Nov 10, 2009 12:21 PM

The goal for the SoundWorks Collection is simple: We are dedicated to profiling the greatest and upcoming sound minds from around the world and highlight their contributions. The SoundWorks Collection was created by director Michael Coleman in November of 2009 in a partnership with Mix magazine, several audio-focused college schools and programs, and the support of the online sound community worldwide.

The SoundWorks Collection takes you behind the scenes and straight to the dub stage for a look into audio post-production for feature films, videogame sound design and original soundtrack composition. This exclusive and intimate video series focuses on individuals and teams behind-the-scenes bringing to life some of the world's most exciting projects.

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 English-language drama/thriller film. It is the second film to be adapted from the Swedish novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson. The first was a 2009 Swedish-language/English-dubbed film. The 2011 film was written by Steven Zaillian and directed by David Fincher. Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomkvist, and Rooney Mara stars as Lisbeth Salander. In essence, the film follows a man’s mission to find out what has happened to a girl who has been missing for 36 years and may have been murdered. We talk with composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, sound re-recording mixer Michael Semanick and re-recording mixer/sound designer and supervising sound editor Ren Klyce.

'War Horse' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of War Horse from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse, an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.

In the exclusive SoundWorks Collection video, we talk with sound designer and re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom and composer John Williams.

Read Mix's profile on War Horse

'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

In this exclusive SoundWorks Collection video, we talk with director Brad Bird, composer Michael Giacchino, supervising ADR editor Gwen Whittle Yates and supervising sound editor Richard Hymns.

'The Muppets' Sound for Film Profile

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways. In this SoundWorks Collection exclusive, we talk with director James Bobin, film editor James Thomas, supervising sound editors Kami Asgar and Sean McCormack, and sound re-recording mixer Kevin O’Connell.

Composer Brian Tyler Sound for Film Profile

Brian Tyler is a composer of more than 50 films and was recently nominated for Film Composer of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association. He composed and conducted the scores for Eagle Eye for producer Steven Spielberg, the box office hit Fast and Furious, The Expendables, Rambo, Law Abiding Citizen, Constantine, Battle Los Angeles, Fast Five and many more.

'Pearl Jam Twenty' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Music of Pearl Jam 20 from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Pearl Jam Twenty chronicles the years leading up to the band’s formation, the chaos that ensued soon after their rise to megastardom, their step back from center stage and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them—giving way to a work culture that would sustain the band. Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, the film is carved from more than 1,200 hours of rarely seen and never-before-seen footage spanning the band’s career. Pearl Jam Twenty is the definitive portrait of Pearl Jam: part concert film, part intimate insider hang, part testimonial to the power of music and uncompromising artists.

In this SoundWorks Collection exclusive video, we talk with Eric Fischer of Autumn Audio, who had the task of handling 16 5.1 mixes and additional post-production work required to clean up and prepare various archived audio recordings.

Read more about mixing for the documentary

'DRIVE' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound of "Drive" from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Supervising sound editor Lon Bender shares his thoughts on the creative process behind the acclaimed sound design for DRIVE. The project was also mixed at Sound One by re-recording mixers Roberto Fernandez and Dave Paterson.

'Real Steel' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection - The Sound of Real Steel from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Real Steel plays out this fantasy as robots have replaced humans in boxing in this Shawn Levy film. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) loses a chance to become a boxing champion when robots take over, and he becomes a small-time promoter. When he has difficulty making a living, Kenton reluctantly teams up with his son, Max (Dakota Goyo), to build a robot that can contend for the championship. The stunning visual effects behind the robots can only be brought to live by believable sound. The team responsible for this difficult task include Craig Henighan (sound designer, sound re-recording mixer, supervising sound editor), Skip Longfellow (first assistant sound editor), Warren Hendriks (sound designer), Rob Nokes (sound effects field recordist) and Dan O’Connell (Foley artist).

'Angry Birds' Sound for Videogame Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of Angry Birds from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Finland-based composer and sound designer Ari Pulkkinen seems to be one of the most listened-to composers in the world right now, with more than 250 million people who have heard his original Angry Birds theme. Pulkkine’s catchy theme was also recently performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra as part of a music festival in the city. Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of addictive gameplay, comical style and low price. Its popularity led to versions of Angry Birds being created for personal computers and gaming consoles, a market for merchandise featuring its characters and even long-term plans for a feature film or television series. Angry Birds has had a combined 350 million downloads across all platforms, and including both regular and special editions.

Pulkkinen has also worked on other popular games such as Trine (PS3/PC), Dead Nation (PS3) and Outland (PS3/360). The games have received rave reviews and praise for their soundtracks and sound design.

'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound of Rise of the Planet of the Apes from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Director Rupert Wyatt takes the audience on the science-fiction summer hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Leading the sound team is supervising sound editor and sound designer Chuck Michael and co-supervisor John Larsen, with the talents of first assistant sound editor Smokey Cloud and sound re-recording mixers Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett.

'The Sound of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2' Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

After eight films over a 10-year span, the epic adventure of Harry Potter and his circle of wizard friends will close the last chapter of this celebrated series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Director David Yates returns to direct his fourth Harry Potter film with his talented sound team including re-recording mixers Stuart Hilliker and Mike Dawson, supervising music editor Gerard McCann, supervising sound editor James Mather and sound designer Dom Gibbs. Expecto Patronum!

Dolby Presents Surrounded: 7.1 Cinema & Beyond

SoundWorks Collection: Dolby Presents Surrounded: 7.1 Cinema & Beyond from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Dolby gathered a group of cinema industry leaders and innovators from around the world for an exclusive Filmmakers’ Forum held on Monday, July 11, 2011, in San Francisco. Their focus was be on how 7.1 surround sound delivers a richer, more immersing moviegoing experience to audiences.

Discussion Topic: The Impact of 7.1 Surround Sound on 2-D and 3-D Movies
The content creation community is embracing this new audio format, and more than 25 feature films have been announced or already mixed in 7.1—and a majority of them are in 3-D. Discover how 7.1 brings a more exciting sensory experience to 2-D and gives content creators even more control over audio placement for 3-D movies. Also learn from experts in the cinema industry how they envision the future of surround sound.

Panel Moderator:
Stuart Bowling, Dolby Laboratories, worldwide technical marketing manager, Cinema

Panelists:
Kinson Tsang, supervising sound designer, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen and The Lost Bladesman
Rohan Sippy, director, Dum Maaro Dum
Erik Aadahl, supervising sound editor, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Megamind
Michael Semanick, re-recording mixer, Cars 2 and Toy Story 3
Eric Brevig, director, Yogi Bear and Journey to the Center of the Earth

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Sound for Film Profile

Soundworks Collection: The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Director Michael Bay and producer Steven Speilberg return this summer for the third film in the Transformers franchise, Tranformers: Dark of the Moon. The amazing visual effects in this film are complimented by the talented efforts of the sound team, including re-recording mixers Greg Russell and Jeff Haboush, and supervising sound editor and sound designers Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl. This is the first 3-D film of the series and will also be presented in regular 20D, Real D 30D and IMAX, featuring Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

'Cars 2' Sound for Film Profile

Soundworks Collection: The Sound and Music of Cars 2 from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Marie Ebbing and Jonathon Stevens Sound for Film Profile

SoundWorks Collection: Marie Ebbing & Jonathon Stevens - Advanced Noise Removal from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Marie Ebbing and Jonathon Stevens offer advanced noise-removal services for music and film post-production using a suite of tools by the software developer Algorithmix. These noise-removal tools are divided into two categories: broadband (including surface noise, hiss and hum) and transient, including camera hydraulics, coughs, page turns and other instantaneous noises.

Their use of these tools extends into the non-standard. They can remove unwanted dialog and music from stereo or multichannel master recordings. Rebalancing or complete removal of instruments in a master recording is also possible, and on occasion pitch correction to a specific instrument in a mix. All of this is done with the utmost respect to the sound quality of the original master.

Projects that have benefited from their noise-removal services include
Tron: Legacy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Capitalism, Public Enemies, San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score Series, The Lord of the Rings: Complete Music boxed sets.

Find out more information about Ebbing and Stevens.

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