Katya Richardson
Composer
Music and Sound (Nov 14)
Let’s go in depth into the world of music and sound for feature docs. Hear about collaboration and behind the scenes tips from music teams on some of this year’s leading documentaries.
In the Festival Lounge, the day starts with Breakfast (9-10AM) and ends with a Happy Hour (4:30-5:30PM) co-presented by Hulu.
10:00-11:15AM
The Director/Composer Relationship
Join director and composer teams Ben Proudfoot and Katya Richardson (The Last Repair Shop) and Amy Nicholson and Troy Herion (Happy Campers) as they discuss the conversations that lead to rewarding collaborations between director and composers. Filmmaker Tracie Holder will share her perspective and lead the conversation.
Katya Richardson
Composer
Katya Richardson is a Ukrainian-American film composer and pianist based in Los Angeles. Throughout her multidisciplinary work, she is drawn to cinematic textures that bridge the gap between stage and screen. Richardson has written for the LA Philharmonic and premiered her compositions internationally, from Walt Disney Concert Hall to The Royal Opera House in London. In 2016, she composed an orchestral fanfare exclusively for Hollywood Bowl Opening Night. She frequently collaborates with Academy Award-winning Breakwater Studios, and in 2022, garnered a Hollywood Music in Media Award for her score to NY Times Op-Doc, Mink!. Other recent projects include PBS special Keeping the Pinelands, a full-length ballet with British choreographer Russell Maliphant, and music arrangements for the 95th Academy Awards. Notably, she has also worked with A-list composers Danny Elfman on Dr. Strange (2022) and with Rob Simonsen on Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
Amy Nicholson
Filmmaker
Amy Nicholson
Filmmaker
Amy Nicholson is a New York-based filmmaker and commercial director whose projects often explore the essence of Americana with a humorous eye and a warm respect for her subjects. Nicholson’s most recent documentary, a short titled Pickle, won multiple audience awards, was selected for The New York Times’ Op Docs, and was featured on the Criterion Collection alongside Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven. Pickle was also nominated for an IDA Award and Cinema Eye Honors. Nicholson has produced and directed several features. Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride won the Special Jury Prize at DOCNYC and was held over twice at the IFC Center. Muskrat Lovely premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens. Nicholson’s films have screened at Hot Docs, Sheffield, Full Frame, DOK Leipzig, BFI London, Camden, Traverse City, Rooftop Films, and the MoMA.
Troy Herion
Composer
Troy Herion
Composer
Troy Herion is an Emmy-winning and Cinema Eye-nominated composer, editor, and producer whose scoring has garnered critical acclaim. Films like 306 Hollywood, The Hottest August, and Bulletproof are just a few of Herion’s extensive list of high-profile projects. His films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto, the Berlinale, SXSW, HotDocs,The New York Film Festival, True/False and the MoMA. Herion’s orchestral and theater work has premiered at Carnegie Hall, The Academy of Music, and the Annenberg Center.
Ben Proudfoot
Director
Ben Proudfoot
Director
An Academy Award®-winning short documentary director and entrepreneur, Ben Proudfoot is the creative force behind Breakwater Studios. The studio’s work has been recognized by the Academy Awards®, The Emmys, The Peabody Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, The James Beard Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, Telluride, and the Tribeca Film Festival among others. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes “30 Under 30” for his leadership and innovation in the brand-funded documentary space. He hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Proudfoot is an accomplished sleight-of-hand magician and has performed at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
11:30-12:45PM
Case Study: Little Richard: I Am Everything
Experience a captivating panel celebrating music icon Little Richard’s legacy and its synergy with documentary filmmaking. Ethnomusicologist Fredara Hadley leads an exploration of the film’s intricate score, remote editing, and the marriage of emotion and editing beats with director Lisa Cortés, composer Tamar-kali, editor Nyneve Laura Minnear, and music supervisor Jonathan Finegold. Discover the craft that turned this documentary into a storytelling symphony, guided by panelist insights on remote collaboration.
Lisa Cortés
Co-Director, Producer
Lisa Cortés
Co-Director, Producer
Award-winning director and producer Lisa Cortés generates bold, explosive art that shines light on important stories hidden from view. Little Richard: I Am Everything (CNN Films), which she directed and produced, had its world premiere in January 2023 as the opening night selection in the US documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival.
Nyneve Laura Minnear
Editor
Nyneve Laura Minnear
Editor
Nyneve Laura Minnear is an Editor, Writer and Story Consultant based in Brooklyn. She was Lead Editor on Little Richard – I Am Everything for CNN Films/HBOMax, premiering in U.S. Competition at Sundance 2023 and released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures. Other credits include Anita, Cannes 2023; The Vow Series for HBO; 306 Hollywood, the first documentary ever invited to the NEXT section for Innovative Filmmaking, Sundance 2018; (T)ERROR, Emmy, Sundance 2015 Special Jury Award, and Full Frame Grand Jury Award winner; Girl With Black Balloons, DOCNYC Grand Jury Prize; Dan Rather Reports three-year Editor/Producer for the Emmy award-winning series. She cherishes her time as Fellow at the Sundance and Gotham Story Labs and is a passionate guest speaker and mentor at workshops and panels, including KSFEF Diversity Program, and Union Docs. She was an inaugural Steering Committee member for the Alliance of Documentary Editors.
Tamar-kali
Composer
Tamar-kali
Composer
Brooklyn born and bred artist Tamar-kali is a second-generation musician with roots in the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina. As a composer, Tamar-kali has defied boundaries to craft her own unique alternative sound. Her debut LP “Black Bottom” challenged the alt-rock norm with media calling it “an ambitious new adventure into metal, classical, and progressive styles,”[Sonic Scoop]. The pieces she composes and arranges for her string sextet and voice project, Psychochamber Ensemble, marry the classical music of her Catholic upbringing with post-punk sensibilities. 2017 marked her debut as a film score composer with Dee Rees’ Oscar-nominated Mudbound. Her “expressive and varied score” [Variety] garnered her the World Soundtrack Academy’s 2018 Discovery of the Year Award and has been classified by Indiewire as one of the 25 Best Film Scores of the 21st Century. The soundtrack for her score to Josephine Decker’s psychological drama Shirley was named The Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the Month in June 2020.
Jonathan Finegold
Music Supervisor
Jonathan Finegold
Music Supervisor
Jonathan Finegold is the founder of Fine Gold Music; a music licensing and publishing company. He represents many indie labels/artists/publishers including Westbound (Funkadelic), Anderson Paak, DRAM, and Eminem. His licensing work has been heard in ads for Apple iPhones, Nike, Spotify, Cadillac, and more. Movies & trailer work includes Furios 7, The Big Short, Moneyball, and more. TV shows include: Homeland, Mad Men, Narcos, Westworld, The Chi and more. He has served as music supervisor on many indie films & documentaries. His credits include Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia/CNN Films) and Netflix docuseries Lenox Hill. He works with John Legend’s film/TV production company Get Lifted, where he supered the HBO documentary Southern Rites. Other recent released films include The Truffle Hunters (Sony Classics) which world premiered in 2020 at Sundance and the Spotify podcast Wind of Change. He is currently an adjunct instructor in music business at both New York University and Marymount Manhattan College. He is a Grammy voting member of NARAS for over 20 years and a member of the Guild of Music Supervisors.
Fredara Hadley
Professor, The Julliard School
Fredara Hadley
Professor, The Julliard School
Fredara Mareva Hadley, Ph.D. is an ethnomusicology professor at The Juilliard School where she teaches courses on African American music and musics of the world. Her current book project, I’ll Make Me a World, focuses on the rich musical legacies that flow from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Her commentary is featured in several documentaries and her words featured in academic journals and in press including Billboard, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
1:45-3PM
Sound Design in Documentary Filmmaking
Prepare to immerse yourself in the auditory realm as we take an exclusive journey with sound designers Tristan Baylis and Annie Taylor (Retrograde) and Tom Paul (Little Richard: I Am Everything) and moderator Eric Johnson (Trailblazer Studios). Discover how these professionals craft unique sonic landscapes, from capturing raw audio to creating an immersive auditory experience. Whether you’re an aspiring sound designer or a documentary enthusiast, this panel promises an exciting exploration of the pivotal role sound plays in shaping a film’s narrative and emotional impact.
Annie Taylor
Supervising Foley Editor
Annie Taylor
Supervising Foley Editor
Annie Taylor is an Emmy nominated Foley Editor who has worked on documentaries such as Retrograde and Amend: The Fight for America. Her goal is to enhance the storytelling with sound, and to have the audience feel immersed in the documentary’s subject with the use of texture, layering, and finesse to create a comprehensive and personalized soundscape.
Tristan Baylis
Sound Designer
Tristan Baylis
Sound Designer
Tristan Baylis is a British re-recording mixer and sound designer working in the US. Getting his start at Goldcrest post NYC, and he is now with well over 150 television & film credits and 2x EMMY nominations under his belt. Starting in 2016, Tristan Baylis has quickly made a name for himself in the post-production community as a rising talent. Most notably for his work as the dialogue supervisor and dialogue mixer of Trey Edward Shultz ‘Waves’ & Yorgos Lanthimos ‘Poor Things’. Tristan was Emmy nominated for his role as supervising sound editor & re-recording mixer on Matthew Heineman’s ‘The First Wave’ the collaboration has continued to Heineman’s latest documentary ‘Retrograde’ which was also Emmy nominated.
Tom Paul
Sound Designer
Tom Paul
Sound Designer
Tom Paul is two-time Emmy Award winning Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Designer, Studio Designer, and Composer. He is one of the most sought-after people working in post production today. His esteemed list of clients include such top directors as Matt Heineman, Errol Morris, Lucy Walker, Joe Berlinger, Penny Lane, Ross Kaufmann, Jeremiah Zagar, Nanette Burstein, Lana Wilson and many others. Recent highlights include Hustle, American Symphony, Little Richard, I am Everything, Mountain Queen, and many more. His studio design work most recently includes being on the design team for Sandbox Films new facility, including a Dolby Atmos Theatrical screening room which doubles as a mix stage and a color-grading theater, with a custom, hand-built, disappearing mix console and color console.
Tom mixes at Studio Tom Paul, his new mix stage in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Tom is a founding partner and the designer of Gigantic Studios.
Eric Johnson
SVP of Sound + Engagement, Trailblazer Studios
Eric Johnson
SVP of Sound + Engagement, Trailblazer Studios
3:15-4:30PM
Case Study: A Trip To Infinity
Moderator Eric Johnson (Trailblazer Studios) leads a sonic exploration of the Netflix documentary A Trip to Infinity with sound designer/re-recording mixer Willie Elias (Trailblazer Studios), writer/director Jonathan Halperin (Room 608 Productions), and editor Alex Ricciardi (Room 608 Productions). In this insightful case study, these professionals will dissect the art of crafting the film’s soundscape. Gain insights into their creative process, techniques, and helpful tips on delivering sound elements to a streamer or network.
Willie Elias
Sound Designer
Willie Elias
Sound Designer
Willie Elias is an Audio Post Production Engineer, Sound Designer and Mixer, His clientele ranges from Advertising Agencies, Independent Film Directors, Artists, TV Networks Producers and others. After attending The University of Puerto Rico, Willie continued his Audio and Video Production education by enrolling at The Music Business Institute /The Art Institute in Atlanta. With his sight keenly set upon a career in the Audio industry, he furthered his experience by working as an audio engineer at several Studios in Puerto Rico. His bilingual and Audio engineering skills led him to be hired by Broadcast Video Inc. Miami, where he worked sound design and Mixing for HBO Latin America, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon LA, MTV LA, and Discovery Channel LA as well as Advertising Agencies. Willie Elias currently works as Director of Audio Post, Senior Audio Engineer for Trailblazer Studios in North Carolina for Film, Documentaries, Commercials and TV shows-encompassing sound design and Mixing. Some of his recent Sound Design and Mixing credits include: A Trip to Infinity for Netflix, Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court for Showtime, Between the Rains (2023 Best Documentary Feature at Tribeca Film Fest), The Lady Bird Diaries, The Bermuda Triangle TV Series for History Channel, Wild Crimes for Hulu, Hazing, When Sharks Attack for National Geographic, America’s Hidden Stories for the Smithsonian Network, Kifaruand many other great documentaries.
Jonathan Halperin
Director
Jonathan Halperin
Director
Jon Halperin is a three-time Emmy winning filmmaker and co-founder of Room 608, a New York-based production company. He has made films and series for Netflix, Amazon, PBS, History, National Geographic, and The Atlantic. His work has screened at festivals around the world. A Trip to Infinity (Netflix) recently won the Emmy for best art direction and graphic design. The film was animated by artists from 10 countries. A 4 1/2 minute scene from the film about an apple, a box and an infinite amount of time was seen 18 million times in one week on TikTok. He is currently working on an animated feature.
Alex Ricciardi
Editor
Alex Ricciardi
Editor
Alex Ricciardi has been an editor and writer of documentary films for over a decade.
Eric Johnson
SVP of Sound + Engagement, Trailblazer Studios
Eric Johnson
SVP of Sound + Engagement, Trailblazer Studios
To experience the DOC NYC PRO lineup, purchase an individual PRO Day Pass (via the Buy Ticket button) to hone in on a specific subject, or benefit from discounted pricing when you purchase Multi-Day Pass Packs to an assortment of topics.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
