Leo Burnett Pairs Secret with Secret Frequency

Feb. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Chicago – Leo Burnett wanted a cool sound design treatment for their new Secret television commercial featuring the hot ice dancing American pair, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, so they turned to Secret Frequency.  Lionel Coleman directed the spot for Leo Burnett and the footage was shot MOS—without sound.  The spot shows the pair executing numerous routine related moves, many of which, were shot in slow motion.  As with world class skating, the sound design for this project required discipline and taste.  “Creating the 5.1 sound design and final mix required a fine balance between sound design and music.  Due to the fullness of the music track, the 5.1 sound design content had to be exaggerated sonically so it could be audible underneath the highly orchestrated music track”, says sound designer and mixer, Jeff Van Steen.

To achieve the sonic exaggeration necessary for the 5.1 sound design, Secret Frequency employed several processes including pitch shifting, sound layering and surround mix panning to achieve the proper sound design and music integration.  The sound design for the slow motion scenes also required careful audio manipulation in order to ensure that the slow motion shots were appropriately complemented.  The end result was a homogenous interplay between sound design and music.

The commercial will be airing during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  Secret Frequency is very proud to have been a part of this project.

Credits:
Production Company:  Synthetic Pictures
Director:  Lionel Coleman
Editorial:  Cutters/ Christopher Gotschall
Transfer:  FWC/ Fred Keller
Music:  Amber Music
Executive Creative Director:  Becky Swanson
Creative Director:  Clay Black
Art Director:  Isaac Pagan
Senior Producer:  Bonnie Van Steen
Sound • Design:  Secret Frequency

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Secret Frequency was founded in 1994 by Jeff Van Steen. We specialize in the integration of sound design and original music--sound • music • design—and our canvas has expanded from creative stereo to creative 5.1 surround sound.