Nestled amongst the historic pubs, hip cafes, and cocktail bars and global eateries sits 5A Studios. Founded 16 years ago to offer sound post production services, its owner Cris Aragón shares her journey on building the business.  

 

The creation of magic through sound was a fascination turned passion of Aragón’s from a young age. Upon realising this, owning and running her own studio became her dream so she applied and attended the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. It was there that she met Michael Koderisch and upon their graduation, they both decided to move to London to start their careers. After multiple years working for companies like the BBC and Twickenham Studios between them, they finally decided to merge Aragón’s love for sound recording and Koderisch’s for mixing to create 5A Studios.

 

5A Studios were built on the consistent delivery of superior sound alongside the ability to create and maintain real connections and even friendships with clients. Today, that ethos rings true in that they continue to work with clients they have held as friends for many years whilst also building a fresh client base with the aim to not only build a better business, but to do their part to build a better world. It doesn’t stop there, in February of this year Meghan Butten was brought onboard as Commercial Director to help steer the company in a more diverse direction. “We still offer superior sound, but it’s now steered by women” said Aragón. “Meghan’s background is in opera performance, but in 2016 she made the leap into the voice actor industry which introduced her to Aragon. After working together on multiple projects, they decided their talents and passions for the industry would mix well to help build a more female centric and world centric post-production house. So, Meghan happily joined 5A Studios in February and has never looked back!”

 

Aragón has always had a love of sound and has been the Managing Director since its beginning. Her work laid the foundation for 5A to be the success it is. “It has always run on relationships” added Aragon. “This year has been the most exciting by far! The appearance of Covid-19 has forced us to be more proactive than ever before and has brought challenge and triumph one after the other. We can’t say too much at this point, but we are now working with some of the biggest production companies based in the US more frequently and on a rolling basis!”

 

Proving their new health and safety standards wasn’t possible until people felt secure enough in themselves to re-enter the workspace- so that was their biggest hurdle, by far. “Our Covid-secure procedures started as early as April, even before the new industry standards were put in place! Once our clients and talent realised that we were providing the safest working conditions we possibly could, getting the ball rolling again in terms of work quickly returned to normal standards. The largest success was proving these methods to the Screen Actors Guild in the USA and we are thrilled to say that we are an “approved audio house” by SAG-AFTRA.”

 

Aragon’s job is to create an experience for her clients where the technical is taken for granted, so the creative can flourish. “Through creativity, the client’s ideas and desires should flow and become an aural reality – that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning! We have kept things small on purpose in order to give each client personal attention.” The growing of its staff will be something that they will foster carefully over the next few years as personality, kindness, sustainability, and client relationships are at the heart of how they do business. “We believe in quality over quantity. The work we do helps to bring the magic of our clients’ projects to life and we take that responsibility very seriously. Making sure our clients feel like people and not just their projects is the driving force behind every business deal. We know the value of what we do and the worth of our work, so whilst building relationships is at the forefront of our business model, our motto of quality over quantity keeps us out of the circular rat race.”

 

It goes without saying that being proficient technically is a must. “As Sir George Martin said in one of his lectures when I was at LIPA, the soft skills that make a session successful are just as important. As an Engineer, I need to make sure I not only understand the technical requirements, but also make everyone feel comfortable, relaxed and safe to express their creative views. Understanding the client’s communication is paramount and that can only come with experience.”

 

“Giving back has always been something that’s important to us. Consequently, our doors have always been open to help introduce new and upcoming talent to the industry and the standards which are expected. We pride ourselves on giving people a chance every time it is possible to do so. This open minded business model has actually brought work in for us more often than not as these relationships foster trust and creativity.”

 

The studios have Dolby Atmos 5.1 and 7.1 mixing capabilities and are ProTools based. As well as Editing Suits and a recording studio in Camden, 5A have another recording studio in Fitzrovia. “We have worked with many wonderful Engineers and it’s really about chemistry – making sure your styles match; agreement on what each clients requirements are, and how to tackle each production. Once you have that rapport, the collaboration produces magic.”

 

5A Studios wants to make sure that the impact the studios have is more than just an impact on purse-strings. So, this year, in the middle of the pandemic, Butten created a charity initiative that would help to do just that. With the goal to help the charities and movements they think are important within the world, 20% of the studios net profits will be split amongst its 5Alliances. “This is a promise we have made to ensure we aren’t only focusing on ourselves- especially in a time where selfishness doesn’t help anyone!”

 

Looking forward Aragon is optimistic about next year. “The industry is evolving rapidly with the new standard of living and working that has arisen out of Covid. We know of quite a few productions that are going ahead at all levels so the challenge we expect is managing the workflow safely and securely for both our clients and our staff. We envision the post landscape to be open to more possibilities under remote working conditions and to create new global opportunities because people’s geographic location will no longer be relevant. Whilst many might be tentative to see the benefit of this new way of working, it means that global talent can be recognised and utilised anywhere.

 

www.5astudios.co.uk