated the facility, which has a full-time staff of nine and has been steadily growing because of Richard’s commitment to technical innovation, tempered by a patient investment strategy.

‘A good indicator that the time is right for change is when the price of a needed upgrade is in an acceptable range for your budget,’ Spence-Thomas advises.

While the digital domain has allowed Spence-Thomas to expand and solidify his position in the industry, he believes in holding on to the best of film tradition.

‘One must adapt new technology to what has always worked well, creating a hybrid that works to help you achieve your goals,’ he says. ‘Digital technology allows us to do things we couldn’t afford to do before. Our infrastructure allows for radical shifts in technology that would be far too expensive for a larger company.’

Yet he cautions that innovations must be brought on wisely and without haste.

‘Make sure your clients and collaborators are ready for the changes, and be prepared to deal with the problems these changes may bring when you implement them,’ he says.

Calculated risks can pay off in the long run. For example, in 1995 Spence-Thomas purchased one of the original V1 Random Access Digital Video Recorder/Players, which allow rapid access to the image source, translating into 20% to 30% savings on recording or mixing time. These systems have only become common in most post shops over the past couple of years.

Spence-Thomas also sees enormous growth potential in networking his facility through high-resolution Internet lines with other audio and video facilities, as he did recently for the post on a Men with Brooms promo for Serendipity Point Films and Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution. In today’s multi-format world, he also provides specialized PAL/NTSC audio conversions and audio layback to high-definition. It’s all about responding to clients’ needs in the current market.

‘Tighter time lines and smaller budgets force you to improve your systems and your own technique as a mixer and editor,’ Spence-Thomas says. ‘You want to give the client the greatest amount of creative flexibility with the least impediment.’

Film Sound One

Film Sound One, formerly DBFX, is a more recent arrival on the audio scene. Dwayne Newman founded the shop in 1996 and was the resident sound editor/mixer. Within a couple of years the shop established itself through prestigious collaborations with Toronto doc filmmaker Associated Producers, on such projects as Quest for the Lost Tribes. Newman has since been nominated for two Geminis for best sound in an information/documentary program – in 2000 for High Road Productions’ Machine Gun: The Gun Comes Home, and in 2001 for Red Apple Entertainment’s Counter Force.

Film Sound One’s client base has been primarily from docs, corporate videos, shorts and low-budget features. Newman adds that these clients are savvy about digital capabilities.

‘The people from the production companies I deal with have grown and developed with this new enabling technology,’ he says.

When Film Sound One launched, Newman developed an unorthodox approach to mixing within Pro Tools System whereby he avoided the traditional console approach to mixing altogether. His goal was to provide quality sound at a reduced budget.

Film Sound One has recently provided editing facilities and mixing services for The Comedy Network’s forthcoming series Puppets Who Kill, which enlightened Newman about many aspects of established mixing techniques often taken for granted. As sound supervisor and sound designer during the process, I was able to assist him in developing this instinct. The hybrid method of mixing – film and digital – is definitely valid in driving a busy, fast-paced, sound-designed production with a tight schedule and budget.

Newman now feels better prepared to tackle dramas. Like Spence-Thomas, he believes you can technologically evolve at an affordable level.

‘The advantage of a smaller facility like mine is that a large investment is not necessary to improve,’ he says.

One of the important advantages Newman has over some facilities his size is immediate access to a large library of sound effects during editing and mixing, through a database accessed through Pro Tools System.

Newman is now growing his business to compete with mid-size shops, keeping rates low through purchasing new and improved yet affordable technology. He is presently setting his sights on a Yamaha 02R96 digital console with 48 inputs high resolution (24 bit/96k).

-www.spence-thomas.com

-www.filmsoundone.com