Creative Audio Post - What's Hot

What's Hot?.

Boys and Their Toys

Remember when you were a kid and you bumped the pinball machine trying to keep the ball in play? TILT! How did that machine know you hit it too hard? Ever wonder how a coin operated pool table knows to return the cue ball after a scratch? Why does the shower scald you when someone flushes the toilet? You could probably Google the answers to these questions, but that wouldn’t be very much fun, would it? And it certainly wouldn’t give you a chance to break out your power tools and slice stuff apart.

In Sliced, a new History Channel series, John McCalmont and Budd Kelley satisfy our inner drive to know how things work by slicing them in half. From pinball machines to fire trucks, these guys employ everything from a diamond-bladed cutoff saw to giant pressure shears, slicing stuff clean in two to shed new light on the inner workings of the gadgets and machinery we take for granted.

Our mixing skills are put to the test to convey the awesome destructive force of John and Bud’s slicing arsenal. During dialog-heavy explanatory scenes, we make sure you can hear every word loud and clear. But when it’s time to slice stuff apart, it can’t sound wimpy. Thankfully the location recording of the all the slicing, metal crunching and shattering glass is some of the best we’ve ever received in a show. The challenge then becomes pushing these sounds, along with the rocking music, to the forefront whenever possible to create a powerful mix that makes the audience feel as if the tools were in their own hands.

"Creative Audio Post has been a pleasure to work with on Discovery's Build it Bigger. Jacques' keen attention to detail and steadfast commitment to quality have been integral to the show's success.".

....................................................... -Build it Bigger Team
. .................................................... ..Powderhouse Productions......

Creative Audio Post is proud to be a part of the upcoming fourth season of Build it Bigger on the Science Channel.

This fan-favorite series is hosted by intrepid architect Danny Forster, who travels the globe to bring viewers a unique perspective on the planet's most astounding and innovative feats of construction. From a gold mine deep under South Africa to the reconstruction efforts underway in New Orleans, Danny’s informed perspective on these groundbreaking engineering and construction challenges brings viewers an insider’s perspective into the projects changing the face of the world as we know it.

We’ve been bringing our mixing and sound design skills to the table on Build it Bigger for a few years now, and as the show increases its scope and depth, the audio challenges only become greater. While the exotic and far-flung locations of the various projects make for some stunning visuals, a multi-million (or billion) dollar industrial construction site is far from an ideal place to record audio. At times Danny and the architects, engineers and tradesmen he interviews are recorded next to rushing rivers, roaring machinery and a variety of other detractors. With our expertise in dialog mixing, we apply a careful balance of processing and noise reduction to restore clarity and punch to location dialog while minimizing background noise. This allows us to push music and sound effects to an entertaining level without overwhelming dialog.

The show also challenges us to dig deep into our sound design palette to bring graphics to life. The show’s trademark blueprint-style graphics demonstrate the inner workings of everything from a dam turbine in Brazil to a cantilevered observation deck perched atop a skyscraper in Singapore. We make sure each and every graphical movement and motion has an associated sound to make viewers grasp the concepts on display.

Our sound design doesn’t stop there. We add layers of detailed ambience to reinforce continuity and increase the viewer’s sense of place. From low spooky rumbles inside a tunnel or mine, to delicate outdoor ambience in New Orleans, what we add is never distracting, but audiences notice if it’s not there.

Last but not least, we employ our sound libraries and original recordings to augment onscreen action to maximize impact. From air driven power tools, to dramatic detonations, if you can see it on screen, we make sure you can hear it, and feel it, as if you were really there!

Creative Audio Post and Steven Seagal Fight Crime in the Crescent City

“I make a living in the movies, but for the past 20 years…I’ve also been a cop.”

Creative Audio Post is proud to be a part of this unique series premiering on A&E which straddles the line between cinema verite and Hollywood celebrity.

Steven Seagal Lawman follows the well-known action star as he dons his uniform, straps on his weapon and rides with the police officers of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana as they struggle to rid the streets of guns, drugs and crime. Though he has never sought publicity for his effort, it is a beat he has worked for decades.

A verite show like this may seem simple to the viewer but the audio challenges for the series were numerous. Our mixes usually begin by establishing clarity and intelligibility in the production dialog track, but due to the verite nature of the show, we were asked to pursue a sound which was clearly intelligible above music and effects, but had a little less “sparkle” and little more “grit”. On top of this we had to deal with a variety of dialog pickups that were shot at different locations but needed to blend and match surrounding dialog. The nature of the run-and-gun production also meant that some story-critical dialog sounded very distant or off-mic, so careful EQing and noise reduction were used to bring these lines up to a level where it could be heard well alongside cleaner dialog. Music was used sparsely in this show, and without music to tie some scenes together, we were forced to dig deep into the production track’s ambient sound to create seamless backgrounds bringing unity to a scene.

Audio mixing is sometimes called the invisible art. When it’s done right, it should be unnoticeable. Lawman certainly challenged us to live up to that ideal, and we believe we’ve succeeded.

Check out the premiere Wednesday, December 2nd at 10PM on A&E.

Tornado Alley is heating up again, as America’s top storm chasers embark on a new season of white-knuckle chases, harrowing near misses, and hopefully a direct hit on a giant tornado! With personalities as large as the storms they chase, the thunder and lightning are unlikely to be confined to the sky.

This season is sure to be a big one, as Reed Timmer has built his own armor-plated chasing vehicle to compete with Sean Casey’s own beast, the TIV 2. Meanwhile Dr. Josh Wurman is rolling with the biggest tornado research convoy ever assembled: Vortex 2.

Our immersive sound design and mix puts you inside the action while the storm rages all around. Howling winds, pounding hail, and roaring tornadoes all combine with crystal clear dialog and pumping music to create a sound mix guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and in the eye of the storm.

Watch Storm Chasers, October 18^th at 10:00PM on the Discovery Channel. Don't miss the 2-Hour Storm Chasers Special at 8:00PM before the season 4 premiere.

"U.S. Marshals: Operation Falcon is high energy, high-octane television that
needed a soundtrack to match. Jacques and his team at Creative Audio Post
delivered on all counts with a rich mix that helped drive every chase, every
tense stake out, and every high stakes takedown of some of America’s most
wanted fugitives.".
....................................................... - Greg Henry.....
.. ..................... ................... .............Executive Producer
. .................................................... ...Part2 Pictures.......

Each year the US Marshals deputize thousands of local law enforcement agents and engage in a country-wide round up of wanted felons. Known by it’s code name, Operation Falcon, it is an intense effort where the best of the best strive to apprehend the worst of the worst.

Location audio provides a great bedrock for our mix. Using the audio captured on location we build a strong dialog track in which every word comes across loud and clear. With mixed dialog in place, music and ambience do not need to be dipped down to retain the dialog’s clarity. On the contrary, we push the music and ambience up to an entertaining and engaging level while never obscuring what is being said.

Sound design takes the production to the next level, adding realism and impact as the Marshals smash down doors, jump fences, and surge through some of America’s roughest neighborhoods in search of some of it’s most violent criminals.

This is truly one of the most action packed programs that we’ve ever had the opportunity to work on and we’ve marshaled all of our skills to make sure it kicks butt!

Watch U.S. Marshals: Operation Falcon, October 19^th at 9:00PM and 10:00PM on the Discovery Channel.

Oakland, California: one of the nation's fiercest killing zones. Entire neighborhoods –and dreams– caught in the crossfire of vicious gang wars. Young men turned into soldiers carry out a battle over turf, drugs and money, feeding an endless cycle of retaliation. The astounding casualties have earned the city a dire nickname: Baby Iraq.

Creative Audio Post turned out an immersive, highly detailed mix for this 2 x 1 hour mini-series, putting you in the shoes of both gang members and the police officers tasked with stopping them. Our intensive sound design enhances the program’s gritty urban realism as helicopters circle overhead and piercing sirens announce another homicide. Few productions offer this level of access to both sides of the battle, and our sound design rises to the occasion when the camera crew gets caught in the crossfire or the police shatter a suspect’s door to pieces with a battering ram. Gang Wars is sure to open your eyes (and ears) to the growing problem of gang violence in America.

Watch Gang Wars Oakland I and II, September 14th and 21st at 9:00PM on the Discovery Channel.

We’re proud to be working on this two-part HD/Surround Sound program airing on The National Geographic Channel. CIA Confidential features extensive interviews with former top-ranking CIA officials who called the shots on the ground in Afghanistan, providing an unprecedented and candid account of how the operation unfolded. The first installment covers the pursuit of Bin Laden following 9/11 and is followed by an equally riveting second hour, which details a 14-point strike against Al Qaeda operative Abu Zabaydah in Pakistan.

Made up of cinematic re-enactments, world-class news coverage, and actual military footage this program called for an extremely detailed sound design treatment to create continuity between the various video sources and enhance their impact for the viewer.

Although news and military footage provide the most realistic account of events, they are often not the best source of audio material for a surround sound program of this caliber. Sounds integral to the scene such as gunshots, explosions and ambience are often covered by original voiceover or otherwise lack punch and realism. In these cases we employ our vast sound effects libraries as well as custom-recorded sounds to create an immersive audio environment that puts the listener in the center of the action.

Tune in to National Geographic in on Sunday June 21st at 9PM for this entertaining and informative look at the CIA’s expanding role in America’s defense and security.

As the exclusive audio post house for the new season of “Build it Bigger", our challenges always begin with the location audio. In this episode, underground caverns filled with the churning of a massive tunnel boring machine were hardly an ideal location to capture clean audio recordings. But with state of the art noise reduction and restoration tools we’re able to clean these tracks and create dialog that is free of clicks, pops, hits and noise so that every word can be clearly heard in the mix.

Our sound design skills were also called into action to enhance this episode’s many thrilling moments; from a sudden rock avalanche that threatens host Danny Forster’s life; to a massive cave-in which stops the tunnel boring machine dead in its tracks. Finally, Danny, and the explosion technicians themselves, get the shock of their lives when an expected detonation happens much earlier, closer, ... and louder than anticipated.

Just tune in and listen for yourself; it may make you want to run for your life too.

"The moment you set foot inside of Georgis'a diagnostic prison in Jackson, the thing that hits you is the wall of sound. The clanging doors, yelling inmates, and the barked orders of the Correction Officers are all part of the essence of prison life.
We challenged Jacques and his team to recreate this complex world and they delivered a mix so rich and real that listening to the films was like entering prison all over again".

....................................................... .. - Greg Henry & David Smith.....
.. ..................... ................... ............. . Executive Producers
. .................................................... ......Part2 Pictures.......

Creative Audio Post is proud to be handling all recording, mixing and sound design duties for a unique surround sound series premiering this week on the National Geographic Channel.

For one year, Nat Geo was allowed access to some of the roughest prisons in the state of Georgia, where street-hardened inmates clash with a paramilitary system intent on imposing strict order on their lives behind bars.

This 6 part series introduces us to a host of convicts and delves into the physical and psychological challenges they must face to survive behind bars. On the other side of the cell doors, we meet the wardens, police, and guards whose daily task it is to maintain order in an environment where violence and chaos threaten to erupt at any moment.

The mix centers around the voice of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), whose narration echoes the intensity and severity of prison life. Furthermore, being presented in 5.1-surround sound, the series requires an extensive sound design treatment. After optimizing the production tracks, we greatly enhance the soundtrack with layers of additional sound design. From a prison riot to a statewide manhunt, our sound design elements are mixed into place in the surround field to create a convincing and realistic audio environment, putting the listener inside the action.

“Hard Time” premieres February 23rd, on the National Geographic Channel.

As the main audio post house for the new series "The Works", we are challenged with keeping the dialog alive though the wide variety of background sounds. From garbage processing yards, guns shooting range, to roaring factories, we keep host Daniel Wilson's voice above it all. No need to reach for the remote thinking, "What did he say?"

But it doesn't stop there. The Works is a great showcase for our original sound design. Cutting edge graphics demand sweetening and our rich palette of sound effects is up to the task. We make sure every graphic element has a complementary sound that enhances and expands its character. In addition, we extensively reinforced the location audio with additional sound design layers to make sure things that need to sound big, sound REALLY big!

After all, a wimpy sounding garbage truck or machine gun blast will just never do. In short, we do the works to make sure The Works rocks!

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but don’t tell Marshall Brain. The host of this new Nat Geo series has a positively infectious sense of curiosity about the high and low-tech inventions that make our world go around.

The premiere episode follows Marshall on 3 fun-filled field trips to a fireworks production facility, a golfball manufacturer, and a speedboat factory. Seemingly unrelated locations, but the inquiring mind of Mr. Brain brings out the best in the engineers, craftsmen and robots that he meets along the way, giving us a deeper insight into the science and engineering behind these products.

Presented in 5.1 surround sound, our immersive sound design and mix put the viewer into the heart of the action. From the exhilaration and excitement of a nighttime fireworks display to the roar of a speedboat on the open water, Who Knew? is guaranteed to please.

Creative Audio Post is proud to have mixed the film for theatrical and broadcast release. This challenging project brought together audio from a diverse array of sources, from recorded and mastered 5.1 concert footage to rough backstage and rehearsal audio. Weaving all these elements together to create an engrossing mix which transitions seamlessly from scene to scene was a task that called upon all of our mixing skills.

Director Bruce David Klein had this to say about our contribution to the project:

"Creative Audio Post brought a level of creative insight and technical prowess that was instrumentral in giving the film an immediacy and dramatic edge to which audiences are really responding. Everyone on the production team -as well as Meat- are extremely impressed with the final product."

"Klein's film is a revealing glimpse at the late career of a performer who looked a safe bet to die before he got old, then surprised everyone by hanging on long enough to find fans who weren't born when he started out." - Maitland McDonagh,TV Guide

"At once hagiographic and revealing, backstage docu "Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise" follows the never-a-dull-moment rocker during Los Angeles rehearsals and an early 2007 Canadian tour in support of the third disc in the "Bat Out of Hell" franchise." -Eddie Cockrell, Variety

Experience some of our best mixing and sound design engineered to induce pure fright, build sheer excitement and generate absolute fun as we bring to life some of the most dynamic CGI visual effects and audacious camera work.

“Build it Bigger”, is an entire new series on the Discovery Channel. Our contribution to the series include "Coasters", "Spain, The Architect Code", as well as episodes covering Category 5 proof Modular Homes, Las Vegas, Istanbul Tunnels, Speed Boats and Trump Towers.

The season premieres with an entire episode on roller coasters providing dizzying insight into the engineering of some of the biggest, hottest, scariest, yet safest roller coaster rides on the planet.

Our sound will put you right into the front seat next to host Danny Forster as he coasts down the newest wooden frame ride as well as takes a 200⁺ foot headlong vertical plunge from a metal monster while helplessly screaming like a girl!

This episode might just bring you the answer to an eternal question. Wood or metal - which one is the best? We'll take you there, you'll decide.

After the fall of the Roman Empire and before the revival of the Renaissance, Europe survived six centuries of plague, famine and constant bloodshed. These were the Dark Ages.

The Dark Ages is a two-hour marquee produced for the History Channel. Filmed on location in Lithuania, the show features cinematic recreations of landmark battles, monastery life, imperial coronations, and other major events of this vast time period. The historical accurateness combined to exceptional production techniques, visual effects and sound track elevates the entertainment and educational value of the documentary format to rival anything coming out of Hollywood.

Fans of historically themed dramas such as HBO’s Rome will find a lot to sink their teeth into with this action packed documentary program. A lush and inspired orchestral score augmented by our dense, riveting sound design and dynamic mix bring to life the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths, gruesome Viking torture methods, and bloody equestrian warfare against Moorish invaders. At other times, the Dark Ages paints a quieter, melancholic view of pagan life as well as of the inspired visionairies which eventually brought light into these obscure times and helped Western Europe rise from the Dark Ages to a level of cultural and political power unseen for a thousand years.

All in all, it is an in-depth look at a little understood period in the development of European civilization. We are proud to add our sound design and mixing to the work of the professionals who brought this project together.

"The History Channel continues to improve upon the entertainment level of each new documentary that it produces... its re-creational footage is superb in authentic art direction, costume design and casting of historical figures... The CGI alone puts this show on par with Lord of the Rings.."
-historEsearch.com

Every American thinks they know the story of the Pilgrims, their voyage on the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving. But the sanitized and homogenized version we all learned in school and revisit every Thanksgiving holiday bears little resemblance to the dramatic actual events and the people we think we know so well.

Desperate Crossing is a 137 minute HDTV marquee special produced for the History Channel. The quality of its interviews, settings, re-enactments and acting, along with its dramatic score, compelling sound design and mix, pushes one step further the documentary format and transcend it into a vehicle to relive our history – factually, visually… and emotionally.

"Told through believable and meticulous re-enactments and interviews with historians, this is a story of struggle for religious freedom, unbearable hardship, heartbreaking losses and utter determination to start a new life in a new country. While the title of the documentary is certainly a play on the show that takes place on Wisteria Lane, this three-hour special defines desperate."
-Amy Amatangelo, Boston Herald

"Best about this special, shot in Plymouth, is that it refuses to lionize the Pilgrims at the expense of the natives, giving us a truly balanced portrait of the birth of the nation." -Entertainment Weekly

"The History Channel's approach makes for rollicking watching. It's a terrific way to celebrate Thanksgiving and an antidote to it." -Virginia Hefferman, New York Times

This October, The History Channel launched a new weekly hour-long series, ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE, focusing on the architectural triumphs of great civilizations. The series covers the empires of Egypt, Ancient Greece and Greece: Age of Alexander, The Aztecs, as well as, episodes on the Maya, Chinese, Russians, Carthaginians, Persians, Byzantines, Great Britain, the Renaissance: Age of Architects and Napoleon's Empire. Each of the programs uses the society's engineering accomplishments as a prism through which to view its history and culture.

Hosted by actor and art historian Peter Weller, the series tells the story of the growth of each Empire by means of amazing feats of engineering. Stunning graphics, re-enactments, interviews, score and mix come to further substantiate this amazing historical research.

A vacant lot in Queens has turned up bodies that could mean trouble for the
Mob. The Sopranos meets Six Feet Under, but this time, the stories are real.

This mob-related triple murder goes unsolved for over 20 years as the prime
suspect rises to the top of the Bonanno crime family. From riveting gunshots to screeching subway cars, we take your ears on a journey deep into the gritty underworld of New York organized crime.

Produced by Optomen Production for Thirteen/WNET New York in association with Channel Four Television and Channel Four International and written, produced and directed by Larry Engel, this unique documentary features true-to-life reenactments and exclusive interviews with Joe Pistone (FBI undercover agent alias Donnie Brasco) and brings you the real story behind the two decade long investigation which brought down one of New York's most prominent mob families.

Conquest. Lust. Murder. Revenge. And the power of unrivalled technology. These are the cornerstones in the foundation of the Roman Empire.

From the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to the empire’s eventual fall around 537 AD, this two hour special program – shot in high definition – chronicles the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world. For more than 500 years, it was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable.

Produced for The History Channel by Kralyevich Productions, Inc. under the direction of Chris Cassel, this documentary brings you closer than ever before to this startling era of civilization. Our original sound design breathes life into state-of-the-art CGI animations and elaborately staged reenactments while our mix makes sure the insights of the engineers, archaeologists and historians don’t get lost in the fray as gladiators clash at the colosseum. Our contribution makes ancient Rome leap off the screen into your living room.

Ride the waves of glory and feel the desperation that Rome’s population must have felt as the Empire rose and fell. But above all, marvel at the lasting achievements of one of History’s greatest civilizations.

2005 kicks off with a lot of new programming. Among our recent projects is a new collaboration with Engel Brothers Media: "Cannibals", - a unique special for the History Channel on an unusal topic.

"Ancient cultures practiced it, modern people have turned to it to survive, and warriors use it to terrorize their enemies - even today.
Recent discoveries suggest that our very bones are imprinted with evidence of our cannibalistic nature. Cannibals gets to the bottom of this controversial subject and asks the question we may not really want answered... are humans, by nature, cannibals?"

Here again, our compelling sound textures and dramatic mix augment the detailed investigations, convincing reenactments and outstanding cinematography from the Engel Brothers Media team as they unveil shocking, yet enlightening revelations about some of our most obscure, concealed history.

Produced for The History Channel, this special documentary presents an accurate picture and sheds light on a taboo subject rarely probed by even the bravest among us.

They cheated to win. Now, their secrets are revealed.

Creative Audio Post was called in to do all the sound design and mixing to convey the excitement and suspense of these amazing stories of the world's most notorious casino cheats.
This ground breaking History Channel Hi-Def Docudrama Series kicks off Tuesday March 1st at 9:00pm ET/PT.

"The Ultimate Cheat"
Imagine the ultimate cheating move--so outrageous, audacious, and simple that not even the best casino detective can come close to catching the genius behind it... In this first hour of a series profiling people who took Vegas for lots of cash, we meet Richard Marcus, who perfected the craft of casino cheating from the 1970s through the early `90s. Join Marcus and teammates Andy "Balls" Abromowitz and Pat Mallery on a raucous robbery romp through the world's toniest casinos. Their primary scheme? Past-posting--laying down or swapping out chips after a winning bet is known. Hot on their tail is casino investigator Andy Anderson who's made it his mission to bring them down. We also explore past-posting's history, security systems' evolution, and the psychology of casino cheating. Features exclusive interviews with Marcus, Abromowitz, and Mallery, and their nemesis, high-tech cheating sleuth Anderson.

We are pleased to let our friends know that Creative Audio Post recently contributed to an Engel Brothers Media's production for our first programming on the National Geographic Channel.

Recently sweetened and mixed at Creative Audio Post and premiering
September 10th under the NGC's Most Amazing Discoveries series, Massacre at Punta Lobos follows an international team of archeologists and forensic scientists on their investigation of an ancient crime scene and their quest to unlock the secrets of the largest human sacrifice in South America.

Massacre at Punta Lobos, is airing starting fall 2004 on the National Geographic Channel.

Recently sweetened and mixed at Creative Audio Post and featured this December at the Santa Fe Film Festival, the "Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition" brings us to Western China and takes us along as it descends into the spectacular Yunnan gorges of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers, gorges that were long considered unrunnable.

Written and produced by Jim Norton and Les Guthman and produced by Outside Television, it explored the potential for river trips through one of the richest biodiverse regions on earth and one of the most ethnically diverse regions in China.

Narrated by Edward Norton (American History X, The Score, The Fight Club), scored by Roy Milner and sound designed by Creative Audio Post's Jacques Boulanger, this movie transports us to the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and takes us for the ride of a lifetime as it reveals some of the wildest white water in the world. In a magical confluence of people and place, it introduces us to a remarkable project - that is to explore, develop and help protect the extraordinary resources along Yunnan great rivers.

Whether you are hanging to your seat by your nails as you experience riding one of the fiercest forces in nature, or are sucked into the screen into a contemplative state of mind, everything you hear is telling you - that you are there. This is the power of sound.

One of the most recent major project of Creative Audio Post has been the re-launch of ESPN Classic.. After enjoying phenomenal growth throughout the past few years, the network wanted a fresh new look and brand image for its widening demographic.

To accomplish this rebranding, Director of Creative Services Bill Schreitmueller called upon Mark Feldstein and Brad Roth (Stun Creative L.A.) to design a powerful and memorable set of IDs.

The look and sound of this series of IDs needed to emphasize and capture the intensity, excitement and grandeur of classic moments in sports history.

Driven by a spirit typical of great sports teams, a group of creative individuals emerged determined to bring together all the elements required to create this revolutionary new broadcast image.

Creative Audio Post was called in to do all sound design and mixing in order to create a palette of sounds that would enhance the excitement of classic sport moments.. Creative Audio Post was joined by ESPN Classic and Stun Creative's (NY & L.A.) production departments (design, production and editing), Sleeveless Productions (editing) and Edison Music Corporation (music and mnemonic).

As you listen to these engaging spots, and hear classic flash pops, cheers, grunts, and the thunderous crack of a massive 1000 amp stadium light switch, viewers are instantly and indelibly flooded with great memories of classic sports moments.. This is the magic of a great brand in the remaking.

More about ESPN Classic projects