François Bergeron (born 1964) is a Canadian

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

er and co-founder of

Thinkwell Group Thinkwell Group is an experience design and production agency that was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. It specializes in the creation and master planning of theme parks, destination resorts, major branded and intelle ...

and was the former

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

for

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

for more than twenty years.

Early life

Bergeron was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1964 and has completed his education from Séminaire de St-Hyacinthe (today Collège Antoine-Girouard). In 1989, he left the Quebec theatre world and joined Cirque du Soleil.

Career

Awarded “Sound Designer of the Year” by

Entertainment Design ''Live Design'' is a monthly digital trade magazine, owned by Questex, that covers the latest projects and gear in live entertainment, including theatre, film, concerts, opera, ballet, architainment, and more. Columbia College Chicago's Theatre ...

magazine in 1996, Bergeron has been part of multiple award-winning projects with Cirque du Soleil,

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, and

. He has designed sound for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and notable shows like

Bad Hair Day (film) ''Bad Hair Day'' is a Disney Channel Original Movie which premiered on February 13, 2015, starring Laura Marano and Leigh-Allyn Baker. The story centers on 16-year-old Monica Reeves, who is running for Prom Queen at her high school. One day, she ...

and

La Nouba ''La Nouba'' was a Cirque du Soleil show that ran for 19 years in a custom-built, freestanding theater at Disney Springs' West Side at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was a contemporary circus performance featurin ...

Cirque du Soleil

Prior to and since the founding of Thinkwell, Bergeron had been working for Cirque du Soleil for 20+ years, serving as Sound Designer for various productions. He continued to assist the company in creating new aural experiences for Cirque's productions around the Globe for years following. His experience across numerous award-winning productions included "O" (Las Vegas) (3), "Zed" (Tokyo)(4), "La Nouba" (Orlando), Varekai (Touring)(5) and many others.

Thinkwell Group

Bergeron co-founded

in 2001 and continues to lead the company as

Chief Operations Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

and

Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

alongside Joe Zenas, chief executive officer, and Craig Hanna, Chief Creative Officer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeron, Francois 1964 births Living people Canadian sound designers