FX Rental provide a winning score

Pro-audio rental company, FX Rentals, has received praise from some of the biggest names in the film industry for its role in the much-anticipated second Lord of the Rings film, ‘The Two Towers’.
FX Rentals first became involved in the Lord of the Rings project with the first film, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ back in 2001. However for the second film, which has just been released, FX strengthened its relationship with New Line Cinema by being appointed sole audio rental company for the entire project.
Karen Elliot, UK Music Production Co-ordinator for the Lord of the Rings project said of the decision: “FX were used for the first film along with other rental companies, however this proved too messy and so it was decided that FX would be taken on as the sole rental company for the second film.”
In order to fully meet the projects requirements FX had to invest in some new equipment; two Doremi V1 non-linear video recorders, SNS miniSAN, extra Pro Tools systems linked to a Studio Network System SAN (Storage Area Network), Overland LTO tape drive for a terrabyte of back-up and two Sony J3 Digi Beta machines. In addition FX supplied Pro Tools Mix systems for recording plus a Sony PCM3348HR as back up.
Tony Andrews, FX Rentals Sales Manager said: “The equipment we supplied met all the requirements, but we often had to provide extras. For instance, we frequently had to duplicate equipment as the team would go from one location to another without any time for re-deliver and re-install.”
In total four recording venues were used for the ‘The Two Towers’; Abbey Road, Air Lyndhurst, Henry Wood Hall and CTS Studios in Watford Town Hall. The sixth floor of the Dorchester hotel was also commandeered for the project, for editorial meetings and the continuous writing and editing of the music score.
On top of the equipment supplied, FX also provided 24-hour support to the team and transported equipment between the various recording venues.
Music Co-ordinator Karen Elliot said: “FX appreciated the flexibility needed in order to transport equipment to each recording venue.”
Paul Broucek, Executive Vice President of Music at New Line Cinema added: “This project has required a lot of time and commitment from everyone involved. The multi-locations, length and amount of music produced is akin to the recording of a full opera complete with a 95-piece orchestra, a 60-piece choir, boys choir, soloists and instrumentalists.”
FX Rental’s John ‘Oz’ Osmond, Project Co-ordinator, had the mammoth task of ensuring that all equipment was picked up and delivered to each venue on time. He says “The biggest challenge was the ever changing schedule, sometimes less than an hour’s notice, and also shifting the Pro-Tools rack and PCM3348 up and down the stairs at Watford. However this is the best team we have built yet and, even on days when we were delivering in the early hours of the morning the equipment went in on time.”
High praise for the company’s work also came from David Gleeson, the Associate Music Producer, who said: “We found FX would go that extra mile and help out with every aspect. From the people to the equipment, FX came up trumps every time.”
John Kurlander, Scoring Engineer added: “It’s probably the best teamwork I’ve ever seen on a project.”
Work on the third film begins in 2003 and, according to FX Rental, it looks as if there are no plans to change the winning formula.
(AMcE)