AudioMedia - January 2009 - (Page 16)

Special Report Pimp My Riot Van Youth charity has a riot with mobile recording studio DAVID MACKENZIE takes a look at an unusual studio conversion that is improving the lives of young people in London. ast summer, a Metropolitan Police Superintendent sat on a plane next to an MTV Producer. During the course of that flight, the pair discussed MTV’s hit show Pimp My Ride UK, and the work being done in London by youth charity XLP. The result of this conversation was a plan to create a one-off special of Tim ‘Big Dog’ Westwood’s Pimp My Ride UK, featuring the transformation of a police riot van into a mobile recording studio for use by XLP. Guy Wilson, Managing Director of AKA Design, was recruited to work o n t h e p ro j e c t, a n d q u i c k l y volunteered to donate his company’s time and resources. The motivation to create a mobile studio came from XLP’s desire to reach a wide range of young people from across London. Unfortunately, this ruled out the possibility of creating a static facility, as young people felt unsafe travelling to areas seen to be the territory of other groups. As a father of two teenagers, this subject is close to home for Guy. “A lot of these kids don’t have great family lives, and they want to get out of the house,” he explains. “If this van can stop one person from getting into trouble, then it’s been a success.” L the resulting design. The outcome of these plans was a facility more like a certain police callbox than a police riot van. “ The hardest bit was putting something in every square inch of the thing,” explains Guy, “it really is a tardis.” The team seems to have risen to this challenge spectacularly, assembling a functioning studio with sufficient working space and seating for four people, and a separate vocal booth, all within a standard-sized police van. Despite the space restrictions, Guy was adamant that the studio needed a physical control surface; “something that would give it the feel of a studio, but nothing too complicated.” Digidesign donated a 003 Factory, to give hands-on control of a Pro Tools LE solution through an integrated control sur face. The power-to-size ratio of this piece of equipment was ideal for the facility’s compact design. Pl o p I d o l Unsurprisingly, the acoustics in the van were less than ideal to begin with. “It was like a public toilet when we started,” says Guy. The rubber tyres of the van naturally provided significant isolation. However, this was not a major consideration to Guy, who prioritised the acoustics within the space over isolation from the outside world and between booth and studio. “If you screamed in the booth, you would hear it in the other room,” he confesses, “but we never got to a point where we had any feedback.” To improve on the acoustics within the space, AKA began by packing out all of the voids in the van’s double skin with rockwool. Confronted by 8mm of bullet-proof (and t h e re fo re d r i l l p ro o f ) i nte r n a l armourment, they filled the space w i t h ro c k wo o l, and sealed the whole thing up. Added to this, the m e t a l c h e c k e rplate floor was replaced with rubber checkerplate, the walls and roof were covered with acoustic foam, and various gaps were filled with yet more rockwool. “It sounds a lot better than I even hoped for,” says Guy. “The head height was only six-foot, and it is a metal skinned room, so there were certain things that we just couldn’t do, but for such a small space, it actually sounds very good.” mounted, and all cupboard panels were double mounted. “There are lots of those strange little considerations that you’d never come across in a normal studio,” says Guy. Another aspect that was of vital importance to the facility was its prospective power source. The team wanted it to be capable of working off its own power. To achieve this, the van was adapted to run seven batteries at 240V. This process required caution, as the adaptation from 12V to 240V raised concerns when running computers. Fo r t u n a t e l y, n o dramas arose. The facilit y also has a lead that allows it to be mains-powered when in use for a prolonged period. R o c k To u r Wh o ? One of the most challenging aspects of the project was the task of installing a sophisticated system, with a significant amount of equipment, in such a limited space. AKA Design addressed this problem by creating extensive 3D models of the van’s interior, and strictly following As you might expect, such an unusual project brought with it an array of equally unusual considerations. O n e s u c h co n s i d e rat i o n wa s that the studio had to be made traffic and speedbump-proof, to prevent damage to equipment. Accordingly, each speaker was rubber ‘A St u d i o, B u t N o t As We K n ow I t ’ The resulting facility looks great on screen, but is equally impressive in the flesh… if flesh were made of polymer plastic. Guy is strongly of the opinion that, while the facility was made possible by television, it is not a gimmick, and has the potential to do great things beyond the show. “I can really see it being used,” he says. “Television has allowed it to happen, but unlike a Changing Rooms episode where five minutes after shooting, the sticky back plastic falls off, I think that this will carry on to be a bit of a workhorse.” Guy was even lucky enough to have the bottom of his car tricked out with blue neon lights during the project (presumably at least partially against his will). However, he speaks fondly of the project, and all those who were involved. “The biggest kick for me was definitely the release… the kids just jumped in it, and within ten minutes they were properly using it.” It’s enough to give you a warm glow at night, as you rev the engine of your under-lit nitrous Nova on Chelsea Bridge. ∫ Ch a n gi n g Fu m e s 16 AUDIO MEDIA JANUARY 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - January 2009

AudioMedia - January 2009 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geo Focus: India What's Up UK? Special Report: Pimp My Ride AKG C214 Sony Acid Pro 7.0 Final Cut: Mirror's Edge Opportunities in the Reality World She's Got the Look The X-Factor Sadie LRX2 Source Elements Source-Connect 3.1 Buying a Recorder In Control Product Sampler: Trade Shows Video Guide AMSR News Digico SD8 The Last Picture Show File Server

AudioMedia - January 2009

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