Star Wars: Episode III “Revenge of the Sith”, Batman Begins, Janet Jackson... Just a Few of the Exciting Projects Using Digidesign’s ICON

More exciting projects than ever are relying on Digidesign ICON integrated console systems. From Star Wars: Episode III “Revenge of the Sith” to Janet Jackson’s new album, ICON has set a new standard for quality in tracking and mixing post and music projects. While D-Control based systems have surpassed industry sales trends for digital consoles, Digidesign anticipates even more widespread adoption with the addition of the D-Command medium-format console to the ICON family.

Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, reports using a three-operator ICON|D-Control to mix Star Wars: Episode III “Revenge of the Sith”. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are scoring the anticipated Summer Blockbuster Batman Begins from Warner Brothers using a two-operator D-Control based ICON setup at Air Studios in London, UK.

"I use a Pro Tools|HD Accel system as my main mixer when writing,” said Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. “So using two ICONs for the final mix gave us both tremendous flexibility and made everything a bit more seamless. We were able to take a Pro Tools session from the room containing all of my synth and sampled-orchestra parts and open them directly on one of the ICONs in the mix room, keeping all my levels and plug-ins intact -- and without having to reconfigure everything to incorporate a traditional console with outboard effects."

Jeff Greenberg, CEO of The Village Recorders in Los Angeles, purchased an ICON system in January and said “We’ve been booked solid with high-profile ICON projects since the install -- including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ work on Janet Jackson’s new album as well as t.A.T.u., Nelly, Larry King voice overs and tons more. All our clients have been thrilled with their ICON experience and their results sound incredible.”

Often tracking, editing, and mixing projects in multiple studios around the world, independents are requesting ICON studios for their work and are installing them in their own private studios. Recent individual ICON owners include Mike Shipley (mix engineer for Shania Twain, Maroon 5, Green Day, Tom Petty, Aerosmith and more), Mark Needham (producer/mixer/engineer for The Killers, Paul Simon, Chris Isaak, Cake and Fleetwood Mac), producer Pat Barret, and Harris Jayaraj (top composer of popular Indian films such as Minnale, Majnu and 12B).

“ICON is the best board in the world for me because it’s made mixing records even more fun!” exclaimed Mike Shipley, mix engineer and ICON owner. “It’s the center of my home studio -- a creative, vibey space that everyone loves. Having it in my home has given me the flexibility to dictate how long I want to spend working on a mix. What comes out sounds at least as good, if not better, than anything I’ve ever gotten from a large format analog console that are the focal points of the major studios I used to solely work in. With ICON, I have the power and control to give my clients what they want...amazing sounding, no compromise, hit records. Up next is Maroon 5...they’re gonna love it too!”

Joining existing ICON music, post and broadcast facilities around the world, the following companies have purchased D-Control based systems --- bringing the overall number of ICON systems sold worldwide to over 200: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Montreal, Canada, Cinecolor in Bangkok, Thailand, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, Conservatoire National Musique et Danse in Lyon, France, Effanel Mobile Truck in New York, the new cable station INdTV in San Francisco, Infinia in Barcelona, Spain, International Academy Design in Tampa, Metropolis Studios in London, UK, Musicians Institute in Hollywood, NASA in Orlando, Onkyou Gijyutsu in Tokyo, Japan, Pythagor in Moscow, Russia, Scramble in London, UK, Sisa Studio in Seoul, South Korea, Soundworks in Cardiff, UK, Studio in Mukelto in Seattle, Suite 16 in New Zealand, SVT in Stockholm, Sweden, Technicolor in Bangkok, Thailand, The Village in Los Angeles, Third Wave / Play in Santa Monica, Tracks in Sydney, Australia, Trinity Wavestation in India, Warner Brothers Post in Burbank, and XM Satellite Radio in New York.

Click here for more information about Digidesign ICON available at CEV.

About ICON

The Digidesign ICON integrated audio production environment is redefining the state of the art in large-format recording and mixing technology. Featuring your choice of the flagship D-Control worksurface or the all-new D-Command compact worksurface, plus the Pro Tools|HD Accel system as its DSP mixing and processing engine and modular Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces for analog and digital I/O, ICON is the first truly integrated console solution of its kind.

About Digidesign

Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc., is the world’s leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems, and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy Award and 2003 Academy Award of Merit (Oscar statuette) for the design, development, and implementation of the Pro Tools digital audio workstation. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in over forty countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. M-Audio, a leading provider of digital audio and MIDI solutions for electronic musicians and audio professionals, is a business unit of Digidesign. For more information, visit www.digidesign.com.

© 2005 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, D-Command, D-Control, Pro Tools, and Pro Tools|HD are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Academy Award and Oscar are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

[May 19, 2005]