NY's best audio post secret

On a standard midtown Manhattan street, in a quasi-anonymous office building, is a remarkable sound design studio, a gourmet audio production house serving up premium surround sound with every dish.

Walking into Buttons New York is like walking into a melding of the earthy and exotic, dark wood accents and rich leather furniture punctuate the newly designed reception area. Tapestries dot the walls on the way to the just-completed client lounge. With three state of the art recording suites, Buttons has been cooking up a supreme mix of professionalism, precision, and personality.

Drawing on a record of innovation over the course of a twenty-year career in sound design, Rich Macar, owner and chief engineer, has kept Buttons on the forefront of new developments in the industry. Because of Buttons’ size, Macar has been able to fuel a passion for new technologies and encourage an inventive approach to sound design.

As of late, Buttons has made a commitment to deliver all projects in Dolby E, which will answer the industry call for standard surround sound for all video ahead of the proposed deadline. Macar says that the move to Dolby E gives television the sound and quality of DVDs and film and that eventually people will have that high caliber viewing experience in their own homes on a daily basis.

All Buttons’ suites – each named after a type of wood, perpetuating the natural yet intricate theme - Padauk, Mahogany, and Oak - are Dolby certified and outfitted with ProTools HD. Recently, Macar installed a 72” projection screen into the Padauk Suite, making it ideal for viewing SD, HS, and cinema projects while designing them, enhancing clients’ comfort level as well as that of the staff.

Buttons’ suites are decorated with a flare for the exotic, with artifacts from all over the world. A sense of nostalgia is provided care of antique gear refurbished to serve as talkbacks in each suite.

The newest technology is integrated at Buttons on a regular basis. Because of Buttons’ size, upgrades are swift and virtually effortless. They are part of the culture and are flawlessly integrated into the daily routine. Each room serves as a full-service digital audio post suite for sound recording, editing, designing and mixing, for radio, television, and film, with picture lock to QuickTime and layback to 3/4, Beta SP, DIGIBeta, DV and D2. All rooms have Dolby-certified-accurate, Meyer HD1 speaker systems tuned by Bob Hodas, in San Francisco, CA. Each room includes the latest ProTools HD audio post systems, with Focusrite mic preamps and High quality plugins as well as 2-second access to all sound effects and music from Sound Miner server. Rooms are also equipped to complete 5.1 surround sound design and cinema mixing with layback to Dbeta in ProLogicII and Dolby E for HDTV and Digital Cable Delivery.

A laid back, flexible energy permeates the space, as Macar’s takes care to generate a creative inspired environment. Macar’s staff shares his passion for their trade and for making their studio an oasis of sound high above New York City.

For more information, a client list, and a photo tour visit http://www.buttonsny.com/. Or contact Rich Macar, 212.764.8650, rich.macar@buttonsny.com.

No comments: