707, 2024
Get to know our ADR Mixer Eric Schwartz!
How did you initially become interested in ADR and VO recording?
I have always had a fascination with recording voices. My experience with recording vocalists for music translated over well to some of the projects I worked on in film school that I recorded ADR/VO for. During my internship at The Dub Stage, I got to shadow ADR sessions and I really got interested not only in the technical aspects of ADR, but the psychological aspects as well. For VO, I was kind of thrown into the fire with it and realized I loved doing it while in said fire!
What qualities do you think make a good ADR engineer?
I believe being an empathetic communicator above all things is the most important quality for an ADR engineer. Post-production can get very stressful at times and I think being a calm, collected, and positive person will bring the best out in your talent/clients. I think there’s a fairly well known stereotype of sound guys being grumpy and I really try to be the opposite of that. I will always be happy to see you! Also, being flexible when changes come up during a session is not only important, but mandatory. I think that sentiment is shared across the industry as well.
What do you enjoy the most about recording with actors?
They are such an incredibly diverse group of people. Every actor/actress has their own unique way of going about ADR/VO and it makes every session I run unique as well. It’s a very fun challenge for me to learn what each of their preferences are while they record. I’ve been lucky to work with so many different perspectives.
What qualities have you seen in different directors while recording, and how do you go about working with various types of creative leaders on projects?
Much like actors, directors are all unique in their own way as well. My job is to figure out what they are looking for out of a session which can vary depending on the project. I try to feel out what those expectations are before we meet up for the session. I think the best directors I’ve worked with have had a very solid game plan going into the session rather than a “work it out in the session” approach. Obviously changes will happen from time to time, but being prepared is an important quality for directors in the ADR world.
What makes recording dialogue for games unique, compared to dialogue for films or TV?
The pace. Games can have much more dialogue material to work through than a film, so the recording process can be like engineering olympics. When we worked on Jedi Survivor and Octopath Traveler 2, we would crank out 100+ lines per hour (if needed). It was a boot camp for my upper extremities!
What is the workflow like between you and supervising sound editors and re-recording mixers at Transported Audio?
I try to get in contact with the mixers before I start on anything- whether that be ADR, VO, Foley, Editing etc. I work hard to make sure everything I’m sending off to them is done to make their lives easier. I have some freedom to mess around with or change things if it’s needed, but I like to give that freedom to the mixer/supervisor since they can do much more with it.
What do you think makes the Transported Audio team unique within the post production industry?
We’re a pretty tight-knit group of sound people. Even people who have moved on to other jobs stay in contact with us. Generally speaking, in a hyper competitive industry it’s nice to find a place like this. I think that translates into our work well as we all know each other’s unique preferences/idiosyncrasies, so it becomes easier and more pleasant to work with each other. I also see our team constantly tinkering with workflows and ideas in the pursuit of sounding as good as we can. While we have established expectations for each other, we aren’t 100% bound to our workflows and are flexible when we need to be.
What are some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on so far, and why?
For games, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was such an incredible experience for many reasons. It was one of the first projects I worked on for Transported Audio. I can’t say enough nice things about all of the incredible voice actors/directors/writers I got to work with during that whole recording process. They kept it fun and light, even when things got pretty stressful at points. The finished game looks and sounds absolutely incredible.
For film, I recently just recorded and edited foley for a film called Color Book that just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. I thought the production was incredibly well done and detail oriented. The story will tug at your heart, make you cry, and might even challenge some pre-existing notions you may have. I think I cried at least 5 times working on it haha! Beautiful film.
Has there been anything that has surprised you the most about being an ADR engineer that you weren’t expecting coming into this line of work?
I was surprised at how much of my previous customer service skills I would be putting to use. In a way, my job is 30% recording and 70% people skills. Definitely didn’t expect that coming out of school. I actually recommend students who want to get into this pick up a part time job that’s customer facing (cashier, serving etc.) while in school. It’s an invaluable skill set in this industry. And specifically with game VO engineering, I had no idea they ran sessions as quickly as they do. I broke a decent sweat on my first few sessions!
What excites you the most about coming to work each day?
Simply that I get to work a job in a creative field. 4 years ago I was delivering burritos to people during Covid lockdowns and couldn’t have imagined I would be where I am today. Now I deliver ADR/VO sessions to clients and couldn’t be happier with the switch! It’s nice to actually enjoy what you’re doing!
2311, 2023
Introducing Transported Music Group
Have you heard about our quickly expanding music offerings? If not, here’s the latest.
Thanks to the tremendous growth of TA’s music work over the past year, Transported Audio has now spun off its music division to become Transported Music Group, which is being run by myself and my partner, Daniel Berk. Within TMG, we have two main offerings:
Library Music – Our own music library, Transported Tracks, has been a resounding success already with three of our cues being licensed in AAA game trailers. Our library has over 400 tracks and 60 exceptional composers writing for it. At the moment, our library is geared towards Game Trailers, Sports Promos and Advertising. Here’s a sampling of tracks from our Transported Tracks library. You can also browse the entire library here.
Custom Music – This is original, custom, composed music from our team of composers as well as Daniel. Among our credits, we wrote and composed all of the music for NFL 360: The Indelible Legacy of Jimmy Raye, which won a Sports Emmy this year!
We’ve been fortunate to get some press coverage about Transported Music Group as well:
Let us know how we can support you on your future projects! We’re here to support you however we can.
Sincerely,
Eric
1811, 2022
VoyageLA interview with our CEO!
Our CEO Eric Marks was recently interviewed by VoyageLA about his career and how Transported Audio came to be. Enjoy!
1609, 2022
The Importance of Timecode
Deity Microphones came by our Zion mix stage to chat with us about the value of timecode in post production. We hope you enjoy this interview!
Skip ahead to 05:41 into the Youtube link for the fun stuff :-)
2812, 2021
TA 2021 Year in Review
2021 has been a tremendous year of opportunities and growth for our Transported Audio team. Instead of listing every project and accomplishment, here are a few highlights:
- Augustus was a 2021 Academy Award Qualifying Short Film
- Wild Indian premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival
- Anchor Point won the award for Best Documentary at Cinequest
- Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
- The Me You Can’t See released on Apple TV+
- For Rosa and The Last Cruise released on HBO Max
- Cupid for Christmas released on Hulu
- Rock the Block and Tiny Food Fight released on Discovery+
- The Housewives of the North Pole released on Peacock
- Behind the Scenes videos for The Boys, Panic, Making the Cut, Hannah and The Wheel of Time released on Amazon Prime Video
- Our team was interviewed at the 2021 Fall USC Career Fair
- Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road has been shortlisted for a 2022 Academy Award nomination
We also fully moved into our new studio in Burbank, and all of our rooms are fully operational! Our new dedicated ADR Stage, Paper Street, is now SAG approved.
Every single one of our successes this year is a tribute to the trust and creativity you have brought to our studio. We always aim to be your storytelling partners at every turn, no matter how crazy the circumstances might be for finishing your project. Nothing makes us happier than to see these projects flourish.
Thank you for making this such a special year for all of us. Our entire TA team wishes you the Happiest of Holidays and a great year ahead!
Sincerely,
Eric Marks
2212, 2020
MPSE Content for your Viewing Pleasure
Hey everyone,
It’s been a long, crazy year. So crazy, in fact, that it looks like this is our first post of 2020 (in late December)!
Instead of a Year in Review, I instead posted a “thank you” video of sorts to our social media channels.
In addition to that, here is some MPSE content that I put together over the course of this year. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have a platform to interview some of the most creative, exceptional sound people in the sound community. I hope you’ll find these insightful and informative.
Riding the Waves of Commercials
The Sound of Aaron Hernandez’s Mind
Mr. Robot – Sound Advice event
Better Call Saul – Sound Advice event
Happy Holidays from the entire TA team!! We hope you and your family stay safe and healthy in these unprecedented times.
Sincerely,
Eric Marks