Sound has the power to transform a story – setting the tone, heightening emotions, and drawing audiences into the moment. At Bridgenext, one of the creative minds behind our incredible soundscapes is Ted Marcus, our Senior Sound Mixer & Sound Designer. From playing drums in rock bands to mixing for some of the biggest productions in entertainment (including Game of Thrones and Super Bowl LVIII), Ted’s career has been a rhythm-driven journey of passion, precision, and innovation. In this edition of ‘Meet the Team’, we dive into his world of audio magic, creative inspirations, and the tools that keep him at the top of his game.
Bridgenext Team Stats:
- Name: Ted Marcus
- State: New York City
- Team Role: Sr. Sound Mixer / Sound Designer
- Favorite go-to snack/drink to keep your creative juices flowing: Trail Mix, Yogurt and Coffee. Breakfast of champions!
- How did you enter the field of video production or post-production? Share your career journey: I was always playing in bands and working with audio equipment. People kept asking me to help them set things up to make them sound better and I realized that I had a knack for the gear. I found an entry level position in 1992 at National Video Center/Recording Studios in Manhattan. It was the largest Post-Production facility on the East Coast. I apprenticed in the audio department and worked my way up from assistant to night engineer and then graduated onward to full engineer.
- Sum up your work style in three emojis: 🎤🤔💡
- What do you love most about working with your team at Bridgenext? It’s a fast thinking, sharp group of folks. There’s always someone available to bounce an idea off of or ask about workflow process. Everyone is available creatively and technically.
- What’s your favorite tool that you rely on daily? The meters! You can trust your ears, but the meters can tell you all kinds of things that are going on in your mix.
- What fuels your creative fire? (Besides caffeine and money, of course!) I’ve been playing drums for about 50 years and don’t really ever see an end to that. There’s rhythm in everything we do as editors and designers.
- What’s your biggest career achievement? There are three things that immediately come to mind. Having my picture in Rolling Stone Magazine when I joined the Meat Puppets as their new drummer. Helping to Launch Game of Thrones for HBO. (We had no idea of how big it would get!) And more recently with Bridgenext, mixing and sound designing the team introduction “run out” spots for Super Bowl LVIII. This was the most watched broadcast in American history since the Apollo 11 moon landing!
- Tell us about a project that you are proud of. I’m currently in production on a new MGM+ show called 9 Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. I helped with the transition from EPIX to MGM+. This about the 10th show collaboration I’ve had with the network. It’s very liberating and inspiring work as they encourage high impact, unique sound design to tell their stories.
- What is your go-to plugin / software for creating stunning sound design? Right now I’ve really been enjoying iZotope RX11 Music Separator. It allows me to separate elements of music so that I can make vocals louder, or keep just the drums, etc.
- What’s the most exciting trend in video production right now? AI of course comes to mind. But I prefer the term “Machine Learning” in the context that I use it. For example, our programs are learning what is and what is not dialogue or background noise and getting better at it every day.
- How are you adapting to the video production / industry that’s always evolving? The first thing I do when I log in every morning is read the audio trade blogs. Keeping up with new innovations and applying them to our work keeps you sharp!
- Favorite Quote: “Enjoy every sandwich” (Warren Zevon)
