As boutique audio post studio Eleven approaches two decades in business, it is celebrating another milestone–mixer Ben Freer’s 10th anniversary with the company. Additionally, Eleven has promoted Jordan Meltzer to mixer and sound designer.
Freer occupies a space between artist and scientist, using his skill to asses the harmonic structure of sound to enable them to fashion highly complex projects. Freer was inspired by all things sound from a young age and was first introduced to Eleven as an intern in 2007, mentored by Eleven founder/mixer Jeff Payne and quickly climbing the ranks to become an official staff member the same year. Freer has mixed for clients in the advertising and multimedia industries, including Toyota, GMC, T-Mobile, Nike, H&R Block, The Weeknd and Lorde.
“When I started at Eleven, I didn’t know much about audio mixing, I just knew that I wanted to immerse myself in it,” said Freer. “Working with the industry’s best and eventually getting my own mix room has been an incredibly humbling experience. I feel so lucky to have been able to cultivate my career at one of the top L.A. studios for so long.”
Meanwhile Meltzer got hooked on sound and began gravitating towards the craft after seeing The Who perform at the Hollywood Bowl at age 9. He played in bands while growing up in the San Fernando Valley, eventually completing his BA in Audio Post Production from Emerson College. After joining Eleven as an intern, similar to Freer, he climbed the ranks and took on a newfound role as assistant mixer, building his portfolio on a variety of films and commercials with clients HP, Dodge, Disney, FitBit & Sam Smith. Meltzer’s contributions led him to the recent promotion as mixer and sound designer.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More