Soho Sound, a New York-based audio affiliate of editorial house Progressive Image Group (PIG), New York, is splitting from PIG and will become Monster Post+Media. Glenn Laredo, president of Soho Sound and the soon-to-be Monster, expects the audio postproduction house to open by May 1.
While Laredo refers to PIG as "a sister company in the sense that we’re going to work together," the two will no longer be affiliated. Laredo, a 25-year industry veteran of the industry, said, "Monster will [provide] all of the finishing services: the audio, Editbox and graphics. We’re very anxious to get into multimedia as well—DVD, CDs, producing, Web sites. We’re going to have a full sound design room, and if all goes well, we will also be able to provide sound designers and composers."
Soho Sound mixed the :60s "Jackie Chan," "Phil Jackson" and "Geena Davis" for online discount brokerage firm TD Waterhouse via Emmerling Post Advertising, New York. The company’s credits also include Burger King’s "Superdude" for Uniworld Group, New York; GE’s "Big Game" and Campbell’s Soup spot "Hot Tomato" for BBDO New York; and promos for ESPN NCAA Women’s Basketball out of Wieden + Kennedy, New York.
Monster’s staff will consist of current Soho Sound staffers Rob Pezzolla, partner/manager/sales, partner/head of graphics Keith Kyak and sound designer/assistant engineer Rebecca Mason. Freelancers include sound designer Matt Roth and Kelly Clark, an Editbox operator.
In preparation for the expansion, all the equipment is being upgraded: Monster will have audio workstation Pro Tools 5, which boasts a digital picture, as well as Discreet Logic programs.
While Soho Sound concentrates on mixing and sound design, Laredo hopes that Monster will also compose for spots. "I’m speaking with some freelance composers, and we’re talking about how to best offer those services," Laredo said. "Again, we’re in the planning stages. I’m looking forward to having people with experience in composing live music as well as synthesizers here. I myself was a music producer many years ago [with the now defunct ad agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample], so I know about music producing. If we can get some composers, we can do a wide range of things in terms of audio and video post."
Laredo was an engineer at East Side Audio for 15 years. When he came to Soho Sound two years ago, the idea of a separate audio company was already in the works, he explained. "We [Laredo and PIG owner Tim Sherry] had spoken about this," though at the time, "Soho Sound was just a small room servicing PIG. I came over and grew it from a small room to a very busy booking facility, and now we’re expanding even further. We started out as a minimal situation, and we’re growing into a whole post house. I feel very good about that."
While Monster’s new Manhattan office is being wired, Soho Sound continues to go strong. "We’re busy every day. I enjoy painting stories with sound only," Laredo enthused. He also mixed Girl Go Boom directed by Mark Tiedemann of Celsius Films, New York. The two-minute film was screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
