Los Angeles-based Alan Audio Works, set up in 1990 by composer/sound designer/mixer Jeffery Alan Jones, is a leading full-service audio post-production company that has created soundtracks for over 250 projects, including feature films, commercials, and video games. The boutique studio is one of few post houses that can craft the entire soundscape of a project—music, sound design, and mix—from start to finish.

We sat down with Jeffery recently to learn more about his studio’s history, how Vintage King helped outfit the space for his versatile needs, and how he has adapted to the rapid changes in the industry over the years.

What was your goal for Alan Audio Works when you set up the studio?

To create unique music and sound design in a spacious, beautiful place that is open and available 24/7 to collaborate with as many artists as possible. 

What sets your studio apart from other recording spaces?

What's special about my studio is that it's a one-stop shop where we can create a film soundtrack that combines music, sound design, and a complete mix. This was always my vision, both creatively and technically, influencing the equipment I installed in the studio. 

Typically on a project, you have a sound designer and a composer, and they meet at the end of the process on the mix stage with a re-recording mixer to complete the work. In contrast, with us, these three different disciplines are coming to the table in one place—a creative and technical throughline for the most optimum and integrated soundtrack creations.

Does that help the films have a unified sonic signature?

Yes, a sonic signature is about the dialog, sound effects, and how it all fits in with the music score. They complement each other in tempo, rhythm, frequency, and pitch. My specialty is combining all of these elements into one cohesive soundtrack and then mixing it here at my studio together with the director and producers for a final collaborative touch!

How did you first become aware of Vintage King, and what was your first experience working with us?

Back in the day, I remember stopping by the Sunset Boulevard showroom just to browse through gear. I also remember going to a number of interesting seminars that Vintage King hosted. They would bring in some excellent industry professionals and producers and that was cool, I learned a lot! Through that, I met Chris Bolitho, who helped me put together my first big studio. It was a big project, a theatrical surround sound studio, and Vintage King helped outfit the studio with an Avid S6, and all the pieces to get my mix stage off the ground.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear that you have purchased from Vintage King?

Certainly my PMC twotwo.6 speakers, which have helped me realize my sonic visions—these are the most accurate speakers that I have ever mixed on. Funny story: Chris said, “You can borrow these and check them out, let me know what you think.” He had talked to me about these speakers so much that I decided to test them; I brought them in for a test drive, and once the speakers showed up here, they never left! [Laughs] 

They found a home!

Yeah, they found a home! I was just supposed to try them out and all of a sudden, before you know it, they were part of the family! Another favorite is my Avid S6, which I use daily when mixing, recording, or composing music. I also have a few microphones that I really like—my Neumann U 87, and the Sennheiser 416, to name a few; and of course, the JBL surround sound speaker system.

How has Vintage King helped you with gear selection, purchasing, and servicing in the past?

They have a good feel for what's out there, so they'll share that with me and give me advice on what’s available. Frank Verschuuren is an amazing technician at Vintage King and over the years he's wired most of the studio. 

Vintage King also helped me put together my Matrix system, which is all ethernet and Dante-based; VK helped design it, and Frank helped install it, which was phenomenal. The system is all ethernet-based now, and that requires a lot of knowledge about how to put things together in both the analog and the digital domains, so it was very helpful to have somebody on the ground who knows the ins and outs of this ever-changing technology. 

What sets Vintage King apart from other pro audio gear companies?

Vintage King is a wonderful company that I've purchased equipment from as far back as I can remember. Having a storefront and the ability to walk in and look at a variety of gear is critical in making purchase decisions. They are also an excellent sounding board, recommending what's best for any situation.

Can you tell us about some of the most memorable projects you've worked on over the years?

Diana Ross was amazing—I arranged music with her for some of her concert tours. I also toured all over Asia conducting The National Chinese Orchestra, which was quite an experience. In the film world, I’ve worked on projects starring Nicolas Cage, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Malkovich, Bridget Moynahan, Jamie Foxx, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Lena Headey, and many more—all kinds of incredible talents. 

It's so hard to choose, but one of my favorite projects was Most Beautiful Island, which won Best Narrative Feature Film at the SXSW Film Festival. It was shot around the streets and in the undergrounds of New York City and is an excellent example of creating and integrating sound design, music, and final mix.

Another film that was a lot of fun was Bayou Caviar, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Richard Dreyfuss—that's two Oscar-winning actors in the same movie, which was cool! Cuba also directed it, so working closely with him on the music and the sound design was a fantastic experience. Currently, I’m working on the big action thriller Lights Out, starring Frank Grillo, and an animated film called Groove Tails, starring Jamie Foxx.

I also recently finished a four-hour documentary called KISStory, for the rock band Kiss, which was really interesting. I worked on it for several months and there was never a dull moment—the behind-the-scenes was almost more interesting than the actual documentary! [Laughs]

On all of my projects it’s about integrating the music, sound design, and mix into one unified and complimentary creative vision. I have an extensive background in both classical and jazz music, a Bachelor's in Piano Performance and a Master’s in Music Composition, and then there’s the technical side of things, which I love. I always employ the most recent state-of-the-art technology and am always up to date with the ever-changing landscape of new gear and innovation. 

I think of sound design as a music composition, where every single sound, created by a musical instrument or not, is part of the musical landscape—all the various elements, like music backgrounds, foley, and footsteps, must fit together. With dialog, they're shooting in different locations, the production audio is all over the place, and you have to tie it together so that it feels like it's in one space. Finally, we have mixing, which is an enormous task. Some of these film mixes have over a thousand tracks of audio and crazy routing, so you have to organize your sessions so that you can find things quickly. You need very good mixing skills, excellent ears, and the right equipment to understand how to make it all work together.

How has the industry changed since you first opened your doors and how has your studio adapted to those changes?

When COVID hit, it was like, “Oh my gosh, what do we do?” At the time, I had 10 to 15 movies on my plate, all in different phases, and everyone had the same questions: ‘How do you get films mixed? How do you work remotely?’ One of the big changes was implementing software like Source-Connect and Source-Nexus, which now enables us to mix remotely, so I can set up a mix here, then send a live mix feed to anybody in the world, and they can make adjustments in real time. On their end, they're not going to get the studio experience or the immersive speaker environment, but they're getting a really good, clean audio feed of the mix. 

Even though COVID is over now, we are doing more and more remote mixing, just because the industry moves so fast and people are located all over the world; so bringing in the remote mix technology has been the biggest change. All of my gear that we just talked about—the Matrix and Dante integration, my S6, and Pro Tools—is critical in moving data around the world so that artists can actually listen to their mixes as they're being mixed. The ability to send live, accurate mix feeds all around the world and to work remotely, not only with filmmakers but with musicians as well, has been a big change.

Looking back, what are you most proud of or excited about in terms of your studio’s history?

Being able to combine music, sound design, and mix into one unified creative vision. The studio sounds phenomenal, and once you have all of those elements in place, it's just about having fun with the mix and adding that final magic touch!

Looking back at my IMDb credits, I'm like, “Holy smokes, where did the time go?” [Laughs] I remember doing my first movie in college, answering an ad for a film composer—I'd never done it before, and I was terrified; it took me almost a month to write a few notes. Now, I've written feature film scores in much less time, often in a week or two, if needed. 

I work with a wide range of people, and the stakes are much greater now; I'm working on much bigger films with A-list actors and directors, there's a lot more going on but it’s been a slow build and has kept evolving, and continued to gain momentum over time. I'm proud of the incredible projects that I was invited to collaborate on, and that I was able to grow personally, creatively, and professionally. 

What are your plans for the future of your studio?

I'm currently in talks with Vintage King about upgrading my studio to Dolby Atmos, so that will be the next big move. Aside from that, the plan is to continue creating fantastic film soundtracks. I have a wonderful group of people who work with me to maintain the creative direction and vision on every film that we do. It's a lot of fun!

Alan Audio Works is a boutique studio that creates unique, original, and interesting projects—that's what separates us from a lot of other audio post houses. We are not a cookie-cutter post house where you just bring your film in and bang it out; this is not what we do. Every film is looked at from an imaginative and creative vantage point; we take each film very seriously and look at how we can enhance the subtext, storytelling, and narrative of the film through sound. That's our specialty—we are grounded in creative collaboration with filmmakers to bring their films to life through sound.

Patrick CarpenterIf you’re interested in purchasing any of the gear mentioned in this blog, contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.