Stephen Bulat has seen the nature of the music and sound industries change over the past decade, and has tailored his Burnaby sound studio to meet those changing needs.
However, those changes haven’t threatened Mix Media Productions so much as made it necessary to know the worth of experience and expertise, he said.
“People can go down to Long and McQuade with a Mac laptop and spend maybe $1,000 or $500, next thing you know, they have all the makings of a recording studio,” he told the NOW.
His strong musical knowledge and background, as well as his years of experience, set him apart from fly-by-night operations, though.
“It hasn’t really killed my business, it’s actually forced me to charge a little more,” he said.
The way music is created is different as well, he added.
“Musically, things have changed with loop-driven stuff,” he explained, saying it’s less about cord progression and more about creating a groove. “You’re skipping a step, because they may not have studied composition or they may not have studied how to create a song, but they just know if they loop this one thing over and over, it’s kinda cool.”
Bulat has more than 20 years’ experience in music and music productions.
“I was always into music,” he said. “The role of a musician changed quite a while ago, with the introduction of digital recording.
“I think I went from being a musician to playing in pit orchestras for musicals, which led to musical directing, which led to sound design – it just all morphed,” he added. “But it pretty much all began with a love of music.”
Currently, Bulat is doing light and sound design for a Vancouver Fringe Festival production, Staircase Theatre’s Oh the Humanity (and other good intentions) by Will Eno.
The show, directed by Brian Cochrane, runs from Sept. 11 to 16 at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver.
While he doesn’t have much time to prepare for the show in advance, the simplicity of the set means it’s not a stressful situation, he said.
While most theatre productions allow for three to four days of prep time for the lighting, with a Fringe show, it’s much shorter, he explained.
“With a Fringe show, you get three hours, and the lighting in the air is the lighting in the air,” Bulat said.
“As a designer, with all the restrictions, it makes it easier for me.”
Mix Media Productions primarily does voiceover recording for documentaries and advertising, he said, as well as voiceover demos, coaching and workshops for actors.
“We do record music, but it’s more of an audio production studio,” he added.
They also offer karaoke parties, where people can sing and record with their friends in the studio, according to Bulat.
“We do 14-year-olds’ birthday parties,” he said. “It’s mostly girls, and they’re 14, and they’re singing Taylor Swift songs, and it’s a blast for them.”
For more information on Mix Media Productions, go to www.mixmedia.ca.
