The Midwest’s biggest music/effects library is contained on BAM Studios’ new Dream Server.
BAM Studio’s Brian Reed is a persistent cuss. It took him five years, never doubting, to achieve his goal of getting major music libraries to join in his quest for a better delivery service to audio houses like his. The result is the BAM Dream Server, a revolutionary search engine for the Midwest’s largest music and effects library. Twelve terabytes of content 500,000 music cuts and 200,000 sound effects-are contained on the Dream Server, in which media files, storage, database and efficient network have been fluidly integrated. The Dream Server accepts audiofiles embedded with metadata, which allows the user to see and search more than 30 fields of embedded data, explained BAM sound designer Dave Leffel. “All files are searchable complete with full descriptions, composer, publisher, category, length and other information attached,” he said. Reed said it was always his dream to have every sound effect and music library file on a massive server accessible to any room at BAM, “and we found we had to do it ourselves to get what we wanted.” He has been collecting library music and effects since he opened BAM in 1987 and delivery was on vinyl records. Since 2000, BAM has prodded all the major libraries to help deliver digital assets directly to the end user, with both software from Soundminer, a Toronto-based metadata pioneer, and open standard metadata already embedded. “We’ve finally accomplished the goal and I believe our system now rivals any audio facility in the world,” Reed said. BAM is also celebrating the completion of its second 500 sq. ft. “It has identical HD ProTools, surround sound compatibility and a voiceover booth” to the original studio said Leffel. He joined BAM a year ago from S2, saying he was attracted to the studio by its versatility of services, which includes ISDN and ADR and long-form. BAM recorded ADR with Nicole Kidman and Will Farrell last year. BAM provides voiceover, sound design and mixing for a variety of media. A recent variety of work includes commercials for Aurora Healthcare/Rhea & Kaiser and UCSD MedicaliStorandt, Pann, Margolis; sound for a logo for Virtual Studios, which worked on the new “Poseidon” movie; radio spots for Exelon/ComEd for Tierney Communications, and audio for the Daytimedollars.com website for soap opera fans. BAM’s third staffer is studio manager Johnathon Karcz.
