DUAL: ONLINE RELEASE

WARNING: Violence, gore, NSFW…

“Dual” is a short film horror film by Justin Staggs. I provided sound edit, Foley and mix at Junior Birdman Audio.

After a successful festival run (nominated for Best Director, Best SFX and Best Short Film at the HorrorHound Film Festival, and Best Short Film Music at the Filmquest Film Festival) “Dual” is now available online, having received over a million views on the horror channel Alter. You can view it below:

In the film, a child psychologist attempts to reach a troubled little boy with some very powerful “imaginary friends.” Mayhem ensues.

In the future I’ll delve into some of the more notable sonic moments. But for now, enjoy the film!

More sound edit and mix by Mike Hallenbeck for film

EARL CASSORLA, 1956 - 2019

I wanted to take a moment to honor the passing of Earl Cassorla, co-proprietor (with his brother Steven) of Battle Mountain, NV’s Roller Coaster Fireworks and subject of the short documentary “Boomtown”, which I had the pleasure of working on a while back.

I got to meet Earl when the film screened at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Film Festival in 2017. It’s always great to meet people in person after staring at them on my computer screen during weeks of postproduction work— especially documentary subjects— and Earl turned out to be the same softspoken, endearing presence I’d expected.

I’m happy that the film is here to commemorate Earl and Steven’s obsession and dedication. Below I’m posting the completed short, for which I provided sound edit, mix, and a couple of original musical compositions. Rest in peace, Earl.

CLOTH FOLEY: SWEATER FLAM

Some fabric Foley. After messing around with a blanket for a while, I started to use my everyday studio sweater— I keep a sweater at the studio so I can show up in a short sleeved shirt every day and have something to put on if I get cold, which happens from time to time here in Minnesota.

This is an attempt to harness cloth impact as a flam— and a successful attempt, I might add, because everything I do is successful. I’ll probably wind up slowing this down to achieve the relaxed, more plush friction I’m going for with this particular cue.

I placed the pillow (the impacted surface, in this case) on top of a piece of plywood in case there was some bonus woodiness to be gleaned (s befits the scene). There was not, other than the bonus points I unquestionably earned for effort.