An audio post facility has launched in New York that combines award-winning talent in audio mixing and sound design with a pedigree of one of the industry’s top music and sound studios. The audio post house is Vinyl Mix, and it opens as a sister shop to Yessian, the international music and sound company that’s been a fixture of the advertising, entertainment, theme park and experiential markets for years.
Leading Vinyl Mix is managing director/EP Marlene Bartos, who continues in her role as head of the New York office of Yessian. Heading up creative is Weston Fonger, Sound Designer/Audio Post Mixer, who will continue to create sound design for Yessian’s music projects while guiding the mix projects at Vinyl Mix locations. Backing up Bartos and Fonger are sr. producer Emily Smith and audio mixer Jarrett Farkas.
“In the ever-changing climate of New York’s postproduction industry, there’s a need for a company that can provide clients with a creatively driven, high-end environment where all aspects of their project’s audio needs can be thoughtfully curated,” said Fonger about the Vinyl Mix launch.
The Vinyl Mix studios are housed within the Yessian offices in New York. Brian Yessian, partner and chief creative officer of the company, said the goal is to grow the Vinyl Mix brand to include outposts in Detroit, L.A. and Hamburg, Germany, where Yessian also has offices, and to pursue work that originates outside of Yessian, rather than have Vinyl Mix focus solely on internal projects.
“The presence of Vinyl Mix in New York space is part of our commitment to providing a 360-degree experience for clients,” he said. “I think it’ll help counter the perception that music houses can’t offer top-rate audio post services. Beyond that, our plan is to be totally agnostic in how we work; if an independent project comes in–and we welcome them–we won’t steer them to our music side. And for those clients that are working with us on music, we can offer audio post as part of an attractive, one-stop package.”
Fonger says there are creative motivations behind Vinyl Mix as well, coming from his perspective as a sound designer. “For a number of years I’ve been fortunate to judge the AICP Show’s Sound Design category, so I’ve seen many projects with otherwise brilliant sound design suffer from a bad mix,” he observed. “At Vinyl Mix, we’ll offer an integrated solution: sound design, with a thoughtful approach to detail, coupled with a great mix that highlights every sonic nuance.”
Vinyl Mix offers a full range of audio recording and post services, Fonger noted, including mobile and on-site recording solutions. Among the projects the studio has worked on since openings its doors are spots for Lincoln via Hudson Rouge, Oreo via The Martin Agency and Volvo via Townhouse. It’s also handled several projects for The Brooklyn Brothers, including mixing spots for Remy Martin and a series of ads and web shorts for Optimum.
In addition to its advertising credits, Vinyl Mix has worked on music videos and films for Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Coldplay via a collaboration with the director Jonas Åkerlund, as well as on short and feature-length films with acclaimed animator Bill Plympton and educational videos for TEDEd, the educational arm of the TED Conferences.
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More