The Rainmaker, in myth, brings life to the earth and fortune to the living. Rainmaker Recording & Creative, in reality, is an audio post-production facility that has been predicated on the notion that creativity comes before the tools of the trade, and that approach has brought its own good fortune. Co-founders and partners Bill Grishaw and Kristin O’Connor have infused the facility with a philosophical and technological Zen in its design, implementation and way of working, which in turn has led to numerous highly acclaimed national television spots for leading agencies including J. Walter Thompson, WB Doner, Arnold Communications and Chernoff Silver & Associates (their clients include Ford, Blockbuster Video, Shell Oil, Circuit City, Coke and Pepsi).
Rainmaker belongs to a new generation of audio facility, a kind of Gen X of post. The owners and employees are squarely in their 30s, and the facility’s technological complement is as new as new can be. Rainmaker’s two control rooms, two studio spaces and its programming room are all integrated and linked utilizing the 24-bit Pro Tools 5.0 platform, with each system offering 64 tracks of hard-drive recording. “In an industry that used to take five separate platforms or devices to accomplish one project, we came of age at a time when many aspects of post can all be done on a single platform,” Grishaw explains. “As a result, the operations here are faster, more efficient and more productive. But the bottom line is that they are more creative, and since we opened our doors in 1997, we’ve always put the emphasis on creativity, not on the tools. Having a single, integrated platform has allowed us to do that.”
The proliferation of Pro Tools systems throughout the entire music and audio post-production industries has also allowed Rainmaker to make use of creative resources outside of the facility – extending worldwide – from composers to programmers to musicians to sound effects and design artists. Rainmaker has also been on the cutting edge of integrating new technologies, such as creating MP3 files for distribution on the Internet, into its operations. One example would be the streamlining of such processes as sending drafts and finals to clients for changes and approvals. “We’re not afraid of technology, nor do we worship it,” says O’Connor. “We grew up with it; we simply use it and use it well.”
For clients, Rainmaker’s new facility has been comfortable and productive, a kind of home base for new media. Designed by the renowned team of acoustical and systems experts at London’s Recording Architecture, the facility has a European flair, making maximum use of space while creating a comfortable environment, both ergonomically and aesthetically. “The facility is very much a reflection of who we are,” says Grishaw. “It’s a balance between work and play, between getting the job done and allowing creativity to develop. And that’s why it’s been successful.”
Myth, it seems has met reality, which means good fortune to Rainmaker clients.
