Last summer, owner/mixer Jeff Payne and the Eleven team unveiled a major expansion with the addition of two new state-of-the-art audio post-production mixing suites. The expansion launched the
next phase of Elevens’ growth as Payne continues to cater his audio services to a national advertising client list and promote talents from within the company. Continuing on this expansion path, Payne welcomes back staff mixer/sound designer Mike Franklin who began his career at Eleven in 2002.
”Im thrilled to have Mike return to Eleven it has been wonderful to see his career come full circle,” explained Payne. ”Mike got his industry start here, rose through the ranks and was my assistant mixer for five years. It has been amazing to watch him develop his craft as a mixer and sound designer, to see his career really take off over the past few years. Returning to Eleven, joining me and fellow mixers Ben Freer and AJ Murillo is very rewarding for me as a mixer and also as a mentor. At Eleven, we believe in growing talent from within. Having Mike re-join our team, so that he can go to the next level with his projects and clients, is an exciting opportunity for the whole team.”
Mixer/sound designer Mike Franklin recently re-joined Eleven after a tenure at Beacon Street Studios in Venice. Franklin’s career in sound began back in 2002 at Eleven. In 09, after Franklin served as Payne’s assistant mixer for five years, he then broke out to freelance as a full-time mixer on his own. While continuing to work on commercials, Mike also expanded his skill set, working on television and feature films as both a mixer and sound designer. After landing a job as a lead mixer in 2012, he worked on major campaigns, including several Super Bowl spots, for companies like Microsoft, Apple Music, Samsung, Taco Bell, Absolut, EA, Beats, Nascar and Coke.
“I’m thrilled to be back here at Eleven working alongside Jeff Payne again,” noted Franklin. “I trained fellow mixers Ben Freer and AJ Murillo some years ago. We have grown up with very similar work methodologies and were all tech geeks, which is an important aspect to what we do we stay up on the latest gear and technology and implement it into our craft. Its great to be back where it all started, working with clients in what I consider to be some of the best sounding rooms in Los Angeles.”
Executive producer Suzanne Hollingshead agreed that “Mike Franklin’s return to Eleven epitomizes the future for the company, which is about a team collaboration and the highest quality of audio post production and client services. At Eleven, we operate as a team,” she said. “It’s critical that our clients feel that each and every one on our staff has their back on any given project. No matter which staff member is mixing or sound designing each project, the approach and experience is holistic so that the clients get all of their needs met, and hopefully exceeded, from start to finish. This requires an exceptional system of communication and teamwork, which we’ve custom designed. It works.”
As part of Elevens expansion last year, mixer Ben Freer was promoted to staff mixer and has made Studio B his new home. Since that promotion in June 2016, Ben has worked with established and new clients on projects ranging from commercial advertising for TV, radio and web, to music videos, to longer-format, including short films and web content. Recently Ben mixed major campaigns for Toyota Rav4 via Saatchi & Saatchi, Dodges Wolf Pack spots for Doner, several Publicis T-Mobile spots, Mattel’s Spring TV for Barbie and various others. Ben also provided sound design and mixed a Herbert Bail Orchestra music video directed by Bjorn Ruhmann of Furlined, as well as a a VICE-iD piece featuring Lucky Blue Smith edited by Arcades Nick Rondeau. ”Im really happy to have Mike Franklin back on board here at Eleven,” added Ben. ”He was one of my first mentors when I first got into the biz and as an intern and a machine room guy. Im excited to see what his creativity and skills are going to bring to the studio, and maybe I can show him a few tricks I’ve learned in recent years too!”
Also promoted to staff mixer last summer was AJ Murillo, who spent last fall working on feature film Bad Night, directed by The Riedell Brothers and produced by GRB Entertainment. He also assisted Payne in mixing a series of Super Bowl 50 spots in January 2016. Eleven had 9 Super Bowl commercials this year, including spots for Heinz, Hyundai, Buick, T-Mobile, Sofi, Marmot, SoCal Honda, and Coke/Marvel.
Last years expansion of the Eleven facility saw the transformation of the entire 2nd Floor into a giant new mixing suite for Jeff (reportedly three times the size of his previous room), an additional mixing suite, 2 large voice-over recording booths, and an upstairs client lounge. Also included in the expansion/renovation was an upstairs gallery space for revolving art exhibits. Committed to the artistic process, Eleven is currently showcasing their 2nd artst, Ivo Spirov (http://www.ispirov.com). They also have an internationally acclaimed outdoor installation: a large bright blue mushroom created and installed on the roof by London-based South African Artist Christiaan Nagel. The giant mushroom is visible from Lincoln Blvd, and can be found on Christiaan’s international mushroom map (www.christiaannagel.co.uk).
