If you read my last blog post, you know I’m preparing to go back into the studio to record another album. So I’ve been thinking about the art and process of studio recording lately. A lot.

I’ve been recording since the days of reel-to-reel multi-tracking, so I’ve logged many, many late nights in the studio, for myself and for a good number of clients and friends. In a way, the studio feels like home. There’s something about the vibe of a recording studio, something about the thick glass and the track lighting and the blinking console lights, something about being in the hot seat when the red light goes on, something about the collaborative process when musical ideas are mixed together like cake batter in a bowl. You stick the song in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, and out pops something…delicious.

So just for fun, I’ve collected a few movie clips around the recording process. I know it’s not really how it works, but I think these clips are pretty fun and perhaps even inspiring. Here are my seven best recording studio movie scenes. Enjoy!

OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? (2000) | In this modern take on Homer’s Odyssey, this Coen Brothers film finds three escaped convicts looking to make a quick buck at a recording studio. “We hear you pay good money to sing into a can.”

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) | In this biopic featuring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, the band Queen discovers the power and presence of the audience.

BEGIN AGAIN (2013) | Amateur songwriter Keira Knightly is discovered by disillusioned record producer Mark Ruffalo, and in the process, he discovers himself again.

THAT THING YOU DO (1996) | A group of amateur musicians become a one-hit wonder in the early 1960s. This film was directed and written by Tom Hanks.

RAY (2004) | Ray Charles (played by Jamie Foxx) and his band record their first big hit, “The Mess Around.”

WALK THE LINE (2005) | Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix) discovers what it takes to write a song that “truly saves people.”

WALK HARD (2007) | This one is just plain silly. A direct parody of the movie, WALK THE LINE, and really a send-off of all music biopics, Dewey Cox (played by John C. Reilly) goes from unknown to superstar.