Michigan Tech graduate Ben Jaszczak and his business partner Brian Nelson are bringing the magic of Hollywood to the Keweenaw with their audiovisual production company Still North Media. Founded in 2013, Still North Media seeks to provide superlative sound quality to independent creators who may otherwise be unable to access professional sound design.
“We produced our first sound libraries through Kickstarter. We did one on firearms and one on medieval weapons. Our libraries are free for anyone to use,” Jaszczak said.
Jaszczak went on to explain the process by which Still North Media built their firearms sound library. “We started by making a list of every sound we could make with the firearms that were accessible to us. We wanted to record sounds other than just the firing of a gun. Guns make sounds during disassembly, cocking, and manipulation of hammers, among other things. We made an isolation booth in one of our houses and recorded every sound on our list.”
The sounds were then coded into a digital database and uploaded to Still North Media’s website, where they can be downloaded by anyone with an internet connection. Still North Media’s generosity in offering free sound libraries paid off when they were unexpectedly invited to design the sounds in a feature film expected to be released in 2018. Their sound effects have also been featured in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. (Warning: The clip below may not be suitable for children.)
“After we published our medieval weapons library, we were contacted by a producer in Rhode Island who was working on a feature fantasy film (called The Spine of Night), which has a medieval setting. We are now designing the sound for that film,” said Jaszczak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jTBbODYcZs
The Spine of Night uses a specialized animation technique known as rotoscoping, which involves tracing over live action footage frame by frame to enhance the realism of movement. This process is highly time-intensive and provides Jaszczak and his team of student interns with a wide window to produce the soundscape of the film. Student interns, Jaszczak said, are critical to the success of Still North Media.
This semester, Still North Media is working with sound design majors Tyler Quinn, Luke Johnson, and Taran Schatz. “We get to utilize the talents of our brilliant sound design students,” Jaszczak said, “while they get the opportunity to work on interesting projects while they’re still in school.”
In addition to supporting the budding careers of current sound design students at Michigan Tech, Still North Media also partners with student entrepreneurs to produce promotional materials that aid in the marketing process. Presently, Still North Media is producing a promotional video for Looma, a comprehensive health app designed by student entrepreneur Kyle Ludwig. Looma will be featured in The Michigan Tech Lode this November.
To learn more about Still North Media or to access their free sound libraries, visit https://www.stillnorthmedia.com/libraries/.
