HOT HOUSE: SonicPool

In the Heart of Hollywood

Michael Koegel

July 1, 2007    Source: Studio Monthly

Like most old friends, Patrick Bird and John Frost, co-founders of SonicPool, have a tendency to finish each other’s sentences. That might be because when they first started working together, they finished each other’s projects. Before they opened their own studio, they found themselves editing the same assignments at production facilities across LA. "We’re kind of twins," says Frost. "When we first started, we were working opposing shifts. [Patrick] worked days and I worked nights. So our work always continued on and we learned each other’s style. I’m yin and he’s yang."

What’s Their Gig?

It seemed only natural to partner up and open their own facility, which is what they did in 2001. SonicPool is a 20,000-square-foot, full-service audio and video production studio in the heart of Hollywood. Frost and Bird, both supervising sound mixers, are proud of the range and variety of their work. "When we started we just did sound," says Frost, "promos, spots, marketing materials, stuff like that." But in six years they’ve become one of the leading audio and video post facilities in LA. SonicPool has 12 offline and two online edit suites, as well as four audio suites, two of which are Dolby certified mix stages. "We’ll do six to nine films a year," adds Bird, "four-to-five TV shows, trailers, promos, commercials, radio, gaming [projects]— you name it."

The pair recently completed the sound design for the MTV News logo, as well as the awards packages for the MTV Movie Awards, The GLAAD Awards and The People’s Choice Awards. They also did all of the sound design on the promotional materials for the horror flick Captivity, including the film’s trailer, marketing, Internet and TV spots, plus behind-the-scenes and bonus material.

The Cool Factor

"Like our slogan says:‘We Love What We Do,’" says Bird. The atmosphere at SonicPool reflects that. With video games in the lobby, DirectTV in every room and a billiard table (their name is SonicPool, after all), the duo wants to make their environment as comfortable and relaxing as possible. "We work long hours," continues Bird. "We want it to be like home." Don’t be fooled, though, by the casual atmosphere. It’s not a frat party. Frost and Bird are deeply invested in their work. "We take our work very seriously," says Bird, "but try not to be too serious about it. Almost all our clients are friends of ours and new clients become friends. It’s great because I get to come to work everyday and work with friends. We both get a real bang out of adding our fingerprints to the creative process." When it comes right down to it, he adds, "we’re fighting for our friends, and the better they do, the better we do."

The Geek Factor

SonicPool recently opened an HD online suite, complete with a Sony SRW 5500, a true 4:4:4 resolution HD deck and Panasonic D5 HD decks. The suite seats eight clients, offers 5.1 surround and a 50-inch flat panel monitor for greater audio and video playback. SonicPool also rents out offline editorial suites and production office space and provides media duplication services.