If you don’t notice the background noise in a movie that’s a good thing, explains sound designer 26-year-old Jillian Kuchman.
How do you make the sound of a hallway, for instance? And what does a school assembly sound like?
These were just a few tasks the Irondequoit native had to tackle for her most recent project. She was hired by independent Hollywood filmmaker Jason Strouse to produce background sound for his movie “Teacher of the Year” that was filmed earlier this year.
Kuchman graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in 2004 and went on to earn her bachelors degree from RIT. She began studying film and animation major before getting “bit by the sound bug,” she explains.
She was introduced to the technical world of radio while working as an intern at WXXI, where she later hired for two years as a production assistant.
Then in July 2012 she decided to start her own business called TriUnity Sound, which operates out of the studio of Perinton-based video production company DeBergerac Productions.
“I really like making special effects and haven’t been able to before, because WXXI work was a different beast,” she said, of her new venture. “It was nice to go back into the creative side of doing audio work as opposed to technical work.”
That was before she came across an advertisement for the film design job on Craigslist.
Her “application” consisted of taping background audio for a sample scene. She was chosen for the job despite being thousands of miles away.
“Basically, the audio of the production would not be as rich and realistic to the audience without the expertise of Jillian,” wrote the film’s director Jason Strouse in a press release.
Set for release in 2013, the movie tells the story of Mitch Carter (Matt Letscher), who wins California’s Teacher of the Year Award. He must then decide whether to accept a different job that will take him away from the classroom forever.
It’s filmed like a mock-u-mentary that mixes comedy and drama. It will be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival.
She had just two weeks to finish the job, but Kuchman said was ready for the challenge.
“It was incredibly fun,” she said. “I’m the type of person who gets bored if I’m not doing something creative.”
To start, she went to her alma mater Bishop Kearney to record sounds such as hallway chatter, the ringing of a school bell and the shuffle of desks and chairs in a classroom.
If you don’t notice the background noise in a movie that’s a good thing, explains sound designer 26-year-old Jillian Kuchman.
How do you make the sound of a hallway, for instance? And what does a school assembly sound like?
These were just a few tasks the Irondequoit native had to tackle for her most recent project. She was hired by independent Hollywood filmmaker Jason Strouse to produce background sound for his movie “Teacher of the Year” that was filmed earlier this year.
Kuchman graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in 2004 and went on to earn her bachelors degree from RIT. She began studying film and animation major before getting “bit by the sound bug,” she explains.
She was introduced to the technical world of radio while working as an intern at WXXI, where she later hired for two years as a production assistant.
Then in July 2012 she decided to start her own business called TriUnity Sound, which operates out of the studio of Perinton-based video production company DeBergerac Productions.
“I really like making special effects and haven’t been able to before, because WXXI work was a different beast,” she said, of her new venture. “It was nice to go back into the creative side of doing audio work as opposed to technical work.”
That was before she came across an advertisement for the film design job on Craigslist.
Her “application” consisted of taping background audio for a sample scene. She was chosen for the job despite being thousands of miles away.
“Basically, the audio of the production would not be as rich and realistic to the audience without the expertise of Jillian,” wrote the film’s director Jason Strouse in a press release.
Set for release in 2013, the movie tells the story of Mitch Carter (Matt Letscher), who wins California’s Teacher of the Year Award. He must then decide whether to accept a different job that will take him away from the classroom forever.
It’s filmed like a mock-u-mentary that mixes comedy and drama. It will be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival.
She had just two weeks to finish the job, but Kuchman said was ready for the challenge.
“It was incredibly fun,” she said. “I’m the type of person who gets bored if I’m not doing something creative.”
To start, she went to her alma mater Bishop Kearney to record sounds such as hallway chatter, the ringing of a school bell and the shuffle of desks and chairs in a classroom.
She then brought a group of teens from Fairport High School into the studio. She recorded them chanting a phrase loudly in unison for a school assembly scene in which students mock their teacher’s anti-drug campaign after changing the words on a sign that reads “Fight Drugs Club” to “Fight and Drugs Club.”
After synching all of the audio to the raw film footage, Kuchman sent her work to California to be mixed and mastered for the movie.
Mike Champlin is the owner of DeBergerac Productions, which includes four film producers, directors and consultants. He said that adding Kuchman to their team has broadened their understanding of the way film uses different senses to reach an audience.
“She is really bringing to us video people a balance and appreciation for the oral arts,” he said. “She brings to us a whole appreciation of audio we just didn’t have before.”
