Eleven Sound has upped mixer/sound designer Jordan Meltzer to a partner in the company. He now officially teams with owner Jeff Payne, signaling a new era for the 24-year-old audio postproduction boutique.
This new partnership comes with some new digs, with Payne and Meltzer leaving Eleven’s longtime Santa Monica location to co-purchase a new studio in West L.A. The studio also comes with a new brand image, with Eleven recently launching a fresh logo design.
As companies settle into hybrid work, Payne and Meltzer envisioned a venue that would challenge all preconceived notions of what a studio should look–and feel–like. Payne and Meltzer worked with architect Sonja Friedrich to manifest their plans from day one. The 3,700 sq. ft. workspace includes Scandinavian modern white oak custom-built desks by Adam Christgau, white fabric walls, skylights, and natural light throughout the studios and around the facility. The building hosts three sound studios in total, each equipped with isolated voiceover booths, 7.1 speaker configuration, Avid S3 consoles, Dante audio networking, and custom BSS Configurations, all running Pro Tools. The technical design and integration of the facility were imagined by the Ron Lagerlof and Visioneering Connect, a longtime collaborator of Payne and Eleven.
The shop was conceptualized to foster in-person collaboration, looking more like a modern living room where employees and clients want to hang out, rather than a workspace. West L.A. was chosen as the central hub to make travel easier for clients and employees across the increasingly stretching city. The location is purposefully tucked away off the main thoroughfare of Olympic Blvd, sharing a wall with a legacy studio owned by a former member of the Eagles.
Payne similarly had a distinct vision in his build-out for his first studio in Santa Monica, where he enjoyed a successful run as a multi-story beach area hot spot for live music as well as recording sessions. Meltzer joined in 2015 as an intern, then in 2016 as an assistant in the midst of Eleven’s growth. He immediately piqued Payne’s interest and admiration with his talent, eagerness and shared vision for the industry. Post-pandemic, both feel that in-person sound sessions yield the strongest collaboration and results, both in sound quality and connection between the mixing team and their agency and brand clients. The winning synergy in-person sessions generate helps foster the premium audio post quality inherent in Eleven Sound’s 125 Super Bowl spots and other award-winning advertising campaigns.
Payne noted, “After three years of working from home, I believe our clients are eager for the creative face-to-face interaction, which is much more efficient and satisfying. By designing a workspace for our clients that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, we hope to partner with like-minded clients who share the notion that human creativity thrives in a physical environment that is inspiring and comfortable.”
Meltzer, an Emmy nominee for sound design on the strength of his work for the HBO series McMillions, added, “Building a studio has always been a dream of mine. I couldn’t be happier to partner with Jeff and breathe life into the blank canvas of a building, pushing the boundaries of studio design aesthetics. I can’t wait to share the final result with everyone.”
The studio has most recently worked on top advertising projects including Uber Eats’ latest Super Bowl campaign, “One Hit For Uber One,” starring P-Diddy; Cadillac’s “Colors of Emotions” campaign; and assorted spots and films with Anonymous Content’s “The Lab.”
