‘Mix Presents Sound for Film: Awards Season’ Adds ‘Nickel Boys’ Composers and Audio Team

Los Angeles, CA (November 14, 2024)— The annual free virtual event, Mix Presents Sound for Film: Awards Season, has added a panel with the audio team behind Nickel Boys. The event, taking place Friday, December 6, 2024, will highlight sound-related contenders in the races for the Oscars, the MPSE Golden Reels and the CAS Awards.

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Through a series of video presentations, the event will showcase the creative sound teams behind the year’s top films. Newly added to the agenda is a panel with the audio team behind Nickel Boys, presented by Amazon MGM Studios. The panel will include:

Tony Volante • Re-Recording Mixer / Supervising Sound Editor

Before starting my film career mixing Todd Solondz’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Welcome To The Dollhouse, I spent 15 years recording and mixing music for Grammy winning recording artists like Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

I’ve applied my music career experience to enhance many music related films including Phish Bittersweet Motel, The Ramones End Of The Century (Grammy nominated), Lou Reed Berlin, Patti Smith Dream Of Life, Tony Bennett The Zen Of Bennett, Nina Simone What Happened Miss Simone (Grammy nominated, Oscar nominated, Emmy winner) and Hamilton (Emmy winner).

My film mixing career has spanned over 28 years. Throughout my career I have Supervised and mixed with some of the most respected filmmakers in the industry including Derek Cianfrance, Oren Moverman, Jim Jarmusch, Joel Schumacher, Alex Gibney, Doug Liman, Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme, Liz Garbus, Tommy Kail, to name a few.

I’ve been nominated for 6 Prime time Emmy Awards… Outstanding Mixing What Happened, Miss Simone and Outstanding Mixing Going Clear, Outstanding Mixing Fosse/ Verdon, Outstanding Mixing Hamilton and most recently in 2024 Outstanding Mixing for Stax Soulsville, USA and Jim Henson Idea Man (two nominations in the same category/ same year). Also, two MPSE Golden Reel nominations for Best Sound Editing What Happened, Miss Simone and Hamilton. I won the Cinema Audio Society award for Re-recording mixer on Hamilton and a CAS nomination for Outstanding Sound Mixing Becoming Cousteau.

Daniel Timmons • Co-Supervising Sound Editor / Re-Recording Mixer

Daniel Timmons is an Emmy-winning sound supervisor and mixer based in New York City. In his 15 years in the New York film scene, Dan counts amongst his collaborations such esteemed documentarians and filmmakers as Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, Thomas Kail, and Derek Cianfrance.

Daniel has been recognized for his exceptional work, having received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards for What Happened, Miss Simone? and Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief. Additionally, he has been nominated for two MPSE Golden Reel Awards, one for What Happened, Miss Simone? and the other for music editing on Disney’s Hamilton. For his sound design on director Liz Garbus’ biopic film Becoming Cousteau, Dan was a finalist for a 2022 HPA Award. And in 2019, he was the recipient of the George Foster Peabody for his work on Emelie Mahdavian’s Midnight Traveler.

Daniel’s recent credits include RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, Ray Romano’s Somewhere in Queens, HBO’s Tokyo Vice, and Alex Gibney’s Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, and Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos.

Most recently, Daniel won a 2024 Primetime Emmy for Best Sound Editing for his work on Ron Howard’s Jim Henson: Idea Man.

Mark LeBlanc • Sound Mixer

Mark LeBlanc has had a rich and diverse career in audio, blending technical expertise with a strong musical foundation. Starting in the early 1980s, he was involved in music and audio recording, eventually earning a Master’s Degree in Music Theory. His work at Opcode Systems, a pioneering company in the music software industry, gave him a unique insight into the evolving world of digital music and audio technology.

LeBlanc’s experience as an educator at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, where he taught audio production, further honed his skills and helped shape the next generation of audio professionals. His move to the film industry allowed him to combine his technical knowledge with his musical acumen, making him a valuable asset as a Production Sound Mixer. His ability to adapt to different creative needs and his expertise in sound make him a sought-after professional in film production, where his contributions help elevate the overall audio experience.

Most recently, LeBlanc served as Sound Mixer on Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios’ Nickel Boys. His other credits include the Oscar Nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Chosen, Interview with the Vampire, Black Bird, Preacher, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

Scott Alario • Co-Composer

Scott Alario is an artist living and working in Providence, RI. He received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013 and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2006. His art practice consists of photography and is a collaboration with partner Marguerite Keyes and their children Elska and Marco Moon (Mooni). The family works together to stage, perform, and edit the images. This experimental approach includes the use of multiple exposure, color separation, and macro lenses, to document the movement and actions of the young members of his family: “I’m looking for: unseeable squirming, shifting, and growth, arms flailing in ecstasy, or light slowly moving across our walls.”

In addition to visual artwork, Alario makes music as a solo artist (Sorry I’m Late, 2022) and as a collaborator with LA based composer Alex Somers, since 2003. More recently the two co-scored (with Forest Kelley) the 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary film Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018, directed by RaMell Ross). In 2024, Alario and Somers connected with Ross again, this time to compose music for his fiction feature debut, the forthcoming film Nickel Boys (MGM, 2024).

Mix Presents Sound for Film: Awards Season Returns!

The co-score of Hale County This Morning, This Evening was the recipient of the Best Music Score award from the 2018 IDA Documentary Awards. His photographic work received the Winter 2017 TIS books Essential Non-essentials Grant. Alario was a 2013 Critical Mass Finalist and the recipient of a 2012 Fellowship Merit Award from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Alario’s artwork is represented by Kristen Lorello, NY and held in private and public collections including Fidelity Investments, SoHo House, Colby College Museum of Art, Colby, Maine, RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island and others.

Alex Somers • Co-Composer

Alex Somers’ journey into film composition began with a Tascam four-track tape recorder he acquired at age 13, which ignited his fascination with manipulating sound and creating his own sonic realities. This early interest evolved significantly, leading him to study film scoring an dmusic therapy at Berklee College of Music.

Upon completion, Alex relocated to Reykjavík Iceland where he attended the Iceland Academy of the Arts. In Reykjavík, Alex honed his skills as a composer, producer, audio engineer and mixer. His pivotal moment came when he collaborated with Jónsi of Sigur Rós, contributing to ambient projects like Rice boy Sleeps and Liminal, which saw him transition to a sought-after composer for film and television. Somers gained notable recognition in film scoring, contributing music to acclaimed projects such as Captain Fantastic, Honey Boy, Here We Are: Notes For Living On Planet Earth, and the Netflix series Black Mirror episode “Hang the DJ”.

In addition, Somers makes music as a collaborator with artist and composer Scott Alario. The duo co-scored (with Forest Kelley) the 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary film Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018, directed by RaMell Ross). In 2024, they connected with Ross again, this time to compose music for his fiction feature debut, the forthcoming film Nickel Boys (MGM, 2024).

His work also extended to producing and recording with artists like the aforementioned Sigur Rós and Jóhann Jóhannsson. With several solo albums to his name, his work outside of film scoring showcases his distinctive style, blending elements of film composition, ambient, post-classical, and electronica into a cohesive and evocative sound. His music often combines his fascination with found sounds and his musical influences, including electronic pioneers like Ovaland his brother John Somers. Now based in Los Angeles, Somers continues to work on film scores and new solo projects, marking a new chapter in his dynamic career.

Nicholas Monsour • Editor

Nicholas Monsour is a film and television editor from Los Angeles. His work includes the films Nickel Boys, Nope, Next Goal Wins, Us and Keanu, and the television shows Key & Peele, The Twilight Zone, The Last O.G., Cobra Kai, Colin in Black & White, Jean Claude Van Johnson, Whiskey Cavalier, Brockmire, Comrade Detective, Drunk History and HBO’s Witness. He was nominated for an Emmy for Key & Peele (2016). He has also worked extensively in non-profit media production and education.

Monsour received a BFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His films, video art, sculptures, installations, performance and theater pieces have been exhibited in multiple cities in the United States and abroad. The feature film he wrote and directed, Oh My Soul, was an official selection at the 2009 Rotterdam International Film Festival. He has also worked as a graphic designer, theatrical set designer and book designer.

Nicholas Monsour is the son of poet/author Leslie Monsour and playback engineer and documentary cinematographer Karem John Monsour. His brother Jesse Monsour is a creative director at the media production and visual effects company, A52.

To catch this panel, as well as panels on Conclave, Gladiator II and Nosferatu,  register now for the free online event!