Carmen Borgia on SoundBetter

Audio post production for film and TV, music composition and recording.

Sound design and mixing for film and video by Carmen Borgia.

I do post sound for all kinds of films! If you're ready to mix and are concerned about the quality of sound from on-set, I'm happy to have a listen! Sometimes it's easier to fix problem sound than you think. If your project has been well-recorded, I can help you to achieve a great finish.

Related services include Foley, sound effects, ambiences, mastering for film, dialogue EQ and cleanup, project coordination, short films and feature length.

A lifetime music and sound maker, I ran a midtown NYC audio facility for 14 years, where I gained wide experience with a variety of clients for projects large and small. I work in my home studio in New York's Hudson Valley. Small jobs get the same care and respect as large ones.

I also compose and record music, sing, produce and play ukulele as needed.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Credits

2 Reviews

Endorse Carmen Borgia

by Miguel Navarro
Verified (Client)
Great experience working with Carmen! We worked on a beautiful song for his musical. He knows what he wants, he is easygoing and professional. I look forward to working with him again.
by Austin S.
Verified
Carmen was fantastic to work with. He is quick, efficient, and handle notes very well. I would absolutely use him again!

Interview with Carmen Borgia

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: An Original Duckumentary (PBS) for which I headed the sound design team which won an Emmy for best nature documentary. I did a mix for Pilobolus Dance Company that played in Times Square on multiple jumbotrons with sound through a festival-sized system. I periodically do sound designs and/or mixing for the Malevolence series of horror films by Stevan Mena - horror isn't really my thing, but I do get a kick out of making horrible images feel even more horrible.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: • Do you mix feature films? Yes. • Do you do student films? Yes. • Can you make noisy and problematic audio sound good enough in my film? Probably. • Can you mix 5.1 sound? Yes. • Do you wear women's shoes when you foley footsteps? If women are walking onscreen, yes. • Do you have a sound effects library? Yes, a rather large one.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: • May I screen a cut of your film? • What is the film trying to accomplish? • When do you need it? • Where is it to be screened? • Do you have a budget? • Are you working with a composer or other post folk? • Do you have a technical specification sheet from a film festival or distributor?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Finish editing your picture with the sound as untouched as possible, except for volume changes. Then let me have a look/listen and we'll talk. If it sounds bad, that's ok, I'm here to help! It's best for me to hear the sound in it's natural state, before any eq or noise reduction has been applied. If in doubt, ask me!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started cutting 1/4" tape with a razor blade in my high school drama productions in the 1970's and never looked back. I've been doing audio on Pro Tools and other systems since the late 90's. I'm self-taught in the sense that I don't have a formal education in audio engineering, but I've worked in multiple professional environments and always learn from what's going on around me. I ran an audio post department in NYC for 14 years where I encountered all kinds of clients and budgets for theatrical and broadcast releases, and mixed many films long and short. I'm very happy to be working now from my home studio in upstate New York, the small-town setting has proven to be very good for my sound life.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: A teaser for a horror film, a PBS documentary on the history of blacks in buisness, a stop motion crime comedy pilot where I'm composing music and creating a sound design.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Brad Bird of Pixar, just curious how they do it over there!
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Film mixers! Film legends like Lee Dichter, Tommy Fleischman, and the iconic mixer/editor Walter Murch. I work on all styles of film, from stop motion animation to documentaries. On the music side lately I'm hot for Logic, Kings College Choir, Alan Lomax recordings, Lorde and Frank Zappa, but really, pretty much any kind of thing. Les Paul was the original home studio guy, from him I get permission to try things. George Massenberg, Tom Dowd, Malcolm Cecil and Silvia Massey for engineers.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: People often think the recorded sound is so bad that it can't be used, but that's always best to start with. Most of the time I make great use of all of the sound that has been given to me, without having to re-record dialogue.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Seeing a project do well in the world.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Process is based around the needs of the client and project. If it's mixing only, I do a pass and return to the client for notes. If sound design is involved, there may be more back and forth.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Documentaries, narrative shorts and features, trailers, instructional videos, promos, ads and things for the Web.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Mixing! That's the one sound thing that every film needs.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To make the sound you have given me sound as great as possible.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To make the sound you have given me sound as great as possible.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The mixing board that knows when I touch it.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Finish editing your picture with the sound as untouched as possible, except for volume changes. Then let me have a look/listen and we'll talk. It's best for me to hear the sound in it's natural state, before any eq or noise reduction has been applied.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Process is based around the needs of the project. If it's mixing only I do a pass and return to the client for notes. If sound design is involved, there may be more back and forth.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Film mixing in stereo and 5.1 I probably do the most. I also design sound for picture projects, which includes effects and ambience work, Foleys, dialogue editing and ADR.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Listen, reflect, twist or stop twisting a knob, repeat.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A Martin 2k ukulele, iPhone, upright bass, a djembe and my fantastic wife, Alison, who is a classically trained soprano. She's not really gear, but who needs gear without a soprano?
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Listen to the mix very quietly to insure balances between dialogue, music and effects play well in a theater as well as on a laptop or headphones.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital! I also love analog, and I use it where appropriate.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: A desire to get every drop of impact, meaning and expression from the audio I have been given to mix.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My upstairs system is Pro Tools HD with 5.1 monitoring. It's a nicely sized room and translates well for theaters, web and broadcast. Downstairs is The Works, with Pro Tools 12 where i do sound effects that make a mess, build custom instruments and other items to create unique sound and music for projects.