|
The first seminar for the 2002 / 2003 AES Committee was
held at AMX Audiophiles, a 2-room studio owned and run by Mr.
David Ong and his partners. Set up in 2000, the studio installation was
noticeable for the manner by which expenses were contained through taking
ingenious cost-saving steps to build a studio that was up to the task of
creating soundtracks for the advertising industry.
The seminar was attended by 28 AES Members and their guests and kicked off
with possibly the best buffet spread at an AES Singapore Section seminar in
recent memory. The speaker, Mr. David Ong, has been part of the professional
audio industry in Singapore for over 2 decades and insisted on making the
evening as much an event to share his insight into how AMX Audiophiles saved
on its installation costs as it was a chance for audio professionals to get
together and socialize in a relaxed setting. To this end, the studio
provided a buffet selection of local food that was billed in the seminar
announcement material as "chicken wings, fish balls and other strange animal
parts". The food was delicious and consumed with relish.
The 2-room facility, split between a pre-production room that
doubles as a MIDI music room and a client-centric main mixing room with an
attached VO booth, is situated on the second floor of a shop house in
Singapore. Because of the limited space available in a downtown audio post
production facility, the seminar was conducted in 2 groups. Each group was
taken first to the pre-production room and then to the main control room and
VO booth. As each group moved through, David explained the process of cost
savings by which he and his partners were able to build functional rooms
that would keep clients happy without overspending.
To help attendees gauge the savings that the studio achieved (an estimated
S$50,000), a popular catalog of pro audio supplies was used as a reference
to determine how much was saved. David admitted that because the studio's
requirements were to satisfy the demands of their advertising clients, the
rooms would not need to compete with studios geared towards high-end music
recording. However, both rooms would have to be able to create soundtracks
for the advertising & television industry, whether it be television or radio
commercials, corporate videos or promos for cable TV clients like
Nickelodeon. Once those requirements were met, savings in other areas were
put in place.
As each group was visiting the 2 rooms and hearing from
David on the cost savings, the other group was able to mingle and socialize
in the lobby area where the buffet spread was. As the second group took
their turn, many members of the first group chose to stay on and enjoy a
second visit to the buffet table. All of the questions asked by each group
were answered in David's trademark self-effacing style.
Once the second group had been given the tour of the
cost-saving ideas employed at the studio, a plaque of appreciation was
presented to David by Mr. Kenneth J. Delbridge, chairman of the
Singapore Section. The AES Singapore Section would like to thank David and
his partners at AMX Audiophiles for staying late on a Tuesday night to share
their tips for cost-effective studio installation and for their hospitality
in providing such a mouth-watering buffet for the AES members and guests who
attended the seminar. |
