AUDIBILITIES
By Emmet Robinson
King Street Recording Company
Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of –
Video and Photo Too!

Volume 66, Summer 2017
610-647-4341
www.kingstreetrecording.com
kingstreetrecord@aol.com
Blog: www.emmetrobinson.com/wp/

Celebrating Fifty Years in Business!

The Absolute Truth About Photo Restoration

As an impatient nation, we’re always looking for faster ways of getting things done. In restoring and preserving vintage photos, for example, there are online services promising fast results at low prices. Why not use them?  The answer lies in the details.

The absolute truth is that online services have no direct access to your original image. Whether it’s a vintage photograph, newspaper clipping, or handwritten letter from 1853, online services can only work with the digitized images you send them.

• If your original photo or document has been physically damaged and won’t scan properly, what do you do?
• When your original is too large for the scanner, how do you handle that?
• If, for technical reasons, you’re unable to send a sufficiently high-resolution file, your retouching options may be severely limited. How do you get the results you want?

The answer, of course, is by using professional services right in the neighborhood!

Here, the work is done directly from original images, scanned at very high resolution. This allows retouching details as small as a single hair! Details are important. Here are some examples:

• Working with an original newspaper article, it was possible to reconstruct individual damaged or missing characters at the margins of the text.
• A candlestick partially blocking a face was carefully removed, and that portion of the face in the photo reconstructed.
• When people in the background distracted from the subjects in an outdoor wedding photo, they were removed.
• In a snapshot of a man standing in a sunny Italian street, the tilted camera produced an incomplete image. Among the missing were part of the sky, a section of street, one side of an adjacent building – and the man’s right foot!

All missing items were carefully and completely restored. How?

Contrary to popular belief, there is no single mouse click or keystroke that will instantly correct such photographic defects. Retouching and restoration is done over a period of hours, with as many as thousands of individual strokes with the digital equivalent of tiny paint brushes.

There is no quick and easy way to achieve worthwhile results quickly.

It takes time – and considerable skill – to produce the desired result.

You may have photos of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, lovers, classmates or other people, places and events dear to you. You may also have newspaper clippings, certificates, letters or other documents of importance to you. Think about this:

They’re fading away while you read this. Why risk their eventual loss?

What are you waiting for? Bring them here to save and preserve those images that are important to you – for yourself, and for future generations.

Rates begin at $24.95. Call now for an appointment! 610-647-4341

IN THE STUDIO
Music
The Gang’s All Here!

What an adventure! Altogether, the group included fifteen singers and musicians! For optimum control over the final mix, we used the age-old principle of “divide and conquer.”

First, guitar, lead voice and percussion were recorded. Then, wearing earphones, the rest of the chorus was added on parallel tracks.

Next, to make the vocal solos stand out, they were recorded separately and then added to the body of the music.

Finally, flute and saxophone solos were overdubbed in tight synchronization with the other tracks.

The final mix, supervised by the client, produced the desired result and disks were made.

All in all, a most enjoyable day for everyone – and they’ve booked two more sessions!

Hidden Talent

A pleasant gentleman with a career in sales proved to be highly talented in another direction – as a skilled songwriter, singer and guitarist. Of the two of his original tunes we recorded, my hands-down favorite was a song he wrote for his daughter. It was a tender song, well-crafted, with emotionally charged lyrics, well sung and accompanied by professional-quality guitar work, In the studio, he also demonstrated the advantage of sufficient rehearsal by recording, mixing and dubbing two songs with remarkable efficiency.

In final transfer to disk, the new material was added to previous work done several years ago, so that all of the tunes could be on a single disk.

ON LOCATION

King Street Recording Company started fifty years ago as an on-location recording service for musicians. And, although demand for that service has declined somewhat over the years, on occasion I’ll be treated to a special opportunity to be helpful.

Just recently, I was asked to make a video recording of a presentation to recently unemployed techies on ways and means of finding new jobs. Both affable and accessible, the speaker made the point that job finding is a sales job that may require job seekers to develop new skills that go beyond their high level of technical expertise. He then presented specific, easy-to-follow recommendations.

Running two cameras at the same time resulted in two disks, with each recorded from a different perspective. Once the client has selected one, we can create short excerpts for web use.

I enjoyed the presentation, and being on location again also reminded me of how I started out – fifty years ago.

FROM THE ATTIC
AUDIO
From the Archives

When newcomers to the studio see the thousand or so archival disks lining the control room walls they often ask what they’re for. Here’s a good example.

When a client’s mother passed away in 2011, the family had the presence of mind to make an audio recording of her funeral. With carefully selected music, a heartfelt eulogy and personal comments from family members, the event was most tastefully done. Sometime later, the son brought the tape here for conversion to disk. He also provided a photograph to be used in making a custom cover for the CD case. Along with his order, as both a courtesy and a convenience, an extra free copy was produced for archival storage here.

This March, the son called again. His two-disk set had been lost. Would it be possible to make another? Yes! Although computer files are only maintained for a year, archival disks are retained for ten years. Using the archival disks, copies were made – including the custom cover – and mailed out next day.

Producing free archival copies requires very little time or expense on my part, and allows me to fill the occasional repeat request for vintage recordings.  Seemed like a good idea when I started. Still does.

VIDEO
At the Movies

Long before videotape and DVD, family events were recorded on either 8mm or 16mm movie film. Tom’s home videos from many years past were original transfers of silent films from long ago.

In converting the tapes to digital disk – DVD – I was able to enjoy watching many happy family events from another era when life was far simpler – and much less stressful!

For Sports Fans

He’d been one of the top jocks on the school football team – and then decided to compete in wrestling! Converting VHS tapes of both activities to the digital disk format provided me with an entertaining afternoon’s work, as well as a challenge.

Although the football tape was of the normal two-hour length, the wrestling tapes were much longer and beyond the capacity of a single disk. I was able to avoid missing anything by watching carefully and making detailed notes of individual scenes. This allowed creating an overlap so that the second disk began with a brief repeat of the end of disk one.

On the Air!

It was fun to work with a series of candid man-on-the-street video interviews. As the tapes were being digitized, it was fascinating to hear the colorful answers to questions regarding local issues and events. After the client reviews and catalogs the material, we’ll assemble the best of the interviews on a single disk.

IN THE PHOTO SHOPPE
Decisions, Decisions

In completing a long-term video project for a client in another state, a number of decisions had to be made regarding the blend of vintage home movies combined with still photos and text from the 1950s.

Most of the photos were in different sizes. Those that didn’t fit the video format exactly needed “frames” to fill the extra spaces at the edges. Which color of frame looked best? Black, white or gray?

How many experimental adjustments would be needed to present each image most effectively?

As the photos were to flow smoothly from one to the next, exactly how long should each transition be? How long should each photo image be displayed? And how much longer for text? Just when we thought we were done, a last-minute final decision required converting six lower-case letters to their upper-case equivalents. With so many options available with digital processing, it must get very confusing for the clients.

HOUSE CALLS

Home stereos and entertainment centers have become increasingly complex over the years. And, when malfunctions occur, the typical homeowner can be challenged to correct the situation. In such cases, I pack up my toolbox, cables and test equipment and make a house call. Frequently, the matter revolves around the assorted “Gozintas.” For example, this connector gozinta (goes into) that box; this cable gozinta that component, etc. In working with a complex home entertainment system, I found it useful to attach printed labels to all cables – and leave written instructions with the client.

FAQ

Q: Why do you use two different computers in restoring vintage disk recordings?

A: There are no computers that will have all of the necessary software. So, the primary conversion to digital is done on one system, where basic adjustments can be made. The audio is then transferred to a second workstation where the fine-tuning is done such as reducing surface noise, optimizing recording levels, and inserting divisions between tracks.

Q: What was the longest videotape you ever converted to DVD?

A: Just under six hours. The footage was carefully divided between three disks.

UPGRADES

The dedicated workstation for graphics, photo retouching and video processing has been upgraded and re-designed. The benefits to you are faster results and increased storage capacity for on-going complex projects.

With a Little Help From my Friends

Although it may look as though I work by myself, I’m not alone here. I’m ably assisted by two skilled professionals working behind the scenes. Between them they assist with advertising, book my concerts, build and maintain all six computer workstations and provide technical support and supplies. We’re in contact every day, and I rely on them completely.

Early Riser

In order to accommodate a client’s hectic schedule, I recently accepted delivery of a complex order here at 5 a.m. Since I’m usually in the studio by four, meeting the client at five posed no difficulty.