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The former Saint Teresa of Avila Church at 435 New Scotland Ave. in Albany is a 1930s-era Gothic Revival deconsecrated building designed by architect Andrew Delehanty. The last Mass was held in 2009. Overit renovated the space and started recording there in 2012.<\/p>\n
Paul Grondahl\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Adam Clairmont, director of studio operations at Overit Studios, worked on ADR, or automated dialogue replacement, for the record-shattering animated feature film \u201cZootopia 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Grondahl\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Adam Clairmont has completed automated dialogue replacement, a post-production method to clean up sound glitches during filming, for dozens of TV shows and feature films and has worked with actors Parker Posey, David Strathairn, Gaby Hoffman, James Franco and Jon Hamm.<\/p>\n
Paul Grondahl\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Dan Dinsmore, founder and CEO of Overit, a media and recording studio, calls the speed of change in his business \u201cterrifying.\u201d He has created a steady revenue stream recording dozens of distinctive voices of people for a vast audio archive to be used for artificial intelligence applications by a major tech company.<\/p>\n
Paul Grondahl\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
ALBANY\u00a0\u2014 The road for the $1.27 billion international box office juggernaut that is\u00a0\u201cZootopia 2\u201d ran through New Scotland Avenue in Albany.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s the highest global animated opening of all time, the fastest PG-rated movie to surpass $1 billion (17 days), half of it in China, and is the highest-grossing film of 2025.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was just a hoot that we got to work on it,\u201d said Dan Dinsmore, founder and CEO of Overit, a media company and recording studio that has carved out a niche in film and television post-production services.<\/p>\n
Overit Studios is an approved audio facility by SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing actors and media professionals.<\/p>\n
Overit completed automated dialogue replacement, or ADR, for the animated animals of \u201cZootopia 2.\u201d Human actors voiced the furry characters in a state-of-the-art recording studio that transformed the altar area of the former St. Teresa of Avila Church.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Overit folks dubbed the deconsecrated Roman Catholic house of worship \u201cthe church of audio.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Think of ADR as the equivalent of a mulligan, or do-over, in golf. During film production, a call for \u201cquiet on the set\u201d sometimes fails. Even after multiple takes, recordings can be corrupted by almost imperceptible noises: electronic hum, traffic noise, coughing, door closing, wireless microphone scratching on an actor\u2019s clothing, and all manner of unwanted sounds.<\/p>\n These audio glitches can be corrected through ADR.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing automated about ADR. It\u2019s the most technically difficult thing we do,\u201d said Adam Clairmont, director of studio operations at Overit. ADR can also stand for additional dialogue replacement.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an intense, high-wire human act at the knobs of the sound board for Clairmont. It requires nanosecond precision. Pretty good is not an option.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re working on a Disney film with the best in the business and you do poor work, you\u2019re toast,\u201d said Clairmont, 43, of Halfmoon, who came to Overit in 2012, shortly after the media company moved into the former church.<\/p>\n Two things have worked in Overit\u2019s favor: reputation and location.<\/p>\n \u201cActors are on the move between projects and if they\u2019re anywhere near Albany and need to record some ADR, we get the call,\u201d Clairmont said.<\/p>\n Their ADR film and TV work includes \u201cNightmare Alley,\u201d \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm,\u201d \u201cCODA,\u201d \u201cTransparent,\u201d \u201cThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,\u201d \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d and many more.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a logistics thing,\u201d Clairmont said. \u201cWe\u2019re easy to get to. The actors don\u2019t have to deal with New York City traffic. We have a cool vibe in this old church.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gothic Revival church was designed by Albany architect Andrew Delehanty. The last Mass was held there in 2009. The 12,000-square-foot building has been reimagined as creative space: a confessional became an office, the sanctuary is an open production floor, oak from the pews was repurposed as desks and baseboards, the altar graces the entranceway and stained glass windows are accentuated with contemporary artwork.<\/p>\n Overit benefits from a growing cohort of TV and film actors who live in Hudson Valley towns, including Woodstock and Rhinebeck, a short drive to Albany.<\/p>\n Dinsmore said the deciding factor is the quality of recording talent from Clairmont and senior sound designer David Parker. \u201cAdam and Dave are insane creative geniuses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dinsmore and Parker started out as professional musicians in rock bands that toured and recorded. Clairmont moonlights in sound production at major sporting events, including the Super Bowl and the World Series.<\/p>\n Overit also gets a lot of voice-over recording work for television commercials, which is less technical than ADR.<\/p>\n Jon Hamm recorded a series of voice-over ads for Mercedes-Benz at Overit.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a really nice guy and such a pro that he finished about 20 Mercedes radio and TV spots in a few hours,\u201d Clairmont said. Hamm chose Overit because he was headed to MASS MoCA in North Adams for a project and Albany was an easy stop on the way.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Overit has worked with actors Parker Posey, David Strathairn, Gaby Hoffman, James Franco and others. Some are chatty. Others say little.<\/p>\n \u201cI read the room. Some like to hang out and talk and others just want to get in and out as fast as possible,\u201d Clairmont said, noting they occasionally are heading on vacation and have kids or family members tagging along.<\/p>\n Each recording session gets their best effort. Agents and actors compare notes and one bad experience could destroy Overit\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n