molinaire the sound of change>Molinare in a management buy-out (MBO) headedby Steve Milne and Mark Foligno, who had beenrecruited as trouble-shooters in July to turn thebusiness around. Both came from a manufacturer/business background, having worked togetherat the packaging giant Tetra Pak, althoughFoligno spent time at Sony promoting HD.This relative inexperience of running a largeAll-in-One 16:4:2 Digital Mixing and 16-Track Multitrack RecordingLR16Live Recording MixerCAT-5DIGITALMULTCOREpost house, says Milne, gavethem a different approach torunning the company and anentrepreneurial culture wasestablished.The Prize OfConstancyWhile Molinare's video divisionhas grown since the late 1970s,with online and offline editingleading into VFX, grading, andnow digital intermediate (DI) forfilm, including scanning and printing, audio hasbeen a constant. "We do combined picture andaudio projects," says Milne, "but our menu allowsthe sound department to work as a stand-aloneaudio house."From its radio days this audio facility withina larger operation has expanded into sound forpicture, first for the television sector and nowfeature films, both supported by track-layingrooms and Foley/ADR theatres. During its darkerdays, getting on for ten years ago, Molinarebrought in some star name dubbing mixers tobolster its sound operation and attract more work.Among those who arrived were documentaryspecialist George Foulgham, whose recent creditsinclude 2009 Oscar winner Man on Wire, and BillyMahoney, who moved from Magmasters with hisentire track-laying team to established the dramaaudio department.From that foundation the company hasconcentrated on bringing on talent from within.Among those who started out as either runnersor juniors are Mahoney's sons, Aaron and BillyJunior. The audio team numbers 35, with 20concentrating on drama. There is also the soundhouse within the sound house; in 2006 strugglingdocumentary facility Fusion Post was taken overby Molinare and its D'Arblay Street premiseshouses two dubbing theatres and a track lay suite.Molinare D'Arblay Street is overseen by SteveCookman, who mixed the first of Molinare's threeSundance award winning documentaries, In theShadow of the Moon.Over the years Molinare has rented out spaceto a number of other companies, production firmsas might be expected, but also facilities, includingMill Film and Grand Central. The commercialssound specialist moved into its own facilities inGreat Marlborough Street during 2006, givingMolinare the opportunity to revamp the old suites."We had run out of audio capacity," explains Milne,"and Grand Central wanted to grow, so it was asituation that suited us both." Soundtracs DS00digital consoles are among the desks used aroundMolinare, while the digital audio workstation ofchoice is Pro Tools, although the last incarnationof <strong>Audio</strong>File is still found in some suites.On the floor below the former Grand Centralarea Dubbing C and D are supported by twotrack laying rooms and all are used for whatcomes under the general heading of factualprogramming, including Trawlermen (Molinare hasworked on series two to four of the gritty look atearning a living in harsh conditions) and cookingcompetition Masterchef, plus its variations.These dubbing rooms have been refurbished,including a change in decor to bring the suites inline with the company-wide design policy. Milnecalls 2009 ‘a big refurbishment year’, with the areassurrounding C and D being a work in progress,with six new Avid Nitris suites due to running bythe end of July.The new Fostex LR16 is a clever all-in-one solution integrating a flexible,feature-rich live digital mixer with a full-specification 16-track MultitrackHard Disc Recorder and CAT-5 Digital Multicore.A totally new concept, this easy-to-use audio tool can serve as a FOH oron-stage mixer and is ideal for schools, houses of worship, clubs, coffeehouses, project studios, mobile recording and rental sound/recording, etc.- In fact any application where flexibility of use is important.Also Available: LM16 - Live Mixer Model - see online for more informationwww.fostex.jpFostex Company, 3-2-35 Musashino,Akishima, Tokyo, Japan 196-0021Email: info_sales@fostex.jpA New PlaceThe ongoing development of the facilities is partof Milne and Foligno's plan to reposition thecompany. "Five years ago we were best known forpost-producing Robot Wars," says Milne, harkingback to a time when a show featuring mechanicalgladiators controlled by geeks and electronicsgenii was a big TV ratings pull. Now Molinare isbeing marketed to attract "high end factual andTV drama", alongside what Milne describes as an"aggressive move into features".Over the last four years Molinare has workedon 130 feature films and that trend is continuingthis year, with recent productions includingEdinburgh Film Festival award winner Moon,the directorial debut of Duncan Jones (who isprobably haunted by the phrase ‘son of David>46AUDIO MEDIA JULY 2009
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