1) What was the biggest creative challenge posed to you by a recent project? Tell us about the project, why the challenge was particularly noteworthy or gratifying to overcome, or what valuable lesson you learned from it. *

2) What work in 2017 are you most proud of and why? Or what work (advertising or entertainment)--your own or others--has struck a responsive chord with you this year and why? *

3) How has your role--or that of your business or company--evolved over the years? What do you like most about that evolution? What do you like least? *

4) What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2017 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of the year and beyond?

5) What’s your take on the potential of VR/AR in terms of business and creative opportunities? What have you done in the emerging fields of VR and/or AR? What’s been the biggest learning curve (nuances of spatial sound, etc.) in this arena?

Wendell Hanes
Owner, Creative Director
VOLITION

1) As a collective with all the spots we create music for, I find that the greatest challenge will always be creating music that makes your clients say WOW! And in order to do so, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone and take risks and learn new approaches and change formulas and fight the predictable. As music creators at VOLITION, we aim to ROCK THE CASBAH every time!

2) We reached our first 100 million view video this year when we edited the picture as well as created the music and sound design for director Benny Boom’s “No Frauds” video featuring Nikki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne. As a result, we also edited the picture and did the music for Billboard Top 10 artists Future and Yo Gotti. If you watch the “Rake It Up” Yo Gotti video, you can hear me narrating the introduction with an intentional nerdy voice. We also shot, edited and scored a mini-series for Tidal’s streaming service and were just renewed to shoot a new season!

3) I have gone from dialogue replacement and “sound guy” at Vito Desario Editing to lead composer at a music house to owning VOLITION, a full service music, licensing and strategy company. I love that we get called to create the music for some of the world’s biggest events such as the NBA Finals, Mayweather vs McGregor and the Super Bowl.

4) The landscape of music is huge! Songs are becoming the new underscore and in many cases what I call “The Overscore,” meaning that the song carries the spot with very little or no voiceover. At VOLITION, we are uniquely positioned to provide high prized songs as well as underscores since our composer roots are steeped in the record industry as Platinum and Gold producers. Our team has worked recently with major artists like Future, Nikki Minaj, 50 Cent, Beyonce and Yo Gotti. We can produce 30 and 60 second hits overnight when asked. It’s proven to be a great asset to have the flexibility and versatility as both music producers and music composers. Being able to switch hats on a dime has landed great wins.

5) I think the VR/AR landscape is fascinating. We recently provided the musical landscape for a traveling VR world. I found it to be amazing and full of new potential.

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