Our focus during COVID-19 was to keep our tight-knit team together, healthy and safe despite the uncertainty in the film market. We continued to train our newly-hired Foley apprentice, Annie Taylor, and migrated our internship program into digital mentorship. Alchemy Post Sound innovated and adapted our cinematic Foley techniques into new and unconventional media, like music, narrative podcasts and fashion.
With the talent of our in-house Foley editors, we improved our flexible workflows and supported multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently. The team has refined its ability to deliver Foley completely ready and conformed for mix, thereby saving productions time and money in post production. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 and New York’s stay-at-home orders, we continue to integrate with editorial and mix teams seamlessly and provide the expert attention to detail and refined craft our clients have come to expect.
It is important for us to be leaders in the industry by cultivating new talent. A program we are considering implementing in 2021 is a grant to complement budgets for up-and-coming sound supervisors and re-recording mixers who have projects going to Sundance and other top festivals. The hope is to provide them support early on to help them build their careers, especially after such a tumultuous time.
APS expanded from 3,500 square feet to 4,500 square feet during 2020. As we outgrow our current facility, we will consider adding locations in areas where there are film tax incentives.
The film industry is resilient and we are optimistically gearing up for the next round of production in 2021. The past year was challenging for our industry, but we are equipped to manage adversity and can emerge stronger.
Andrea Bloome is the COO & studio manager at Alchemy Post Sound (www.alchemypostsound.com) in Peekskill, NY.