SoundHound Edits/Audio Posts Promo Package For USA Network's Nashville Star

Post House Delivers New Tune-In Promo Each Week For The Nation's Top-Rated Country Music Program

NEW YORK, NY - Post House Delivers New Tune-In Promo Each Week For The Nation's Top-Rated Country Music Program. Every Thursday night at 10pm on USA Network the drama that unfolds on Nashville Star - the network's popular talent show with a twang, hosted by Jewel and now in its fifth season - is intense.

Not unlike the intense post-production sessions that unfold every Friday at SoundHound (www.soundhound.com), the award-winning post house responsible for the on-going promo campaign for the show.

Each Friday during the show's run, SoundHound editor John Knauer, audio engineer Brian Rund and USA Network writer/producer Jeff Kessler, gather to craft and turn around a compelling, 'hot off the presses' promo that recaps what happened last week and previews what's likely to happen next.

"There is never a dull moment," says Knauer. "Teaming up with Brian and Jeff to create weekly promos for the show on an exceptionally tight deadline is a collaborative effort. It gets hectic sometimes but we know we can count on each other."

Hectic indeed. On the morning following each week's episode of Nashville Star, Kessler arrives at SoundHound's offices ready to rock. That's because the team has less than twenty-four hours to create a promo package that reveals the performances, the judges most memorable reactions and what to expect from next week's episode. Add clips of surprise performances by celebrity musicians and it all adds up to one long, busy Friday.

"Every Friday, John, Brian and I brainstorm ideas for the cut and mix," says Kessler. "I have my notes from the previous night's show, together with notes from the USA team. Creative Director Janine Evangelista and I start reworking our script, bouncing ideas off of each other and finalizing the copy. John then gets right on it and starts editing. Brian lines up the audio so we can have a pre-mix complete by the latest 2 pm. Once we get initial approval from the USA team we start cutting the :30 into a variety of shorter versions, which we hope to have finished by 10 pm. It's a long day, but we work well together and in the end it's worth it."

Evangelista jokes, "So far their best record is 7:05pm. I'd like to see a good five minutes shaved off of that."

Adds Rund: "We work on a number of USA Network projects in addition to this and they know they can trust us to get the job done. On Nashville Star the biggest challenge is often the unpredictable nature of the show. Depending on the theme of the week or how the viewer voting goes, the required music can change pretty quickly and we don't have a lot of time."

Their work is proving effective though. Kessler noted that between the first two episodes of season five, ratings grew over 10 percent. "We can't be sure the increase is because of our work," he says, "but we like to think so."

About SoundHound

SoundHound (www.soundhound.com) specializes in sound design, audio post, original music composition, radio production and video editorial. Known for their comfortable environment and state-of-the-art technology, SoundHound is made up of award-winning creative engineers, sound designers and editors who work closely with producers and clients on a range of projects. Clients include A&E, Avon, Cartoon Network, Discovery, FCB, Food Network, History Channel, Lifetime Television, Lowe & Partners, Sci Fi Channel, Spike TV, Sundance and USA Network, to name a few.

Web Resources:

SoundHound website:
http://www.soundhound.com

USA Network/Nashville Star website:
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/nashvillestar/

Creative Credits

Client: USA Network
Project: Nashville Star promo campaign
Writer/Producer: Jeff Kessler
Creative Director: Janine Evangelista
VP Brand Creative: Lorenzo De Guttadauro
Post Production: SoundHound, New York
Editor: John Knauer
Audio Engineer: Brian Rund