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Congratulations to Juniper Post’s sound editing team for their Golden Reel Nomination for Best Sound Editing for “The Frozen Ground!”  –Based on a true story.

“The Frozen Ground,” directed by Scott Walker
(CAST) Nicolas Cage,  John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens

“Anchorage, Alaska, circa 1983, looks and feels like a pioneer town in the Wild West in “The Frozen Ground,” Scott Walker’s new crime thriller (and first feature). It’s a town teeming with strip clubs, drug addiction, prostitution, and runaway girls whom nobody would miss if they went missing. And they do go missing, in droves. Based on the true story of Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen (played here by John Cusack), and detective Glenn Flothe (named, in the film, Jack Holcombe, and played by Nicolas Cage) who, in investigating a series of missing persons reports as well as a couple of dead girls dug up by animals out in the wilderness, starts to wonder if all of these events aren’t somehow connected.”  Sheila O’Malley RobertEbert.com 

“Making a film can be tough if not impossible these days.  The Frozen Ground presented some pretty steep challenges.  The guys at Juniper Post stayed on time and on budget, delivering a great sounding film, which is why it is nominated for best sound editing. The best part, they make my job easier.” – Beau J. Genot, 5100 Films

“The Frozen Ground” was very challenging from a sound editing perspective due to the snow, ice and wind, as well as design to create tension that didn’t take away from Lorne Balfe’s great score. Because of it’s true nature, it was very important that we create sound editing that was specific, seamless and added to director Scott Walker’s vision of telling the story in manner that was respectful and accurate so that those wrecked by these events would feel the film did this tragic situation justice. I couldn’t be more proud of the great work from the sound editors, mixer and recordists.  They really went above and beyond on this!  THANKS GUYS!”  – David Kitchens, (Owner, Juniper Post and Sound Supervisor).

The Motion Picture Sound Editors
61st GOLDEN REEL AWARDS”
will be held February 16, 2014

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION:

Post Production Supervision

5100 Films
Beau Genot
Michael Urann

Sound services provided by Juniper Post’s Sound Team; Sound Design & Editing, Foley, Voice Over, and Mixing.  To receive a bid for a great sounding mix from the award-winning Juniper Post Sound team, call David Kitchens at (818) 841-1244, ext. 1.  To request a quote, click here.

Congratulations to Juniper Post’s sound editing team for their
3 MPSE Golden Reel Nominations for Best Sound Editing.

 “Rising from Ashes is a feature length documentary about the first Rwandan national cycling team in their bid to make history and represent their country at the 2012 Olympics.

Competing in a white man’s sport, reserved for the privileged, a rag tag group of cyclists coached by the first American to ride in the Tour de France, are transformed into a powerful symbol of hope for a country recovering from one of the world’s most devastating genocides.” – IMDB

“Rising from Ashes was one of the most difficult films I’ve worked on. There was constant noise in Rwanda.  While working with our team at Juniper we were always having to think about how the sound design was working to be an intricate part of the story telling process. Too much, and we lost the sense of Rwanda. Too little, and it made the topic feel empty. I believe sound is often more important then images as it allows the audience to connect in a unique way with their own experiences.  The sound design that’s come together on this film is probably one of the aspects I am most proud of. Just listening to the film I hope tells a story on it’s own.” – T.C. Johnstone, Director

 Director, T.C. Johnstone
Producer, Greg Kwedar
Producer / Narrator, Forest Whitaker

THE FROZEN GROUND – Based on a true story.
Director – Scott Walker 
Producers – EMMETT/FURLA FILMS & GRINDSTONE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

“An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.”– IMDB

EMPIRE STATE– Based on a true story.
Director – Dito Montiel
Producers – EMMETT/FURLA FILMS & GRINDSTONE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

 “A drama centered on two childhood friends who plan to rob an armored car depository, and the NYPD officer who stands in their way.” – IMDB

The Motion Picture Sound Editors 
61st GOLDEN REEL AWARDS
will be held February 16, 2014

How can you handle all the sound design and mix on a movie if you don’t speak the language?

Love in the Big City 3 — Every movie has sound issues to address.  Filmmakers will most likely tell you it’s a miracle these days a film gets completed at all, let alone is entertaining.  Because it’s so difficult to finish a film that works, many filmmakers are happy to have a good film that an audience finds enjoyable!  This hilariously awesome Russian comedy, Love in the Big City 3  goes beyond enjoyable as its comedy transcends any language barrier.

   Veronika Vernadskaya (actress)                                   Svetlana Khodchenkova (actress)

So how do you handle the sound if you don’t speak the language?   I have been fortunate to work with the most talented, award-winning sound crew in the industry over the years.  They made my job on this show easy, despite the usual technical and scheduling curve balls that were thrown at us.  Once we saw the film, we knew we had a tough job ahead if we were going to come up with sounds on par with the genius of dynamic team, David Dodson (Director/Editor) and Marius Balchunas (Director/Writer).  Having a long-standing working relationship with them and producer Sergey Livnev since 2000 on eight films didn’t hurt either!” — David Kitchens M.P.S.E.,  Sound Supervisor, Juniper Post, Inc.

From left to right: David Barber, M.P.S.E.: Supervising Sound Editor | Gonzalo “Bino” Espinoza: Recording Supervisor | Ben Zarai: Re-recording Mixer /Supervising Sound Editor | David Dodson: Director/Editor | Marius Balchunas: Director/Writer | David Kitchens, M.P.S.E.: Sound Supervisor,  Jim Wright: Dolby Sound Consultant

 “Cutting sound effects for a comedy is always fun.  There are many liberties that you can take with approaches to various scenes that you may not in a dramatic or action film. Knowing Marius and David’s sensibilities from our prior work on their films was extremely helpful in knowing how to work on Love in the Big City 3.

“I felt that the key to making the sound effects work was to push the border of slapstick without crossing over into cartoonish.  There are many subtleties (sound effects-wise) that I hoped will give the astute listener a chuckle or two, in addition to the many laughs provided by the brilliant writing, acting, and directing of the film.  Examples of this include the sounds of a few of the stuffed animals getting personalities by becoming “squeaky” toys, the ambience, as well as some action-related sounds in the bathroom scene in the mall, and the augmented bone crunching fight scenes.” — David Barber, Supervising Sound Editor, Juniper Post, Inc.

 “In a comedy, it helps to exaggerate certain sounds to support the gags on the screen.  Igor’s son eating Chinese food in the background, while the parents compare him to a picture from another room, for example.  He slurps the noodles, and pokes at the box with chopsticks, and then smiles on camera when he notices his parents watching.  A subtle breath can help a great deal. When the horses are galloping near the film’s end, we recorded detailed actions of the leather straps, chains, saddles, bridles, as well as exaggerated the long leather trench-coats blowing in the wind. This not only calls attention to the dusty, gritty Western theme of this scene, but adds realism and dimension which really brings it all to life. ” — Gonzalo “Bino” Espinoza: Recording Supervisor, Juniper Post, Inc.

“I couldn’t be happier with what the sound editors gave me for the mix. Bino and Dave’s  Foley and sound effects not only sounded great, but they had the clients roaring with laughter at the gags they added. These guys really GET comedy timing.

“David Kitchens‘ supervision kept the sound design and mix running smoothly, despite accelerated deadlines and unexpected re-edits of the film. Being a veteran, award-winning sound editor himself, he knows not only how to keep the clients happy, but he understands what it really takes technically and creatively to get us to the finish line.

“David Dodson is one of the most talented people I’ve worked with. I’m always blown away by his sensibilities as a director, his skill as an editor, and his insight into the use of audio to tell a story. It’s no surprise to me that the previous film we did together, Eight First Dates, 8 pervykh svidaniy  won the Russian Oscar for Best Comedy Film.

 “Marius Balchunas is a comedy genius, no doubt about it. The gags in his films are inspired, and during the sound mix he keeps the atmosphere fun and alive, which brings out the best in everyone.” — Ben Zarai, Re-recording Mixer & Supervising Sound Editor, Juniper Post, Inc.

“It always intrigues other filmmakers when they realize we don’t speak Russian and yet somehow the final sound track of this Russian film is exceptional despite that.  More than one would think, because of issues in production recordings, sound for entire scenes are completely rebuilt from nothing, and all that is used from the original sound recordings is some of the dialogue recorded on set. To us, sound is much more than just replicating sonically what’s on the screen. No matter how complex the images are, the sound has to still forward the story.  This is not to belittle sonic duplication, as that is no easy feat in itself.

“Having supervised films in many different languages over the years, we have learned that as long as one knows what they are doing, handling the sound for a foreign language film is not that much more difficult than handling sound on a film in our native language.  The key is to know what you’re doing in the first place, and I have a team that knows how to make a film sound excellent.

“It’s easy to get lost in the complexity of audio post.  However, if you really look at the simplicity of what we are doing in sound editing, we are doing two key things: take away what distracts an audience, and add what forwards or enhances the story.

“Just as it is important to remove things in the original recordings which distract an audience (bumps in the sound, unwanted machines in the locations like planes flying over head, cars driving by that are off screen and not supposed to be there, people and animal sounds in the distance that are not part of the story, etc.), the added sounds have to communicate something specific that forward the story as well.  By ‘added sounds’, I’m referring to the sound effects, the footsteps, the surrounding ambience, etc.  These sounds are not added just to be ‘cool.’  Everything in a movie is there to serve the story.  But you can’t just reach into your sound library and drop things in.  You have to discover the general sounds native to each specific environment as well as know how to recreate and augment them sonically, so the sound works in context.  This applies to a any film, not just a foreign film.

“Oddly enough, working on a foreign film is really no different than designing the sound for a film like Empire State set in New York, circa 1980s, or a 70s spoof like Black Dynamite, or designing and creating the battle sequences of James Cameron’s: Expedition Bismarck.  You have to do your homework, design sounds that fit the action on the screen and off screen, edit them correctly, and blend them well in the final mix. When you have a crew that is proficient technically, you usually get a good product.  However, when you add to that a crew that cares, like our guys do, not only is the process better for everyone, but you have a real team that creates art which deserves admiration.” — David Kitchens, Sound Supervisor, Juniper Post, Inc.

Other Russian Films Juniper Post provided all audio services for:

Lyubov v bolshom gorode 3  

Lyubov v bolshom gorode 2

8 pervykh svidaniy

Rzhevskiy protiv Napoleona

Gitler kaput!

The Iris Effect

The Second Front

The Burning Land

The Arena

Ring of King Solomon

To Kill The King

Out of Order

To Kill The King 2

To receive a bid for a great sounding mix from the award-winning Juniper Post Sound team, call David Kitchens at (818) 841-1244, ext. 1.  Or click Get a quote

“THE FROZEN GROUND” IN THEATERS THIS FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013!

Award Winning Sound Crews Team Up on the Sound Design of  “The Frozen Ground“, directed by Scott Walker!

For over 4 years now, Juniper Post has housed it’s team at Monkeyland Audio with great success.  Last year David Kitchens, owner of Juniper Post approached Trip Brock, owner of Monkeyland Audio, about teaming up on the sound design of “The Frozen Ground“.

“ The Frozen Ground is inspired by the incredible true story that follows Alaskan State Trooper Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) as he sets out to end the murderous rampage of Robert Hansen (John Cusack), a serial killer who has gone unnoticed for 13 years. As the bodies of street girls start to pile up in Anchorage, fear strikes a chord with the public. Risking his life, Halcombe goes on a personal manhunt to find the killer before the next body surfaces. When a seventeen year old escapee (Vanessa Hudgens) reveals key information about the case, Halcombe is finally on the trail of the killer. But will he catch him in time to save the next victim? ” – comingsoon.net

“This is Juniper Post’s first film partnering with Monkeyland to hit the big screen.  It was a great experience working with Trip Brock’s team.  We both take great pride in what we do.  When you have a film based on such horrific events and the people involved care deeply about respectfully telling the story, you really want to go above and beyond to stay true to their vision.  I really think those devastated by the events portrayed in “The Frozen Ground” will feel the film does this tragic situation justice.” – David Kitchens, (Owner, Juniper Post and Sound Supervisor).

RottenTomatoes “Though this by-the-numbers true procedural seems basic,” The Frozen Ground “presents a welcome return for Nicolas Cage in a solid performance.”

“I really want to thank everyone who worked on this film as they all did a fantastic job and I couldn’t be happier with the final soundtrack” –DAVID KITCHENS, SOUND SUPERVISOR

SOUND TEAM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

(back row) –David Kitchens – (Sound Supervisor), Trip Brock, owner of Monkeyland Audio, Peter D. Lago –  (Sound Effects Editor), Alexander Pugh –  (Sound Effects Editor)

(front row) – David Barber – (Re-recording Mixer and Supervising Sound Editor), Steven Avila – (Sound Effects Editor),

David Kitchens – (Sound Supervisor)

David Barber – (Re-recording Mixer and Supervising Sound Editor)

Gonzalo ‘Bino’ Espinoza – (Foley & ADR Supervisor)

Sean Gray – (Dialogue Editor)

Monkeyland Audio– (Owner Operator) Trip Brock

Steven Avila – (Sound Effects Editor)

Peter D. Lago –  (Sound Effects Editor)

Alexander Pugh –  (Sound Effects Editor)

DIRECTED BY:

Director – Scott Walker

CAST:

John Cusack

Nicolas Cage

Vanessa Hudgens

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION:

Post Production Supervision

5100 Films

Beau Genot

Michael Urann

We just received our plaques and certs this week for our recent Golden Reel Awards.  

Again, congratulations to the winners!

WINNERS:

Supervising Sound Editor: David Barber, M.P.S.E.

Supervising Foley/ADR Editor: Gonzalo Espinoza

Foley Artists: David Kitchens, Gonzalo Espinoza

Sound Designers: Sean Gray, Ken Skoglund

BEST SOUND EDITING: DIRECT TO VIDEO – LIVE ACTION

EMMETT/FURLA FILMS & GRINDSTONE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP   

Present

FIRE WITH FIRE

Directed by: David Barrett,  Produced by: 50 Cent, Andrew Deane, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Richard Jackson, Matthew Rhodes  CAST: Bruce Willis, Josh Duhamel, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D’Onofrio, 50 Cent, Julian McMahon

To receive a bid for a great sounding mix from the award-winning Juniper Post Sound team, call David Kitchens at (818) 841-1244, ext. 1.  Or go to httpsss://juniperpost.com/?page_id=320 to request a quote.