Music and Sound Design
From intimate textures to full cinematic scale, we shape sound and effects that fit and elevate stories. We work across formats and genres, composing scores that span punchy beats, whispering atmospheres, lush orchestration, and cutting-edge synth programming. Su is our sound-in-chief, check some of her early career influences and inspirations.
Our exclusive sonic breakdown methodology for music scoring creates a shared language with visual creatives, empowering artists to precisely communicate their thoughts and feelings through sounds. This framework includes what we call "rehearsals," stages that can be fit in as early as in pre-production to support story development.
Sonics
Sonics is our sound studio. A fully equipped space fine-tuned for music composition, sound design, and audio post-production.
The studio features a Nord Piano, a Moog synthesizer, an Axe-FX III, midi controllers, and a variety of musical instruments like guitars, flutes, and dulcimer. It also carries a range of studio microphones for vocals and instrument recording. Powered by a Mac Studio Ultra, it runs Pro Tools and Logic Pro with a deep collection of electronic sounds, effects, and orchestration plugins like Vienna Symphonic Library, Izotope, and others.
🖖 I'm Z...
Z Tennyson is a filmmaker, colorist and VFX artist. He holds an Unreal Authorized Instructor certificate by Epic Games and has been working on animation, lighting, color and visual effects pipelines since 2018.
Fun fact: Before filmmaking, Z had a long career as a Designer and UX Engineer, he wrote books on Design Thinking and was part of the Augmented Reality team at Meta Reality Labs.
... and I'm Su.
Su Tais is a Berklee alumni music composer for film and TV. She's been sounding films, documentaries, immersive experiences and animations since 2017.
Fun fact: Su plays multiple instruments since she was a child, with classical piano being her main. Before transitioning into film music she worked in many A.I. projects at Apple in Silicon Valley.
Questions we are always asked
How long does it take to grade a 15' short film?
Around 2-5 minutes of footage a day. That said, it may take longer depending on the creative needs of the film, how many clips, cameras, etc. We are also terrified of moveable rates, so the price we give you won't change. This means we will estimate the workload based on the amount of days we need. This price only increases on added work. For example, if you want more review rounds after the two included, or you added footage that we were not able to discuss before the price estimate.
How can I get a quote for VFX work?
There are two approaches to getting a quote from us on the VFX work you need.
Option 1: We have been involved since the beginning.
In this case, we will help you break down the script to find out where VFX will be needed and advise you on how to shoot scenes so they are cheaper for you and more believable in the end.
Option 2: You did your thing and need help.
In this case, you will send us a list of things that you want modified, along with references and assets you already have.
In both cases, we will send you an email with detailed instructions on what we need.
Where are you located?
We are based in Reading, UK. A 20 min train ride from London Paddignton. We provide remote post-production services for clients worldwide.
Do you work with commercial and music videos?
Absolutely. In the past, our team's work with interactive and AD agencies earned awards including Cyber Lions. We are super used to fast turn-around workflows.
What files I need to provide for Grading?
You'll need a picture lock cut. No changes to edit after grading starts. This will help you save money and achieve consistency throughout the grading process.
Remote Grading:
All you need to provide us with is a lossless Prores 444 (or similar highest possible quality) render of your picture lock cut.
Grading and Conform:
If you are supplying hard drives with RAW camera footage, we will send you detailed instructions on how to groom and export the timeline for grading so we can achieve the best results possible.
How many reviews do I get?
For Grading or VFX workflows, you get two review rounds, and it should suffice for most projects. We have a methodology for turnarounds that we call SRD; it stands for Supply, Reviews, and Delivery. It ensures everything is documented and automated throughout so we never miss a note from you. We know how frustrating missed notes can be.
If you need more review rounds, we can provide them at an additional cost.
How Witchery came to be?
As filmmakers, we decided to set up shop because we were tired of the amount of pitfalls indie filmmakers deal with when hiring post-production services. Just take a look at the disheartening stories on Reddit. We've all been there. We've lost money, got our footage wrecked, and, in the end, had to redo it all ourselves.
In addition, some productions require story-aware crafty work, and most people offering post services are approaching it as if they are delivering for Door-dash. Story-aware post-production craft, a.k.a people that give a f*ck, is not easy to find, and it is especially harder for low-budget productions. We created Witchery to be that for fellow filmmakers.
Tell me about the overall workflow.
We will be discussing story and moods at the beginning of the project and then meet for remote review rounds. Our client engagement workflow (supply > 2 reviews > delivery) is completely automated and runs on top of widely adopted industry standard tools like Frame.io. After onboarding, the SRD system takes care of never leaving you out of the loop. No materials or notes are ever exchanged via email or third-party transfer sites (we are paranoid that all transfer services are using these files to train AIs. Why wouldn't they?). This also avoids messy, untraceable back and forth and keeps everyone informed, happy, and the project moving.