SERVICES
Archival Concert Recording
Most live recording is done on an archival basis – that is to say that the recording is being made on behalf of and with the explicit consent of both the performers on stage and the concert venue. Such recordings are not for commercial release but are intended for the sole use of the
performers and the concert promoters. The microphones we use will not be invisible but we aim to be discreet and their presence should in no way spoil the audience’s enjoyment of the event. We always use the rehearsal on the day as a balance test and to finalise microphone
positions and stage layout, though as part of an archive recording the rehearsal is never recorded. As part of our fixed price archival recording packages we also edit the concert to remove excessive pauses, etc. to produce a finished stereo recording on CD-R within a few of
days of the concert. This includes 5 copies on CD-R for Artistic Staff.
Post Production
With the flexibility and possibilities offered by hard-disc editing, it is important not to edit all the musicality out! We believe that good music editing should show the best of a performer, whilst not losing the sense of the piece of music being performed. How this is best achieved varies from performer to performer, with the intended purpose of the project, and with the repertoire. We try to remain flexible and sensitive to those needs. Music editing (of classical music) essentially involves joining takes together; that is to say that it presents a sequence of sounds that were played and recorded. It is not about creating notes that were never played, or changing ones that were into ones that weren’t!
The usual chain of events is that some time after the recording sessions, the music editor creates a ‘first edit’, picking the best takes he/she can find, following the instructions and score-markings provided by the producer. Artists are then sent a listening copy of this first edit, and asked for their feedback. (In larger groups such as a choir, usually only the conductor, accompanist and any soloists would be sent listening copies). With the points from the first edit in mind, artistes are usually then invited to attend a second edit, in which further options and improvements may be investigated. Sometimes it will be necessary to create further listening copies, but often by the end of the second edit, the musical side is complete.
Many projects then undergo a ‘beauty edit’ where extraneous noises (such as clicks, creaks, even page turns) can be removed or suppressed. By reducing the distraction of these extraneous noises, we allow the listener to concentrate more on the musical performance.
Many recordings will be made at a higher resolution than that in which they will ultimately be released. Be it longer word-length, higher sampling rate or both, we always edit at the higher resolution, only making the change down at the mastering stage.
The majority of music editing is stereo, but the same principles apply to multi-channel editing, e.g. for surround sound.
Session Recording
Music recording sessions are the starting place for almost all commercial and privately released CDs. In their simplest form they are a collaboration between the performers and the recording crew to produce recorded material that with varying degrees of post-production will form an audio CD. Traditionally sessions are run in 3 hour blocks with a short break in the middle, with two such sessions per day – this is the standard format laid down by the Musicians Union in the UK but does not have to be followed rigidly and we will always aim to be as flexible as possible. However as a rough guide you should allow a minimum of 3 hours session time for each 20 minutes of finished music. This assumes that the repertoire is well rehearsed and should be reduced to 12 to 15 minutes finished music per session if you expect to rehearse-record or
anticipate tuning difficulties as might be found in baroque or difficult contemporary music. This means that usually a full 70 minute CD will require a minimum of two days recording, but more often three days. These are usually consecutive days but this is not essential and we have
systems for re-creating microphone placements and mixes so that a project can be continued after a break of many months if necessary.
Commercial Broadcast/Concert Recording
Commercial live recording differs from archival recording in several ways. Both performers and concert venues will normally charge a recording fee by way of releasing the rights to the commercial use of the recording. We may well record to multitrack in surround as well as stereo, and would normally record as much of the rehearsal as possible to give us extra material at the editing stage. It is also not uncommon to record more than one concert where the same repertoire is performed in the same venue, and to arrange patching sessions after the concert to
tidy up certain sections. Post-production will be billed separately.