by Apogee’s Chris Lawson

Just about anyone who produces video will tell you that audio plays a major role in great video production, and if the audio is bad, you will lose your audience. With all of the amazing audio tools available today, it is easier than ever to have professional quality audio without spending a fortune. Programs like Logic and Pro Tools are more affordable than they were; even the new Final Cut Pro X has better audio tools than ever, and at an even lower price. With software, a great audio interface like the Apogee Duet 2 and a good mic, you can produce results that far exceed the expectations of your audience. However, there are times when you just don’t have enough time to do it all yourself. Sometimes you just need to know when to call in for help. When producing the new Apogee Duet 2 video, that is exactly what I did. I called Jared Gutstadt and his crew over at Jingle Punks.

Jingle Punks were already fans of the original Apogee Duet, and they use it everyday (along with ONE by Apogee) when working on tracks for clients such as ABC, NBC, Fox, and The History Channel. Basically, if you have watched TV in the last few years you have probably heard their work.

Not only is Jingle Punks the go to place to get music for television, film and advertising, but they have also created a huge database where professional and aspiring artists, groups, and composers can submit music to be placed in television, movies, and commercials. Yes… they are giving out of work musicians a way to make money! So if you you have been writing and recording songs and don’t know what to do with them, look up Jingle Punks www.jinglepunks.com.

After I contacted them, Jared and Brian Wahlund happened to be in Santa Monica, so they stopped by the Apogee office so we could show them a rough cut of the new Duet 2 video, and of course show them an actual Duet 2. I explained to them what I wanted it to sound like and that we wanted everything to be recorded with Duet 2. When Jared got back to New York, we shipped him Duet 2 so that he and Jeff Peters (one of the composers at Jingle Punks) could begin working on it immediately. A day after them receiving Duet 2, I received an incredibly well-written track that was exactly what I was looking for.

Here is a behind the scenes look at Jingle Punks’ headquarters, showing the process of creating music for the Duet 2 video:

At the end of the video, you heard the first version of the song and how it was sent to us for approval. My only comment was that I wanted more guitars and live drums. So when Jared was back in Santa Monica, he stopped by Berkeley St. and recorded more guitars.

As for live drums, Jared and I talked about adding live drums to the track early on -before they even wrote and recorded the track- and we decided we were also going to do that at Berkeley St. Studio.

For an in-depth look at Bob Clearmountain recording drums at Berkeley St. Studio for this very song with only two microphones and an Apogee Duet 2, click here.

To hear the final version of the song used in the video click here.

Thank you again to the guys at Jingle Punks for writing an amazing song.