325 - Cultivating Creative Flow in Game Audio Development (Sonic Days Conference)

This episode is a re-podcast of a live panel from last year's Sonic Days Conference, in Denmark. The panelists explore the creative process behind game audio development, diving into strategies for fostering innovation, overcoming creative blocks, and enhancing collaboration in the industry. The panel is made up of: Richard Lapington, Audio Director, Remedy Entertainment Katrine Amsler, Sound Designer, IO Interactive Simon Stevnhoved, Senior Sound Designer, Massive Entertainment Mikkel Anttila, Freelance Sound Designer Moderated by Niels Böttcher, Sound Designer Mark your calendars for Sonic Days 2025, and join Tonebenders' host Tim Muirhead, in Kolding Denmark on November 19th and 20th. Full details will be coming out soon...... SPONSOR: After over a year of dedicated work, the entire Sound Ideas sound effects collection, over 500,000 individual files, has been upgraded to the Universal Category System’s, filename and metadata standards. With this enhancement, sounds are now more organized, searchable, and ready for seamless integration into your workflow. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com/ to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/325-cultivating-creative-flow-in-game-audio-development-sonic-days-conference/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

Black Mirror has consistently been a ground breaking series over the show's decade plus run. It has set a high standard within the sound community as well. The recent release of Season 7, keeps that sonic bar extremely high, especially on the Emmy nominated episode "USS Callister: Into Infinity". Supervising Sound Editor Tom Jenkins, Music Editor Poppy Kavanagh & Re-Recording Mixer James Ridgway tell us about the challenges of working on a science-fiction anthology series where every episode is completely different, the importance of having Poppy work with the music across the entire series 7, and what they learned designing the sound for an epic space battle. Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. https://tonebenderspodcast.com/tonebenders-sound-design-meet-up/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas’ highly anticipated Mid-Year Sale has been extended for a limited time. Unlock 50% off, on thousands of premium recordings, from epic cinematic sounds to authentic ambiences, ideal for any creative project. This applies to all Sound Ideas proprietary libraries. With over 45 years of experience, Sound Ideas delivers audio trusted by professionals worldwide. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/324-black-mirror/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

The Righteous Gemstones is a big broad comedy about excess, except for the first episode of season 4, which takes place nearly 200 years before the main series. With the American Civil as the backdrop, this story is gritty and dirty, a complete departure from the bulk of the series. Pee-wee as Himself is a disarming documentary playing with what is true and what is Hollywood gamesmanship. Featuring an uncompromising interview with Paul Reubens as he wrestles with where Pee-Wee starts and Reubens ends. A common thread between these two projects is pristine sound work that leads the charge. The Emmy nominated Supervising sound editors/re-recording mixers for both Righteous Gemstones (Nicholas Renbeck) and Pee-wee as Himself (Daniel Timmons) join Tonebenders for a fascinating talk, as they compare and contrast working on these two very different projects. Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. https://tonebenderspodcast.com/tonebenders-sound-design-meet-up/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas’ highly anticipated Mid-Year Sale has been extended for a limited time. Unlock 50% off, on thousands of premium recordings, from epic cinematic sounds to authentic ambiences, ideal for any creative project. This applies to all Sound Ideas proprietary libraries. With over 45 years of experience, Sound Ideas delivers audio trusted by professionals worldwide. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com/ to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/323-the-righteous-gemstones-pee-wee-as-himself/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

How is it possible that it took until the 322nd episode of Tonebenders for a discussion about the sound design of the Star Trek franchise?! This episode, featuring two guests that have collectively worked on over a 150 episodes within the Star Trek universe, will finally give us a chance to dig deep into the iconic sounds of Star Trek. James Lucero (Supervising Sound Editor), from Star Trek Lower Decks, and Michael Schapiro (Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer) from Star Trek: Section 31, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Short Treks are absolute experts on what this sci-fi giant sounds like. Both have also been nominated for Emmys this year as well! Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Also you have until August 15th to get your Listener Field Recording Stories. Full details on how to submit are at https://tonebenderspodcast.com/field-recording-story-submissions/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas’ highly anticipated Mid-Year Sale has been extended for a limited time. Unlock 50% off, on thousands of premium recordings, from epic cinematic sounds to authentic ambiences, ideal for any creative project. This applies to all Sound Ideas proprietary libraries. With over 45 years of experience, Sound Ideas delivers audio trusted by professionals worldwide. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/322-the-sound-of-star-trek-roundtable/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

The audio post teams from both The Penguin and Season 2 of The Last Of Us, sit down together to hash out the work they did on their respective series. Workflows are discussed and compared, favourite sound moments are shared and many other challenges, that must be overcome in these types of prestige series, are opened up. From The Last Of Us, Michael Benavente (Supervising Sound Editor) & Samuel Ejnes (Re-Recording Mixer) join Rich Bologna (Supervising Sound Editor) & Andy Kris (Re-Recording Mixer) from The Penguin, for this illuminating conversation. Also Congrats to all four for their recent Emmy Nominations! Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Also you have until August 15th to get your Listener Field Recording Stories. Full details on how to submit are at https://tonebenderspodcast.com/field-recording-story-submissions/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas’ highly anticipated Mid-Year Sale has been extended for a limited time. Unlock 50% off, on thousands of premium recordings, from epic cinematic sounds to authentic ambiences, ideal for any creative project. This applies to all Sound Ideas proprietary libraries. With over 45 years of experience, Sound Ideas delivers audio trusted by professionals worldwide. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com/ to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/321-the-sound-of-the-last-of-us-amp-the-penguin/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

Adolescence is a limited series on Netflix consisting of 4 episodes, each made up of a single continuous hour long take. This "one-er" format presented tremendous challenges to the sound team, both on set and in post production. Intense planning was needed in order to capture everything in production, and constant panning was needed in the mix to keep the sound locked to the shifting camera movement. Production sound mixers Rob Entwistle & Kiff McManus tell us about the organized chaos during filming, while supervising sound editor, James Drake, and re-recording mixer, Jules Woods, discuss the intricate detail they dove into to create the immersive feel of the final mix. Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Also you have until August 15th to get your Listener Field Recording Stories. Full details on how to submit are at https://tonebenderspodcast.com/field-recording-story-submissions/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas is Introducing the newest instalment to The Hollywood Edge’s legendary sound effect collection: Premiere Edition - Volume 12! Build a rich audio-sphere to enhance all your productions, with this impressive assortment of sound genres: ranging from Machinery, to Nature, to Science Fiction. Access over 3000 sounds, available in four resolutions and with descriptive metadata in UCS formatting. Head over to www.sound-ideas.com/ to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/320-adolescence/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

This episode has been a long time coming. I have been trying to figure out how to tackle a discussion about A.I. and it’s influence on how sound editors will all be able to do our work in the future. So when the MPSE put out a press release about A.I. created work and it’s eligibility at their Golden Reel Awards, I saw it as a chance to broach the subject. David Barber, MPSE President, and Brent Findley are both on the A.I. committee with the guild and have spent countless hours thinking about how A.I. is going to effect sound editors. Listeners in London England, come on out on August 24th at 7pm to the Crown and Two Chairmen to the second Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up, presented by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Also you have until August 15th to get your Listener Field Recording Stories. Full details on how to submit are at https://tonebenderspodcast.com/field-recording-story-submissions/ SPONSOR: Sound Ideas is Introducing the newest instalment to The Hollywood Edge’s legendary sound effect collection: Premiere Edition - Volume 12! Build a rich audio-sphere to enhance all your productions, with this impressive assortment of sound genres: ranging from Machinery, to Nature, to Science Fiction. Access over 3000 sounds, available in four resolutions and with descriptive metadata in UCS formatting. Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com/ to learn more. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/318-how-will-a-i-affect-sound-designers/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

Recorded in the legendary Formosa Trident Studios, this talk features someone on the sound team from every James Bond film released since 1973?!!!! Michael Fentum ( Sound Editor on No Time To Die), Karen Baker Landers (Supervising Sound Editor on Skyfall & Spectre), Mike Prestwood Smith (Re-recording Mixer on Casino Royal & Quantum of Solace) and Graham Hartstone (Re-Recording Mixer on Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, License to Kill, Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day and more), talk about their initial thoughts when they found out they would be working on the Bond franchise, the scenes they are most proud of and lots more. Big “thanks” to the Motion Picture Sound Editors, for sponsoring this series of episodes featuring the interviews I did while in England.  To learn more about the Motion Picture Sound Editors, you can go to https://mpse.org/.  They are doing great work to support and advocate for sound editors around the world. SPONSOR: The Cargo Cult’s Matchbox 2 is a change management tool that is invaluable when doing comforms. It reveals the differences, reports on the damage, and then re-times your sound mix, saving you incalculable amounts of time. To Learn all about the new features in Matchbox 2, head over to www.https://www.thecargocult.nz/ , to learn more about Matchbox 2 and pulldown the free 15 day trial. Matchbox 2 is exactly what you have been waiting for. Spend your time being creative and let Matchbox handle the conforming. Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/318-mpse-presents-the-sound-legacy-of-james-bond/ Podcast Homepage: https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

Fresh off of receiving 2 Emmy nominations, for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, the audio team from The Bear sits down to talk about their work on the latest season of the acclaimed series. Re-Recording Mixer & Supervising Sound Editor Steve "Major" Giammaria, Dialog Editor Evan Benjamin and Production Sound Mixer Scott Smith, break down the many challenges this series presents, both on set and in post production. They breakdown a few key scenes and follow how the dialog is captured on set, cleaned and prepped in editorial and finally crafted on the mix stage. Listeners in England mark your calendars for Sunday August 24th for the Tonebenders London Sound Design Meet-up presented by the motion picture sound editors. Full Details at https://tonebenderspodcast.com/tonebenders-sound-design-meet-up/ See you there everyone! SPONSORS: The Cargo Cult’s Matchbox 2 is a change management tool that is invaluable when doing comforms. It reveals the differences, reports on the damage, and then re-times your sound mix, saving you incalculable amounts of time. To Learn all about the new features in Matchbox 2, head over to www.https://www.thecargocult.nz/ , to learn more about Matchbox 2 and pulldown the free 15 day trial. Matchbox 2 is exactly what you have been waiting for. Spend your time being creative and let Matchbox handle the conforming. Check out Extension 12, of the iconic General Series 6000 Library: Sound Ideas’ most popular sound effects collection. This newest addition features Over 2,500 high-quality recordings, over a wide range of sounds for both the fantastical and the realistic. Available in four resolutions with descriptive metadata in UCS formatting, this library ensures show-stopping results. https://www.sound-ideas.com/Product/2459/General-Series-6000-Extension-12 Episode Notes: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/317-the-bear-season-4/ Podcast Homepage:https://tonebenderspodcast.com This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead

Hospitals are really hard to create sound design for. The walla and general soundscape of a hospital is very different than any other location, because they are dense but not necessarily loud. Plus there are lots of medical machines that need to be accounted for. In the new HBO emergency room drama, The Pitt, this challenge is amplified as the show takes place entirely inside an especially intense ER. Supervising Sound Editor Bryan Parker and Re-Recording Mixers Ed Carr & Todd Grace, tell us how they used the sounds of The PItt to increase the tension, emotions and payoffs..... all with almost no score in the series. No detail was left to chance, as a map of the fictional emergency room was used extensively by the sound team, to motivate panning and what kind of sounds are heard by the audience. The use of sound design to draw you into the story is one of The PItt's greatest triumphs. SPONSORS: Check out one of Sound Ideas latest libraries The General HD vol 6, which brings over 4000 new effects, to add to your arsenal of sounds: from the deepest depths of the ocean, to the highest peaks of mountains and well beyond. Whatever the mood or circumstance, General HD 6 will cover it. This new library comes with rich metadata in UCS format, and is available in 24bit 96k resolution.  Head over to https://www.sound-ideas.com/Product/2465/General-HD-6-Sound-Effects-Collection to learn more. The Soundminer Database Companion, or SMDBC, is an amazing App that is extremely easy to use. SMDBC simply cleans up your Soundminer Databases, saving you time and effort on all your future searches. Simple as that. It does not erase anything from your drives, unless you want it to. You can learn everything it can do by heading over to https://smdbc.com While there you can get 10% off your purchase, by using the discount code: TONEBENDERS Episode Notes: 
https://tonebenderspodcast.com/312-the-pitt/ Podcast Homepage: 
https://tonebenderspodcast.com 
 This episode is hosted by Timothy Muirhead