CRC 55

Paul Grajek

Paul began his adventures in the world of audio production at Northwestern University where he studied Music and Music Technology. While there, he became interested in conducting and composing in many different styles. Being exposed to many different types of traditional, experimental, and computer music, and getting involved in a joint Sound Design program with the Film department, Paul begin thinking of sound design for picture as a new, even more creative way to merge the fields of music, conducting, and audio engineering. Paul enjoys the detail-oriented nature of audio production, and the endless possibilities that are available in engineering a good sound mix for picture.

After earning his Bachelor’s degree, Paul spent a year at the Savannah College of Art and Design studying for a Master of Arts degree in Sound Design. One solid year of intense work and one thesis project later, he received his diploma and drove back to Chicago – there sure are a lot of cows in Indiana, and the Smoky Mountains are just that. Two months after interning at Vagabond Audio in Chicago, Paul was whisked away to the wonderful world of CRC55 where he diligently works to fill the shoes of all the Assistant Engineers who came before him.

In his free time, Paul sings, writes songs, plays guitar and a little piano and tries to accept that he does, in fact, have a Chicago accent.

Set Your Clock Forward Only 58 Minutes (Save 2 to watch these spots)

I was amazed at the length of the comic pregnant-pause in the new Lay's Potato Chip spot titled, "Manicure".

Element 79 producer Kara Pierce, together with the team of Alan Spindle,
Stefanie Lyons and
Dave Straus created this funny spot which was released in HD with a surround sound audio mix.

Taking a break from their usual Froot Loops/Keebler work load, Leo Burnett creatives T.S. Elliott and Peter Lohmeier created a quirky live action commercial for new Kellogg's Go Packs. The spot titled, "Box Puppets", was produced by Milagros Delaros.

Watch a mother kick her son's shin in the newest Bob Evans commercial called, "Mom". Chicago Creative Partnership producer Steve Ross and the creative team of Michael Matykiewicz and Michael Dorich visited for the final mix

For Element 79, Monna O'Brien and Anita Salomon just finished the third spot in a series for Central DuPage Hospital. All of them are great, but I particularly liked the cube CG in "Invisible", so that's the one I posted in the Gallery!

Lisa Prepping for World Tour

Why is Michael so sad in this image? Because Lisa Wilson is leaving him!

After two years at CRC55, Lisa is taking some time off to prepare for a trip around the world!

She has been building up some good Karma on CouchSurfing.com and now it's time to cash in.

Current plans call for a trek to the west coast to visit friends before heading to Tokyo and further points on the globe.

Lisa plans to maintain a blog of her adventure, so stop back in a few months for a link.

In the meantime, Michael is sorting through dozens of resumes trying to fill her (figuratively) big shoes!

Running late? Grab our alarm clock ringtones!

I use the alarm function on my cell phone to make sure I don't oversleep on the train ride home. Sometimes though, no matter which annoying song I choose, I almost sleep through my stop.

To help me out, our intern Matt Harting recorded three different alarm tones and prepared them as ringtones.

In this industry, all of us can use a nap whenever we get a chance. To keep you from oversleeping, download this set of CRC Alarm Ringtones.

Click a link below to hear each alarm or download the entire set in one file.

Beeping Alarm

Dinging Alarm

Buzzing Alarm

Let's Wrap Up 2007 With More Great Commercials

A short trip to the Video Gallery confirms that 2007 was another year where Lisa and Michael worked on many fun campaigns!

The last quarter also saw a sharp increase in the number of commercials finished in HD with surround sound audio mixes. Maybe 2008 will be our first year where most spots will be HD.

From Element 79, the team of Jim Paul, Max Stinson, and Vivian Craig brought a huge Tostitos package to our studio. Finished in HD, Daredevil was the most challenging. In the commercial, a man runs through the forest pursued by a pack of wolves. All location audio was replaced with Foley effects recorded by Michael and his son in a park by their home. They replaced every footstep and the results in the 5.1 mix are outstanding. Also in the Gallery from the Tostitos campaign is "Don't Try This" where a guy straps on angel wings and attempts to fly with painful results.

Once again, the Leo Burnett team of Peter Lohmeier, T.S. Elliott and Ken Gilberg finished audio for the recent Froot Loops commercial with Michael. In "Lost Map", Toucan and his nephews continue to follow Black Beak's treasure map. As always, the combination of CG and cell animation make these some of the best looking spots on Saturday morning TV.

Hallmark aired a Made-for-TV Christmas special starring Sissy Spacek titled, Pictures of Hollis Woods. As you would expect, the commercial breaks were loaded with Hallmark spots, many of which were mixed by Michael. The most recent commercials were produced by the Leo Burnett team of Bob Harley, Tim Ponterelli and Desmond Lovell. In the Video Gallery is "First Card" which uses split-screen to tell the story of a young couple trying to find the perfect gift.

It wouldn't be an election year without political commercials! Public Response Group recently mixed a great spot at our studio. With a very limited budget, Lloyd Betourney and Jim Morris created “Sucking Sound”, a commercial head-and-shoulders above the usual talking-head stuff you see in political ads

Our Favorite New Celebrity Voiceover

Recently, Greg Oreskovich and Chris Chen from Element 79 stopped in to produce a series of commercials for Children's Memorial Hospital. The five spots told the true stories of kids who had been through the hospital and survived some pretty rare ailments.

While professional actors were cast for most of the scripts, we were lucky enough to have in the studio with us, Maggie and her mother Helen.

Maggie was born with a golf ball sized cancer on her tongue. Her first few years were spent living in the hospital while doctors stayed ahead of the cancer. Now about seven years old, Maggie is the sweetest little kid you'd ever want to meet, that's why she wins the award for "Our Favorite New Celebrity Voiceover".

Follow the links to read more of Maggie's story, and listen to her commercial.

With Commercials Like These, Who Needs TV Shows?

When was the last time you saw a chin attack a city, Godzilla-style? That's what happens in the new Corn Pops spot titled, "Toothasaur". The Leo Burnett creative team of Ana Loncar, Jeff Canzona and Andy Dao joined Michael to record the screaming actors, sound design and mix. If you sleep late on Saturday morning, the best place to see the spot is in our Gallery.

The Shedd Aquarium doesn't often create broadcast advertising, but when they do it's very memorable. "Listen to Your Lakes", produced by Chicago Creative Partnership, makes a powerful statement about protecting Lake Michigan. Steve Ross produced, Josh Hurley and Terin Izil handled writing duties, and Chon Shoaff and Steve Hahn were the art directors. Lia Mortensen is the voice over, and sound design and mix was the duty of Michael Coyle. Watch it in the Gallery.

Back when Michael first started mixing Froot Loops commercials for Leo Burnett USA, he had hair! Yet, after all these years, every one of the spots is a treat. The team of Ken Gilberg, Peter Lohmeier, T.S. Elliott recently finished "Star Atoll" at CRC55. Like all Froot Loops commercials, it features great animation, excellent music, the best actors, and of course, an awesome mix! Hear it in the Gallery.

The fish you see in the Long John Silvers spot titled "Big Catch" are gross, but that's okay, they're supposed to be! View the spot in the Gallery. It was produced by Element 79 Partners and the team of Kara Pierce (producer), Kevin Mulroy (writer), and Mark Infunsio (art director). Trust me, you don't want to know how Michael created the sound effects for this final mix.

''Plainview'' A Short Film

Lisa Wilson just wrapped-up a huge project with writer/director Scott Jones! She did location sound, post-supervision and all the artwork for the film, Plainview.

Plainview is a short film inspired by true events in which a fast food manager is talked into strip searching her employee. Plainview recently won Best Short at the Bluegrass Independent Film Fest in LaGrange, KY (of the greater Louisville area) Sept 7-9. Coincidentally, this is one of the places where this event took place and was even featured in a Primetime Live profile.

The movie has been accepted into the Filmstock International Film Festival in Luton, England, a suburb of London! The festival takes place November 1st thru 11th. There is a short film weekend Friday Nov. 2nd thru Sunday Nov. 4th.

Other showing include the Temecula Valley International Film Festival in Temecula, CA., Sept. 12-16 and it is currently a 2nd Quarter Finalist for the Very Short Movies Festival in Hollywood, CA where it will show at the Egyptian Theatre in March. The producers plan to pursue Chicago area film festivals so please keep an eye out for a local premiere. See the trailer in our Video Gallery.

For more info see: www.myspace.com/plainview_movie

Not Even TiVo Users Skip These Commercials!

The Adventures of Toucan Sam and his nephews take them to Smoothie Bay where they discover cereal hidden in an ancient statue. The Leo Burnett team of Peter Lohmeier and T.S. Elliott created the spot with production handled by Patrick Brennan. Michael Coyle did sound design and mix.

The Syndicate Agency and director Michael Thelin came to Lisa Wilson for sound design and mix on a spec commercial for the PSP Socom game. It's a pretty funny spot. Check it out.

Element 79 producer Peter Hullinger brought the creative team of Jim Paul and Max Stinson to Michael Coyle for the mix of the newest Gatorade commercial, "Tested".

Another Element 79 group, Colleen Dirsmith and Chris Laubach, mixed their most recent Cap'n Crunch commercial with Michael who also created the sound design. A blend of live action and animation, the 30 second spot Sunbathing, can be viewed in the gallery.

Springtime in TV Land...

"Mizar" is an award winning sci-fi short film by Hsueh Yuting. He wrote it, shot it, and even created the great looking CG effects, but when it came to sound, he chose CRC55's Lisa Wilson. She handled the ADR direction and recording of the actors, and created the sound design for this futuristic film. You can see a short clip in the video library.

Maybe you've already seen it on the air or YouTube: the newest Gatorade commercial from the team of Hullinger, Paul and Stinson (sounds like a law firm). The group from Element 79 visited Michael Coyle to mix "Good Wade, Bad Wade" featuring a conflicted Dwyane Wade. (Watch Spot)

Chicago Creative Partnership brough the newest Bob Evans campaign to CRC55. Steve Ross, Mike Matykiewicz and Michael Dorich handled the TV spot, "Blueprint", while Carol Riffle and Terin Izil handled the radio. (Watch Spot)

In "Homework", the next commercial for Cap'n Crunch, kids use glow-in-the-dark boxes of the cereal to track down the elusive pirate, Jean LaFoote! Chris Laubach and Colleen Dirsmith from Element 79 brought the project to Michael Coyle for sound design and mix. (Watch Spot)