It's a kind of magic | Jo Debono

Prior to interviewing Jo Debono at his Studioseven premises, the first thing he did was walk me through the building housing several studios and audio memorabilia.

He could not help showing me his professionally-displayed and vast private audio collection, which he holds dear.

Debono's oldest piece of audio equipment is a British-made carbon microphone designed by Marconi in 1923 and based on a German design by Reisz. The next vintage he proudly points out is a gift that was given to him - a Tannoy microphone - in recognition of his sterling work in the audio industry.

Britain's House Of Parliament formerly housed the microphone which was given to him by Tannoy Ltd.

Carbon microphones were widely used in early AM radio broadcasting systems that era.

So how did Debono enter the audiovisual world? He says that he "always wanted to stand out from other school friends. I wanted to be different. My love affair with cinematography and my faithfulness for the cinematographic

industry led me to take a giant leap from what I used to do at the time - a cameraman for the Department of Information."

He took the brave step while his wife was pregnant with their second daughter, believing he could set up a company.
"At the time many thought I was crazy to take such a giant step. I mean let's face it, my wife was pregnant. However, I never looked back since."

Today, Studioseven can boast of the largest inventory for equipment ranging from professional speakers including several types of line arrays, various ranges of audio mixers, data projectors of which are 3D HD giving out 20,000 lumens of power each, multiple projection screens, lighting fixtures, racks upon racks of simultaneous interpretation facilities catering for up to 32 languages, and a myriad of ancillary units to complement any events set-up.

But all this and more didn't just fall out of the sky. It took Debono a lot of courage, coupled with a great amount of energy and love for the cinema industry.
"I was born in 1944 and grew up in an audio environment. I used to spend hours on end at my dad's radio shop in Msida which was surrounded with audio equipment and film projectors. This is where my love for cinema started to develop.

"When I grew older I had had it with being a civil servant and since audio always interested me I thought I'd open up my own company.
"My father owned one of the first radio shops on the island and was one of the early pioneers who altered 35mm silent projectors into 'talkie' projectors - quite complex.
"Before the talkie projectors came about, people used to watch silent movies. Talkie projectors gave a voice to the screen.

The release of the first non-silent movie, The Jazz Singer, heralded the commercial ascendance of the 'talkies' and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, the movie starred Al Jolson, who performed six songs.

Eventually, according to Debono, the Manoel Theatre invested in two of the above-mentioned sound-on-disc systems.
"I was always fascinated with cinema to the extent that I started studying music at the age of 10 so that I could eventually work in a recording studio later. Only a few enthusiasts had their own 35mm projector cinemas inside their homes on the island. So there was a lot of interest over these types of projectors.

"As time went by, I witnessed the industry rapidly changing. Until 1960, we were still using the same standard equipment used in the 1950s.
"I was so fascinated with what was happening around me - like for instance when RAI started transmitting in the 50s - that living in those days made me feel a kind of magic, especially every time I visited the cinema, and since I was also playing a part in the cinema industry at the time by assisting my dad in small jobs and volunteering to work behind-the-scenes in film productions.

"At school I always took a special interest in theatre productions.
"So immediately after I left secondary school I joined Malta Television and was employed as a part-time cameraman. I had to further my studies until I enrolled with the Department of Information film unit back in 1966 because it was the only possible medium one could have worked in at the time and which concerned the film.

"With 14 years theatre experience, which helped me gain sound knowledge of stage lighting and stage management, I wanted to delve into the recording side of things.
"My dream was to go over to RAI's studios in Rome - considered the cream of the crop in those days - to learn certain recording techniques. Through a scholarship I acquired, my dream came true and the next minute,  I was off to Rome. While there I dedicated a lot of time to working with a popular Italian variety programme - Canzonissima - an experience of a lifetime.
"I was building a huge amount of energy and knowledge in the industry. While on the subject, I would like to mention Malta's father of film production Paul Avellino, who brought a lot of productions over to Malta and whenever he needed some technical help on film productions, I had the honour of lending a hand."
Eventually Debono landed himself a job in the film industry in Malta too, where he was the Location Live Film Sound Engineer, a role which required one to be very precise in recording.

He also had the opportunity to work with well-known foreign film directors, including Vittorio De Sica, when he was in Malta to shoot a documentary about the Knights of Malta, and also with BBC Television.
One could not fail mentioning the role Jo played within the Malta Dramatic Company, which in 1963 was the services company for the Services.
Debono's love for the industry grew even closer to the extent that he called it a day and decided to give up his job at DOI.
Debono recalls: "I was envisaging conferencing in Malta and I strongly believed we had the potential to attract such an industry. Although many had discouraged me.

 "Studioseven started off in 1978,  however in 1980 I went back to cinematography for a while and worked on Popeye's film set in the sound recording department and had the opportunity to work alongside director Robert Altman."
Today, Studioseven currently employs 60 full-timers and 30 part-timers.
"We are always looking at new niches in order to expand," Debono says.

So how does Studioseven differ from other companies offering the same services, I ask him?
"With the success of Studioseven's audiovisual services in the conferencing division, other companies started to set up shop to compete with us. We never looked back and always looked at the quality of the product and even more importantly, the people. Without the team of people I have worked with, the company would have never reached the top.
Studioseven nowadays supplies the conference industry in all its audiovisual requirements, from sound amplifications to lighting, to recordings, video projection and production - be it a big or small project.
"Video projection-wise, we can boast of the largest projectors and we are continuously upgrading our equipment. The production side of the group produces audio-visual and publicity material."

Studioseven has worked on major international projects including Citroen, Swarovski, Sony, Philips, DHL, Samsung, you name it.

Does Studioseven's chairman see cinemas going digital in terms of projectors some time soon?
He says that there is no doubt that within the next five years, all cinemas would have to go digital.
"This will not only happen because technology is constantly changing but for financial reasons too. It's much cheaper to operate digitally."
And can Debono envisage the succession of his business to the second generation?
"My two daughters, Sue (Pisani) and Roberta (Grigolo) joined the company quite a while ago. Sue has been CEO for the company for the past two years.
"Both their husbands sit on the board of directors as well. This is something I dealt with immediately. I have seen small families with big businesses collapse - families who had to discontinue businesses since there hadn't been any particular interest shown from succeeding generations. It's devastating to sit and watch big names vanish into thin air. And I certainly didn't want this to happen to my family business."
On conferencing and events, no matter what the financial situation around the globe is, he says the conference industry will still operate, albeit on a smaller budget.

But is this sector being promoted enough overseas?
"We haven't yet scraped the iceberg. Unfortunately, the government is not taking this huge market seriously enough."
Studioseven had bid for an audiovisual tender for the new parliament building, but the company was not granted the tender.
Debono says that if there's a sector "we are so knowledgeable about, it's got to be the audiovisual industry. We compete with leading international names, there's no question about it".
Four companies competed for this tender, including Studioseven, but none were awarded the tender. One of the companies was foreign-based. But Studioseven wasn't awarded the tender not because "we lacked the expertise - which is certainly not the case".
Studioseven has taken care of the design and installation of all the equipment of the present parliament building and "kept it going for 19 solid years," according to him.
"But the 'eminent' architect responsible for the new parliament building decided to utilise the services of a Greek company instead when Malta can offer the same, or a better service. Why inject EU funds granted to Malta in a Greek company and not in a Maltese?"

As Studioseven is always on the lookout to expand its services, targeting the gaming industry was next on the list.
"We have dedicated a studio, which is highly secured, to transmit the EuroLotto internationally. Maltco also use our services and we have managed to get another contract from a Norwegian company operating in the gaming industry to rent out a fully equipped high definition studio from us.
"I have just come back from Milan alongside Malta Enterprise where four out of seven companies expressed an interest in investing in Malta and in our company.
"Marketing our products and brand will always be our priority.
"We are also sponsoring the Malta Short Film Festival since I believe in the cinema industry as well and am of the belief that we can do a lot more to help promote cinema in Malta."

Studioseven is also responsible for the production of the one-to-one discussion programme Reporter - hosted by Saviour Balzan - and maltatoday.com.mt's TodayNews.