Two new audio studios for Factory Group

Award winning sound design and audio facility Factory has expanded its offering to incorporate two new audio studios, including one of the first Dolby Atmos Certified mix rooms for commercials and trailers.

Acoustic consultancy White Mark was called in to handle the design of both rooms, making it the fourth time the firms have worked together.

Established in 1997, the Soho-based Factory Family Group offers audio and visual production services to the film, TV, radio, advertising and music industries. The Group comprises four divisions: Factory, offering sound design and audio facilities; Siren, specialising in music composition and supervision; Texture, handling design and video production, and Honey, which provides voice production and audio project management services.

"When we began planning our new studios, we initially thought that Texture would have to move to alternative premises," Firth explained. "However, we discovered that the lease on the premises next to ours was available so we acquired it. This allowed us to expand whilst keeping Texture onsite. Our fourth floor now extends across two buildings – our original premises in Margaret Street and the new space in Great Portland Street."

The studio that was originally on the fourth floor of Margaret Street has been refurbished into a much bigger space and renamed Studio 5. It is designed for 5.1 Surround Sound projects and incorporates a new live room. On the same floor, White Mark has designed Factory’s new Dolby Atmos Certified Studio 4 (pictured).

"Since Dolby Atmos was premiered back in 2012, we have seen growing demand for the format in cinema theatres around the world," Firth continued. "It is rapidly becoming the standard mixing format for all major film releases and more cinemas are embracing the technology."

With this in mind – and with Dolby recently announcing support for Atmos within home theatres – Factory recognised the need for dedicated Dolby Atmos mixing facilities.

"As sound design specialists, we have kept in touch with the capabilities of the technology, and by expanding our services to offer Dolby Atmos mixing, we continue to provide our clients with first class facilities working across all audio formats." Firth revealed.

"We have already won numerous awards for commercials mixed in 5.1 surround, so the fact that we can now offer mixes in Dolby Atmos, takes surround mixing at Factory to the next level. As well as offering expanded services to our existing clients, both of our new rooms will allow us to focus more on short films, feature films, trailers and television projects that are increasingly embracing Dolby technology."

David Bell, managing director of White Mark, added: "This project involved significant building work because we were knocking through into an adjoining building. However, we were able to keep disturbance to a minimum and Factory continued operating throughout. The new studios look and sound amazing and we are thrilled that, once again, we have played a part in Factory’s ongoing success."

In recent months, Factory has undertaken sound design projects for a variety of international clients including Honda. Factory’s team of talented sound designers have also picked up recent awards from D&AD, BAFTA, The One Show, Shots and the Music And Sound Awards.

www.factory.uk.com