Whitemark builds dream studio in Paris

News

Andrew Low Jun 12 2008, 9:00am

White Mark has created a state-of-the-art studio for French composer Karim Succar

After a six-year search for the perfect premises, renowned composer Karim Succar has finally built his dream recording facility in a new building just 10 minutes from the centre of Paris.

The building, which he describes as a ‘concrete cube’, was transformed into a state-of-the-art studio by UK acoustic and technical design company, White Mark Ltd. It now comprises a large control room equipped with a 32-fader Pro Tools D Control console, a Neve BCM10 analogue console, Exigy 5.1 monitoring with eight surrounds, a JVC High Definition projector, a White Mark acoustically transparent screen and a whole host of analogue outboard equipment and musical instruments. There is also a large live room with natural daylight and a lounge area. The studio furniture was custom-made by AKA Designs and incorporates special touches such as the facility’s logo carved into the desktop.

Operating under the name of KariSm Productions, the new facility gives Succar a permanent base from which to compose and produce music for television programmes, commercials and radio advertising. Succar has been composing for more than 18 years and has created memorable music for a number of French games shows, including Big Deal and Les Amours. Among his clients are many of the biggest names in French broadcasting, including TF1, the NRJ radio group and France 2.

“Having my own studio has been my dream for a long time,” he explains. “For the last few years I have been working in a much smaller, rented facility that inevitably meant compromises in terms of equipment and acoustics. When my business partner Sevan Bolikian and I eventually found this building in 2006, I was determined to build a studio that not only fitted my requirements but exceeded anything that was available commercially. When we found this building my wife had just given birth to our daughter and virtually on the day we completed the studio, she gave birth to our son. It has certainly been a busy two years, but the results are well worth the effort!”

Succar conducted extensive research among studio design companies and visited many other facilities, including some in the UK, before choosing White Mark for the project.

“In the end it was quite an easy decision to make because the minute I walked into a White Mark-designed room I could hear how fantastic they sounded,” he adds. “That was what I wanted for my studio. The combination of White Mark acoustics and Exigy monitoring is so unique that it stands head and shoulders above everything else.”

Succar’s concrete cube, which is part of a newly-built mixed retail, residential and restaurant block near Port Maillot, turned out to be the perfect choice because the room dimensions lent themselves to great acoustics.

David Bell, Managing Director of White Mark, says: “It is always a challenge to create a personal work space for a client as there are many influences that are highly individual. Karim had strong views about what he wanted from his studio and it was very important to him that the long years waiting for his own studio to be built were worth it. The open acoustic and natural work environment created by careful control of the reverberation characteristics and imaging are perfectly complemented by the abundant natural light and the rooms have a very warm and yet accurate feel. We are very pleased with them and happy that Karim chose us to create his dream facility!”

Succar adds: “White Mark did such a fantastic job with the room design that the monitor system sounded perfect from the moment it was turned on. I couldn’t be happier – the room acoustics and the monitoring have exceeded all my expectations. White Mark has been marvellous to work with and I don’t regret one Euro of the money I’ve spent on this facility. I was right to trust them and I’m delighted with the studio they have built for me.”

KariSm Productions is now officially open and Succar is already using the facility to tackle four advertising campaigns for NRJ. These include commercials for consumer electronics manufacturer Archos and Afat Voyage, the travel agency owned by Air France.
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