SWIRESOUND

Swire Sound is an independently owned and operated audio post-production company based in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood. We serve the advertising, podcasting, and nonprofit communities, providing fast and trusted service at a competitive rate. Our services include mixing, sound design, audio restoration, and music composition for visual media. We use a collection of exceptional audio processing tools from companies such as Waves, WaveArts, and Izotope, and boast a client list that includes Salesforce, Toyota, and Patagonia.

Sometimes we are asked why should I hire a professional audio mixer instead of simply doing it myself? While volume automation and simple sound editing can often be accomplished with relatively basic software, our process involves additional important measures to ensure optimum fidelity across various listening environments and output formats, including the web, broadcast, and theatrical release.

We sculpt the sound with equalization; employ advanced noise reduction software to dramatically attenuate background noise; and use dynamic range compression to ensure that the audio sounds clear, consistent, and engaging.

If you listen to a talk show on FM radio, you will notice that it sounds intelligible even if you are listening at a low volume in your car with noisy traffic around you. A big part of this has to do with the dynamic range compression that takes place using hardware processors at the radio station before the audio hits the airwaves. Simply put, dynamic range compression tames audio peaks, making the overall volume more consistent. It’s important to remember that when posting media on the web, no such processing automatically takes place, but we are well-equipped to handle this step in our studio during post-production.

The carefully executed use of compression by an experienced audio engineer has many benefits, such as the ability to raise the volume of music sitting beneath a voiceover, thereby injecting energy and excitement into a project while maintaining speech clarity. In addition, the overall volume can be raised without introducing distortion. Compression is undoubtedly one of the least understood processes in audio mixing, and its misuse can contribute to thin, lifeless-sounding mixes.

We perform all work in a controlled listening environment with a clear understanding of how the mix will translate to a variety of playback systems.

All engineering and production work at Swire Sound is performed by Ben Swire. Ben’s background includes working as a staff engineer at Current TV, where he mixed programs nominated for National Headliner and CINE Golden Eagle awards; licensing original music for independent film and corporate use; and conducting music production and sound design workshops at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His ambient music, characterized by a unique blend of live instruments, field recordings, and electronics, has been released on record labels in the USA, Germany, and Australia. He received his BA in Media Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions about your project; we’re always happy to provide a free consultation, either by email — ben@swiresound.com — or by phone at 415.812.6344.