Promising a fresh perspective with a creative approach, 48 Windows officially opened its doors this summer with a gala celebration attended by several hundred invited guests and clients. Focusing on music production and post-production for TV, film and advertising, the four-studio, state-of-the-art complex is housed in the same building as the recently opened Margarita Mix de Santa Monica and Hollywood Digital West.
During the eight months that 48 Windows has been operational, the creative team-president Eric Garcia, sound designer/mixer “Dr. Dave” Marcus, mixers Sonia Castro and Jim Baldree, along with composer Andreas Straub and studio manager Ziv Fisher-have accumulated an impressive client roster, including Columbia Tri-Star, Ogilvy & Mather, Sony Music, ABC-TV and MCA Records.
According to Garcia, “48 Windows is a different concept in the way a recording studio works. Rather than having a group of engineers, we are a consortium of artists that have come together to integrate artistic as well as engineering chops into the projects we take on-whether for music, sound effects or mixing. We strive to take what we’ve learned in terms of sound design, musicianship and visual conceptualization and incorporate our experience to achieve another level beyond the art of mixing itself.”
Garcia and his creative team have assembled a studio environment that is highly efficient and flexible, while also being aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing. The control room stations are ovals, with iso booths and the live room within straight visual range. Equipment includes Mackie Digital 8 Bus recording consoles, three Digidesign Pro Tools|24 MIX systems tied to Mackie HUI control surfaces, Tascam DA-88 digital multitracks and DA-60 MkII timecode DATs, Panasonic SV-3800 DATs and Avalon Design VT-737SP tube preamps. ISDN lines connect all studios, and the DGS MPEG encoder distribution system ties the studio to the radio and TV world. 48 Windows also has a direct link to Hollywood Digital West’s machine room.
Music production and advertising work constitute the bulk of the work. But the studio also recently completed projects with Butch Vig and Korn, handled numerous surround mixing assignments, and is building a solid reputation for its sound design work.
Being in the heart of L.A.’s advertising community, Marcus offers his perspective on 48 Windows’ success: “In our various disciplines, we bring to the advertising community an extensive level of experience that has been cultivated over years. We are also very fortunate to have at our disposal some truly wonderful equipment that you wouldn’t necessarily find in a conventional post facility. These factors, combined with our obsession to achieve the highest artistic levels in everything we do, enable us to bring about a fresh approach to all our projects.”
