Soundelux is an American audio post production company based in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, a previous member of the

Todd Soundelux Todd Soundelux is an American creative entertainment services company. The company's main activity is to provide creative and technical post production sound and music services for motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks ...

group of sound companies. The Soundelux library and trademark was bought in 2014 by

Sounddogs Sounddogs.com, Inc. is a commercial online library of sound effects based in Marina Del Rey, California, with offices in Canada, Argentina, and Uruguay. It is the first and largest online sound effects and production music library on the internet ...

. In 2021, original founders

Lon Bender Lon Ethan Bender (born July 22, 1959) is an American supervising sound editor, business executive and inventor. Bender won the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing for his work on ''Braveheart'' (1995). He has been recognized for numero ...

and

Wylie Stateman Wylie Stateman (born November 20, 1957) is an American sound director, supervising sound editor, sound designer, and post production media entrepreneur. Stateman has supervised over 150 sound projects, resulting in 9 Academy Award nominations, 6 ...

came together to launch the new Soundelux, which restarted in sound editing production with episodes of HBO's

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

. The post production company provides audio services to clients working in feature films and television.

History

Lon Bender and Wylie Stateman founded Soundelux in 1982, focused on audio post production for the film industry. In 1991, they partnered with John Miceli, Tony Miceli, and David Kneupper to create the Soundelux Entertainment Group and expanded their business on the East Coast and into the growing special venue industry. In 1992, Scott Martin Gershin partnered with Bender and Stateman and Bender to create Soundelux Media Labs, which eventually became Soundelux Design Music Group (DMG), supplying sound design, voice over casting, and music composition to the interactive entertainment industry. Together, they continued developing additional business units. In November 1995, Jeffrey Edell, the business management partner for Bender, Stateman and Soundelux at accounting firm Duitch and Franklin LLP, joined Soundelux as CEO and helped consolidate 13 separate companies into one group, called Soundelux Entertainment Group. During Edell's tenure and until the sale of the company to John Malone's Liberty Media Group, the company grew to over $120M in revenue, with almost 500 employees at its peak. On June 9, 2000, Liberty Media Group acquired the post production and sound business of Soundelux Entertainment Group for $90M cash, a deal to replace one agreed to in July 1999 for stock then valued at $200M. The purchase excluded Soundelux Showorks & Soundelux Florida, the company's location-based entertainment and theater design businesses. These businesses were debt free at the close of the acquisition and positioned for long term growth in an emerging industry. Tony Miceli departed in 2000 to explore new opportunities. In 2001, John Miceli broke off of the remaining Soundlelux Media Group company and formed Technomedia to build on the immersive media experience business that was emerging. The remaining business unit continued under the direction of Jeff Edell, who assigned Phil Rafnson the direction of Soundelux Showorks, Soundelux Florida group until they filed for bankruptcy in 2002. The same year, Liberty Media Group rebranded itself as Ascent Media Group. The move was made to raise the company's profile in Hollywood. Soundelux was part of the Creative Services division, along with

Todd-AO Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area. Todd-AO ...

, Riot, Company 3, Method, Encore, Level 3 and POP. In October 2008, the Creative Sound Services group broke away from Ascent Media Group and the Discovery Holding Company to create CSS Studios LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications. The services of CSS Studios are marketed under the brand names Soundelux,

,Sound One, POP Sound, Modern Music, Soundelux Design Music Group, and The Hollywood Edge. CSS Studios maintain facilities in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. On September 19, 2012, Empire Investment Holdings announced it had acquired CSS Studios, LLC. In January 2013, CSS Studios announced it would rename the company as TODD-SOUNDELUX. On May 21, 2014, Todd-Soundelux Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. On November 17, 2014, the Todd-Soundelux Trademarks (Todd AO and Soundelux) and Copyrights (Sound Effects Library) were acquired in Federal Bankruptcy Court (Central District Case No. 2:14-bk-19980) by Rob Nokes of Sounddogs.com, Inc.

Relaunch

In 2021, original founders Bender and Stateman came together to relaunch the new Soundelux, which restarted in sound editing production with episodes of HBO's ''

''.

Overseas

Until 2010, Soundelux operated a facility in London. Much like its U.S.-based operations, Soundelux London had a sound design and editing facility. Eddy Joseph, the facility's leading creative force, has been nominated for multiple

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

and

MPSE Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) is an American professional society of motion picture sound editors founded in 1953. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound and music editors, show the arti ...

Awards. His work on the 2008

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''

Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy thriller film and the twenty-second in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Neal Purvis, Robe ...

'' earned him an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination. In 2009, Joseph was awarded Best UK Film Sound Editor/Designer at the UK Screen Sound Awards.

Notable staff

* Lon E. Bender * John Miceli *

Karen Baker Landers Karen Baker Landers is a two-time Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) ...

Tony Miceli Tony Miceli (born July 1, 1960) is an American jazz vibraphonist and educator. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey. He is on the faculty of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), University of the Arts, T ...

* Mark Stoeckinger * Dave McMoyler * Andrew DeCristofaro * Becky Sullivan * Tom Bellfort * Alan Rankin

Partial filmography

1990s

*''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...

'' (1990) *''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

'' (1991) *'' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992) *'' Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) *''

The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...

'' (1994) *''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American romantic crime action film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims ...

'' (1994) *''

The Pagemaster ''The Pagemaster'' is a 1994 American live-action/animated fantasy adventure film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Welker, Ed Begley Jr., and Mel Harris. The film was produced ...

'' (1994) *''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...

'' (1995) *''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

'' (1995) *'' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996) *''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' (1998) *''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'' (1998) *''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'' (1999) *''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'' (1999)

2010s

*''

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...

'' (2013)

Industry recognition

The audio professionals working out of Soundelux have earned hundreds of notable industry nominations and awards. Here are some highlights:

References

{{Reflist

External links

Soundelux Credits at IMDb

Soundelux

Soundelux at LinkedIn

Soundelux DMG archived website
Film sound production Recording studios in California 1982 establishments in California 2014 disestablishments in California