Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/47583
AUDIO for Commercials our soda,' but that doesn't work anymore in today's world to do that kind of stuff, cer- tainly not at the level of McDonald's. More and more advertisers are looking for ways to entertain people, make them laugh, or make them feel like they are at the movies, and this spot definitely does that." NANOBLOCK'S ANTHEM The blocks featured in Nanoblock's An- Grace & Wild created the sound of blocks being assembled for . roch, made the right call in their approach to this spot.They could have done the generic, 'Here is the information you need to go buy them, a 49-second Internet spot highlighting the building toy, are about the size of a thumbnail. Spencer Hall, sound designer and audio engineer at Grace & Wild (www.gracewild.com), in Farmington Hills, MI, worked with ad agency Team Detroit to create a soundtrack that makes a huge statement for these tiny blocks. One challenge Hall faced was to create a rapid, multiple building sound that was able to cut through the energetic music track. Since the blocks are so small, he had to bal- ance between creating a sound that was big enough to standout, but small enough to fit the picture. "I've tackled multiple building things in the past but nothing with a music track like this one, or with a block that's this tiny. So I raided my daughter's toy box and found a whole series of these wood animals. One was a lizard with a spine made of trian- gular wooden bumps which I ran a drum- stick over to create this rivet sound. I'd layer continued on page 46 Beethoven meets hip-hop HICAGO — Newly-launched Sonixphere (www.sonix- phere.com) harnessed the talent of Beethoven and the rhythm of hip-hop to create a music track for a 30-second spot for GameStop through the Dallas-based agency, Richards Group. Teasing the release of the new Madden NFL 12 videogame, the project came with a unique musical challenge, according to Greg Allan, CEO/creative director of Sonixphere — taking Beethoven's Fifth, and transforming it to into an urban, hip track. "Before we write music for any project,we first consider where it is going to live to make sure the sound shines on what- ever platforms it appears on," says Allan."This spot was slated for airing on national TV, in store and online,so we were aiming for a unique hybrid sound that was equal parts classical and hip- hop, and a dash of pop." Creation of the track began with a pre score.Then picture was pulled and edited to the track. Sonixphere's music track opens with an ominous tone then shifts into a driving and mem- orable arrangement of Beethoven's Fifth as the game begins. String orchestrations glide over an in-the-pocket hip hop beat; CGI players run, catch and tumble in rhythm to the track. The track was sequenced and mixed in Pro Tools|HD by Sonixphere's Gary Guzman using a Yamaha console and Genelec speakers.. Offline edit and game capture was done by Rooster Teeth Productions. Editorial finish was by Mark Sullivan; and final mix was by Matt Cimino of 3008, Dallas. 40 Post • September 2011 www.postmagazine.com C Anthem