Project Description
Overview
Upriver Studios is a 100,000 ft2 film/TV production facility located in a former factory building in Saugerties, New York. The Studio is owned and operated by Stockade Works, a non-profit organization committed to creating production related jobs for members of the local Hudson Valley community that was founded by actress / director / production exec. Mary Stuart Masterson, filmmaker Beth Davenport, and producer/entrepreneur Diane Wheeler-Nicholson. Masterson, Davenport and Wheeler-Nicholson secured the services of WSDG to optimize the acoustics of the building and its three sound stages.
Program
WSDG conducted a series of Impulse Response measurements in the proposed locations for the 31,230 ft2 Stage 1 (“Big Mother”) and the 15,000 ft2 Stage 3 (“Little Sis”). The reverberation time in the spaces was found to be nearly 4 seconds in the midrange, much higher than what is typically found in film/tv production spaces and therefore difficult to work with unchecked. The WSDG design team recommended the installation of 28,000 ft2 of absorption materials in Stage 1 and over 15,000 ft2 in Stage 3 to reduce the reverberation time.
Design
A combination of 2” Rigid theater wallboard, hanging Lapendaries, and acoustic baffles were used in the sound stages to reduce the reverb time. All roll up and swing doors to the corridor were replaced with acoustic metal doors fitted with “seal kits.”, with sound locks to provide optimal isolation for voice recording on Stages 1 and 3. All penetrations in demising partitions between Bay 7 and Corridor 6A were filled and sealed. The benefits of these installations were dramatic, resulting in a Quietness Measure of NC 25 in optimal circumstances. The new installations also achieved a Noise Isolation Class average rating of NIC 60, which exceeds the recommended target rating.