Music and sound house Q Department has launched a VR sound production studio, Mach 1 Studios. The new venture is already making its mark, having just completed a VR piece for TOMS shoes with filmmaker Chris Milk and producer Patrick Milling Smith of the VRSE studio.
For each pair of shoes it sells, TOMS is known for providing another pair to kids in need. This VR short takes TOMS customers on one of its giving trips during which company employees see first-hand what these donated shoes mean to children, their families and communities. This four-minute, 360-degree Virtual Giving Trip short chronicles one such sojourn to Peru.
Having identified technique and processes used in movie sound production to bring high fidelity sound inside VR environments, Mach 1 also worked on Catatonic, a VR film directed by Guy Shelmerdine of VRSE. Catatonic has been screened on the festival circuit, including at SXSW, Cannes and Comic-Con.
Q Department mainstay Drazen Bosnjak of Mach 1—who was composer/sound designer on Catatonic—related, “Everything is more complex and exciting in VR. The creative aspect is completely open and arguably unexplored. This was the most intense collaboration with a director so far. Guy [Shelmerdine] and I both fell deeply in love with VR and as such felt compelled to produce high quality content for this medium in order for it to get the attention it truly deserves. I felt like a scientist exploring a new territory.”
Bosnjak is also in production on Oculus Story Studio’s Dear Angelica, directed by Saschka Unseld as a follow-up to his VR film Lost. Q Department in association with Mach 1 is providing original music, binaural sound design and a full 360 degree VR mix. Dear Angelica—which shows viewers what it would be like from the POV of being inside an illustration—is part of a slate of shorts from Oculus Story Studio designed to showcase the filmmaking and storytelling prowess of VR.
Timeline Set For CAS Awards
The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) has set the date and timetable for the 52nd Annual CAS Awards. The CAS recognizes Outstanding Sound Mixing in film and television as well as Technical Achievement in production and postproduction. Honorary Awards will be announced later in the year.
Entry Submission Form become available online on the CAS website at www.cinemaaudiosociety.org on Monday, October 12, 2015
Entry submissions are due online by 11:59 pm PST. Friday, November 13, 2015
Nomination ballot voting begins online on Monday, December 21, 2015
Nomination ballot Voting ends online at 11:59 pm PST. Monday, January 04, 2016
Final nominees in each category are announced Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016
Final voting begins online on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 Final voting ends online by 11:59 pm PST,
Friday, February 12, 2016 The 52nd Annual CAS Awards will take place on Saturday, February 20, 2016, in Los Angeles.
Arcade Fire’s The Reflektor Tapes
Grammy Award-winning band Arcade Fire will release its first feature film, The Reflektor Tapes, coming to cinemas worldwide on September 24 to begin a limited run.
The Reflektor Tapes was directed by 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Short Films winner Kahlil Joseph, and produced by Pulse Films (20,000 Days on Earth, Shut Up And Play The Hits) and What Matters Most. The feature—at the crossroads of documentary, music, art and personal history—will be brought to screens by distributor Arts Alliance. The Reflektor Tapes delves into the making of Arcade Fire’s critically acclaimed, international #1 album Reflektor. The film charts the band’s creative journey as they lay foundations for the album in Jamaica, commence recording sessions in Montreal and play an impromptu gig at a Haitian hotel on the first night of Carnival, before bringing their live show to packed arenas in Los Angeles and London.
Audiences will relive stunning concerts from the Reflektor tour, re-envisioned in true cinema high definition and surround sound. With Arcade Fire granting previously unprecedented access to director Joseph, The Reflektor Tapes fluidly blends in never before seen personal footage, including interviews, documentation of the recording process and moments captured by the band itself.
In addition to showcasing music from Reflektor and other albums in Arcade Fire’s catalog, The Reflektor Tapes will give viewers a chance to hear an unreleased track for the first time.
Arcade Fire has also released an exclusive new music video for the track “Porno,” created by Joseph and featuring footage from The Reflektor Tapes.
