audioEngine Mixes Feature Film Set To Debut At Phoenix Film Fest

Continuing a growing partnership with True Story Films and Copper Post, audioEngine recently completed full audio post on Director Roze's latest indie feature Deadfall Trail, further cementing their status as the go-to source for mixing, composition and sound design in Phoenix. In a collaboration between the Phoenix and New York studios, audioEngine's ace team handled every sound element of the audio post process, with audioEngine West's Bob Giammarco mixing the project, Jason Camiolo composing the original score, and Adam Murray handling sound design, as well as Kelly Harnett from audioEngine East. The film, which Roze screened at the Cannes International Film Market, will have its World Premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival in April.

Deadfall Trail is an unrelenting thriller that tells the story of three men who take to the Arizona wilderness for a three-week trip. The film - set in the Kaibab National Forest, a stunning, pine-filled landscape beautifully captured on a RED camera - at first portrays a serene and idyllic mountain environment that is the perfect setting for three friends on a spiritual journey. Drug mishaps and Disaster soon strike, however, forcing the men to battle nature and their own morality in a quest for survival.

Jason Camiolo - who had previously worked extensively with both True Story Films and Copper Post on commercials - created an original score that perfectly complements the film's action, drama and storyline. The nearly hour's worth of original music is laid out to synch with the tone and mood of the events transpiring onscreen. In the opening scenes, when the crew is charging into the woods, Camiolo composed an organic score to capture the rustic and rugged, adventuresome outdoor experience, a soundtrack punctuated with fiddle, banjo and acoustic guitar (with help from noted musician John DeFaria). When the film takes a more unpleasant turn, Camiolo adjusts by ratcheting up the music's intensity, introducing ethereal samplers and synthesizers. He also composed the music on one of the film's trailers, which features a combination of the film's opening cues and a back-half percussion sequence.

Camiolo also composed signature sounds to highlight and enhance the characters' personalities or particular circumstances and to create a targeted mood in the film's viewers. For example, a specific ambient sound amplifies one character's anger toward another whenever a dispute over survival skills and other issues flares up. An atonal sound - a steel drum stick striking an electric guitar - hovers over each scene in which one of the main characters feels intense pain, subliminally keeping viewers on edge.

"Roze was incredibly easy to work with," said Camiolo. "From the outset, I had a ton of creative control. We had a natural synergy and our creative visions meshed perfectly. The film required distinct and evolving sounds to match the wild swings of the story arc, and the process of developing and approving the music was almost seamless."

The New York-based team worked closely with Roze to perfect the film's sound design, a process that also displayed the seamless working relationship between audioEngine's east and west offices. "Working on Deadfall Trail was a wonderful collaborative experience," stated Harnett. "We were in constant communication with Phoenix, bouncing ideas off of one another to create a complementary soundtrack. I approached the sound design by first watching the film without any production audio, which provided a silence that allowed me to concentrate on the film's beautiful cinematography and the stunning Arizona landscape for my initial sound ideas. I immediately heard a soundscape in my head, driven by the nuances of ambient beds layered with unexpected, yet nature-driven, sounds."

"Working specifically on two of the most intense scenes of Deadfall Trail was a real treat," continued Murray, referring in particular to one of the scenes in which the characters experiment with peyote. "Roze wanted the scenes to portray a certain vibe and I feel that we really delivered on creating an atmosphere and mood that engaged the viewer while perfectly complementing the onscreen action. The sheer complexity of emotions present during those scenes is amazing!"

Earlier this year, audioEngine teamed up with True Story Films to do audio post for Blood Into Wine, a lighthearted, comprehensive documentary of Legendary Tool front man Maynard James Keenan's Arizona winery. "True Story is the premier production company in Phoenix, so we're extremely happy to have an ongoing relationship with them," noted Giammarco, who is also a partner at audioEngine. "Blood Into Wine has been extremely well received, and we anticipate the same level of enthusiasm for Deadfall Trail. The relationship between audioEngine and True Story Films has been mutually beneficial and we look forward to future collaborations."

After showing at Phoenix, Deadfall Trail will move on to several yet-to-be-determined international film festivals.

Credits:

Film: Dead Fall Trail
Premiere: April 9, 2010

Prod Co: True Story Films
Director: Roze
EP(s): Robert Guthrie, Mischa Oehlen
Producer(s): Cary Truelick, Robert Beadle, Roze
Unit Production Manager: Diana Stevenson
Line Producer: Gay Gilbert

Written by: Roze, Josh Staman, Candace Rose

Audio Post Co: audioEngine
Mixer: Bob Giammarco
Composer: Jason Camiolo
Sound Designer(s): Adam Murray, Kelly Harnett

About audioEngine:

Since opening its flagship facility in New York City in 2001, followed by audioEngine West in Phoenix in 2004, audioEngine has earned its reputation as a leader in the audio postproduction market. The magic formula for this success - the ability to deliver a full range of superlative creative services to the advertising, broadcast, and film industries. Featuring eight show place mixing rooms, and an all-star roster of award-winning mixers, sound designers, and composers, audioEngine prides itself on delivering topnotch creative audio in a relaxed and efficient client-centric atmosphere. The flagship facility at 817 Broadway in New York City spans two floors totaling a generous 12,000 square feet of studio space and six studios. Capabilities include mixing for all Dolby formats, complete radio production, custom music, and sound design. audioEngine is led by partners Bob Giammarco, Tom Goldblatt, Rex Recker, and Brian Wick. The roster of mixer/sound designers features Rob DiFondi, Kelly Harnett, Carl Mandelbaum, Hillary Kew Martell, Eric Hoffman, Weston Fonger and composer Jason Camiolo.