POP Sound, part of the CSS Studios group of companies, provided post production sound services for Rebirth, a feature-length documentary chronicling the lives of five people whose lives were profoundly affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ten years in the making, the film, directed by Jim Whitaker, features interviews with individuals who were either injured or who lost loved ones in the attack on the World Trade Center. These interviews are intertwined with news footage and unprecedented time-lapse sequences of rebuilding at Ground Zero. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Mitch Dorf served as the film’s Re-Recording Mixer and prepared its soundtrack, which, along with the subject interviews, included an original score by Philip Glass. Dorf, who was involved in the project from its inception, noted that the recorded interviews not only span a decade, but were recorded under varied conditions. These disparate sounding recordings had to be made to sound uniform through the complete removal of external sounds.
“I wanted the audience to feel as though they are sitting in the room with the speaker,” Dorf adds. “So we eliminated everything but their voices and placed them in a quiet, consistent environment. The conversations are very emotional and compelling, and we didn’t want anything to distract from what was being said.”
The subjects of Rebirth, who were interviewed each year on the anniversary of the attacks, include a firefighter who survived the collapse of the Towers, but lost his best friend; a young woman who lost her fiancé; a high school student who lost his mother; and a survivor from an impact floor of the South Tower.
“The film was a labor of love for everyone involved,” says Dorf. “It was an honor to be involved.”
About POP Sound
POP Sound provides sound services to the advertising, feature film, television and gaming industries. Founded in 1994, the company features 11 mixing stages and one ADR/Foley stage, and offers such services as sound supervision, sound design, editorial, ADR, VO recording, Foley, re-recording mixing, ISDN, HD & SD audio laybacks. From commercials to commentaries, music videos to video games, restoration to documentaries, television to feature films, POP Sound helps its clients realize their creative visions. www.popsound.com
About CSS STUDIOS, LLC
Hollywood, California-based CSS Studios® is a wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 180 countries. CSS Studios provides creative services to major motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies and interactive producers. The services of CSS Studios are marketed under the brand names Todd-AO®, Sound One, Soundelux®, POP Sound®, Modern Music, Soundelux Design Music Group and The Hollywood Edge, with facilities in Los Angeles and New York. With more than 50 years of experience in providing creative sound services and technical solutions, the companies, collectively, have garnered more than 50 Academy Award nominations and won 26 Academy Awards®.
