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.

Hover Chase 4D Sound Design

We've just completed sound design on what is probably one of the most exciting experiences to come out this year. Produced by Lightworx Media and distributed by The Juice, Hover Chase 4D is an attraction ride experience that takes you on a hover bike race through city streets, oil refineries, forests, and caves. Participants in the ride not only experience 3D picture and 5.1 sound, but are also treated to moving seats, wind, smell, and water effects, amongst others.

The challenge for the soundtrack was to create a believable and powerful sound for the hover bike. You experience the ride from the point of view of one of the racers and so the sound of the hover bike had to react to every twist and turn during the 5 minute ride. The rise and fall of the engine was designed to compliment the speed and direction of the hover bike. In addition to this the other bikes in the race had to be sounded and directed as they moved on the screen in such a was as you really feel part of the action and excitement, not to mention the flyby's, battles and explosions,

In addition the atmospheres of each of the locations in the race were designed also to bring a sense of being there for the ride's participants. The underlying music score, composed at Dreambase helps to keep the pace of the ride throughout so that from start to finish the experience is one that you'll never forget and one that you'll want to come back for more.

The ride is now available for licensing from The Juice.

Sound Post for TV Commercial

We recently completed sound post on a TV commercial for Leo Abse and Cohen. The commercial is currently airing on many of the Sky channels right now and was produced in Bristol by Lightworx Media Ltd. We worked with Lightworx to sound design and turnaround a high quality TV mix in a relatively short space of time.

Head of Programming at Lightworx, Jonathan G Brown, commented: 'Absolutely sterling work on the mix, the client was very happy overall'.

You can watch the advert here (select 'Leo Abse and Cohen Commercial 2011' to view).

Officially Supporting the Bristol Encounters 0117 Hour Film Challenge

To celebrate the opening of M Shed, the new museum of Bristol, Encounters would like to invite filmmakers from all over the world to create a short film based in and focused on Bristol, in just 117 hours, between 17 – 22 June.

Presented in partnership with Bristol Film Office, Encounters Bristol International Film Festival and M Shed, this is a unique opportunity to take part in a fast moving, visual storytelling experience, and to discover Bristol as a filming location.

Dreambase Studios are proud to support the Bristol Encounters 0117 Hour Film Challenge and are offering 50% discount for sound post production and free sound consultancy on all projects.

Bristol Encounters International Film Festival will be in it's 17th year and has been running since 1995 encompassing two of the UK's leading film festivals, Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters. It is now acknowledged as a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards, European Film Academy, and the Bafta's!

Dreambase Studios are a sound post facility based in Wiltshire, with over 25 years of experience within the film industry offering bespoke sound solutions for independent films and digital media from sound consultancy at the script stage, sound location advice right through the sound post production process including tracklay, edit, foley, adr, sound design, pre-mix and final mix for theatrical release. for more information, email: info@dreambasestudios.com or call 01793 858235. 

Local Filmmakers Showcase

Dreambase Studios were proud to be involved in this years Swindon Film Festival, working with the festival organiser, Barbara Hoffbauer and the Swindon Film Society by sponsoring the 'Local Filmmakers Showcase' section of the festival which featured five short films including writer/director Stephen Ware's short film Aimee in which Dreambase also supported by completing sound post on the project. "Stephen approached us asking if we would like to become involved as a sponsor and help out with sound post on the project" said Mark Kenna, Owner of Dreambase Studios. After reading the script and discussing the project with Stephen, it was clear that Stephen's ambitions were more than just to complete his short, with his main focus to help and encourage the film industry in Swindon to grow.

"Aimee tells the story of a young girl on the cusp of adulthood, living in the shadow of her parents’ unhappy marriage and supported by her long-standing best friend, Claire. The tale of love, trust, and ultimately, the gambles in life was produced using local talent that represents the town's passion for filmmaking. The film had its Premier at the Empire cinema back in February, also one of the sponsors.

Other films included Alex Seckers The Silent Assassin that was very well received, who's now completing his second short Wishful Thinking and 15 year old, Darren Potter's Future Desires about a teenager’s ambition to dance which also won the Audience Favourite at the regional Preloader Film Festival earlier this year.

Multi-Award winning short now online

Multi-Award winning short film by David Hawk/Richard Cambridge now available to watch on-line. A short film we mixed earlier this year. For more info, click here:

Storyline: Completely out of his comfort zone Nick is forced to fight for his life. A high octane film about mistaken identity. Lock Stock meets Bourne.

Sound Post for Independent Films: PT1

Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting blogs giving an insight to sound post production on the latest independent feature film by Agent Pictures, 'ELIMINATE: Archie Cookson'

An offbeat espionage thriller which follows the life of MI6 spy Archie Cookson (played by Paul Rhys of BBC Three’s Being Human, Robert Altman’s film ‘Vincent and Theo’ and Attenborough’s ‘Chaplin’). Sidelined in his job and ignored by his estranged wife (Claire Skinner, of the popular BBC TV comedy Outnumbered, Tim Burton’s ‘Sleepy Hollow and ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’) and eccentric, precocious offspring, things take a turn for the worse when he stumbles upon classified tapes that no one was meant to hear.

From the outset, we worked closely with Rob Holder (director/writer) and Ioanna Karavela (producer), to create a sound post schedule that was flexible, allowing Agent Pictures to continue with the picture post work-flow (Edit/Grade/VFX) concurrently, all working towards the films deadline. We applied our extensive experience to create an engaging soundtrack, whilst dealing with the day-to-day challenges that go with independent feature film post production.

After a few meetings with the production team, we planned the sound post using our in-house system. The film was shot in Bristol and this vibrant city was our first port of call in order to record atmos sound pick-ups for the films main scenes. We chose locations that would most closely replicate the films intended feel and in some instances, we visited the exact locations to gather the appropriate sound in surround format. Back at the studio, this sound was layered with our extensive library and wild-tracks provided by location sound recordist, Daniel 'chu' Owen. Each room and location in the film has it's own sound signature, which also changes depending on the mood of the scene.

"We're keen to create unique sound beds for every film that are realistic, have depth, and maximise the dynamics from scene to scene. The background sounds really matter in a film: it's all about the details"

For more location pictures and comments, please click here:

"Dreambase Studios specialise in bespoke sound for independent films and digital media. With our combined 25 years as Dolby sound consultants we can develop the sound on your project from concept and script to delivery, including theatrical release. By offering creative sound, technical advice and extensive industry knowledge we can tailor make a package that keeps your sound post production on track. We understand budgets, deadlines, problems and people! Please drop by for a chat and a demo of our work"