Rex Recker, ace mixer and Partner of NYC-based audioEngine, just teamed up with Backyard Director Aaron Stoller (now represented by Biscuit) via McKinney to mix two humorous spots promoting Travelocity's Top Secret Hotels campaign. The pair of :30s, which stars Travelocity's Roaming Gnome, harbors a distinct range of subtle tones.

Each spot uses colorful metaphors to highlight the ease of using Travelocity's new system to find discounted hotels as opposed to using the online bidding system that some of its competitors rely on. In Bubble Bath, the gnome relaxes in a foaming bathtub - symbolizing the carefree experience of using Travelocity- and is then shown fighting for his life in a tank of ferocious piranhas - a stressful experience not unlike battling legions of other users and anonymous hotels for the best available deal. Recker amplifies the on-screen narrative with pitch-perfect sound, flawlessly combining the Roaming Gnome's easygoing sighs with an uplifting harpsichord melody in the bath scene, and mixing screams, dialogue, and high-pitched thriller-movie music in the predatory fish section.

Knife Throwing follows the same pattern: The Roaming Gnome sighs while a masseuse kneads his back and screams in terror as he's strapped to a spinning wooden circle that is the target of an off-screen knife thrower. Recker mixed the satisfied sounds of relaxation with a twinkling melody for the massage section, and sounds of terror with a fast-paced, menacing beat in the knife-throwing realm.

Credits:

Client: Travelocity
Spot Title: Bubble Bath, Knife Throwing
Air Date: March 2010

Agency: McKinney
CCO: Jonathan Cude
CD: Philip Marchington
AD: Will Dean
Copy: Brian Murray
Producer: Rich Beck

Prod Co: Backyard Productions
Director(s): Aaron Stoller (now represented by Biscuit)
DP: Marten Tedin
EP(s): Eriks Krumins
Producer(s): Anton Maillie

Editorial Co: Cosmo Street
Editor: Aaron Langley
Producer: Heather Richardson

Post/Effects Co: Switch FX
VFX Artist: Jon Magel

Sound Design Co: Beacon Street Studios
Composer: Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau

Audio Post Co: audioEngine
Mixer: Rex Recker

Shoot Location: LA

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.

About McKinney:

McKinney is an independent advertising agency whose mission is to make extraordinary things happen by reinventing the conversation between people and brands. McKinney delivers through game-changing ideas, through leadership in the convergence of offline and online (88% of frontline staff are actively engaged in the digital space, which accounts for 35% of the agency's business) and through the relevant application of new technologies.

Founded in 1969, the Durham, NC-based agency's clients include Coldwell Banker, Abbott Nutrition's EAS, Gold's Gym, Nationwide Insurance, Newell Rubbermaid's Aprica, Nike, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Qwest Communications, Sherwin-Williams, Travelocity and Brown-Forman Corporation brands Bonterra, Chambord, Sonoma-Cutrer, Southern Comfort and Tuaca. For more information, visit http://mckinney.com or McKinney's blog at http://fivewords.mckinney.com.