Synchron Stage Vienna

Synchron Stage Vienna is a recording facility specializing in recording large orchestras and film music.[1] The landmark protected building, formerly "Synchronhalle" ("Hall 6") of the historic film lot "Film City Vienna" in the Austrian capital's 23rd district is operated by Vienna Symphonic Library.[2]

History

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The landmark protected building of Synchron Stage Vienna formerly "Synchronhalle"

The building was constructed by the National Socialists from 1939 to 1941 for picture-synchronized sound recordings, from which the name "Synchronhalle" derived. Joseph Goebbels is said to have commissioned the construction himself in order to shoot Nazi propaganda films with the UFA film stars of the time in Vienna. A company-owned airport and a subway station directly in front of the entrance to the film studios were planned for fast transportation.[3]

This plan was considered in the construction of the facility: In order to shield noise and vibrations from the outside world, the hall was isolated from the rest of the building by a custom foundation and insulated against air traffic by an elaborate roof structure. The result was a house-in-house construction with the recording rooms inside. The outer shell provided office space as well as cutting rooms.[4]

Until the 1950s, the facility shared its history with the Rosenhügel-Filmstudios. At that time the "Synchronhalle" hosted as many as ten large orchestra film score projects per year. A remnant of the building's designated use is the preserved "Lenkwil" cinema organ with three manuals that features not only various instrumental timbres but also sound effects such as rolling thunder, car horns, clopping horses, twittering birds and ocean waves. It is the only cinema organ in the world that is still housed in its original scoring stage.[5] Because of this combination the Federal Monuments Office classified this building as a historical monument.

In the mid-1960s, the complex was acquired by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), initializing an era of revival. Eminent classical artists such as Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin, Sviatoslav Richter and Mstislav Rostropovich discovered the exceptional acoustic properties and used the "Synchronhalle" for many legendary recordings.[6]

After a few years, the use of the hall came to a standstill. Until 1990, it was primarily used as a rehearsal stage for the Theater an der Wien. The ORF made several efforts to sell the entire area. The landmark protection of the two halls 1 (artificial light studio) and 6 (Synchronhalle) made this impossible. In the end, all surrounding buildings on the site were demolished.[7]

In 1990, a private investor planned to build a supermarket and shopping center in the Synchronhalle. This was prevented by the commitment of ORF's General Director, Thaddäus Podgorski. The ORF initially bought back the area and leased it to Filmstadt Wien GmbH. Subsequently, films such as Der Bockerer II - Österreich ist frei (1996), Comedian Harmonists (1997) and Die Klavierspielerin (2001) were shot on the Rosenhügel.[8]

2013: Acquisition and renovation

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The hall was purchased by the Vienna Symphonic Library in 2013 and developed into a globally unique music production facility in collaboration with the renowned Walters-Storyk Design Group and architects Schneider+Schumacher.[9][10] It was completed in September 2015. The heart of the more than 2,000 m² area is the large recording hall, Stage A: with its 540 m², it offers space for an orchestra of up to 130 people.[11]

The first project was recorded in October 2015 with Grammy Award winning recording and mixing engineer Dennis Sands and composer/orchestrator/conductor, Conrad Pope.[12] Shortly after the official opening, Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions chose Synchron Stage Vienna to record a whole slate of productions, including music for Inferno, starring Tom Hanks (directed by Ron Howard, music by Hans Zimmer), and the Netflix series The Crown by Peter Morgan (music by Hans Zimmer and Rupert Gregson-Williams).[13]

In March 2016, the Vienna Symphonic Library business offices moved into the new facility.[14] Synchron Stage Vienna 's acoustic design was nominated for 32nd TEC Award at NAMM Show in Anaheim 2017.[15][16]

Recording facilities

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Synchron Stage Vienna's large recording hall "Stage A".
Control A

Synchron Stage Vienna is a recording facility that merges traditional and novel recording technologies and workflows with Vienna Symphonic Library's software innovations.[17] It combines a scoring stage with several studios, isolation booths and office space used by clients and Vienna Symphonic Library's software and sample development business.

Stage A, the large main hall, accommodates orchestras of up to 130 musicians and is built as a room-in-room construction, with an up to 10-foot gap between walls, ensuring entire sonic isolation from outside noise.[13] Additional studios and offices surround the central stage, including Stage B, another recording room, Control Rooms A and B, several lounges, isolation booths ("iso booths"), instrument storage rooms and a score archive.[14] The facility offers the ability to route any signal source to any room of the building, including offices, without any latency or loss of audio quality.[18] The stages and control rooms can be configured modularly depending on the recording requirements. Film composers can record their scores or augment their virtual symphonic cues with a real orchestra.

The basement comprises storage rooms for pianos and approximately 300 percussion instruments. All rooms are connected to the same ventilation system used by the recording stages, so the stored instruments are always pre-acclimated for recording.[19] An elevator connects the storage rooms directly with Stage A.[20]

Since 2021, Synchron Stage Vienna has been an official Dolby Atmos studio and can offer recordings in Auro-3D in addition to stereo and surround.[21]

Instruments

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f.l.t.r. front: Bösendorfer Imperial 290, Steinway & Sons D-274 Hamburg Model, Yamaha Disklavier CFX EN PRO. back right: landmarked "Lenkwil" cinema organ. back center: Molzer organ. Stage A, Synchron Stage Vienna.

Synchron Stage Vienna currently offers four concert grand pianos, a Steinway D-274 and two remotely accessible pianos, a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial with CEUS performance reproducing system and a Yamaha Disklavier CFX EN PRO and a Fazioli F308.[22][23]

The Bösendorfer CEUS technology[24] and the Yamaha Disklavier reproducing system incorporate computer controlled mechanisms to record performances and accurately play them back on the acoustic instrument. With the CEUS system, solenoids activate each key and pedal to mirror the original, recorded performance. The ability to accurately capture a performance in terms of timing and loudness is an important step in retaining the player's unique expression.[25] The performance reproducing pianos have several applications, e.g., a recorded piano performance can be edited in order to correct notes or to adjust dynamics and timing. Furthermore, a single pianist has the opportunity to perform a piece for four hands, accompanying an initial performance with a second take. A piano performance, played anywhere in the world, can be reproduced and recorded in one of Synchron Stage's rooms.[20]

Furthermore, the numerous percussion instruments and a Lyon & Healey harp are available for recordings.[26]

Synchron Stage Orchestra

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The in-house "Synchron Stage Orchestra" is not a fixed ensemble but draws on a large pool of musicians from Vienna and the surrounding area. They play in all the major orchestras in Vienna and have been selected according to strict criteria to meet the demands of modern media music productions. Contractor Marton Barka is responsible for putting together the right instrumentalists for each project. Depending on the requirements, a wide range of styles can be covered, from classical film music and big band to pop/rock and jazz.[27]

Projects

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In addition to sampling sessions for the Vienna Symphonic Library's products, the Synchron Stage Vienna has established itself as a fixture in the international film industry, regularly hosted music recordings for national and international film and television productions since its opening. Production companies from around the world, including Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Terra Mater Factual Studios, Marvel Studios and more, regularly record with the "Synchron Stage Orchestra".[28][29]

Recent notable projects include the film scores for The Meg (2018), Ad Astra (2019), Klaus (2019), as well as Promising Young Woman (2020) and Over the Moon (2020).[30][31][32] With the 2022 blockbuster Moonfall, Roland Emmerich had his film score recorded in Vienna for the second time in a row. For the final soundtrack, recordings with the Synchron Stage Orchestra were partially combined with samples from the Vienna Symphonic Library.[33]

The music for the successful Marvel miniseries WandaVision[34] (which was nominated 21 times for the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards), Hawkeye, Moon Knight,[35] She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ms. Marvel[36] was also recorded at Synchron Stage.[37]

List of projects

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2022

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Production Type Music
Water Gate Bridge

(Original: Chang jin hu zhi shui men qiao)

Film Elliot Leung, Zhiyi Wang, Ye Li
Voy a pasármelo bien Film Zeltia Montes
I Am Groot Animated Series of

Short Films

Daniele Luppi
Interview with the Vampire TV series Daniel Hart
God of War: Ragnarök Video game Bear McCreary
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Television Special John Murphy
Fortnite: Chapter 4 Video game Phill Boucher
His Dark Materials - Season 3 TV series Lorne Balfe
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series Bear McCreary
The Sandman TV series David Buckley
Man vs. Bee TV series Lorne Balfe
Ms. Marvel TV series Laura Karpman
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law TV series Amie Doherty
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva Film Pritam
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe Animated Film John Frizzeli
Moon Knight TV series Hesham Nazih
Hawkeye TV series Christophe Beck, Michael Paraskevas
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts Television Special Charlie Mole
Moonfall Film Harald Kloser, Thomas Wander
Reacher TV series Tony Morales

2021

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Production Type Music
Around the World in 80 Days TV series Christian Lundberg
The Unforgivable Film Hans Zimmer, David Fleming
Foundation TV series Bear McCreary
Epic Music album Schiller
Pennyworth - Season 2 TV series David E. Russo
Age of Empires IV Video game Tilman Sillescu, Alexander Röder, Henning Nugel,

Armin Haas, Mikolai Stroinski

Fortnite: Chapter 2 Video game Phill Boucher
Silent Night Film Lorne Balfe
Cinderella Film Mychael Danna, Jessica Weiss
Vivo Film Alex Lacamoire, Lin-Manuel Miranda
WandaVision Miniseries Christophe Beck
9/11: Inside the President's War Room Film Segun Akinola
The Battle at Lake Changjin (Original: Chang jin hu) Film Elliot Leung, Zhiyi Wang
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Animated Film John Paesano
Back to the Outback Animated Film Rupert Gregson-Williams
Ophelia Riddle and the Book of Secret Stories Music album Harry Lightfoot
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt - Magic: The Gathering Video game Trailer Gordy Haab
Blade & Soul 2 Video game Taro Iwashiro
Built to Last Song David Tobin, Jeff Meegan
2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Song Hans Zimmer
Symphony No. 41 in C Major Live Concert Stream Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 9 in E Minor Live Concert Stream Antonin Dvořák
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor Live Concert Stream Johannes Brahms

2020

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Production Type Music
Moonbound Animated Film Ali N. Askin
We Can Be Heroes Film Robert Rodriguez
The Christmas Chronicles 2 Film Christophe Beck
The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness Documentary Film Alex Heffes
Rebuilding Paradise Documentary Film Lorne Balfe, Hans Zimmer
Dune Film Hans Zimmer
Jungleland Film Lorne Balfe
His Dark Materials - Season 2 TV series Lorne Balfe
Over the Moon Animated Film Steven Price
Tesla Film John Paesano
Genius: Aretha TV series Terence Blanchard
The Rescue Film Elliot Leung
Lost in Russia (Original: Jiong ma) Film Fei Peng
Promising Young Woman Film Anthony B. Willis
Fengshen Trilogy Film Gordy Haab
Source Elements Documentary Short Film Joe Cassidy
Game for Peace Video game Austin Wintory
Made in Abyss

(Original: Fukaki Tamashî no Reimei)

Film Kevin Penkin
The Stunt Double Short Film Lorne Balfe
Symphony No. 9 in D minor Live Concert Stream Ludwig van Beethoven

2019

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Production Type Music
Master Moley Animated Short Film Lorne Balfe
Made in Abyss: Tabidachi no Yoake Film Kevin Penkin
Uri: The Surgical Strike Film Shashwat Sachdev
Sea of Shadows Documentary Film H. Scott Salinas
Happy Death Day 2U Film Bear McCreary
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman Documentary Series Steffen Thum
Kingdom (Original: Kingudamu) Film Yutaka Yamada
Poms Film Deborah Lurie
Rim of the World Film Bear McCreary
Wiener Blut Film Johannes Vogel
Looking Up (Original: Yin he bu xi ban) Film Steffen Thum
Crawl Film Max Aruj, Steffen Thum
The Rookies (Original: Su ren te gong) Film Dong-jun Lee
Shanghai Fortress (Original: Shang hai bao lei) Film Dong-jun Lee
Ad Astra Film Max Richter, Lorne Balfe
Midway Film Harald Kloser, Thomas Wander
His Dark Materials - Season 1 TV series Lorne Balfe
This Is Football Documentary Series Max Aruj, Steffen Thum, Lorne Balfe
Crash Landing On You (Original: Sa-rang-eui bul-sa-chak) TV series Nam Hye-Seung
Red Bracelets: The Beginning

(Original: Club der roten Bänder - Wie alles begann)

Film Jens Oettrich
6 Underground Film Lorne Balfe
Klaus Animated Film Alfonso G. Aguilar
Das letzte Problem Film Herbert Tucmandl
Snowbrawl - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Commercial Benjamin Wallfisch
Four iconic filmmakers pay tribute to their mentors - Rolex Commercial
Get Smarter - TD Ameritrade Commercial
Switch to Super - Virgin Media Commercial
Loud & Clear - Stolichnaya Commercial Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe

2018

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Production Type Music
Proud Mary Film Fil Eisler
Return of the Hero

(Original: Le retour du héros)

Film Mathieu Lamboley
Blue Planet II Documentary TV Series Hans Zimmer, David Fleming, Jacob Shea
Studio 54 Documentary Film Lorne Balfe
Pacific Rim: Uprising Film Lorne Balfe
Detroit: Become Human Video game Philip Sheppard, Nima Fakhrara, John Paesano
The Meg Film Harry Gregson-Williams
Ignite Documentary Short Film Max Aruj, Steffen Thum
Warning Shot Film Max Aruj, Steffen Thum
Hell Fest Film Bear McCreary
Mr. Sunshine (Original: Miseuteo Sunshain) TV series Nam Hye-seung
Legend of the Ancient Sword

(Original: Gu jian qi tan zhi liu yue zhao ming)

Film Lasse Enersen
The Girl in the Spider's Web Film Roque Baños

2017

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Production Type Music
Cold Hell (Original: Die Hölle) Film Marius Ruhland
The Lego Batman Movie Animated Film Lorne Balfe
Ghost in the Shell Film Lorne Balfe, Clint Mansell
Raising a Rukus VR-Animated Short Film Sven Faulconer
Comrade Detective TV series Joe Kraemer
Bullyparade - Der Film Film Ralf Wengenmayr
Made in Abyss TV series Kevin Penkin
Sky Hunter (Original: Kong tian lie) Film Andrew Kawczynski
Maria Theresia TV mini series Roman Kariolou

2016

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Production Type Music
Sisi – The Movie Trilogy Suite Music Album Anton Profes, Paul Hertel
Inferno Film Hans Zimmer
The Crown - Season 1 TV series Rupert Gregson-Williams
Epilogue - Volvo V90 Commercial Hans Zimmer
Ultimate Classix: The Hits Music album Lorne Balfe

References

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  1. ^ Burger, Susanna. "Library Of Sound" (PDF). Vienna Journal. 2016: 6. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. ^ Hartlauer, Helena. "City of film music". Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  3. ^ Enigl, Marianne (2013-07-05). "Rosenhügel-Studios: Joseph Goebbels langer Schatten". profil.at (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  4. ^ "A Sound History – Touring VSL's Synchron Stage". KVR Audio. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  5. ^ Marz-Wagner, Sylvia. "Synchron Stage Vienna opening". OTS – Official Austrian press information (Press release). Austrian Press Agency. Retrieved 30 Nov 2016.
  6. ^ Schloegl, Stefan (26 September 2016). "Sounds like Rosenhuegel". Zeit Online. 40/2016: 1–2. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  7. ^ Bohn, Marc (2017-02-07). "Synchron Stage Vienna – modernste Scoring-Stage Europas". SOUND & RECORDING (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  8. ^ Denkma[i]l, Mag Wolfgang Burghart, Dr Gerhard Hertenberger (2015-02-04). "Die Wiener Rosenhügel-Filmstudios". www.1133.at (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Molho, David. "VSL Synchron Stage". wsdg.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  10. ^ "Projects | schneider+schumacher". schneider-schumacher.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  11. ^ "SYNCHRON STAGE VIENNA - Vienna Symphonic Library". vsl.co.at. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  12. ^ Mikusz, Thomas. "Grand Opening Of Europe's New Scoring Stage: Synchron Stage Vienna" (Press release). White Bear PR. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  13. ^ a b Burlingame, Jon (2 May 2016). "Synchron Stage Vienna Offers Film Composers an Austrian Alternative". Variety. 2016 (5).
  14. ^ a b "Synchron Stage Vienna". Vienna Symphonic Library. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  15. ^ Ebbinghaus, Peter. "Synchron Stage Vienna Nominated for NAMM TEC Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement". Soundtracks And Trailer Music. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  16. ^ "32nd TecAwards Nominee: Studio Design Project". tecawards.org. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  17. ^ McCue, Michelle. "Composers Hans Zimmer, Rupert Gregson- Williams Head To SynchronStage Vienna To Record Scores". IMDb. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  18. ^ "SSL Case Study: Synchron Stage Vienna" (PDF). Solid State Logic. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  19. ^ "VSL Launches Synchron Stage Vienna". Pro Sound News. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Synchron Stage Vienna". Synchron Stage Vienna. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Dolby Atmos Music Studios". professional.dolby.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  22. ^ "Synchron Stage Vienna looks to the future with Yamaha CFX Disklavier". Yamaha Music Europe GmbH. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  23. ^ "INSTRUMENTS - Synchron Stage Vienna". synchronstage.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  24. ^ Cohen, Martin. "CEUS Reproducing System Of My Bösendorfer Imperial 290 Piano". www.company7.com. company7. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  25. ^ Bernays, Michael (4 March 2014). "Investigating pianists' individuality in the performance of five timbral nuances through patterns of articulation, touch, dynamics, and pedaling". Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 157. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00157. PMC 3941302. PMID 24624099.
  26. ^ "INSTRUMENTS - Synchron Stage Vienna". synchronstage.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  27. ^ "ORCHESTRA - SynchronStage Vienna". www.synchronstage.com. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  28. ^ "Synchron Stage Orchestra". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  29. ^ "Projects". synchronstage.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  30. ^ "Ad Astra Score - Recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna". ilio.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  31. ^ "A Score Klaus to Perfection: A chat with Composer Alfonso G. Aguilar". Score It Magazine. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  32. ^ "Vienna Symphonic Library". vienna.info. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  33. ^ Marz-Wagner, Sylvia (2021-09-24). "SKYunlimited - Musik für neuen Roland Emmerich Blockbuster wieder aus Wien". SKYunlimited (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  34. ^ "Christophe Beck on scoring different eras for WandaVision". composer.spitfireaudio.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  35. ^ Burlingame, Jon (2022-06-05). "Marvel Explores a Rich Musical Universe With Scores for 'Loki,' 'Moon Knight' and 'What If…?'". Variety. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  36. ^ Burlingame, Jon (2022-07-11). "Behind the Music of 'Ms. Marvel': Laura Karpman Score Is as Colorful as the Disney+ Series Itself". Variety. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  37. ^ "Project Poster Gallery - SynchronStage Vienna". www.synchronstage.com. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
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