Michael Maxwell, creative director/composer of Pink Noise, New York, says that of his latest commercial work, "Wires," for Canon directed by Nico Beyer of bicoastal Compass Films via DCA Advertising, New York, is his favorite. "[The spot] especially lent itself to that free-form music and sound that we find exciting," explains Maxwell, whose other recent spot credits include Oil of Olay’s "Hope," helmed by David Cameron of bicoastal/international The A+R Group, via Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.
"Free-form" does indeed characterize the Canon spot. The :30 features a roller-coaster ride inside the circuits that connect an office’s computers with a Canon copier. Playing in the background while traveling through the tunnels is a quick-paced piece of music set against an imaginative assortment of electronic sounds.
In creating the music for the spot, Maxwell teamed with composer David Scance, who freelances regularly for Pink Noise. Because "Wires" is a fantasy piece, Pink Noise’s preferred technique for scoring spots—free association of music and sound to the images—worked especially well for the job.
"A visual event will happen, and we feel completely free to address it with any sound or music, regardless of tradition," says Maxwell of Pink Noise’s scoring methodology. "As many [sounds] as we have time to try, we will."
Maxwell’s beliefs echo the name of his company. Pink noise, which is the sound produced when every frequency audible to the human ear is played at once, is the musical range Maxwell considers for use in spots. Another ad where Maxwell felt his free-association technique had worked particularly well is the recent "The Net Net," directed by Marcus Nispel of bicoastal RSA USA, for Bell South via Merkley Newman Harty, New York. The commercial portrays the Internet as a way of keeping in touch with people all over the world. As lead composer/sound designer, Maxwell decided to go with a musical score that had an international feel. "We tried to design a track that emphasized the [theme of] connection," he said.
After four years scoring spots at Pink Noise, Maxwell still considers himself "lucky" that he is able to earn his full livelihood as a musician. He began playing guitar, bass and piano in high school, then attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He graduated from college in ’82 with a double major in music and film.
After school, Maxwell worked as a freelance composer/live guitar player, but it wasn’t until ’90 that he mixed his first spots, as an engineer at Warehouse Recording Studio, New York. After a couple of years at Warehouse, Maxwell moved over to the now defunct editorial house Dennis Hayes & Associates as a sound designer/mixer. In ’93, Dennis Hayes turned his post facility’s in-house sound design division into a full fledged company, Pink Noise, with Maxwell at the helm as co-partner/senior sound designer. A few years after Pink Noise’s launch, Dennis Hayes retired, and the division became an independent company.
Team Pink
At Pink Noise, Maxwell works with a staff of two "designers," a term Maxwell uses in place of composers/sound designers. "We collaborate on everything as a team," he says.
Pink Noise’s chief engineer/ mixer/designer is Stephen Shirk, who came from recording studio The Hit Factory, New York, where he spent a year as an engineer. He works with designer Aaron Wolfe, who graduated with a B.A. in music last year from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Maxwell is currently looking for a third designer to replace Jesse Atlas, who recently departed to direct stage productions. In addition to Atlas, Pink Noise also recently lost Frank DiMinno, formerly executive producer at the shop. (DiMinno is now president/ executive producer at Wildvine Music, New York.) Instead of hiring a replacement for DiMinno, Maxwell says he and Shirk will take on additional executive producing responsibilities. Maxwell, who has known DiMinno since the staffer was in junior high school, commented that DiMinno left "on the best of terms."´
