Lime Studios has launched a sound design division, aptly named LSD (Lime Sound Design). The new venture features newly signed sound designer Michael Anastasi and Lime sound designer/mixer Rohan Young; this duo has already created sound design for national commercial campaigns.
“Having worked with Michael since his early days at Stimmung and then at Barking Owl, he was always putting out some of the best sound design work, a lot of which we were fortunate to be final mixing here at Lime,: said EP Susie Boyajan who collaborates closely with Lime and LSD owner Bruce Horwitz and the other company partners, mixers Mark Meyuhas and Loren Silber. “Having Michael here provides us an opportunity to be involved earlier in the creative process, and provides our clients with a more streamlined experience for their audio needs. Rohan and Michael were often competing for some of the same work, and share a huge client base between them, so it made sense for Lime to expand and create a new division centering around them.”
Boyajan pointed out that “all of the mixers at Lime have always enjoyed the sound design aspect of their jobs, and are really talented at it. But having a new division with LSD that operates differently than our current, hourly sound design structure makes sense for the way the industry is continuing to change. We see it as a real advantage that we can offer clients both models. Michael and Rohan together bring numerous years of experience in the industry, and genuinely love collaborating with clients, and creating sound environments for the projects they work on.”
For Young, having a division at Lime dedicated to sound design is ideal: “I have always considered myself a sound designer that mixes,” he noted. “Some of my personal favorite spots have been the ones on which I have done both. It’s a different experience to be involved early on and try various things that bring the spot to life. Sometimes it’s better to split the work. Sometimes it’s just a preference. I’ve worked closely with Michael for a long time. It became more and more apparent to both of us that we should be working together. Starting LSD became a no-brainer. As fellow sound designers we can influence each other’s work and bounce ideas between us. While we have similar aesthetics in our work, we each have our own individual style that we bring to the table. Our now-shared resources with the addition of a Foley stage and Location Audio Recordists only make things better for both of us and even more so for our clients.”
Young explains that setting up LSD as its own sound design division, as opposed to bringing in Anastasi to sound design at Lime, allows clients to separate the mix from the sound design on their production if they choose.
Anastasi joins LSD from Barking Owl where he spent the last seven years creating sound design for some high-profile projects and building long-term creative collaborations with clients. Anastasi recalls his fortunate experiences recording sounds with John Fasal, and Foley sessions with John Roesch and Alyson Dee Moore as having taught him a great deal of his craft. “Foley is actually what got me to become a sound designer,” he recalled. Projects that have turned out to be career highlights for Anastasi include the PSA on human trafficking entitled “Hide and Seek,” which garnered a prestigious AICP Award for Sound Design. He also provided sound design to the feature film Casa De Mi Padre, starring Will Ferrell and served as sound supervisor/sound design on the film. For Nike’s “Together” project featuring Lebron James, a two-minute black-and-white piece. Anastasi also created sound design for the GE spot “The Boy Who Beeps,” directed by Lance Acord and edited by Kirk Baxter.
Lime is currently building new studios for LSD, featuring a team of sound recordists and a stand-alone Foley room. The LSD team is currently in the midst of a series of projects launching this spring, including commercial campaigns for Nike, Samsung, StubHub and Adobe.
