Thinking In Sound: Why Sound Is Influencing Everything with Ian Sorrentino

Ian Sorrentino is an award winning sound designer, mixer, and owner of Little Bear Audio, working with high level clients like HBO. Nickelodeon, Netflix and so many more. He has also made a name for himself in the world of high fashion and top tier brands with clients like Chanel, Prada, McDonalds and Rolling Stone as well as ground-breaking artists like Lady Gaga and Imogen Heap.

Ian is also an award winning podcast editor and mixer, working on the incredibly successful American Genocide and Pokimane's Don't Tell Anyone.

His work in film includes many films screened at internationally known Cannes and Burbank Film Festivals as well as documentary films that screened at Sundance and other major film festivals. He has even designed for projects displayed at such prestigious venues as the Whitney museum in New York City.

LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?

Ian> I usually ask clients to provide a few examples of pieces they like. Even if they aren’t in the same genre, I really just want to get an idea of the vibe/style they like so I know where to start my approach. I find that I take in so much media from across the spectrum, that I can usually find something we can connect and relate on, and that’s such a great jumping off point. Lets talk about anything you like, and we can go from there!

LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?

Ian> I grew up from such a young age in bands and playing music with others. And I think musically there is nothing like a group of people who all have a different specialty working together towards a finished piece. I think when it comes to sound design/mixing I find that I get a hyper focused and into my own world that I worry I would be ignoring any collaborator. That being said, I welcome every note no matter how silly they seem. My favourite thing in this job is a client on the phone making a random sound on the phone to explain what they are hearing in their head. They always feel silly, but I cant reiterate enough how helpful that is to me. And my toddler can attest that all I do is walk around the house making sounds all day with her.

LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?

Ian> Sometimes I feel like no one actually knows what we do, and most people don't even realise Sound Design and Mixing is a job. I cant count how many times I have had to physically show someone a commercial I designed before and after, just to get someone to understand. It's subtle, but so important. Sometimes I feel like my job is to enhance and almost get out of the way. As the industry shifts and changes I feel we can be a constant since we tend to work subtly in the background making things better anyway. 

LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?

Ian> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?

I have always felt that sometimes sound is like acting, where it is very noticeable to people mostly when it is bad. If I do my job right, you won't realise how great the project sounds, until you are reflecting on it after the fact.  

LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?

Ian> Well before my daughter goes to school its classic Disney, with some '90s pop and punk snuck in where I can. Then once I get the office to myself I feel like my ears need a break and I usually opt for something more acoustic or ambient before blasting my ears with whooshes, hits and synths for the rest of the day!

LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?

Ian> I guess a little bit of all of that. I have hard drives full of every sound I can find, I am constantly tapping, hitting, singing through out the day, because like most of us sound nerds, our brains are constantly tuned in. But when I shut that off, I certainly have a very organised Spotify to fit every mood I am in.

LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?

Ian> Travelling is so influential for me not in specific moments, but more general environments. There is something about sonic environment that transforms your mood and experience in ways we can only feel, and are often unaware of. If I imagine sitting outside at a café in a new country, I can close my eyes and pick out small notes that are influencing the feeling in my gut in that moment. If I then imagine that same experience with headphones on, you realise how much sound is influencing everything about how you are feeling. I usually try to take that feeling with me when working on a project. There is obvious focus on specific movements or moments when sound designing, but then I think the next layer is always about influencing the gut of your audience.

LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?

Ian> You know when you see a picture of your dad from when you were a kid, and then you realise he still dresses the same today? I think for me musically my tastes are stuck in my teenage years. I find myself gravitating towards music/sounds that remind me of that time maybe because it is when I fell in love with the idea of sound in general. My favourite thing is finding people who are influenced by that sound, which for me was '90s punk and '90s pop/r&b, but who are making modern music/sound with that at its heart.