Strongroom Post creates broadcast and DVD audio mixes for Intro’s ‘The Snow Queen’

Strongroom Post has completed the audio mixing for ‘The Snow Queen’, a one hour adaptation of the famous Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, which will be screened on Christmas Day by the BBC.
This delightful children’s drama tells the story of a girl called Gerda who embarks on a magical and perilous journey to find her lost friend Kay. The journey culminates with Gerda’s arrival at the Snow Queen’s imposing ice palace where she battles death and evil to save her friend.
The project is the brainchild of award-winning composer Paul K Joyce and Intro director Julian Gibb. Joyce, who had recently completed recording his score of The Snow Queen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, approached Intro after seeing a music video Gibb had directed for pop band Feeder. Together, they developed the idea of making a film of the fairytale, which mixes live action and animation to bring the fantasy of the story to life.
Ensuring the right audio feel was vital to the success of The Snow Queen. Shoreditch-based Strongroom Post was chosen to handle the audio based on its extensive experience in 5.1 mixing and because mix engineer Benje Noble had successfully worked with Intro on various corporate presentations and television ads. Noble worked closely with Intro’s sound designer Simon Keep, who had the complex task of Effects sourcing and Atmosphere design. By combining their respective knowledge and skills, the pair were able to overcome a number of technical issues to ensure that, once they were in the studio, everything went without a hitch.
“Strongroom deserve a big thank you,” said Kathy Richardson, Intro’s Managing Director. “We really appreciated how much care they all took and how much they looked after us on this project. As for Benje, well, what a star! He did a magnificent job.”
The final audio was digitised Strongroom Studio 2 and then mixed over a two week period. Noble completed a regular broadcast version of the audio, followed by a mix for CBC Canada, which also plans to screen the programme. Alongside the broadcast mixes, Noble also created a 5.1 mix and encoded the 5.1 Dolby audio for DVD.
The Snow Queen premiered at BAFTA in Piccadilly on November 3 to a fantastic response. Alongside the Christmas Day broadcast, the BBC will be releasing it on DVD through BBC Worldwide.
(GB)