Vagabond picks up 2 Telly Awards

05/30/2008

Chicago-based Vagabond Audio has received two Bronze Tellys for Sound Design.

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards are the premier awards honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs; the finest film and video productions; and groundbreaking Web commercials, videos and films.

Vagabond Audio received Bronze for Commercial Sound Design for “Two Kinds of Cheese – Factory,” a 30-second commercial for Sargento Cheese from advertising agency Jacobson Rost. Vagabond was also awarded Bronze for Film & Video Sound Design for the feature film “Actually, Adieu My Love” from director Minji Kang.

Vagabond Audio's Head Engineer and Sound Designer Drew Weir says both projects gave him ample opportunity for creativity. For the Sargento commercial, Weir says the unique challenge was to create the audio environment of a cheese factory. “We went to the set, which is something we do a lot, and gathered sound from the mechanisms on set to create audio that contributed the realism of the spot,” says Weir. This approach to sound design is a Vagabond Audio hallmark.

With “Actually, Adieu My Love,” Weir says the stylized aesthetic of the feature gave him tremendous lee-way to create. “The film is an abstract piece with moments of intense sound design,” says Weir. “What really shines through Is how sound design can expand and enhandce a narrative, even for a smaller-budget feature. 'Actually, Adieu My Love' was really like candy for a sound designer, and the result is delicious.”

“The work we do here at Vagabond is reward enough in itself, but to be honored in this way is really the cherry on top,” says Vagabond Audio's Executive Producer Risé Sanders. “It's so great to have the opportunity to work at different lengths; one really crystallizes sound design in a short burst, and the other allows a large canvas for experimentation.”

Vagabond is celebrating its win by digging in to more work. Recent projects include:

• Voice-over recording of David Schwimmer for Hancock Tower with Antenna/Discovery
• JC Penney web work with Gante Films for Saatchi
• A.D.R. for the Sony Pictures feature “Zombie Strippers” starring Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson
• Planters Nuts “Manstincts”
• Radio spots for BroMenn Medical Centers with SRK
• Sound design and mix for director Kameishia Wooten's independent short “Southern Cross,” which screened in the American Pavilion at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival