AudioMedia - November 2008 - (Page 5)

leader Appearance is (almost) everything. You can take pretty much any aspect of our existence and point to where form most definitely takes priority over function. Much of it is commerce and business, where the right impression, image, or brand is an oasis of the superfluous, or even worse – a bastion of the cliche. So often the stampede to look fresh and different ends up as a convoy in the well-trodden path of the Soho-chic or industrial alumni. On some days I wonder if Apple has started an interior design/clothing franchise while I wasn't looking. On the other hand, some go to extraordinary lengths to make you feel that function is the only thing that matters. Vacuum cleaners, paint, conduit… soap – all nonsense that distracts us from taking care of business. The heroin chic left over from punk is something that many studios around the world still seem fixated with. Most will know that I'm not exactly an authority on style (the picture is from 1999 if you are even thinking about starting on the shirt), but I do know that it's extraordinarily difficult to determine which comes first – the image or the client. The reality is that both affect each other, and your studio environment can comfort, reinforce, annoy, irritate, or even inform a creative's senses, attitude, and product. Personally, I think most people are very sensitive to the genuine article. If an environment feels forced or overly pretentious in whatever direction it heads for, then the client will either feel a bit uncomfortable (bad), or be distracted into living up to that environment (very bad). Neither are good when you're asking people to put everything into a performance or an interpretation. A layer of alienation laid on even before you start pretending that you're in love, or annoyed, or desperate (whatever the project demands) has got to either dilute or adversely skew the result. We might learn something from a very singular form of design… the interface. It is one of the only places where form and function merge. Form becomes the access point to function – on a screen, or on a panel of buttons, and so on – and therefore form is function. An interface has to be obvious and friendly. Think how nice it is to be able to use a piece of gear without a manual. Even some designer bathrooms don't achieve that. I don't know what I like, but I'd rather not be worrying about it. I'm not advocating 'boring' because I know that image is important. But most studios that get away with extremes, get away with them because the extreme, in that context, is expected or genuine – and thus comfortable. I'm not a designer, just a member of the pretension police. Next month, it's SWAG, Gear of the Year, and a bit of audio stuff. See you there. Paul Mac, Editor nEUmAnn tlm67 RUSHES 28 nAgrA vI REVIEW 58 AUDIO mEdIA is a Sustaining Member of the Audio Engineering Society. AUDIO mEdIA www.audiomedia.com AUdIo mEdIA (Europe), 1st Floor, 1 Cabot house, Compass Point business Park, St Ives, Cambs, PE27 5Jl. telephone: +44 (0)1480 461555 – Facsimile: +44 (0)1480 461550 general E-mail: mail@audiomedia.com – Press release E-mail: pr@audiomedia.com bIg bEACh boUtIqUE F E AT U R E 70 Managing Director Angela Brown a.brown@audiomedia.com Production Editor Lanna Marshall l.marshall@audiomedia.com Circulations Manager/ Administration Jo Perriss mail@audiomedia.com Associate Group Publisher Nick Humbert n.humbert@audiomedia.com Design & Production Manager John-Paul Shirreffs jp.shirreffs@audiomedia.com Regional Sales Manager Bob Kennedy bkennedy@imaspub.com +44 (0)1279 861264 Editor In Chief Paul Mac p.mac@audiomedia.com Subscriptions subs@audiomedia.com UK £43 European (airmail) £60 International (airmail) £72 Payable in Sterling through UK bank News/AMSR Editor David Mackenzie d.mackenzie@audiomedia.com US Sales Manager Matt Rubenstein mrubenstein@imaspub.com +1 914 524 5045 IZ tEChnology A dA REVIEW 34 the contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or in part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. great care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither ImAS Publishing (Uk) limited nor the Editor can be held responsible for its contents. the views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. the Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork. © 2008 ImAS Publishing (Uk) limited. All rights reserved. *within broadcast & Production AUdIo mEdIA novEmbEr 2008 5 http://www.audiomedia.com http://www.nbmedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - November 2008

AudioMedia - November 2008 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geofocus: Italy What's Up UK AES Review For the Record Studio Snapshot: Aquarium Abbey Road Plug-ins Brilliance Pack Neumann TLM67 Mercenary Audio KM-69 IZ Technology ADA Final Cut Special: Bond TC Powercore 6000 EP Productions Nagra VI Product Sampler: Location Tools Video Guide AMSR News Shure KSM9 Big Beach Boutique 4

AudioMedia - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.