Located in the heart of Soho, Formosa Bateman is the latest addition to Formosa Group’s international stable of audio studios. Formosa Bateman brings together sound design, editorial and re-recording to Dolby Atmos Theatrical and Home Entertainment mastering within the one boutique creative space.
Sponsored by Avid, HHB, JBL, Sound Technology, Prostage, Formosa Group
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND FORMOSA BATEMAN
In August 2022, Formosa Group bought Sonorous Trident, a boutique audio post company owned by BAFTA-winning Re-Recording Mixer Howard Bargroff (with a further four BAFTA and ten Emmy nominations) and also BAFTA-winning Re-Recording Mixer Mike Prestwood Smith (with a further two Oscar and ten more BAFTA nominations) and retained the facility on St Anne’s Court (now Formosa Trident). Formosa had worked with Prestwood Smith in the US and knew Bargroff by reputation.
Formosa brought in Helen Alexander to run the newly acquired business, freeing up Prestwood Smith and Bargroff to focus on their craft, and to explore a strategic growth plan. The plan had three key drivers:
– to expand the offer and take on projects from sound design and editorial through to final mix and delivery, which led to Formosa Group attracting renowned and respected Supervising Sound Editor/ Sound Designer, Jimmy Boyle (with credits including Wonder Woman 1984 and World War Z)
– to build up the audio post real estate including a new Dolby Atmos Theatrical and Home Entertainment stage and edit suites to all sit within the same facility
– and to pursue technical excellence across the new stages and rooms and create a comfortable haven for creative talent to design, edit and mix their best audio work for international features, broadcast, and streaming.
THE BUILD AT BATEMAN
Helen Alexander, Managing Director of Formosa Group UK (FBS) picks up the story behind Formosa Bateman. “We first looked at expanding within the St Anne’s building, but it was structurally unwise. In an ideal world we would have wanted a purpose-built facility, but that was not a realistic option in Soho or a sensible return on investment.
“We knew the Bateman Street building and having looked around it, we knew it held potential, so we set to work with our architects, Level Acoustic Design to see how the building could be transformed for Dolby Atmos work.
“We started in earnest in late 2023, ripping out all the old cabling, taking it right back to the bare walls, and then built out two Dolby Atmos stages and three edit rooms for the in-house editorial team. The expansion into Formosa Bateman allowed us to almost double our capacity for projects and added some much-needed client breakout space and offices, along with room for studio growth in the basement.
“In addition to Formosa Trident, one of the many positives about Formosa Bateman is to be able to bring all the creative talent together in one facility with the addition of the edit rooms and theatrical capabilities.”
ABOUT FORMOSA GROUP
The US-owned, Formosa Group was first launched in 2013 and is still run by the original President and Founder, Bob Rosenthal and original Divisional Chief Operations Officer, Matt Dubin. Formosa Group has earned a reputation as one of the leading audio post companies in the world with an exceptional credits list. Formosa remains committed to maintaining and strengthening the group’s founding vision across all its facility sites worldwide (US, Canada and UK) as an unparalleled community for creative talent, support staff and clients.
A HOME FROM HOME
Walking into Formosa Bateman, you immediately take in an unexpected aesthetic that carries throughout the new facility – a comfortable feel with muted blue, orange and warm golden colours. The new building is the antithesis of the New York warehouse or slick, black cinema look favoured by others. The new stages have charcoal blue fabric walls and soft light blue carpets mixed with polished wooden flooring and orange ‘sit-up’ sofas framed by table lamps, while the ground floor breakout space has an eclectic mix of film related ornaments and books, each brought in by members of the team, with a rug and more sofas.
“The intention from the outset was to mirror the original look of Trident and make it feel like a home from home. Audio post is the last thing that’s done and often involves long hours. We want to rekindle that energy as the film or show nears completion and make our clients feel as comfortable as possible, both in the studios and breakout spaces, while retaining the feel of a working environment.
“Due to client demand, we unofficially opened in July with an official launch on October 16th. It’s been great to be able to offer a Dolby theatrical stage which we didn’t have before, and we’ve been working on some amazing projects since.”
Jimmy Boyle – Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Arthur Christmas and Edge of Tomorrow)
‘‘Our editorial suites at Formosa Bateman are acoustically designed and perfectly specced for my editorial team to creatively work and produce content to the best standard. It helps that the suites are comfortable for our filmmakers when attending and collaborating on their production.’’
TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE
Andy Copeland, Technical Manager of Formosa Group UK (FBS) takes up the story. “There’s a common expectation that you’ll see an Avid S6 console running Pro Tools in any contemporary high-end mix stage, and that you will have the flexibility to offer additional rigs and TV playback. When you’re doing a lot of transatlantic work with the big streamers, like HBO, Disney, Netflix and Amazon, they expect to be able to listen in remotely. We use Dante across the facility making everything immediately available from one room to the next and to our clients across the world.
“There’s several good reasons why there aren’t many Theatrical Dolby Atmos stages in Soho – from the space requirements to just the sheer number of speakers that you need and the exacting technical requirements.
“Having an Avid S6 console running Pro Tools wasn’t just an expectation but pretty much the only way to go. There’s not really an alternative and in some senses that made some of the equipment decisions quite easy.
“In Bateman Stage 1, we have a 40 Fader, dual operator Avid S6 M40 with four Pro Tools HDX Playback Systems, Avid MTRX and Dolby Cinema RMU. The monitoring is Dolby Atmos Theatrical equipped, and we can run 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment. The surround speakers are all JBL with two JBL 4642 subwoofers at the front of the stage.
“For Bateman Stage 3, we have a 24 Fader Avid S6 M40 with a single Pro Tools HDX Playback system (which we can add to), Avid MTRX and Dolby HE RMU. The monitoring for this room is for Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment 7.1.4 and again we have JBL surround speakers and two subwoofers.
“We need to be flexible and adapt a surface or a space on the fly and accommodate multiple different mixes and different styles for whoever is going to be using the stages. We have to be able to say ‘yes’ to literally anything that the client might want.
“Anyone can just come in and it will just work, which makes my life easier.
Howard Bargroff – Re-Recording Mixer (Rivals, Civil War and Sherlock)
“It’s so lovely to see the sound and the picture come together in a final mix. We recently finished an upcoming HETV series for a streamer in Bateman Stage 3 which is a very comfortable space and seems to help make the process feel very collegiate; a key to a successful studio.”
SOUNDS FANTASTIC
“We chose JBL Professional monitoring to give us that really big theatrical sound, knowing from experience how well they translate. For us, making sure the content our team produces on our mix stage translates to theatres all over the country was a huge consideration. With a screen channel of custom 5732s giving us a punchy but critical sound, and 34 surrounds from the JBL AC series giving us crisp imaging. For the LFE channel we went with two 4641s, and for our bass management subs we have four ASB6112 sub woofers.
“This array gives us the full frequency range for our surround speakers, anywhere in the room which is imperative for us when working on the high-end Atmos content that Howard, Jimmy & Mike are producing. They also work wonderfully well in traditional 5.1/7.1 Cinema arrays.
“Dolby were complimentary about the speakers’ in-room performance when carrying out their line-up and we’re all delighted with the end result.
“HHB and the distributor, Sound Technology were fantastic during the presales, consultation and delivery process, and their post care support is top notch.
“HHB was our natural SI partner. It helps that they are an audio-only focused reseller. The presales support was brilliant from Steve Jones and JJ, and they both added considerable value in the consultation process. They understand all the intricacies that come with high-end audio post from networking to specific kit details. It also helped that they both already had a strong pre-existing relationship with Mike and Howard.
Mike Prestwood Smith – Re-Recording Mixer (Mission: Impossible-Fallout, Rocketman and Casino Royale)
‘’The addition of a fully Dolby accredited theatrical mix stage to Formosa’s already acclaimed home entertainment studios is a big step forward for us. It means we can service all our clients in any format and create a one stop environment for sound editorial and mixing for all genres of production.’’
CLEAR FOCUS
“In both stages we have an Epson PU1007 Laser Projector and prostage supplied and installed the Screen Excellence Enlightor Neo 4K/HDR, 5.1m screen in Stage 1 and 4.3m screen in Stage 3.
“The screens are as acoustically transparent as anything I’ve come across, which is super important for us. If at certain points we’re pushing up to a hundred decibels through the screens, you need a screen that doesn’t mask that sound and doesn’t impact on its acoustic character.
“The screens have a haloed edge so there’s no bevel and that just helps the screen look so elegant, almost look like it’s a part of the wall. Everyone who goes into the stages stops and comments on how amazing they look.
“Picture fidelity and resolution are so important, not forgetting our clients are at the end of a project that they’ve lived and breathed for up to a couple of years or even longer. They can watch their projects on a screen that is that sharp, that crisp and that nicely installed. It makes a big difference. When clients walk in, they immediately know that this is a top-notch finishing facility.
“Ben and the team at prostage were so accommodating and we were able to discuss the mounting options in detail and what we wanted, and it was just a ‘yes’ to everything we asked of him. They were very understanding of how building projects run and slotted into our timeline which meant we could fulfil our very tight schedule.
Sponsored by
Images
Main image: Formosa Bateman in the heart of Soho
Image 1: Bateman Stage 1: Dolby Atmos Theatrical and Home Entertainment
Image 2: LEE Ft. Formosa talents: Re-Recording Mixer Mike Prestwood Smith, Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer Jimmy Boyle, Sound FX Design & Editorial Darren Banks and George Riley
Image 3: RIVALS Ft. Formosa talents: Re-Recording Mixers Howard Bargroff, Oliver Brierley, Jamie Roden, and Sound Designer Darren Banks
Image 4: Formosa Bateman: Exterior in the heart of Soho
Image 5: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE Ft. Formosa talents: Supervising Sound Editor/ Sound Designer Jimmy Boyle, Sound FX Editor George Riley, Asst. Sound Editor Sam Day, Music Editor Bill Abbott, and Music Editing Asst. Denise Okimoto
Image 6: CIVIL WAR Ft. Formosa Re-Recording Mixer Howard Bargroff
Image 7: BAD SISTERS S2 Ft. Formosa talents: Re-Recording Mixer Oliver Brierley, Sound Designer Darren Banks, and Dialogue Editor Natasha Haycocks
Image 8: TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY Ft. Formosa Re-Recording Mixers Howard Bargroff and Mark Timms
Staff Reporter
Share this story
