After 17 years as an engineer at Nutmeg Recording, New York, Robert Sorrentino has departed the company to open Penny Lane Studios, a New York facility that will specialize in audio post while also offering Avid services.
Sorrentino said he made the move because he wanted to work in a smaller shop where he believed he could better cater to client needs. Nutmeg had grown from a single- to a six-engineer shop during his tenure.
As Penny Lane’s president/ chief engineer, Sorrentino said he will continue to serve some of the clients he had via Nutmeg—namely Viacom and its subsidiary Nickelodeon, the two companies from which he received many of his jobs.
Working with Sorrentino at Penny Lane will be engineer Joseph Miuccio, Avid editor Rick Orlando, and studio manager Anthony Rago, who were found through Sorrentino’s contacts at Nickelodeon.
Orlando, who was a producer at Nickelodeon for two years, is one of Sorrentino’s former clients. Most recently, Orlando freelanced as an Avid editor at iXL Digital Video Group, New York.
Miuccio was recommended by Orlando. The two met while Miuccio was serving as an engineer at his last roost, now defunct The Mix Place. While there, Miuccio had Orlando as a client. Before The Mix Place, Miuccio spent seven years as mixer/engineer at now defunct Dennis Hayes & Associates. While there, he completed imaging campaigns for American Airlines, Pepsi, American Express and General Motors.
Before joining Penny Lane, Rago had been a unit manager at Nickelodeon’s Brand Creative Group, New York. At that post, he oversaw the production of Nick at Nite’s "Movin’ On Up Marathon," which featured episodes of The Jeffersons; and TV Land’s game show Ultimate Fan Search.
Sorrentino is also affiliated with composer Robby Ledoux, owner of Hinge Music, New York, who has set up shop within the Penny Lane facility. Per their agreement, Ledoux will provide original music composition for spots on an as-needed basis.
So far at Penny Lane, Sorrentino has mixed a series of promos for the sitcom Taxi for Nick at Nite, and The A-Team for TV Land. His spotwork out of Penny Lane includes Lipton’s "Cold Brew" and Rolex’s "The Mark Of Excellence," both via J. Walter Thompson New York. ("Cold Brew" was also Avid-edited by Orlando.)
Miuccio, who brings to Penny Lane his clients from The Mix Place, has completed a multi-spot campaign for Merrill Lynch, which includes "Wahoos" and "Richard Garriot," via J. Walter Thompson New York; and "Above and Beyond" for Globalstar via Grey Advertising, New York.
Penny Lane’s 6,000-sq.-ft. facility consists of two mix suites equipped with Fairlight FAME digital systems, two voiceover recording booths and an Avid studio. Sorrentino plans to open a third mixing suite by summertime.
