Empty Sea on Riding the Waves to Audio Production Mastery
“Our focus is always on the story,” says Mark Camperell when asked what type of creative Empty Sea Audio gravitates towards. Founder and creative director of the award-winning audio facility, he explains his team prioritises “a good story” above all else. “Everything we’re doing is to try to further engage the audience’s connection with the story.”
That commitment to crafting immersive audio experiences has earned Empty Sea industry recognition time and again, most recently with a Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reel Award for their work on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Sharing this win with development audio teams and other external support teams, the accolade reinforces Empty Sea’s place among the best in entertainment audio.
Concentrated efforts to tell stories through sound is undoubtedly a key tenet that crops up again and again throughout the company’s diverse body of work. While each project encapsulates wholly different sonic identities – demonstrating the vast scope of Empty Sea’s capabilities – placing the narrative front and centre is a common denominator. “I think the common thread throughout our projects is detail and excitement,” adds Mark. “And if it looks good, that’s a huge bonus, because it will inspire us to improve upon the experience with high-quality sound.”
Having delivered cutting-edge audio production spanning films, games, commercials, TV, music, and VR, the Empty Sea team are seasoned experts in the audio space. Capable of dreaming up sonic signatures that accompany any story, clients in the creative industries continue to turn to them for post production sound, original music composition, mixing and recording.
Mark explains how each new creative assignment requires a tailored approach. “With film, TV, and games, we’re trying to tell the story in a way that immerses the audience in the action, whether that’s a walk-and-talk drama or a heavy action thriller. With commercials, we’re trying to focus on selling the product or experience. The spot always has a story, but the product is what we’re selling sonically. Oftentimes that means upping the ante on perception or quality of the item.”
While the theme of a brief may vary, Empty Sea’s goal remains the same: “Put the audience in the action and make them feel connected to the story.”
A Soft Spot for Sci-fi
Looking at Empty Sea’s story so far, it’s apparent that its audio partnership on a series of sci-fi shorts plucked the company out of obscurity and put it on the map. The most notable of three early projects in this space is ‘DR0NE’, an original sci-fi series concept created by Robert Glickert and produced by Justin Lin of ‘Fast & Furious’ and ‘Star Trek’ fame.
The story at the heart of this brief centred around a battle-damaged, autonomous robot soldier’s quest to find the truth behind why it was being told to shut down. A self-confessed fan of the action and sci-fi genres, this spoke to Mark’s imagination, sparking an abundance of ideas.
“We spent weeks crafting the sonic world in which this title lives,” he says, reflecting on the project. “We recorded tonnes of servo sounds from toys and tools to use as source material for the bot. We made sure that we hit absolutely everything that you see and feel. From a creative standpoint, we left no stone unturned. Everything you see on the screen has a sound attached to it. There were moments where I had to ask the director if we were doing too much, but the answer was always ‘no’… and ‘feel free to do more’. So we did. It was a fun world to play in.”
After weeks of working into the early morning hours, the team sat down with the director to ensure the sonic DNA of the short suited his personal tastes. Next came the score elements, which involved conversations with composer Greg Tripi about how to leave enough space for each to play with their respective elements, comfortably. “We found music informing sound design and vice-versa on occasions. There are many wonderful push/pull moments between music and sound design in ‘DR0NE’ that make the series have its incredible impact.”
Given the sci-fi nature of the film, there were a lot of technical elements for Empty Sea to navigate. Namely, the fact this series was due to live on a streaming service way before the revolution of such platforms. “Technical and loudness standards had yet to be created for streaming networks or YouTube, so we were guessing about a lot of that. We wanted to tell the story in a way that ensured cinematic quality, but we weren’t sure about how things would play on small devices and headphones. We ended up with less dynamic range than I would’ve liked, but I feel like we did the story justice, and ensured a thoughtful and high-value experience for the viewer.”
Mark’s candid feedback from this project highlights his meticulous commitment to the craft. But, in spite of these technical challenges, Empty Sea’s involvement with ‘DR0NE’ landed the team their second Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award nomination. “It was the first project we did that got a load of attention,” Mark admits. “Almost everyone that we showed it to in pitch meetings wanted to work with us when they saw it – it really was the ultimate reel piece.”
A few years later, the team was approached by Mike Manning, the post-production supervisor from’ DR0NE’, who was set to direct a film called ‘NANO’: another sci-fi project, but this time with a touch of film-noir mixed in. “For this film, everything had to feel familiar, while also being unique to this specific world,” notes Mark. “The story surrounds hackers trying to steal source code for a nanotech system that can remotely paralyse violent criminals.”
Taking cues from its work on ‘DR0NE’, Empty Sea delivered impeccable audio production once again, helping to raise the sonic vibrations of this film and catapult it to the number one most-watched short on sci-fi YouTube channel, DUST.
With over 39 million views at the time of writing, Mark says: “These projects made up an incredible body of sonic work that positioned the team as a serious up-and-comer in the industry.”
The Art of Elevating a Brand
In the commercial world, Empty Sea has hit the big time on multiple occasions too. One of the most notable instances being ‘OUR TURN’ for Nike’s Jordan brand.
Here, the company played a hugely significant role in the storytelling of this ad, as Empty Sea Audio team member and sound designer Austin Krier explains. “The editor cut in a way to highlight both the music and sound design to punctuate each moment and drive the spot. As sort of a montage spot, sound also helped to create a cohesive gel across the whole 30 seconds, which would otherwise be individual moments.”
Permitted a great deal of freedom by production company Blue Ox Films, Empty Sea integrated the voiceover in a way that avoided stepping on music or sound design, allowing the mix to shine. “After allowing us our first pass at sound design, Blue Ox came back with a few rounds of thoughtful and deliberate notes to improve the spot and not overwork the artistic vision. The final product embodies its original mix while being elevated and punctuated.
“Often music will be the driving force, leaving sound effects in the back seat, but on these spots we were able to highlight the sound effects and sound design to work in tandem with the other elements,” Mark adds, proudly.
Creating Iconic Audio Signatures
The commercial craft doesn’t stop at designing spots. Empty Sea composer Ryan Ross, and sound designer Owen Granich-Young, have worked with Mark to deliver a number of brand mnemonics for the likes of FOX and FX Networks. An entirely different beast altogether, audio mnemonic for brands must be both memorable and effective, evoking the right emotional response from listeners while maintaining brand identity.
“Brand mnemonics aren’t for the faint of heart,” says Mark. “I think for each one of those projects we’ve taken on, we’ve done hundreds of variations for each across all phases of the project.”
Typically, these endeavours begin with the team consulting a ‘brand bible’, which provides clues as to what exactly the business is looking for. Then, in constant communication with the client, the team will put together a series of three to four second audio mnemonics that fit the ‘vibe’ outlined by the client. “We are piecing together all of the information we’ve been provided with. Often, we’ll have two or three people working on these things at a time. Our designs and compositions will inform each other on what to gravitate toward and what to steer clear of, based on feedback from the client.”
This type of white-glove work emphasises the attention to detail that is personified by this craft. It requires such immense sonic understanding and articulate communication skills – these types of briefs are certainly not for every audio engineer.
“Like everything we do, the point is to trigger an emotion in the viewer. My job as the creative director is to communicate to the team what the client wants in a way that drives us toward the goal. When we start to feel something as a team, that’s when we know it has merit to be passed along to the client.”
Knowing When Sound is Ready to Tell Its Story
As Mark reflects on the process of crafting sound, he notes an old industry adage, “A mix is never done, you just run out of time.” Yet, for him, the key indicator that a project is complete lies not in perfection, but in the emotional resonance it creates. “When I begin to get the intended effect that I want the audience to feel, when all the sounds are covered with the proper weight and impact, that’s when we know we’re getting close.”
This constant pursuit of emotional engagement is what drives Empty Sea’s approach, whether it’s creating immersive sonic worlds for a sci-fi series or punctuating a brand’s identity with a memorable mnemonic. Mark’s commitment to the craft – balancing technical precision with emotional depth – ensures that every project, no matter the scale, tells a story that resonates with its audience.
Ultimately, Empty Sea’s success lies in its ability to make sound not just an accessory to the visual, but a storytelling device in its own right. Through every project, Mark and his team continue to elevate audio production into an art form – one that deepens the connection between the audience and the narrative, no matter the medium.
As Mark succinctly puts it, “When we start to feel something, that’s when we know it has merit to be passed along to the client.” For Empty Sea Audio, the story isn’t just told – it’s felt, heard, and experienced.
