By Staff
Melissa Cason
Franklin County Times
It's no secret that Franklin County is filled with talented individuals, but it can be challenging to put that talent on tape.
Most often, local talent ventures off to Nashville, Atlanta and other hotbed to cut their tracks in search of their big break.
Echo Media, a multimedia businesses based in Russellville, can help any artist or group record their favorite tunes, but they offer much more than meets the eye.
Business partners Bryan Hall, Charlton James and John LeMay say their business is much more than a recording studio, and that their services can be offered to anyone.
"We just did a project for Russellville High School's Veteran's Day program," Hall said. "We interviewed two veterans and put it together."
If you're not a suffering rock star looking for someone to help you lay down some tracks, the studio can help local families consolidate their precious memories before they become obsolete. Echo specializes in almost any project from transferring VHS and eight-millimeter tapes into digital video to recording an album or creating a music video.
"The tapes wear out and everything is going digital, so it's better to get old tapes transferred to digital video so that you don't loose memories," James said.
He added that film can be edited if desired by the customer, and that they would make a great gift especially for moms and grandparents.
"The average cost of transferring to digital is $15 per foot of tape," LeMay said. "This is just an estimate. It's hard to give an estimate because you never know what each project will entail."
Even though the studio is a new business, Hall, James and LeMay have extended experience with different types of media so customers receive a quality product.
Hall works for Northwest Shoals Community College in video production, web design and graphic design.
LeMay is a student at UNA earning a degree in entertainment media. James is a theatre instructor at both Northwest and UNA.
In addition to offering media services, Echo Media will also offer voice, piano and guitar lessons, a D.J. service and an eBay store. While there are no set business hours at the studio, appointments are available by calling 332-4314.