COVID-19 Safety Procedures
Waterman Sound’s COVID-19 safety procedures are SAG-AFTRA approved.
In order to comply with social distancing practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and to ensure the health and safety of our clients and employees, Waterman Sound has enacted the following requirements and guidelines to maintain a responsible working environment. Waterman Sound will continue to monitor public health communications about COVID-19 recommendations and ensure that employees have access to that information. These requirements and guidelines will be updated as necessary to comply with any recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
- Face coverings are required of anyone entering the building.
- A no-touch temperature screener is located at the entrance to the building. Everyone entering the studio is required to have a temperature less than 100.4° F.
- Everyone is required to answer a verbal COVID questionnaire upon entry.
- Disposable gloves and disposable face masks are available for all clients.
- Hand sanitizing stations, disposable disinfecting wipes, tissues, and no-touch trash receptacles will be provided in every room.
- Coway Airmega HEPA air filtration units are in use throughout the studio.
- Clients and employees are encouraged to wash their hands often and use disinfecting wipes on high-touch surfaces that they come in contact with.
- Please maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance between yourself and others.
- Waterman Sound maintains a record of everyone entering our building to facilitate contact tracing in the event that a positive COVID-19 case is reported in our facility.
- Please feel free to self-park your vehicle in our private parking lot (entrance on Forman Avenue). Valet parking services are also available if preferred.
- Call 818-855-2246 when you are outside, and you will be admitted to the building through a private entrance. (If preferred, you may also use the front entrance.)
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Communal craft services and bulk snacks will not be provided. Clients may request individual craft items including snacks, drinks, and/or meals.
- The ADR mixer will be isolated in the control room.
- Talent will be isolated in the live room.
- Sound supervisors are encouraged to monitor and direct sessions remotely. They can also opt to monitor sessions via Source-Connect in an isolated edit suite.
- Upon request, sound supervisors may opt to monitor and direct sessions from a workstation in the live room more than 6’ away from the talent. The talent must agree to this arrangement beforehand, and the supervisor must wear a mask at all times.
- Talent must be scheduled one person at a time. Waterman Sound will consider requests for loop group sessions on an individual basis, and precautions will be taken to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.
- We recommend scheduling talent with a 15 minute buffer between sessions to reduce person-to-person contact and to allow time to disinfect the studio.
- All high-touch surfaces will be disinfected before each session, between each talent, and after all sessions. These surfaces include, but are not limited to: microphones, door handles, table tops, music stands, headphones, hear cue systems, pencils/pens, lamps, light switches, iPads for talkback, mice, keyboards, and AC controls.
- Our studio manager and ADR mixer are both fully vaccinated.
- Employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 (i.e. fever, cough, or shortness of breath) will notify Waterman Sound and stay home. Employees will not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments.
- Employees who are well but who are living with someone who is currently sick with COVID-19 will notify Waterman Sound and follow the CDC’s recommended precautions.
- Employees will be discouraged from using other employees’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment whenever possible.
- Employees will wear a cloth face covering when working alongside clients and/or other employees and a cloth face covering and disposable gloves when disinfecting the studio.
- Waterman Sound’s cleaning crew is certified according to CDC guidelines. Approved disinfectant solutions are utilized to deep clean the studio each night.
- All high-touch surfaces in restrooms (door handles, faucet handles, toilet seats, toilet handles, and countertops) will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected periodically throughout the day.
- Talent can use the free parking in our garage, located off of Forman Avenue.
- After parking call 818-855-2246 and wait in the parking garage. (If preferred, talent may also use the front entrance.)
- We will open the private side door entrance to the garage and leave it open. (NO front door entry. The only entrance will be through the parking garage after we receive an arrival phone call at 818-855-2246.)
- Please wear a face covering at all times – except during the session when isolated in the live room – and maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance between yourself and others.
- Once you enter the building, there will be a no-touch temperature screening. Everyone entering the studio is required to have a temperature less than 100.4° F. You will then need to answer a verbal COVID questionnaire, which will be provided to you prior to the session for your reference.
- The talent will enter the ADR stage, put on headphones, and clip on their lavalier microphone. The mixer will close the live room doors behind them.
- All high-touch surfaces are disinfected prior to each session. This includes, but is not limited to: headphones, microphones, music stands, hear cue systems, pencils/pens, door handles, table tops, and chairs.
- Disposable gloves, disinfecting wipes, tissues, and hand sanitizer will be available for the talent if needed.
- Talent will be isolated in the live room. Our mixer will be isolated in the control room.
- Sound supervisors are encouraged to monitor and direct sessions remotely. They can also opt to monitor sessions via Source-Connect in an isolated edit suite.
- Upon request, sound supervisors may opt to monitor and direct sessions from a workstation in the live room more than 6’ away from the talent. The talent must agree to this arrangement beforehand, and the supervisor must wear a mask at all times.
- Once the session has concluded, the mixer will open the studio doors and exit the control room. We will open the side door exit to the parking garage, and the talent can exit at their leisure.
Download our SAG-AFTRA Approved COVID-19 Safety Protocols or our Contactless Arrival Safety Procedure as a PDF.
Facilities & Services
Our 28′ D x 15′ W x 11′ H Mix Stage is ideal for TV mixing and feature pre-dubs. It features a 48-fader S6 M40 controller (for single or dual operators) connected to three Pro Tools HDX2 systems configured as two playback systems and one recorder. Available plugins include Izotope, Exponential Audio, Fab Filter, Soundtoys, and Nugen.
We have switchable 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos 11.1.6 monitoring using JBL M2 mains monitors, JBL 708i surrounds, and JBL 705i overheads powered by Crown DCi Series amplifiers. These are augmented by Jerry Steckling Custom Subs and Dynaudio BM12 nearfields. A custom BSS Soundweb London BLU control system handles monitor-format switching. Video projection is handled by a BenQ TK850 4K projector facing a Screen Innovations Maestro screen.
Compliant with Dolby DARDT’s Atmos specs.
Our ADR stage offers an ideal recording environment for principal ADR and can comfortably accommodate a loop group up to 8-10 people. The recording stage measures 24′ D x 15′ W x 11′ H and can be configured for a wide variety of setups such as traditional ADR with supervisors on the stage, narration from a comfortable armchair, animation with video recorded for reference, and everything in between.
The control room measures approximately 10′ D x 15′ W and centers around a 16-fader Avid S3 control surface connected to a Pro Tools HDX recorder/playback system, JBL 705P speakers for monitoring, and a Focusrite Red 4Pre audio interface. Our mic locker is stocked with industry standards such as Sennheiser MKH50 and Schoeps CMIT 5 boom mics, Sanken COS-11 lavaliers, and Neumann U87 condenser mics, and other microphones are readily available upon request to match what was used on set.
Source-Connect, Source-Live, Skype, Zoom, and Phone Patch interfaces are available for remote monitoring and supervision of ADR sessions.
This editorial suite is equipped with JBL LSR308 speakers and a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface. It is perfect for dialog editors, sound designers, editorial assistants, or quick fixes for the mix stage.
The addition of Source-Connect Pro provides a cost-effective solution for accurate monitoring of remote ADR sessions. This suite is available independently or as an add-on to the ADR stage if in-house and remote sessions are concurrently scheduled.
Our studio is well-stocked with convenient amenities to ensure that clients have an above-the-line experience while using our facility. We offer gourmet beverages, a delicious breakfast spread every morning, hors d’oeuvres in the afternoons, and we are happy to accommodate any special requests and dietary preferences. Our complimentary valet parking, car wash service, and discreet entrance add to the personalized experience. We look forward to making you feel at home!
Waterman Sound is located on Riverside Drive in the heart of Toluca Lake. Our facility is a short drive from the major studios and post facilities in the Burbank area. We are conveniently nestled among great places to eat and drink, whether you want to order in breakfast, break for lunch, or go out to celebrate after a successful milestone. Some of our favorites are SweetSalt, The Coffee Bean, Forman’s Tavern, Malbec, Kabosu, and Olive & Thyme.
Projects
COPSHOP / OPEN ROAD FILMS
ATYPICAL / NETFLIX
CHASING WONDERS / GRAVITAS VENTURES
GRAND ARMY / NETFLIX
BLACK MONDAY / SHOWTIME
SHE DIES TOMORROW / NEON RATED
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO / THE CW
FANTASY ISLAND / BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS
JOJO RABBIT / 20TH CENTURY FOX
THE LOUDEST VOICE / SHOWTIME
BUDDY SYSTEM / YOUTUBE RED
GHOSTED / 20TH CENTURY FOX
DUG DAYS / PIXAR
LUCA / PIXAR
RUTHERFORD FALLS / PEACOCK
COBRA KAI / NETFLIX
DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW / THE CW
THE GOOD PLACE / NBC
BLACK-ISH / ABC STUDIOS
CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND / WARNER BROS TELEVISION
WHISKEY CAVALIER / ABC STUDIOS
LIFE SENTENCE / WARNER BROS TELEVISION
THE DARKEST MINDS / 20TH CENTURY FOX
EVERYTHING SUCKS / NETFLIX
ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST / NBC
TED LASSO / APPLE TV+
MADE FOR LOVE / HBO MAX
THEM / AMAZON PRIME
SOUL / PIXAR
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY / HBO
DESPERADOS / NETFLIX
CASTLE ROCK / HULU
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS / 20TH CENTURY FOX
QUEEN AMERICA / FACEBOOK
ONCE UPON A TIME / ABC STUDIOS
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH / 20TH CENTURY FOX
About
Waterman Sound is a state-of-the-art sound facility offering sound editorial, sound design, mixing, and ADR from its newly-built studio in Toluca Lake. Our studio is designed to appeal to producers seeking a personalized approach to sound post. “We’re a boutique facility that offers a personalized, flexible, and highly tailored experience as an alternative to the larger studios,” says company principal Joe Schultz. “We cover every aspect of sound post, but because of our size we can be very accommodating to our clients’ budget and schedule considerations.”
Waterman Sound is dedicated to providing superior work throughout the life of all projects. Our leadership team brings a unique mix of experience including facility management, mix supervision, and client services. Our principal team members have over 20 years of post experience with Emmy award winning programming, and our first priority is to ensure that your projects are delivered with the highest quality.
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