Band converts know-how into cashflow

By PETER GRIFFIN

Lock a bunch of creative 30-somethings in an audio-visual production studio, give them some high-tech equipment and what do you get?

In the case of Newton-based Liquid Studios, an artistic and technical mix that is attracting the attention of advertising agencies and film producers at home and abroad.

Partly comprising the nucleus of 1980s pop outfit the Screaming Mee Mees - the first New Zealand band to debut with a single at number one in 1981 with See Me Go- Liquid Studios combines audio and visual post-production with desktop publishing services.

Ex-band members Mike O'Neill and Peter Van der Fluit are joined at Liquid by Mac-whiz Marie Bowes, and Mike Stephenson, who works on the visual side of post-production.

The four have known each other for years and decided to get together 18 months ago for practical reasons, as Mr O'Neill points out.

"We decided to do all three things - audio, visual and desktop publishing together so we could cover each other's backsides when we weren't busy."

Since then the contracts have flowed in. Clients include Vodafone and film production house Silver Screen.

"We won't do crap, so that excludes us from a lot of work to start with. Agencies look to us to add value creatively. We're not just a production facility and we'll tackle anything where there is a bit of creative leverage," says Mr O'Neill.

The Liquid team counts itself lucky that technology has become available to combine creative elements that a few years ago would have been the sole realm of big production studios.

"We've learned more in the last 18 months about how sounds should be recorded than we learned in the last 20 years. The whole nature of analog was you could never afford to build your own studio.

"What's cost us $150,000 in equipment today would have cost $1 million 10 years ago."

And the internet has played a critical part in obtaining overseas business. Liquid works with clients scattered from New York to Sydney, Amman to Beijing, collaborating with directors via the internet. The favourable exchange rate also allows Liquid to price itself competitively in the US and Australia.

"The great thing about the internet is that a 60-second MP3 is only 800kb, so we can send commercials to clients around the world for approval."

Post-production work for adverts has provided the studio's bread and butter so far, but Liquid has also picked up a few interesting projects from the film industry.

The team recently worked on post-production for director Adam Steven's short film Beautiful and the music videos for rock band Tadpole.

Mr O'Neill says the ad projects pay the bills, but dramatic productions allow them to get back to their experimental roots.

"Unfortunately the fun projects don't pay as well, but we can never be above that sort of stuff. If directors are stuck, we'll often do a bit of barter with them to help out."

And the musical urge is still there. Mr O'Neill and Mr van der Fluit not only wrote and composed the new anthem for the Vodafone Warriors, A Matter of Faith, but directed and produced the eight Warriors players who lent their vocals to the track.

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Liquid Studios