Lime Studios Launches New Sound Design Division: LSD

Kidsleepy's note: Having worked with Rohan a bunch of times, not to mention all the cats at Lime, they are without a doubt some of the most talented people in the business. They are also known for their breakfasts which is a great way to set yourself apart from other studios, not to mention get clients to show up early. In light of the fact their new division is called LSD, perhaps they'll be adding something to their breakfasts from now on?

Lime Studios has launched its new sound design division, aptly named LSD (Lime Sound Design). Featuring the newly signed talents of Sound Designer Michael Anastasi and Lime Sound Designer/Mixer Rohan Young, the duo has already created sound design for national commercial campaigns.

“Having worked with Michael since his early days at Stimmung and then at Barking Owl, he was always putting out some of the best sound design work, a lot of which we were fortunate to be final mixing here at Lime,” says Executive Producer Susie Boyajan, who collaborates closely with Lime and LSD owner Bruce Horwitz and the other company partners Mixers Mark Meyuhas and Loren Silber. “Having Michael here provides us an opportunity to be involved earlier in the creative process, and provides our clients with a more streamlined experience for their audio needs. Rohan and Michael were often competing for some of the same work, and share a huge client base between them, so it made sense for Lime to expand and create a new division centering around them.”

Boyajan points out that “all of the Mixers at Lime have always enjoyed the sound design aspect of their jobs, and are really talented at it,” she says. “But having a new division with LSD that operates differently than our current, hourly sound design structure makes sense for the way the industry is continuing to change. We see it as a real advantage that we can offer clients both models. Michael and Rohan together bring numerous years of experience in the industry, and genuinely love collaborating with clients, and creating sound environments for the projects they work on. Their love of music and knowledge of how to create an amazing sound track for their spots, in addition to being so highly respected in the industry, makes them an invaluable asset for Lime.”

For Sound Designer/Mixer Rohan Young, having a dedicated division at Lime to sound design is ideal: “I have always considered myself a Sound Designer that mixes,” he notes. “Some of my personal favorite spots have been the ones on which I have done both. It’s a different experience to be involved early on and try various things that bring the spot to life. Sometimes it's better to split the work. Sometimes it’s just a preference. I’ve worked closely with Michael for a long time. It became more and more apparent to both of us that we should be working together. Starting LSD became a no-brainer. As fellow Sound Designers we can influence each other's work and bounce ideas between us. While we have similar aesthetics in our work, we each have our own individual style that we bring to the table. Our now-shared resources with the addition of a Foley stage and Location Audio Recordists only make things better for both of us and even more so for our clients.” https://limestudios.tv/rohan-young-sound-design/

Young explains that setting up LSD as its own sound design division, as opposed to bringing in Michael to sound design at Lime, allows clients to separate the mix from the sound design on their production if they choose. “In other words, clients can sound design with me, mix with anyone at Lime, or mix with me; sound design with Michael, mix with me, mix down the street, whatever,” he explains. “LSD now can provide clients with a full sound design experience. Michael was not only the clear choice for me, but the best we could possibly hope for.”

Sound Designer Michael Anastasi joins LSD from Barking Owl where he spent the last seven years creating sound design for some of the industry’s highest profile projects and building long-term creative collaborations with clients. Michael recalls his fortunate experiences recording sounds with John Fasal, and Foley sessions with John Roesch and Alyson Dee Moore as having taught him a great deal of his craft. “Foley is actually what got me to become a Sound Designer,” he enthuses. Projects that have turned out to be career highlights for Anastasi include the PSA on human trafficking entitled “Hide and Seek,” which garnered a prestigious AICP Award for Sound Design. Michael also provided sound design to the feature film “Casa De Mi Padre,” starring Will Ferrell and served as Sound Supervisor/Sound Design on the film. For Nike’s “Together” project featuring Lebron James, a 2-minute black-and-white piece, Michael traveled back to Lebron’s hometown of Cleveland to record 500+ extras. “It’s not every day,” he notes, ”that you get the chance to direct that many people and have them chant what you need them to!”

Anastasi also created sound design for the GE spot “The Boy Who Beeps,” directed by Lance Accord and edited by Kirk Baxter. “There was a ton of exploration on that project, and I even ended up using some of my 12-day-old twin daughters’ cries that I manipulated,” he explains. For Adidas “Basketball Needs Creators,” Michael included a great deal of sound design that “doesn’t exist in the real world,” he details. “The edit lends itself to a lot of stop, go, fast forward, and rewinding sounds. With this project, as with all of them, the first thing we do is come up with a game plan of what sort of sound treatment it will need. We go from there,” he explains. “Our main focus is working to record as many sounds as we use, whether it’s out in the field or in the Foley room. Trying to make each sound unique is very important.”

Lime is currently building new studios for LSD, featuring a team of sound recordists and a stand-alone Foley room. “I am just thrilled to be here with the Lime team and launching LSD as its own sound design division,” concludes Anastasi. “Collaborating with Bruce, Susie and Rohan on LSD is really the next big step in my career and I’m so grateful to be with like-minded creatives who have the same vision. I believe strongly in developing long-term relationships with clients, so that they can come to us with their projects early on in the creative process and we can partner with them on creating the best sound environment for their projects. That trust that clients put in us is so incredibly important.”

The LSD team is currently in the midst of a series of projects launching this spring, including commercial campaigns for Nike, Samsung, StubHub and Adobe.