I’m finally in a position to upgrade the old studio.  Finally!  

Some of this might be a reaction to the emotional impact of loosing my mom along with the feeling that the limitations of my studio has been one of the biggest thing holding me back for the last few years..  This mixed with the need to get some place fast, the some place being deeply related to the idea of gainful employment.  What exactly is pushing me in what direction is worth thinking about as when one spends a lot of money one likes to feel like one is making the right decisions.  All that said, shall we explore the studio upgrade decisions?

The way I approach the question of studio upgrades is to start with a studio map.  A studio map is like asking where you want to be in 5 or 10 years.  The question is what tools do you need in order to get where you want to go and how much will it cost to get there.  Of course you can’t really see what technology will look like 5 or 10 years down the road and prices do fluctuate.  You can, however, look at what’s out now, have a general sense of where the technology is going, and kinda sorta map things out that way.  A big part of this sorta thing is that at any given point in time you have X amount of money to invest towards those end goals, when you invest X you want to make X go as far as you possibly can make X go, and you want the most bang for your bug towards going where you wanna go.  And you sorta balance these things.

So where does Matt want to go?  In my studio I want to be able to do 3D graphics and animation, video production, music production, graphics, interactive design, photography, social media stuff, and the list probably goes on and on.  Of that whole, what do I want to explore in the short term? Maybe the better way to ask this is..  what do I need versus what do I want?  Or maybe its a question of where the market is and how can I get myself well positioned in that market in the shortest possible time, this with an eye to where my current skills, knowledge base, at talent lye.

 So lets start with Music Production:

1.  Acoustic Treatment:  In the room you mix in, do serious sound work in, it is critically important that when listening to what you’ve recorded / constructed, that you hear what you’re making as uncolored as possible.  Another words you want to hear what you’ve recorded, not the acoustic ramifications of the space you’re recording in.  My guess is that this will run me between $1K, and $2K, and its something I might want to wait till I’m in a space that I’m not planning on moving out of in the short term…  I’m looking at Real Traps for this.
2. Monitors: This is to say speakers that don’t color the sound you’re listening to.  I currently have a THX 5.1 monitor system which is wonderful for doing 5.1 mixing on, but probably not ideal for doing stereo mixing on.  THX is a standard that comes from our friend George Lucas, which roughly translates that all THX systems should sound more or less the same..  Thus having a THX system to mix for something that would play back on a THX system.. is pretty ideal…  But getting something ideal together for stereo mixing is still something to be looked at.  The Monitor upgrade will probably cost me at least $500.
3. Computer Upgrades:  Ok, I’m on an intolerably old system, its time to upgrade, Period.  I’ll talk more about this at the end of this blog entry.
4. Orchestral Sample Libraries:  Orchestral sample libraries allow you to emulate symphonic orchestras, and if you’re scoring for film.. this is probably pretty important to you.  The only trouble is that some of the really good libraries are in the thousands of dollars which roughly translates to “Matt is not likely to invest in those unless Matt is making money via scoring for film.”  However there’s some good stuff out there that falls into the $250 range.  Not bad at all…
5. Mix Engineering Tools (Effects):  Tools of the trade for creating a great Mix.  There’s a certain amount of free stuff out there, and there’s a lot of pricey stuff out there, and there’s perhaps a lot of in between out there.  Right now I’m looking at Liquid Mix which, at the time of this writing, seems to runs at $800.  Liquid Mix isn’t all you need to get going, but it does seem to do a pretty good job of covering some important bases.
6. Other Effects:  I have most of my effects bases pretty well covered, but as it stands I would like to invest in effects for working in 5.1, I’d like to invest in reverb effects, delay effects, and perhaps just whatever might add a little spice / FUBAR to my work.
7. Digital Instruments (synths and samplers):  I’m a Komplete user, and my upgrade for that will run me around $450..  I just upgraded to Kore as a part of that.  For the most part I’m happy sticking to Native Instruments stuff.. I think they have some of the best instruments in the world, but there is other stuff out there worth looking at:  Vintage synth emulations, orchestral emulation type stuff, and other odds and ends. 
8. Voice Instruments:  I can’t really sing, and there are a number of voice synthesizer type instruments that can help you create vocal tracks in your production.  I don’t remember the exact cost of these, but lets say we are talking about around $300 or so.
9. Microphones: When I work with microphones I feel a little like I’m painting with sound in a certain kind of way.  Different microphones color sound in different ways, and different microphones have different studio applications.  The question is what are the right microphones for what you’re interested in doing.  I’m interested in microphones for field recording, voice / dialog recording, and perhaps recording of other things.  Good microphones can run you upwards of $1000..  As a result I tend to go with cheap microphones.
10. Instruments for the studio:  I have a goal of being able to have a group of musicians come to the studio where we can work on projects without them  necessarily having to lug gear over.  My idea is that all the instruments would go direct line in, which is to say they wouldn’t actually be amplified in the studio, thus I could have a studio in a place where making loud noise, say like in an apartment somewhere, would be an issue.  For this I plan on spending around $500 or so on an electronic drum set, $200 on a cheap o Bass, and I think about investing around $1000 or so on a good guitar.  I might also like to spend something on an additional keyboard.
11. Audio Interface: The interface is how you get audio into your computer.  I currently own an old MOTU 828 which, in conjunction with a 16 channel digital mixer gives me 18 channels in and out with about 6 XLRs with phantom power running at up to 24-bit at 48 KHz.  I also have a Zoom H4 that will work as a 2 channel interface, with 2 XLRs with phantom power that will run at 24-bit 96KHz, and a Kore Interface with 2 channels with 1/4″  I/O at 24-bit 96KHz.  For modern music production you really want at least about 24-bit 96KHz which makes my MOTU 828 and the 16 Channel mixer a little on the obsolete side.  If I want an interface that will allow me to record lots of stuff at once I need to think about upgrading that interface which will probably cost me at least $500 or so.
12. DAWs (Digital Audio Work Stations):  I already own a number of DAWs: Digital Performer, Cubase, and Ableton Live.  The only trouble is that to use these on the new computer I’ll probably need to upgrade them and the upgrade cost is probably around $200 a pop.  My general feeling is that I could upgrade about one a year, depending on which upgrade looks best to me..  I should add to this that I’m planning on upgrading Digital Performer for the new computer, I’m annoyed at the Cubase Dongle thing, I’m having trouble with the registration of Digital Performer for that upgrade, so it may be that I’ll end up having to invest in Logic Studio, which will run around $500.  It’s also worth mentioning that DAWs usually come with audio effects and instruments..  So buying into a DAW can be worth it just in terms of the effects and instruments, let alone the DAW its self!
13. Field Recorder:  I’m thinking cheap here.  I own a Zoom H4, which is pretty groovy, but I’m also thinking of the Zoom H2, mainly because it kinda sorta allows one to record in surround sound.

So that’s an overview of the sound part of my studio Map..  Lets quickly move through some of the other areas. 

3D Graphics and Animation: I’m looking at a program known as Modo, which is apparently all the rage, and runs at close to $900.  Modo is really more about modeling then it is about animation, but its animation tools have come along ways in a short space of time.    

After Effects could come under 3D graphics and animation, and probably should.  My cost of upgrading is $300.  I’m thinking about doing so for Animation and Video. 

Graphics, Design, Interactive:  I’m currently in a pretty good place when it comes to graphics, design, and interactive.  The main tools I’m now looking at adding to my tool set include Adobe Flex, and Painter.

Video Cameras: I haven’t looked too deeply into this subject, but generally I’d put video cameras into two categories “for social media” and “for professional production.”  On the professional production side I suppose I’m looking at the Cannon XL H1.. In part because I don’t know any better, which I’ve found as “cheap” as $2600.  This price actually seems really good to me.  It’s also worth mentioning that one can rent gear, which would probably be more cost effective then running out and buying expensive gear.

On the social media side you’re really looking for something that’s convenient for carrying around with you, at the expense of quality, and for this we are really only talking a couple hundred dollars or so.  

 Lights:  A big part of getting good results in video production is your ability to paint with light.  One can probably get a decent lighting Kit for around $1000.. and can probably make do for a bit less.

Chroma Keying: Without doing my homework on this, we are probably talking around $200 for a fairly inexpensive green screen.  In addition it probably makes sense to buy “scopes” which is to say software that tells you what’s going on in the colors you’re shooting, so that you can get the light optimal for the chroma keying.

For those not in the know, chroma keying is used so that you can shoot in front of your green screen and composite that video with other elements..  This would be one of the main techniques used in making a film like Star Wars.. and its a fairly basic special effects sorta thing..  But one that’s not terrible easy to do really well.  That said, its fairly central to what I want to be doing. 

Photography Camera:  Again we have pro and social media.  On the Pro side we are looking at DSLRs, which have a pretty good range of price.  DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.  With a DSLR you want both the camera and lenses, and lenses can get pricey fast.  I’ve been doing a little research into the topic, but not enough to really have a sense of what I actually need.  My guess is we are talking around $1000 for the camera, and a few hundred dollars for lenses, basically.

What I need the DSLR for is documenting my paintings, general art photography,  macro shooting, social media type stuff, and to sorta document the creative process of the various projects I’m working on.  Another words to bring you into my world.  There’s probably also a roll for the DSLR for elements to be used in my video production projects.

On the social media side we can get a camera for a few hundred bucks.. just your basic point and shoot..  or hell, even use a cell phone camera.  Wouldn’t it be nice if this blog entry had some pictures associated with it?  The notion of the social media side as different from the DSLR / Pro side is that you really want something that you don’t have to lug around with you everywhere.

Ok, lets wind things up with a quick look at computers:

 As of my writing we are a week or so away from Mac World where new computers will more then likely be announced, thus I’m waiting for Mac World to actually upgrade my computers.  In the mean time I’m looking at different Mac options, just to get a sense of the land scape.

 What I’ll probably do is as follows, or what I would do if I wasn’t waiting for Mac World:  Mac Book Pro 17″ upgraded to a high res screen and a 250 GB drive.  We are talking about $3050 here, which is a lot of money.  Add to this the price of a printer which comes to close to free with rebates, an Air Port Base Station for WiFi, Windows XP, VMWear, and some sort of software for home financing…. Oh yeah, and Apple Care.. which is your basic extended service agreement.  In addition to this I’ll want another monitor for the lap top at some point in the future.

Ok.. So that’s a Map of where I want to go long term, but I sure as hell ain’t going to be investing all of that money anytime soon!  (But oh boy would I like to.)  Besides just not having the money, there are a couple reasons why you probably wouldn’t want to invest all that at once:

You can really only learn so much so fast, and the amount of gear we are talking about, to fully get the most out of, would probably take more then a year to fully master. Indeed, certain small parts of the total could take over a year to fully master!  In that time, with technology rolling forward, the parts of the studio that you weren’t using, if you didn’t spend the money.. would become cheaper or do more for the same amount of money.  

So what I’m looking to invest in right now is as follows:  Mac Book Pro with its stuff, Digital Performer, and maybe After Effects.  That’s it.  So we are probably talking under $5,000.  That said, I am thinking that inside of 2008 I’d like to update Kore (around $450?) think about a DSLR (more then a grand probably) and I’m debating investing in a little over $100 worth of microphones.

If this is the year, as I hope it is, where gainful employment really becomes more then just a hope, then there’s a very good chance, depending on how gainful the employment is that we are talking about, that more of this studio could be invested in.

As a final note, this list is one that really glosses over details, is but but a rough overview.  In the future I plan to talk more about the tools in question, and various other details.. so do stay tuned. 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 at 6:34 pm and is filed under Media Arts, Music Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.