news articles

November 2005

EMA's European Music Awards, MTV

Richmond Studios completed their third year of the MTV European Music Awards, providing the soundtrack for this show which is broadcast to an estimated one billion people worldwide. Toby Alington headed the recording team, and with eight fully live bands and three vocal-to-track artists the evening was a fast-moving and complex TV event.

With virtually the same operational team as the annual BRIT Awards (including director, Hamish Hamilton), Richmond Studios chosen audio solution interfaced with Britannia Row's PA system. Derrick Zieba as PA sound designer and Toby work together closely on many of the world's biggest music television events.

Foo Fighters, Madonna, Coldplay, System of a Down, Robbie Williams, Akon, Pussy Cat Dolls, Gorillaz, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day and Shakira combined to make this a truly memorable show. More info: www.mtv.co.uk

September 2005

Girls Aloud, Polydor Records

Richmond Studios were commissioned by Polydor to produce the new Girls Aloud DVD, 'Waking up the Neighborhood'. Richmond's concept uses in-house video production skills to provide especially shot menus and interviews with the Girls. The menus are built from green-screen filming with full animation.

Taken from their recent tour, the main feature captures the girls live in concert at the Hammersmith Apollo, together with over an hour of pop beats and many of their much-loved chart tracks, including 'Love Machine', 'I'll Stand By You' and of course 'Sound Of The Underground'.

Richmond's creative concept for this disc was to create something exciting and new for the viewer, with the intention that on each occasion the disc was used, something new could be discovered. The level of interactivity within the menus is a 'first' for a disc of this kind, all the while keeping true to the fun-loving attitude of the Girls' themselves.

The concept required Richmond Studios' in-house production facility to film the Girls using a green-screen technique, and combine this with inspiring animation. Through seamless navigation the viewer is directed through the various pulsating rooms of the house, each of which signifies a different menu option and is represented by an individual girl.

The fun is sustained through the disc's interactive gaming option which unlocks an assortment of bonus material and hidden features. The bonus material comprises of vox-pop style interviews, personal picture galleries, a "Long Hot Summer" music video, and a behind-the-scenes of the video. The hidden features continue with a bonus interview, a second picture gallery and screensavers, along with a making of the DVD, if you can find them all.

Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding all won their way into the industry through Pop Stars and following their number one hit established themselves as an integral part of the music industry with 2 number ones and countless hits under their spangled belts. This kitsch and cool disc entertains you on many different levels and appropriately portrays the girl's fun character, and lively personas. The disc is due for release on 7th November 2005

August 2005

Ed Sullivan's Rock 'n' Roll Classics

Richmond Studios are commissioned by Eagle Vision to design and author their second Ed Sullivan series, "Ed Sullivan's Rock 'n' Roll Classics".

This three disc set begins with "The Mama's & The Papas and Other '60s Greats" featuring several Mama's & Papas tracks, including their well know song California Dreamin' as well as Credence Clearwater Revival's, Down On The Corner. The second disc in the set, "Motown Gold" includes exceptional artists like Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Temptations, and a very young Stevie Wonder. Lastly in this set is "Legends of Soul / R'n'B Greats" which leads us through artists such as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Jackie Wilson and a funky James Brown - Medley.

The releases are presented with animated menus, song selectors, bonus tracks and a choice of stereo and 5.1 soundtracks.

These additions to Eagle's "Ed Sullivan's Rock 'n' Roll Classics" series are due to be released in October with another four to follow in January next year.

August 2005

Simply Red

Richmond Studios were responsible for the DVD soundtrack for Mick Hucknall's recent concert in Cuba. Toby Alington and his recording team travelled to Cuba in mid-August to capture this event, returning to England for the post-production. Richmond Studios were responsible for the last Simply Red DVD soundtrack in 2003, as well as the design and authoring of the DVD, when Hucknall performed outdoors in Taormina, Sicily, to a 3,000 strong audience. The Cuba concert is due for release later this year.

July 2005

Marianne Faithfull, Live From The Henry Fonda Theater, Hollywood

Richmond Studios were contracted to design and author a new Marianne Faithfull DVD for Eagle Vision of this live concert shot earlier in 2005.

This new DVD features tracks from her most recent album, 2004's "Before the Poison", along with hits such as "Ballad of Lucy Jordan" and "As Tears Go By", as well as classic tracks like "Sister Morphine" and "Broken English". With additional features such as a 30 minute in-depth interview, song selector, subtitles, and the original video for the track "There Is A Ghost", the DVD includes Dolby Digital Stereo, 5.1 or DTS 5.1

Marianne's in-depth interview leads the viewer through her life of music, recalling the highs and lows she faced along the way. With footage of her latest tour rehearsals with the band, Marianne unveils her career as an influential song writer and singer for the last 40 years.

Marianne's career began in 1964 with "As Tears Go By", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Recounting her involvement with Mick and the rolling stones, and the success they made of her song "Sister Morphine", which preceded the downward turn her life took when she found herself living on the streets dealing with a drug problem. In 1977 Mike Liander found her, put her back on her feet when he recorded "rich Kid Blues" which although was released years later, it was the beginning of her rebirth and led to her next commercial breakthrough "Broken English" released in 1979.

Marianne touches on her friendship with Tom Waites, and her gutsy move into her classical period in 1996 with "Twentieth Century Blues" and "Seven Deadly Sins". She leads us from her classical period, right up to her most recent albums "Kissin' Time" released in 2002, where she worked with major stars such as Beck, Blur and Dave Stewart. "Before the Poison" released in 2005 is featured in her live show was co-written with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave and has fulfilled their aim "to make the darkest record ever".

The DVD was released in September 2005.

July 2005

DVDA Awards

Richmond Studios excels at DVD Association Awards in New York. Richmond Studios won two top honours at the prestigious DVD Association Awards ceremony, presented in New York on Tuesday, July 19, and saw its client, Cirque du Soleil, also pick up an award for a Richmond-authored DVD.

Richmond Studios was presented with the Video Encoding Quality Excellence Award - for The Charlatans' 'Live At Last' DVD. This, the band's first ever DVD release, was recorded live at Brixton Academy. The DVD was designed and authored by Richmond Studios. Bill Kuper, DVDA Board of Directors and CTO of Screenlife, commented: "The content on this disc, a live concert, consisted of very difficult footage - lots of quick cuts, stage lighting with delicate colour gradients and smoke. We tried very hard to find flaws but could not. The quality of the encoding was indeed excellent and worthy of a DVDA Excellence award."

The second accolade was the 2005 Facilities Excellence Award category, for which facilities houses from around the world are nominated by third parties - including their clients. The DVDA commented: "New this year was the 2005 Facility Excellence Award. This award was giving to facilities nominated by their clients. What better praise? The 2005 Facility Excellence Award was presented to Richmond Studios (in the UK) for their stellar work for Cirque du Soleil, and to Screenlife, LLC."

And Cirque du Soleil was judged a winner in the 'TV Series DVD Excellence' category for its 'Fire Within' DVD. The disk showcases the behind-the-scenes TV series about the making of Cirque du Soleil's spectacular 'Varekai' production, along with extra material including interviews and # special features. Richmond Studios designed and authored the DVD.

The Awards are judged by a panel of 10 industry experts, and the DVDA's Awards guidelines state: "The purpose of the DVD Excellence Awards is to recognize skill, creativity and craftsmanship in various aspects of DVD production and authoring. The overall quality of a finished DVD title is considered, but it is important to note that the popularity of the content is not being judged. Rather, it is the skills used in the production of each title that determine which entries will win."

Kate Miller, Head of Marketing at Richmond Studios, says: "It's a great honour for us, as a privately owned London facilities house, to win these three international awards alongside some of the music industry's most established names. We're also absolutely delighted that Cirque du Soleil, with whom we've worked for four years, has had its amazing production values recognised again by the industry."

For more information, logon to the DVD Association's website - www.dvda.org

July 2005

Hank Williams

Richmond Studios were contracted to design and author the captivating Hank Williams DVD. With an hour long documentary, revealing Hank's fascinating and gifted life, from living with spina bifida to becoming a legend and changing country music forever, the disc contains a wealth of information including a discography and lyric pages. Availbale in PAL and released October this year in the UK.

Richmond Studios' artistic concept for the disc - in designing the documentary with chronological and geographical menus - was the main reason Fremantle chose Richmond for the design and authoring of this unique disc. Freemantle is one of the world's largest distributors of music DVD, an integrated media and entertainment company that commands leading positions in the world's major media markets.

July 2005

KÀ Extreme, Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil's epic show is portrayed in this 47 minute documentary which lends itself to an in depth, behind the scenes look at the shows conception right through to production. Creator and Director, Robert Lepage talks us through the technical hurdles, the precision of the lighting, the dangers of the pyrotechnics, and the splendour of the martial arts, puppetry and imagery. Full of bonus features and promos, KÀ Extreme will be available in NTSC and released in July 2005.

June 2005

Michael Flatley, Universal Pictures

Richmond Studios have recorded Michael Flatley's critically acclaimed show Celtic Tiger. From the man who shaped the future of Irish dance; this stunning show was recorded for TV and DVD in Birmingham NIA on 17th June 2005.

May 2005

Kylie Minogue

Richmond Studios recorded the soundtrack for Kylie "Showgirl" at Earls Court for DVD and Channel 4 TV, 7 May. This was Kylie's biggest ever tour with two hours of all-singing, all-dancing musical entertainment. Richmond Studios founder, Toby Alington records his second live show for Kylie, the last being almost a year ago at Hammersmith Odeon with a one-off concert performed especially for TV and DVD.

Alington comments: "We had the luxury of two nights at Earls Court - one on Thursday to soundcheck our systems and then on the Friday night we're effectively producing a straight-to-stereo mix for broadcast on Channel 4 on Saturday, with 12 hours in between to correct any technical issues, although artistically it was still completely live".

Both the live mix for broadcast and the multitrack for 5.1 DVD post production were recorded to both a Pyramix hard disk system, and a DASH 48 track digital multitrack. The DVD mix was created by Alington in the Abbey Road Penthouse on a digital Neve Capricorn desk, where Alington has previously mixed a wide range of artists from the Three Tenors to Pink.

May 2005

Classical Brit Awards

Recorded by RS at the Royal Albert Hall, for broadcast on 29 May. Richmond Studios have recorded this glittering celebration of classical music ever since they were established in 2000.

The 2005 Classical BRIT Awards, staged at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday May 25th and broadcast by ITV the following Sunday, was recorded by Richmond Studios with Toby Alington heading the broadcast audio team, on behalf of show producers MJK Productions.

Presenter and performer Lesley Garrett was joined by Nicola Benedetti, Katherine Jenkins, Julian Lloyd Webber, Harry Christophers & The Sixteen, Anna Netrebko, Karl Jenkins and James Galway, with the English Chamber Orchestra.

The audio team included most of those responsible for the sound of this year's 25th Anniversary BRIT Awards - Richmond Studios being accompanied by the live sound team of sound designer Derrick Zieba and Britannia Row Productions. Alington brought in one of the Sanctuary Mobiles recording trucks, where he mixed some 100 lines from stage on a Euphonix CS2000 and recorded the show to 48 track DASH.

Unlike last year's Classical BRITs, however, the event required a fast turnaround this time from show to broadcast, which included the task of dubbing the English and international versions using Richmond Studios' SADiE-equipped suite. Alington mixed the multitracks at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick on an SSL9000.

April 2005

Cirque du Soleil, CdSI

In our fourth year of working for this creative and uncompromising client, we are currently in production on three DVD titles. In June we will record our sixth soundtrack for Cirque at the "surrealistic celebration of music, dance, acrobatics and comedy" in Las Vegas.

April 2005

HCA, Endemol

This month saw Hans Christian Andersen's 200th birthday three-day celebrations in Copenhagen. RS was contracted by Endemol to provide the soundtrack for this fairy tale concert for live broadcast to 16 countries.

April 2005

Antarctica, Enlighten Entertainment

Craig Vear (composer) and Enlighten chose RS for a creative and exciting DVD solution to match this remarkable voyage of discovery: an experience of music and images that reflect Antarctica and its rare natural habitat.

March 2005

The Charlatans, CCLab

Live At Last, the first ever live DVD release from this legendary band: This unique DVD was recorded live at Brixton Academy shortly before Christmas 2004. The magnetic presence of Tim Burgess is centre screen as the band blaze through hit after hit in their natural element - a potent live show.

This fully interactive experience, created by Richmond, features an intuitive navigation system that brings the viewer closer to the real experience of being at the gig, with a total of six alternate options on the main menu 'look and feel', depending on how the viewer is experiencing the journey. The show is accompanied by both stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks.

All menu designs were taken from the actual rushes of the shoot, with a little help from director Matt Askem. The disc which is full of unseen footage - also contains exclusive interview footage with The Charlatans, including out-takes and the sound check.

Tracklist includes: 'Forever', 'Up At The Lake', 'Toothache', 'Feel The Pressure', 'One To Another', 'A Man Needs To Be Told', 'Impossible', 'You're So Pretty', 'Love Is The Key', 'The Only One I Know' and 'Sproston Green'. A whopping twenty-one tracks in total

February 2005

The BRITS 25, Brits TV

Toby Alington's 11th year recording the most prestigious UK music industry awards, as-live from Earls Court. The largest ever line-up to date with eleven fully live bands, Richmond Studios continues to produce the best soundtracks for the biggest shows worldwide.

Alington and an audio team of ten recorded the complete 25th anniversary live show in an array of recording mobiles parked in a secure area next to Earl's Court 2, which was transformed into a spectacular 5,500-seat arena for the BRITs by event producers MJK Productions.

The bands' performances, awards presentations and speeches were recorded onto digital multitracks and then, just as the after-show party was kicking off next door in Earl's Court 1, Alington raced across town to London Studios with the precious tapes. An overnight post-production there saw the show trimmed to its broadcast length, ready for broadcast on ITV the following evening. Finally, Alington created an 'international' version of the edited show, with the English commentary and voiceovers removed.

He comments: "Our main aim, year on year, is to keep driving up the quality of the soundtrack, to make the BRITs the best sounding multi-artist music TV show there is. Over the years we've evolved various techniques using the latest technologies to get around the challenges of the incredibly tight time-frame and five-minute changeovers between live acts. The TV audience expects to watch a show that looks and sounds as though it's had a full post-production job done on it, whereas in fact we have about 18 hours to achieve the same effect!"