Hollywood’s sound community gathered at the Glen Glenn Film Center over the weekend to celebrate their craft and recognize the Emmy®-nominated sound artists behind several of the year’s biggest TV shows. The first-ever edition of SoundDay LA featured sound editors and mixers from such hit shows as Stranger Things, Spider-Noir, The Pitt, Pluribus, Hacks, DTF St. Louis, Shrinking and Widow’s Bay. The daylong event was hosted by two-time Academy Award®-winning sound designer Mark Mangini, and featured live episodes of both the Tonebenders Podcast with host Timothy Muirhead, and INDEPTH Sound Design with creator Mike James Gallagher.
SoundDay LA sold out within days of being announced. Doors opened at noon to a long line of sound professionals, and Stage 1 was standing room only from the first panel to the last. Mangini took the stage to introduce a series of conversations and demos, including:
- Co-Supervising Sound Editor Matt Yocum breaking down the horrific voice design in Widow’s Bay, utilizing outboard gear rather than only plugins. Yocum also revealed that he made his own voice cameo as a clown in the series.
- Pro Tools session breakdowns as well as fun behind-the-scenes videos from the Spider-Noir sound team of Ethan Beigel, Andy Sisul, Ryan Collins, and Matthew Sanchez.
- A deep dive into both Hacks and DTF St. Louis with Re-Recording Mixer James Parnell, analyzing two chaotic scenes and the techniques the mixers used to maximize clarity.
- A definitive breakdown of the sound design of Vecna’s voice in Stranger Things from Co-Supervising Sound Editor Craig Henighan (The Odyssey), and Re-Recording Mixers Mark Paterson and Will Files.
“Each presentation was so well thought out,” said James Parnell, who is nominated for three Emmys® this season. “It would be awesome if this became an annual event.”
Indeed, Gallagher and Muirhead are already in the planning stages for next year’s iteration of SoundDay LA.
In addition to deep dives and panel discussions on television’s greatest soundscapes, the afternoon also provided a crucial networking opportunity for audio professionals. Over 260 community members attended, some traveling from as far as San Diego, Mexico, Chicago, New Mexico, and Toronto.
“At one point I walked into the hallway outside the theater and it was teeming with people, and I couldn’t believe this started as an idea Tim and I had just a few months earlier,” says Gallagher. “I’ve spent my whole career going to events like this one. Getting to create one from scratch is a dream come true.”
“Our goal for SoundDay LA was to make the sound teams the stars of the event and let their creativity and ingenuity shine brightly,” says Muirhead. “The sound community doesn’t always get the full focus of the spotlight, and SoundDay LA aims to change that.”
The Glen Glenn Film Center in the heart of Hollywood proved the perfect home for the gathering, its Stage 1 having served as the industry standard for decades. Both iconic classics (E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Gladiator) and newer smash-hits (Stranger Things, Alien: Romulus) have been mixed at Stage 1. With full Dolby Atmos certification, a 46-foot screen, and state-of-the-art digital projection, each project featured at SoundDay LA was showcased with the power, precision, and impact of a premier theatrical sound environment, trusted by industry professionals and acclaimed productions alike.
Those who could not attend are encouraged to stay tuned for additional video and podcast content from SoundDay LA, releasing in the weeks ahead on Tonebenders Podcast and INDEPTH Sound Design’s respective platforms. Follow @tonebenders and @indepthsounddesign on Instagram for news on the next SoundDay LA.
SoundDay LA is proudly sponsored by Remoto Playback, Sound Ideas and Advanced Systems Group, with additional support from Impact24 PR. Prize giveaways ran throughout the day, provided by The Cargo Cult, Pro Sound Effects, Sony Electronics, Soundminer, HAL Audio and Chris Treviño O-Mini Microphones.
About Timothy Muirhead & Tonebenders Podcast
Timothy Muirhead, MPSE is an award winning Supervising Sound Editor and podcaster. Although he is based in Canada, his work has been heard all around the world in internationally popular shows. Specializing in sound for animation has led him to doing sound design for over 750 episodes of animated series, including 13+ seasons of the worldwide hit, PAW Patrol. Beyond animation, Timothy has also mixed over 225 hour long documentary network specials. He has won 8 Canadian Screen Awards (Canada’s equivalent of the Emmys®), while being nominated for several more.
In addition to his work as a sound editor, Timothy also hosts the popular Tonebenders Sound Design Podcast. Now in its 14th year since launch, Tonebenders has built up a large international listenership by spotlighting the sonic artists behind your favourite films, games and series, including Randy Thom, Gary Rydstrom, and Skip Lievsay.
You can find Tonebenders wherever you listen to podcasts or at www.tonebenderspodcast.com.
About Mike James Gallagher & INDEPTH Sound Design
Mike James Gallagher, MPSE, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is an Emmy®-nominated sound designer and the creator of the education platform INDEPTH Sound Design. Recognized as one of Variety’s 10 Artisans to Watch, he is a three-time MPSE Golden Reel nominee for his work on Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, and Lucy and Desi, which also earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sound Editing.
Through INDEPTH Sound Design, Gallagher has built one of the leading platforms for teaching and celebrating the art of sound, reaching over 150,000 followers worldwide. An offshoot of this platform, INDEPTH Live! is a growing series of live events featuring in-depth presentations and conversations with leading sound artists including Mark Mangini, Matt Yocum, Will Files, and Randy Thom.
Gallagher also brings his sound practice to large-scale immersive experiences. He is the sound designer for the 18,000-seat Intuit Dome, home of the LA Clippers, where he creates custom sonic experiences for the Halo Board, one of the world’s largest indoor arena screens.
He is the Co-Creative Director of The Asylum, an immersive installation that recreates AI music pioneer David Cope’s studio, a space filled with more than 200 wind chimes. Developed with filmmaker Jae Shim, the work combines multi-screen projection, surround sound, and physical chimes to create a meditative audiovisual environment. From this project Gallagher also produced Wind Chimes from The Asylum, a commercial sound effects library published by Pro Sound Effects, making the recordings available to creators worldwide.
