Ocean Way Launches New Studio C Production Room

May 1st, 2013 by David Weiss

Composers who are advancing their careers have a new audio HQ to aspire to: the just-unveiled Studio C production suite at Ocean Way Recording.

Interested parties will have to take a number, however: the Hollywood location’s Studio C is already being occupied by composer/arranger/conductor Chris Walden, a four-time Grammy nominee with over 40 features and TV films under his belt (“American Idol”, “Monster Mutt”, “Alien Siege”, “Crimson Force”, “The Lady in Question”). Walden’s 1,000+ orchestral and big band arrangements for artists include Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, Faith Hill, Aretha Franklin, David Foster, Paul Anka, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, among many more. In addition, Walden has orchestrated for Barbra Streisand, Diana Krall, and Natalie Cole.

Chris Walden is composer:in:residence at Ocean Way’s new Studio C.

The acoustically treated room does not come pre-equipped, allowing composers and producers to arrive with their personal rigs, get to work, and take full advantage of their surroundings – which include Ocean Way’s sizable Studio A and B tracking/mixing facilities.

“When you come in here you don’t just get the room, you get the resources of Ocean Way, and the ability to track in other rooms,” says Robin Goodchild, Studio Manager of Ocean Way. “Our Studio C clients benefit from the technical service that we’ve got in-house – it’s everything you expect when you use one of the bigger studios. A lot of the inquiries I’ve gotten for the production room are composers that have worked here for sessions, and come and directed the music here. It’s a good fit composers and producers that are used to running sessions at Ocean Way, and so have come to expect a high level of service.”

Ocean Way’s long history of achievement will be helpful in attracting Studio C clients, who also have an increasing number of choices for well-supported, plugged-in spaces across the region. “I think there are an increasing amount of these production rooms opening up,” Goodchild notes. “Some of which are in the larger studios, using the spaces they have to meet the demand for these types of rooms. For a lot of these composers’ projects, they can write and record the finished product in their production rooms.

“A lot of TV shows are scored in the box, essentially, so more can be done in a smaller room,” continues Goodchild. “With the increasing level of digital quality and sampling, it’s definitely possible in a lot of TV programs. But if you score and record a real orchestra, there’s no real substitute for the kind of rooms we have here.”

Another perspective on “C”. (Photo Credit: Michelle Shiers Photography)

And while competition may be increasing among studios for production room tenants, Goodchild sees a growing wave of serious professionals emerging to occupy them. “The budgets have come down a little bit, and that’s kind of opened up the playing field for the newer guys to come in and get more creative with what they do,” he observes. “It’s similar to the trend you’ve seen in the music industry – there’s more people writing it and able to get it out there, while the people paying for music have a lot more choice. There’ll still be the big guys that people always go to, but there are also a lot more people sharing a piece of the pie. Now Ocean Way can accommodate both types of composers – we can supply the production room, but if they want to do the full score, they can just pop across the corridor into Studio A or Studio B, and record the real thing.”

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