Sony Pictures Post Production Services has completed a major renovation to one of its principal ADR stages, part of an effort to upgrade all of its voice-recording facilities on the Sony Pictures studio lot in Culver City. ADR3 has been enlarged and fitted with entirely new technology, including an Avid S6 mixing console. Its acoustics have been improved and its aesthetics brought in line with contemporary standards. The stage will be used to record dialogue and background voices for features, television and other entertainment media.
Newly hired ADR mixer Marilyn Morris CAS will helm the room. Morris brings more than a decade of experience as an ADR mixer, with credits including series such as Cobra Kai and Ted Lasso and feature films Elemental and Jurassic World Dominion.
ADR3’s new 24-fader Avid S6 M40 control surface is supported by an Avid Matrix II audio interface, Blackmagic Design Videohub video router and recorder, NLA ADR Master 2 software, a Brainstorm DXD8 reference generator, JBL stage speakers and other gear.
“This room is equipped with the industry’s most advanced technology for ADR recording, and it will serve as the template for our other ADR stages,” says Lane Burch, Executive Director, Post Production Sound Engineering. “Our two other ADR stages will be updated with the same technology to facilitate ease of use for ADR talent and to allow projects to migrate between stages seamlessly.”
The physical restoration of the stage was undertaken with similar care. The room has been expanded, its ceiling raised, and new acoustics installed. The interior design has been refreshed with a contemporary aesthetic and an eye toward comfort and creative collaboration. “Our mission was to elevate the experience of the talent who come here,” said Gredel Berrios, Executive Director, Post Sound Facilities Operations & Client Services, Sony Pictures. “We want talent to feel welcome the moment they arrive, to feel inspired and ready to do great work.”
ADR3, located inside of the John Williams Music Building, has a storied history. It was originally built in the 1980s as part of The Mastering Lab. It was used to master movie soundtracks as well as pop, rock and jazz records including 2005 Grammy Award Album of the Year Genius Loves Company by Ray Charles.
Morris joins Sony Pictures from Netflix Animation where she was one of its inaugural in-house recording mixers. Her background also includes a tenure at Skywalker Sound as a mix technician and editorial assistant. She contributed to major franchises including Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Additionally, she spent two years at Waterman Sound as their ADR/original dialogue mixer. She received two Cinema Audio Society Award nominations for her work on Ted Lasso and Cobra Kai.
“There is so much history at Sony Pictures; as soon as you step on the lot, you know you are part of something special,” Morris said. “Sony has an exceptional post-production team who inspire confidence. It’s a great place to call home.”
