Sound design for Elizabeth Avenue teaser

We recently completed sound design and mix on a teaser for a new animated TV series called Elizabeth Avenue, created by Amanda Evans.

Produced by Martyn Niman of Elstree-based King Bee Entertainment, the series is based in a beautiful London street, lined with grand Victorian houses. It follows the adventures of a select pack of unpredictable, yet charming cats and dogs, each with their own distinctive characters, designed by Rafi Nizam and animated by King Bee Entertainment.

The big streets of London are bought to life through the antics of Lucy, Alfie, Ron, Reg and and a host of other characters as they go about their daily discoveries.

We provided sound design and mix for the TV project, which includes music specially composed for the series by Barrington Pheloung.

Full details of the project can be seen by visiting the Elizabeth Avenue Site, but for now here's the teaser:

Filming X Factor for the BBC Big Screen

Dreambase Studios teamed up with Firebird Films, working with host, Kirsty Heber-Smith (BBC) to provide coverage for the 28,000 strong audience over the 2 hour show. We look forward to working with Kirsty and the BBC on future projects. The finals of this years X Factor 2012 can be seen this Saturday, ITV at 8pm.

An estimated 28,000 people attended this years 2012 Christmas lights switch on in Swindon, led by X Factor finalist, Jahmene Douglas along with Swindon’s Olympic torch bearers including Ben Fox, who carried the Olympic torch through Royal Wootton Bassett’s High Street.

X Factor judge, Nicole Scherzinger acoompanied Swindon singer, Jahmene and got the crowd going with a fantastic introduction, sporting the Union Jack flag after the firework extravaganza.

Finally, after an evening of comedy, dancing and competitions, Jahmene Douglas sang 3 songs, starting with his audition song, At Last, by Etta James. He then continued his soulful tone with an Amy Winehouse / Diana Ross mix, finishing with Angels, by Robbie Williams that he dedicated to him Mum. For more information, please check out the Swindon Advertiser article or the article published by This is Wiltshire.

Rodrigo Cortes Interview - Dolby Atmos

Recently we were asked to provide video production for an interview with Spanish film director, Rodrigo Cortes. The interview, by Dolby's director of Distribution Services, Julian Pinn formed part of Dolby Laboratories' promotion of their new Dolby Atmos surround system.

Dreambase provided camera, lighting and sound recording services for the interview, which was filmed at Dolby's Wiltshire-based theatre.

Dolby once again changes the auditory experience for the industry and consumers with Atmos. Dolby Atmos is a break-through, new audio platform that will change the way people experience entertainment sound. The revolutionary technology seamlessly blends onscreen visuals with enhanced audio by not limiting the sound to channels or fixed speaker locations. Launching in the cinema, Dolby Atmos delivers an even more natural and realistic sound-field, by transporting people into the story with a life-like, sensory experience.


About Dolby Atmos
from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo.

Rodrigo Cortes' new film Red Lights is to make use of the Dolby Atmos system and was released in the UK on 15th June

Dolby's Julian Pinn interviews Director Rodrigo Cortés on Dolby Atmos
from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo.
 



Official Trailer:

Sound Post for Verity's Summer

We recently completed sound post production on Verity's Summer, a new feature film by Palme D'Or nominee Director, Ben Crowe.

Verity's Summer is the story of a young woman’s journey from the security of childhood to the compromises of adulthood and moral ambiguities of love. It is also an intimate portrayal of a family coming to terms with the traumas and violence of distant war that are brought back home.

The film stars, Indea Barbe-Willson, Martin McGlade, James Doherty, Nicola Wright, and Christian Hogas and was shot on location in the North East.

'The ambiences play a big part in this film and we wanted to create distinctive 'backgrounds' for each part of the film', comments sound designer, Alex Hudd. 'The coast is ever present in the film and so from a 'sound tag' point of view I wanted to make sure the sea sounds were distinctive and repeatable if necessary in order to reinforce the scenes.'

For the ambiences, Alex spent a weekend in West Wales recording lots of different locations for the film. 'I had already spotted the film for what I needed to record but I took a rough cut of the film on my iPhone so I was able to get an idea of perspective there and then when making decisions on where to position the microphones for the best recording. I took many different sound perspectives from close up to the waves, to many hundreds of meters away, at times. I also took recordings of the countryside nearby as these also play an important part in many of the scenes in Verity's Summer.

A chance recording I made of some sea birds defending territory on one of the beaches was also very useful in several scenes during post production. I chose Wales partly because it offered the same 'sound feel' as the visuals had suggested to me but also because it is largely free of interference from transport such as aircraft, motorways and trains. In fact, recording on location in many parts of Wales is, at times like having your own outdoor studio, such is the absence of external sound interference. And I also love visiting this area, so it was a good excuse for a short break!!'

Ambience recordings were combined with other sounds in order to subtly change the mood of the film as a scene progressed. For example, we were keen to make sure we had simple but dark textures in some scenes, particularly the more difficult dialogue subjects. In others, such as Verity's garden we wanted to make the sound detailed and comfortable, as the garden is often a place of solace for her.'

Among the many Foley sounds we recorded were a variety of Trangia sounds for when one of the characters (Martin McGlade, as Castle) is eating in his encampment. Dreambase Studios' co-director Mark enjoyed a 'camping' lunch of cold baked beans and stale bread that day in order to complete the Foley recording for the scene, but once edited in it worked tremendously well and was absolutely necessary due to rain interference on the original production tracks.

Verity's Summer premieres on 21st April 2012 at London's Shortwave Cinema.

Dreambase Studios Newsletter 2012

For more information on the projects above, click here.

Dreambase Studios is a creative production and post-production facility built on 25 years of film industry expertise.  We work across all media platforms, including film, TV and web, on projects such as feature films, television, commercials, animation, music and corporate videos and alternative content.

With our network of trusted contacts within the industry we are able to offer a one-stop solution for all your creative media requirements, overseeing the entire production if required.  Our services include: directing and producing; story-boarding; filming; location sound; editing sound and picture; sound design; mix; composition; and deliverables for all platforms as well as a range of additional design and media services.  We provide a free initial consultation on every project.

Our extensive working knowledge and background in the international film industry means we aim to bring film standards to everything we are involved in to raise the bar for all your projects.  Working closely with our clients, we pride ourselves on maintaining high quality while providing innovative solutions with excellent communication at all stages. Please get in touch to discuss further. We look forward to working with you.

Sound Post for 'The Harsh Light Of Day'

Dreambase Studios have recently completed the sound post production on British Independent Horror film, The Harsh Light of Day. Directed by Oliver Milburn and produced by Emma Biggins at Multistory Films. We worked with them to create a dynamic, theatrical mix that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

SYNOPSIS: After returning home from the launch of his book about the occult, Daniel Shergold's house is broken into by thugs, who beat his wife to death and leave him paralyzed. A depressed agoraphobic in his secluded country cottage, Daniel mourns the death of his wife while being cared for by home nurse, Fiona. He is unable to accept the lack of success the police have in finding his wife's killers. Daniel accepts a visit from a mysterious stranger who insists he can help him reap revenge. He agrees and is thrown into a strange and horrific transition into darkness. With renewed strength, Daniel sets out to avenge his wife's murder, but at what cost?

From the outset HLOD needed a soundtrack that was set 'completely in reality' one minute and then going 'off on one' the next. These dynamics were intended to give the viewer a full gamut of aural experiences, from a comfortable almost anodyne setting to uncertain, or at times excruciating pieces.

Shooting outdoors and on the coast presented the usual sound issues, so wild tracks, Foley recordings and sound design were used extensively to convey the appropriate sentiment in these scenes, from water lapping on a pebbly beach to the atmosphere of a dock yard. In contrast, the 'sound' of the house in the film is almost silent, again to emphasise the isolation of the cottage and to ensure the film exhibited plenty of sound dynamics.

The film's producer Emma Biggins commented at the premiere: 'the screening went really well tonight - looked and sounded fantastic'

HLOD is released in cinemas on Friday 13th April 2012.