The web has become a fantastic repository for all things creative online, and luxury auto innovator, Lexus, has developed its own L-Studio.com portal to showcase smart and original work from the worlds of art, culture, design, science, entertainment, architecture and beyond. Slated for airing soon on the site is the “The 3-Minute Show with Barry Sobel”, with Emmy-nominated comedian, Barry Sobel. The first twelve episodes are being produced by Product Entertainment, a division of Tom Hanks’ Playtone production outfit, and will feature a variety-type format with a house band, plus entertainment and musical guests packed into approximate 30-minute web-isodes.

The show’s music mixer is producer/engineer, Gussie Miller of Artis Musicai/Artis Cine 5.1. Miller, whose credentials include music, movie and television compositions, is recording and mixing the show’s house band (the Ben Lee Band) and musical cues in a provisional ‘studio’ in the Playtone-owned former Santa Monica Seafood Market. It all started with a suggestion by production mixer Mark Burton.

“Originally, they wanted me to come in a do a big Pro Tools session, but with budget restrictions, we started out working with MOTU Digital Performer,” explained Miller. This time around, we decided to take it up a couple of notches and rent a Nuendo rig from ATK/Audiotek, with help from Doug Wingert (pictured at right; on right). Depending on the show, I’m mixing with a Yamaha O2R96 or a PM2000 digital mixer. The show is recorded at 720P up-converted to 1080P—and I’m recording audio at 24 bit/48k—so it’s definitely hi-definition audio for the web as well as video.”

Miller’s choice of monitors no matter the application or location is Blue Sky’s Sky System One, which he’s rocked and raved about as an early adopter since 2001.

“I choose Blue Sky because of the incredible detail, and full-range I hear when recording and mixing. It’s all in the flat response and true detail. With the dynamic range of multi-track 24-bit 48k audio, I love the headroom found in the built-in Blue Sky sub amplifier. Some other speakers can be very sweet in the high-end and rich in the bottom end so they sound great, but you’re necessarily getting the real picture. The Blue Sky’s are flat so I know what I’m getting and I can make really smart EQ decisions, which in this situation is so beneficial. We’re literally in a gutted-out room within the Santa Monica Seafood Market that has a 10-12” ceiling, surrounded by brick walls, a wood ceiling and a concrete floor!”

“Of course, I always have the subwoofer, which helps me to get that huge sound, and that’s also impressive to the suits and mucky-mucks! The whole production crew, including Hanks’ partner Gary Getzman, was amazed at how loud and clear the band sounded. I wouldn’t use anything else.”