Production, News & Radio Studio Renovation on a budget: Part 3

Specs Howard in Southfield, Michigan has always a very busy place with heavy demands on studios and facilities.  As such, it is sometimes a scheduling challenge to route students around the parts of the building as studios are being upgraded.  Renovating one of the “On-Air” studios, newsroom and Production studio required several weeks of “down time” in part because the “old” set-up had to be torn down.  Second is painters and carpet installers had to be scheduled, and third, because we were adding completely new custom designed studio furniture AND SOME new equipment (mixed with old equipment).  Students had to in the meantime, “work around” our dust to complete their assignments.

We got through it because Specs Howard has an amazingly patient yet dedicated staff of instructors!  For this project, the radio people in particular, headed by the ever-creative Sue Kinney, helped to smooth out the rough edges during this phase of our renovation.  My job was to guide the project and handle much of the actual “inside cabinet” techie work personally.  I’m the guy who transformed the crates of equipment and furniture into working studios.  The only problem was I got sick in the middle of the whole mess!

DEMOLISHING THE OLD STUDIOS

This project was coordinated with carpet installers and painters as well as our own staff and student needs.  The first step was to remove any equipment that was going to be kept in service.  Existing small racks were moved to a temporary storage area. 

Countertops which were mounted on every wall also had to be removed and disposed of.  This in itself was no small project.  Certain equipment was salvaged from the old racks that was intended to be kept in service.

In Production, a wall corner cut-out impacted the overall re-design of the room and the furniture itself.  We decided to make that side of the room a utility work corner with a matching countertop.   Non-racked equipment and secondary voice-over microphones were located in this area.

As far as physical wiring, my preference was to do the Production studio first, as some of the tasks performed in the Newsroom could be done in Production while we were re-building the Newsroom.

THE STUDIO FURNITURE  (SPECIAL NEEDS)…

Our Production studio is unusual because it contains TWO operator positions with two consoles and two of almost everything else.  That made the furniture requirements very specialized and combined with an odd-shaped room, limited our options.

We had worked with Rod Graham in the past.  Formerly building furniture for Arrakis, Rod now calls his own shots for Graham Studios.  He has a depth of real-world knowledge and experience having designed and built broadcast furniture for decades. 

My experience with his products at other facilities had also been a big selling point.  Also, our success at Specs Howard with Graham’s help in turning six tiny video editing suites into six AUDIO studios was a major factor as well.  His furniture continues to serve its purpose well, looks good and lasts a long time despite constant abuse.

OUT OF CONTROL DELAY FACTOR...

Unfortunately, for this project, furniture that was due for shipment on a June 6th  …wasn’t.  The delay would stretch into several more weeks.  The simple result was our whole project came to a screeching halt. 

Painters, carpet layers and a whole department not to mention basically my life had to be put on hold.    Major projects delays such as this are common, but it is frustrating when they come at an unexpected time.  I had even coordinated some personal time off from the time we placed the order to the expected ship date.  Obviously, things didn’t work out as expected.

In any project, working and planning ahead of time is the key to success.  Unfortunately, there are always factors that WILL be out of your control.  Building in time allowances (where possible) for the unexpected is helpful but it doesn’t always work.  I was ready for a few days or even a week of “slop” time, but didn’t expect to have an extra month to play with.

On the plus side, the school did not have a “hard and fast” deadline for when these studios HAD to be “up and running”, so we can cut quite a bit of slack, especially considering the product ordered was completely customized to our needs.

Obviously, this was one of the first “out of control” items on this project.  

I was grateful to all other vendors who delivered everything else in some cases within days of placing the order.  They are listed at the end of this article.

As noted, for our new studios, the new furniture could not be installed until the existing set-up was demolished, and new paint and carpet was installed.  Typical of all studio installations, the sheer weight and size of the furniture requires assembly in place although most of the Graham furniture is modular.  So as mentioned, we pre-assembled the modules, in another location, without bolting the furniture modules together.    Using two-wheel dollys and a furniture moving dolly, the furniture modules were later moved into their final location.

WHEN THINGS REALLY GET OUT OF CONTROL… 

At the time I would have LIKED to have started the actual wiring project, the old studios were quite heavily in use.  The trick was in the timing and unfortunately, that “timing” also turned out to be a bit of a still further wait.  Any station renovation has to be concerned with the day-to-day operation of the facility, unless they have the luxury of re-building in a completely new location.

As mentioned, much of the furniture pre-wiring and partial furniture assembly took place in a back room.  The most time was spent on the Production studio, since this was the dual console configuration with the Arrakis ARC-10 consoles I wasn’t as familiar with (mentioned in Part 2 of this article). 

ENGINEERS DO GET SICK (not just mentally either!)

The delay would not have been so bad had it not been for yet ANOTHER little personal inconvenience:  The doc says I need to go to the hospital for a routine procedure.  Unfortunately, the hospital messed it up, which took ME out of circulation.  

Further unfortunately, during my “routine” procedure, they forgot to give me enough antibiotics.   On the day the old studio demolition began about 10 days later, I was told to check into the ER immediately. My blood was choked with bacteria!   Nothing is more frustrating to an engineer than delays – except for maybe not seeing the completion of a major project at all due to being hospitalized or dead!

So the demolition crew was about half way through their task when I left the building expecting to return in an hour or two on that fateful day that I checked into the hospital. 

I ended up being “out of service” myself for about a week.

The demolition guys had NOT been told how I wanted a certain console that was to be kept in service removed.  This would create a few extra days of work later.  The console mentioned is a Radio Systems “Millenium” analog board.  We have hopes of doing the digital conversion offered by RS at a later date. 

Because the uninstall was without my direction, later I had to recreate all the analog wiring.  The console also had several minor prior problems that had gone unreported that I had to fix.   Additionally, I converted six console inputs to microphone level to build a studio that would support a talk show or morning show environment.  That’s easy to do with the RS consoles if you have extra plug-in DIP’s for the consoles.  I did.  For parts, Radio Systems and Cecile at Broadcasters General Store gave their usual great service.

This (the WJMZ studio), as it turns out, was also a studio Rod Graham had provided the super-deluxe premium furniture for, without charging the super-premium price (Thanks Rod!).

It was a lot of work for me, but this studio now looks like it’s ready for talk radio in any top 10 market.  This was actually the second studio I was able to work on.  Production was the first.  I actually re-used a great deal of our older equipment – merely cleaning it up and repairing it.  The impression is everyone thinks it’s ALL brand new. If it had been, we would have needed a much larger budget.

This is where careful planning and knowing bolt-for-bolt what you have to work with in terms of equipment will reduce your budget by literally thousands of dollars. 

WORKS IN PROGRESS 

Specs Howard’s Production, News and WJMZ studios are actually renovation works in progress.  Further technology upgrades in all studios are both anticipated and necessary.

In 2009, we have already replaced our two Enco Systems “DAD” Production workstations.  They do double-duty as Adobe Audition editors.  One of the other on-campus radio stations also got a new Enco workstation.    

With new Production, News and WJMZ studios from the very beginning, an infrastructure was provided in the technical and physical design to support additional growth.  Extra computer keyboard drawers in the furniture is an example of this forward-thinking. 

 Those who read this publication hopefully already realize technology that supports our industries will never stop advancing at speeds that will challenge our minds and budgets.

 It is hoped through these columns, broadcasters of tomorrow as well as anyone reading this will find a means to stay on top of the advances and do so affordably in this tight economy.

COMING UP NEXT…

The next major phase of renovation at the school is one of most extensive.  Specs Howard features 21 “practice” studios for its students studying radio.  Each studio is equipped with an Audio Arts digital console, Adobe Audition editing and a rack full of CD and MiniDisc players.

The Mini-Disc format, however, is deader that dead, as is all removable media.  To address this issue, our renovation plan in the months ahead involves installing Enco Systems’ “DAD” in each of those studios.   It was a very long process in making this decision.  Our 10 year relationship with Enco Systems, however, was a major factor, along with input from Enco’s Patrick Campion and Don Backus.   

A future article will cover this upgrade and the trials and tribulations of the renovation itself as well as changing the mindset of everyone involved.

The fact is broadcast technology of the present and future forces everyone to expand and perfect their level of computer knowledge and skills. 

Some of our staff (myself included), however, have been in the business in one form or another since the days of turntables, cart machines and reel to reel.  To have lived through such a evolution of technology and hands-on techniques is nothing short of…   a cool thing!   

The techie toys for broadcasting are here now and it have been for awhile:  Live internet radio stations from homes and businesses combined with our ability to listen to most traditional brick and mortar stations from any location in the world.

Also common today are the many stations that run unattended by humans overnight.  Continuing budget cuts make knowing how to set-up and maintain these systems one of the skills radio stations will always find valuable. 

Further, knowing how to make such automation sound both “human” yet flawless in presentation is another of the skills broadcasters of tomorrow must have to stay employed in the business.  

The future of electronic entertainment will likely bear many other things we haven’t even thought of yet.  But Specs Howard students will be there.  That’s one thing you can be sure of.  

See Parts I and II here:
http://www.rbr.com/radio/ENGINEERING/94/14758.html
http://www.rbr.com/radio/ENGINEERING/94/15162.html

(Bob Burnham can be reached at bburnham@specshoward.edu)

For 40 years, the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Michigan  has become one of the premiere educational facilities in the fields of Radio, TV, Video and Film production.  More recently, Graphic Arts instructional programs have been added and graduated its first class in May of 2009. Thousands of graduates throughout the country have been placed in jobs in fields of their dreams.  The school is still supervised by its Founder, former broadcaster, Specs Howard himself.  During July of 2009, Howard will be presented with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Lifetime Achievement Award www.michmab.com.

 
PARTIAL EQUIPMENT LIST

Production

2 Electro-Voice RE-20 microphones
2 Arrakis ARC-10BP consoles
2 Denon DN-C635 CD players
2 Tascam MD-350 Mini-Disc Recorders
1 Tascam CD-RW402 CD copier/recorder
2  Dell flat screen monitors
1 Henry Logic Converter
2 Behinger Powerplay ProXL headphone amplifier
2 Furman M8x line conditioner
2  ART SLA-1 power amplifiers
2 Advocent Longview KVM Extenders
2 pairs JBL Control 1 monitor speakers

Newsroom

1   Shure SM-7 microphone
1   Radio Systems Millenium 6-A console
1   Dell computer, keyboard and mouse
1   ART SLA-1 power amplifier
1  pair JBL Control 1 monitor speakers

WJMZ Radio Studio
4 Shure SM-7 microphones
1 Radio Systems Millenium 12-A console
2 Denon DN-C635 CD players
2 Tascam MD-350 Mini-Disc Recorders
1 Sony MDS E-12 Mini-Disc Recorder
1 Behringer HEADAMP headphone amplifier
1 Furman M8x line conditioner
1 Samson Power Amplifier
1pair JBL Control 1 monitor speakers

PEOPLE TO WHO HELPED MAKE THIS PROJECT POSSIBLE

Tom Profit, Operations Manager, Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts
www.specshoward.edu

Rod Graham, President, Graham Studios LLC
www.graham-studios.com/

Cecile Gibson, Broadcaster’s General Store
www.bgs.cc/

Paul Schweiger, Broadcast Supply Worldwide
www.bswusa.com/