Christopher Kennedy Alpiar

I always try and work with 48k/24b. But if the files you got to work with are 44.1/16, there is no point to upsampling. Upsampling does not add anything good to the audio, keep in mind what it means. Analog audio, as we know, is a pure wave, and it can be realized visually as that wave. Digital audio is recording points along that wave and using an algorithm to dither between those points to re-create a wave. Down-sampling is useful to create smaller files, but we lose quality because we are using less points along the wave to store data to recreate it later. Without having the original analog signal as analog or having a hi rez file, there is no way to recover the lost points when downsampling. Therefore upsampling is a useless task that will just add points to the wave based on the computer guesstimation and will not add quality or recover lost quality. The only reason ever to upsample, is if you have a chance to mix the lower grade audio with higher grade, or if you are recording material on top of it. So for instance I get some tracks at 16b 44.1k and I am going to overdub some tracks to later mix with them. I know I can record at a higher resolution and I should do so (at least MY tracks will have the higher original rez). So then I would upsample the 16b 44.1k to what I am going to record at, and do my overdubs at the new, higher rez. Hope that helps

I agree if you want to be compatible, then you need Pro Tools, and an Mbox is fine, although if you can afford the extra cost, the digi003 is really good value as well. But sounds like he has Logic, and since, while most studios have protools, every system handles wav and aif files so you arent totally at a loss working in logic. But logic is more for composers to write and mix and master music. But if you really want to stick with logic and just need some hardware I would recommend some of the MOTU products, excellent sound and features/value. I use several motu 2408 MKIII's in my studio, which is perfect for my needs but they have a smaller interface like the 828 which is still quite happening

the part that you screw the mic capsules into IS the K6, the capsules are other names, whether you put on the lavs or shotguns or whatever. Just to be clear there is no 'base power supply module' as they are powered by AA batteries. But the portion I *think* you are referring to, well that is the k6

FYI for mixing and mastering (and a little tracking if you have some source of I/O, there is a really inexpensive Pro Tools nowadays, M-Box micro, which is a USB dongle type of hardware great for mixing PT sessions on a portable system: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mbox2Micro/ with the hardware and pro tools LE its around $250. In my mind that is worth 10x the value of soundtrack pro

Pretty much all the major DAWs work on an equal level, tho Pro Tools is definitely still the most prevalent found in more studios than any other, but all of these do great with 5.1 mixing and encoding: Logic Cubase Digital Performer Sonar Soundforge probably most of the lesser programs like reason and garage band and acid output in 5.1 as well but I would stick with one of the more professional programs

I can tell you Art Blakey estate is run by his eldest daughter Evelyn Blakey. She lives in NYC. I dont have a current number for her but she has been living in the same apt in Alphabet City since before Art passed. If you find her give her my name, I played with her a few times and hung out at her place in 95-96

I hate to be the cynic, but is it possibly a well done blue screen?? :-)

I dont think many places rent analog tape machines any more. I would probably contact recording studios in your area. I know Refraze Recording Studio in Dayton OH has several 24 track analog machines, really nice ones that they keep in shape. Keep in mind that analog machines must be kept up on and calibrated regularly and just finding the tape to calibrate them is a crazy search. Good luck with it

Major upgrades in my studio in January! Now I am using a Mac Pro quad core with 9 gigs ram and 2 farm computers for gigastudio. So my sonic pallette is growing exponentially as a result. Come check out the cue "Flying" on this page: http://www.alpiar.com/demos.aspx to hear the beginning of a richer era of possibility for me. I also added to my extensive sample library EastWest EWQLSO, Symphonic Choirs, RA and Bosendorfer and Kontakt 3 onto my GigaStudio 3 setup with the Vienna Symphonic Library. Here is a complete list of my sample libraries now: http://www.alpiar.com/studio.aspx?cat=samplib see my studio here: http://www.alpiar.com/studio.aspx And while I am working on a few projects right now, I will have some time for new projects by mid May if any of you guys or gals have some score composition needs. I am pushing hard to build my reel so I would love to work with some talented folks.

OK I have played with is some more... the main negative is all the sounds are wet already, so there is no way to mix them in with other sounds, you have to take other sounds and mix them to your EW libraries. This is a pretty severe limitation IMO. I will probably stick with my VSL libraries mostly and add in EQSOL rarely only

Were it me, I would just use my mouth and some digital effects :) Sounds like a fun time

I got the xp expansion for the gold symphonic orchestra. As well as the symph choirs with wordbuilder, RA and the bosendorfer this week. So far I have not had a lot of time to play with it yet as I am in the middle of 2 projects and I am going to dig in this next weekend. But the little bit I heard sounds pretty nice! No it is not the VSL, which I have the VSL full pro edition (pre Vienna Instruments) as well as the EmulatorX orchestral libraries. But with every library and sound module out there, there are strong and weak points to each. Having extra sounds to work with is a great luxury, and I think my purchase of the East West libraries is a solid one that will get many miles of use from :) I will report more as I play with the EW stuff next week

Hey all! My schedule is opening up in about a month for some more shorts/features. If anyone is needing score music, please keep me in mind! :) Thanks!

I think its hugely varied from company to company, from era to era, there is no single answer for this, tho maybe someone that has worked in post at paramount in the 70s could give you a definitive answer

wow that sounds cool Hal! I am going to have to make a trip to see that. They couldnt restore with a better engineer thats for sure :) I love they are restoring Benograph (spelling) as well...

I am assuming you want to know about the audio chain in the very last period of analog recording? That would be around 1970-75. After that the process became more and more digital and everything changed. Its such a huge question you are asking as it was different in every studio and production company in the world and depended mostly on studio head engineer preference and gear selection. Assuming also the top 5 film companies are what you have interest in (like how was audio tracked for the top box office winners for 1972) it was in constant flux and was constantly changing process. I dont have exact answers but I have done some reading on it and here are some things I can suggest :) Firstly I suggest for every filmmaker to be as much of an expert in this process as is possible, a decent resource to start with is Sound for Film and Television By Tomlinson Holman (developer of THX system): http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Film-Televisio...o/dp/0240802918 Getting into the history is really interesting, its amazing the circles that happened to get to where we are today, like the Warner Brothers' Vitaphone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitaphone which competed with what would become the standard through the 70s, the RCA Photophone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Photophone a quick way to see all the changes in film audio is a nice timeline you can see: http://www.classicthemes.com/technologyTimeline.html http://filmsound.org/film-sound-history/ this one is particularly funny: http://lavender.fortunecity.com/hawkslane/...rt-of-sound.htm those damn talkies! There are probably some guys on this forum that can answer much more definitively but thats at least a start on info I can share, hope it helps!

Just moved my studio, was offline for a few weeks, I am now in a very peaceful environment with all my toys ;) Upgraded some parts while i was at it, so better mixes are coming now Stop on by if you are looking for custom or pre-written music for your projects! best

You might want to check out Empirical Labs Distressor http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ELI8M/ it might be what you are looking for

Hey folks! Been busy busy over at the studio and working now with several members of cinematography.com Always room for more tho and especially for the Fall so come look me up if you are needing any custom orchestral scoring :)

errr you mean stereo tracking, mixing is what you do in post. Dont forget the only way to record in stereo is with 2 mics, or in some cases with a "stereo" mic that has 2 xlr cables coming out of it. DONT use a splitter to go to both left and right channel from a single mic out, you are just adding noise to the chain and it is not stereo, just 2 channels of mono. If you want sound on both channels and your camera reserves left and right for your 2 inputs, use the left only and dupe it to the right in post (and dont forget to hard pan left and right then). Its still not stereo but it will have less noise then using one of those knife-in-the-heart-of-a-sound-engineer splitters lol ;)

All depends in what you want Karl. I have worked professionally as an engineer and studio musician in recording studios for over 25 years. If you want true sound of all the harmonic frequencies of an acoustic instrument, or voice, you almost always want to use a large diaphragm condensor, or a ribbon mic in some cases. Of course if you dont really care as long as the sound is in the general ballpark, heck you can use anything. I never said for on location to use a large diaphragm, and i never would since you will get every pindrop in the room along with your instrument unless you are really in tune with a top quality noise gate. Now since you obviously read the words of my post but not the meaning I will help you. What I was saying was not you must use this kind of mic for this kind of thing NO. The point was that there is NO multi purpose mic that will work on every situation. So kindly buzz off on criticisms that are based on poor reading skill

It could be the cable also. A VERY worthwhile investment for anyone recording anything with xlr cables is to pick up a cable tester. The first thing we check in the studio is the cables and 90% of the time signal loss or noise problems are the cables. So pick up a 15-25 dollar cable tester and check out your cable... If you are so inclined its not hard to make your own cables and resolder when the jacks go bad. Also you can make custom lengths then too ;)

Actually to the actors it is the law and the police, most often representing them not against them. But when you are a union member and do a non union gig, you run the risk of HUGE fines and being even kicked out of the union. And where would a serious actor work if he was kicked out of SAG... yeap thats right, making pornos MAYBE. So yea there are scabs out there but generally its the bottom of the barrel with only rare exception. As a musician and member of AFM I can tell you in Seattle they are currently fining ANY MUSICIAN caught recording non-union film score sessions $50,000.00US or be kicked out of AFM. That is a particular hardball attempt at breaking up the non-union seattle orchestra but there is an excellent example of playing in big leagues against the unions. I only wish there was a union for composers so I could get some Hoffa types to back me up with what I do :) Maybe some day Important point! If you try and scate by the union(s) what you are doing is setting up your life to weaken the lives of other people. As artists it is our fundamental purpose to create works of art that help this rotten world we live in, not to abuse what we can to make a quick buck. So learn how the unions operate and get in a habit of working with them. In the end it is a better path for you and everyone that works with you

2 quick thoughts to add: 1st is if your subjects heart and soul is in her playin gof the pipe organ, it would be in everyones interest (i think) to research a little bit on best ways to record pipe organ. She will be happier, people that watch it (more then likely people that love organ) will be impressed with the amazing quality of sound you were able to get. Attention to those kind of details is what makes you an A list call instead of B list. I would guess that a stereo pair of hyper cardioid mics in an X pattern in the room someplace would be best, but read up a little on it. 2nd while you might get a better single type of mic with the AKG (not saying you will necessarily but for the point of this argument [i use regularly both brands]) with the K6/ME66 combo, when you need to get other types of capsules for recording different things well you just have to buy the capsule and screw it right onto the K6 you already have! Might be cheaper and still you get very good quality. Not trying to change your mind, but just wanted to bring up this point to think on when you make your decision. I am sure tho that either one you go with will be a good choice! best

here are some good reading on stereo and single mic techniques: Stereo micing techniques: http://www.tape.com/resource/stereo_microp...a2923+995498793 http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_artic...ereomiking.html Single mic/mic placement techniques: http://members.tripod.com/~Pullpud/microphones.html http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/publi...icstudio_ea.pdf http://www.tape.com/resource/mics.html Vocal mic technique: http://www.vocalist.org.uk/microphone_techniques.html General Mic tech info: http://arts.ucsc.edu/ems/music/tech_backgr...0/teces_20.html