Creative Audio Post - What's Hot

What's Hot?.

A program like no other we’ve worked on, the show looks unflinchingly at some extremely difficult and provocative issues, yet ones that rarely make headlines. Lisa gathers the stories of everyday people who harbor enormous secrets, lead double lives, or simply cannot integrate themselves into society. In this season we meet former child prostitutes and people working to prevent human trafficking, traumatized soldiers returning from war, people making amateur pornography to support their families, and former convicts trying to rebuild their lives after doing time in prison. We hear the story of each person's struggle in their own words, without the sensationalization or forced drama found in much of our media.

Our contribution to the show calls upon our most valuable skills as audio mixers: our attention to detail and sensitivity to each episode’s aesthetic needs. This is not a program with a million tracks of audio layered on top of one another. Yet precisely because of that, each element of dialog or music is quite exposed and subtle flaws in a dialog or music edit can become noticeable. Our job is to polish these rough edges in the most transparent way possible, so the viewer never notices them and remains completely immersed in these captivating and moving stories of American life.

Mixed and sound designed in 5.1 surround, Chasing Classic Cars follows Wayne Carini as he discovers, restores and sells rare and collectible automobiles from vintage Packards to sought-after Ferrari's. Even if you're not a gearhead, Wayne's passion for his work is infectious, and you'll be captivated by the one-of-a kind automobiles and high stakes auctions in each episode.

We've been working on the show since season 1 and are thrilled to see it continue as one of the flagship programs on the new Velocity network, which replaces Discovery's HD Theatre. New visual transitions have given us more space for sound design to emphasize the "beauty shots" of these amazing cars. We also add layers of authentic ambience for each location Wayne visits to make the 5.1 mix rich and immersive. We take advantage of the surround format to craft realistic car pass-bys and add low end power in the subwoofer for engines that really growl. It all adds up to a great show that can be enjoyed by the whole family, gearhead or not.

We are excited to announce the premiere of Our America with Lisa Ling on the brand new OWN Network. The series is a powerful, immersive, and thought provoking look at stories that take viewers deep into the complex tapestry of our nation. It's also beautifully shot and edited. From its filmmaking craft to its emotionally gripping storytelling, this is a series that doesn't look or feel like anything else on TV.

What sets Our America apart from other documentary programs is the extent to which Lisa immerses herself in each story. Ling approaches each topic with a minimum of preconceptions, a willingness to allow her basic beliefs to be challenged, and the possibility that her mind may even be swayed by her experiences.

Following Lisa's lead, great care was taken by producers and editors not to force the audience into drawing a certain conclusion on the often controversial topics presented in the series. This approach influenced the way we mixed the series too. It consistently called upon our greatest strengths as audio mixers: our sensitivity to aesthetics and subject matter, and our interpersonal communication skills.

When producers of a program of this caliber come to us, they expect their mix to be perfect. Using our experience and insight into the show's unique character, we anticipate their wishes and incorporate them into the mix. Then, at the final review session we listen to their comments and translate them into a soundtrack that matches their vision. It all adds up to audio perfection.

Following on a successful first season filmed in the Georgia prison system, season 2 enters Ohio’s prison system, with each episode focusing on a unique facet of prison life. Premiering with “The Hustle” which details the underground prison economy, future episodes focus on prison gangs, women’s prison and the process of release and reintegration into society.

Presented in HD and 5.1 surround sound, the series required an extensive sound design treatment. Location audio captured by the camera cannot begin to fill out a surround speaker array. We use extensive layering of additional sound, both from our library and from additional sound captured on location to give a sense of space and depth to each scene in the show.

Whether it’s a quiet officers room or a noisy cellblock, we create a sonic environment that makes the viewer feel like they’re inside each scene. We also go to great lengths to “foley” or custom record sounds that are not captured on location. When inmates slap hands or throw playing cards down on a table, the viewer expects to hear them loud and clear. Yet production audio rarely captures these sounds with any clarity. Our expertise in recording, editing and mixing them into the soundtrack ensures that the listener will never feel that anything is lacking in the mix.

Hard Time season 2 premiers tonight, Feb 1st at 9PM on Nat Geo with two episodes back to back. In the following weeks, tune in at the Tuesday 10 PM slot for new episodes.

"Gates of Hell is a complex special that takes the audience to the ends of the Earth to uncover what terrifies us most. We needed a sountrack that would help us to bring the viewers to Hell itseft. Creative Audio Post delivered a complete mix that made every location and each scene resonate with drama."

....................................................... - Kevin Fitzpatrick & Stephen Dost.....
.. ..................... ................... .............Executive Producers
. .................................................... ...Red Marble Media............

Going beyond a simple survey of the available scholarship on the afterlife, Gates of Hell takes a unique approach to its subject that links our nightmarish fantasies of Hell with extreme geographic locations that fuel and inspire our deep-seated belief in a place of eternal punishment and pain for the wicked.

Ingeniously illustrated by a mix of graphic techniques, Gates of Hell provides not only food for thought but a feast for the eyes as well. The program is brought to life by subtle yet disturbing animations of classic Western art depicting the multitude of torments awaiting the damned in Hell. In addition, newly created modern CGI elements provide a stunningly detailed, hyper-realistic imagining of the netherworld complete with fiery pits and entire cities of lost souls writhing in Hell.

Our sound design and re-recording skills were employed to add haunting realism to the diverse depictions of Hell and to provide an extremely compelling sound track. The animated paintings could not be made to sound too literal, and thus were a challenge to sound design. Our approach used deep, organic textures and processed human and animal vocal material to create a subtle fabric of sound to reinforce the unsettling nature of the visuals. For the new CGI images, we were able to go into a more hyper-realistic mode and add multiple layers of lightning, fire and lava sounds to really bring Hell to life.

In a dense mix like this it’s critical that music and effects drive the program at an entertaining, engaging level yet never overwhelm the dialog or compromise intelligibility. It’s a fine line that requires our intricate and detailed mixing techniques and years of experience to achieve. And when music and effects are given a space to shine we make sure they rise up right into the viewers face to really push the show to new heights. Altogether, it makes for an exhilarating soundtrack to a powerful program sure to linger in the viewer's mind just as the concept of Hell has fixated mankind’s imagination for millennia.

"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.