Re-Recording Mixer Michael Keller
Re-Recording Mixer Michael Keller (pictured) has returned to leading independent sound company Todd-AO in Hollywood, Calif., and will team with Re-Recording Mixer Mike Prestwood Smith. Keller has mixed more than 75 films, including Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Roland Emmerich’s 2012, and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. Keller and Prestwood Smith are currently mixing Abduction for director John Singleton and Lionsgate.
“Michael Keller is a talented mixer as evidenced by his impressive body of work,” says Robert C. Rosenthal, president of CSS Studios, Todd-AO’s parent company. “He is an asset to the filmmaking community and a wonderful addition to the Todd-AO team.”
The move marks a homecoming for Keller, who previously worked at Todd-AO in the 1990s and began his career in Hollywood at the company’s affiliate, Soundelux. “Todd-AO offers great facilities, but for me, it’s more personal,” Keller says. “Soundelux and Todd-AO sparked my career 20 years ago and I think it’s time to come home to my roots.”
Keller began his career in his teens as a recordist and later as re-recording mixer with ARRI in his native Germany, and earned his first film credit on Roland Emmerich’s Moon 44. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a sound designer before resuming his career as a mixer. He earned his first Hollywood mixing credit on the director’s cut of Wolfgang Peterson’s Das Boot. Keller first worked with Prestwood Smith in 2008 on Hellboy 2 for director Guillermo del Toro; the pair also worked together on The Darkest Hour for director Chris Gorak.
“Mike and I have very similar taste in sound and storytelling,” says Keller. “He does the music and dialog while I mix the sound effects. We bring the best out in each other and have fun doing so.”
Prestwood Smith notes that he and Keller share a similar approach to mixing. “We are both over-viewers,” Prestwood Smith said. “Whilst we have separate roles technically, we are both very aware of the bigger picture and always looking at opportunities to best serve the film as a whole, rather than the elements within it.”
“I love to support a good story with creative sound,” Keller concludes. “My goal on every film is to deliver a clear soundtrack that is to the point and transparent.”
Visit Todd-AO at www.toddao.com.
