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Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 29, Issue 20 - Index

Chicago Recording Company
Says Goodbye To An Old Friend
Recording engineer Tim Butler passed away on Monday, September
29. Butler, 55 was a fixture at Chicago Recording Company for
nearly 30 years. His studio C2, next to the front door of CRC, was
host to some of the greatest radio writers and voice actors of a
generation. The reason was simple. Butler was one of the best
audio production people in the business.
He had an amazing ability to read a script and quickly figure out
ways to make it come alive. Sounds, music, effects, ambience...
whatever he heard for that spot in his head, he set out to create for
the listeners. No matter what it took to achieve that. If he found a
music track that was almost perfect, Tim would immediately place
a call to a musician and bring him in to add guitar, keyboard or
whatever he thought would make that track just right. If the spot
needed a sound that wasn’t in the effect library, Tim would find a
way to Foley that sound or send an assistant to a location where
he could quickly record it. Theater of the mind requires that your
brain believes what your ears are hearing. And Tim Butler would do
whatever was necessary to make it all sound believable.
He taught many young copywriters how to direct voice talent.
After allowing the writer to do his best directing, Tim would often
politely suggest an alternative performance – and have the writer
give the direction, as if it were his or her idea. “Have him try it
quieter, more intimate.” “Tell her to turn her script over and do it
from memory.” In the end, the spot would be better and the writer
would leave CRC armed with another directing weapon to use
another day.
Voice actors didn’t always like Tim, but they all respected him. They
knew he made them work harder. And,
that he wasn’t interested in excuses, only
execution. There were times that a voice
actor who had a slight cold would find an
assistant presenting them with nasal spray
to use. It wasn’t a suggestion. When Tim sent
in the nasal spray it was an order. But, in the
end, when Tim made a good spot great, it
also reflected well on them.
In a business where excellence and
perfection are too often just clichés, Tim
was one of the few who walked the walk.
He didn’t just have a commitment to
excellence, he also had an expectation
of excellence. And no individuals were
more aware of it than the young assistants
who worked in his studio. Many fledgling
engineers sat in the second chair in Tim’s
studio, but few could handle the enormous
expectations that Tim had for his assistants.
In that position, they learned quickly to pay
rapt attention to what was going on every
minute and that often, doing their best
simply wasn’t good enough.
Part of it was Tim’s way of helping them
handle the stress of sessions and clients they
would encounter when they were on their
own. But mostly, it was all about teaching
and testing them on an almost constant
basis to be smart, fast and good. Those who
graduated from the “Tim Butler school of
engineering” left his studio with plenty of
stories to tell, but more important, they left
with great skills and understanding of the creative process, and a
very successful career in the recording business.
For Tim, it wasn’t enough that his clients were happy with the audio
production, they had to feel completely comfortable and at home
in his studio. For a client, being in studio C2 was like staying at the
finest hotel in Chicago. Whatever a client wanted – food, drink,
computer to check email or play games, massage, a sofa to nap
on – Tim provided it. Happily. And quickly. For those he knew well,
he often had their favorites waiting for them.
Tim’s intelligence allowed him to talk about much more than the
work in front of him. Films, music, literature, technology and politics
were subjects he loved to discuss. He engaged others with difficult
questions and challenged them with puzzling issues, just to
have an interesting debate. He had an educated opinion about
everything that was going on around him in the world. He wanted
others to be as educated as he was. Show some interest in a book
he spoke to you about and you might just find yourself getting a
gift of that book a few days later.
Tim’s family was his dog that he brought to work every day, and
his co-workers at CRC. His work was his life. Inside and outside of
CRC, Tim challenged everyone to do their best. And always stood
up to do his.
Those who worked with him will miss his passion, his knowledge,
and his insight.