News

  • STRANGER THINGS 4… LOVE FROM RUSSIA

    The Hit House’s 2020 Valentine’s Day was made with Netflix’s “Stranger Things” Season 4 Spoilers… & our Trailer Music!

    For those of you who have not yet gotten on Netflix’s Stranger Things bandwagon, stop waffling & immediately catch up by streaming Season 1-3! *Spoiler Alert* For those of you who are on top of your streaming of Stranger Things, you know that last season ended with the possible death of our beloved Hopper… But now we know that he’s alive, or at least seemingly so, in Russia! Netflix absolutely made our Valentine’s Day by revealing this gem of knowledge on February 14 with a Stranger Things Season 4 teaser that included The Hit House’s “Thruster” trailer music from our “RE:ACTION RISE” Album!

    Created by the Duffer Brothers, & exclusively on Netflix, Stranger Things is a SciFi drama & horror series whose first season was released in 2016. When supernatural stirrings start with the potential abduction of a teenager in November 1983 in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, a group of best friends band together as intrepid amateur sleuths to find their lost buddy. With the help of an other-worldly girl, Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown), with psychokinetic talents, they attempt to close the portal to another dimension that has been opened by the nearby Hawkins National Laboratory run by the United States Department of Energy. The following 2 seasons play out over the course of the following year & subsequent months as the town of Hawkins continues to be beset by creatures from the “upside down,” as the other dimension is named. Also starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery & Cara Buono, Stranger Things has rocketed to the top of many a “binge-worthy” list & stands strong with a 93% average tomatometer & 91% average audience score. Additionally, it has received accolades in the form of the following award nominations of: 31 Primetime Emmy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, 1 BAFTA, 2 Directors Guild of America Awards, 3 Writers Guild of America Award, & 3 Grammy Awards. For award wins it has claimed 1 SAG Award, 2 AFI Awards, 1 Critics’ Choice Television Award, & 3 People’s Choice Awards!

    As a truly beloved character in Stranger Things, it was with shock & sadness that we saw Hopper sacrifice himself at the end of Season 3 when a generator exploded, however, now we can rejoice in the fact that he’s seemingly alive & well, albeit in a Russian prison on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Aside from stanning the show, it was our absolute delight to be able to contribute trailer music to the teaser that revealed this brilliant fact of Hopper’s survival. While there is no release date yet, we rest easy knowing that the show is in production & we will see the continuation of the battle against the vile creatures from the upside down. Until Stranger Things Season 4 arrives, we’ll be here, & available for all your new & custom music, sound design, & music supervision needs. So give us a call, shoot us a message, & we’ll help your project make as big of a splash as you desire. Also, we promise we’ll only re-watch Stranger Things seasons 1-3, during short breaks from our work for you!

  • F9 Sound Design

    No matter how Fast you are… You’ll always need Sound Design.

    When the 9th installment in The Fast Saga franchise decided to drop its Official Trailer it needed sound design to compliment & enhance the ridiculous amounts of action on the screen. For ridiculous amounts of action, The Hit House had just the answer, our Framework Sound Design Albums & extensive library created by 8 time Emmy Nominated Sound Designer Chad J. Hughes.

    Directed by Justin Lin, F9: The Fast Saga aka Fast & Furious 9 tells the tale of two brothers torn apart, united by blood, but broken by different life paths. In the film, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) & his driving family unite against their deadliest enemy yet, Dom’s real blood brother, Jakob (John Cena), Dominic’s younger brother, & an old nemesis Cipher (Charlize Theron). Grievances are aired, races are had, & explosions are triggered as F9: The Fast Saga roars across the screen, also starring Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, & Helen Mirren.

    With any movie the requisite action sequences require the appropriate sound design, but in no genre is it more imperative than in an action film. In this case the team behind F9’s Official Trailer could settle for nothing less than the best, so they called The Hit House & we proffered Chad’s incredible creations. The rest as they say is history, & the proof is in the pudding, which in this case is a mind melting, eye gaping, earth shattering assault of a trailer that does nothing if not justice to the Fast Saga franchise. On May 22, 2020 Universal Picture releases Fast & Furious 9 & we couldn’t be more hyped. Until then, when you need that perfect sound, that ideally crafted design, that indefinable je ne sais quoi, call The Hit House. We will help define it for you, gift wrap it, & deliver everything your project requires & more. The result? A final product smashed way out of this world & into the next.

  • NIGHT WATCHING ISSUES

    The Hit House’s The Barn Owl Trailer Music in The Night Clerk Official Trailer

    When darkness falls, they still watch… & in this case, it’s the night clerk who sees the brutality, but did he do anything or everything? For Highland Film Group’s upcoming thrilling mystery drama The Night Clerk, Saban Films needed to create the perfect amount of suspense, tension, & thrill, so The Hit House delivered composer William August Hunt’s The Night Owl from our DUSK Album.

    Directed by Michael Cristofer, The Night Clerk stars Tye Sheridan as Bart Bromley a hotel night clerk who secretly watches the guests on surveillance cameras in order to enhance his own interpersonal skills. As he is on the autism spectrum he seeks to “practice” what he says by studying others to imitate their modes of interaction. During one of his night shifts a woman is murdered & with a preponderance of evidence pointing to him he quickly becomes the main suspect. With more knowledge than ways of conveying it Bart is right in the crosshairs of the lead police detective, played by John Leguizamo. Concurrently Bart becomes close to the hotel guest Andrea, played by Ana de Armas, who soon becomes the killer’s next target. Helen Hunt stars as Ethel Bromley, Bart’s protective mother, whose special son can do no wrong… or can he? The question remains, who is the murderer & can they be stopped?

    With The Barn Owl, William August Hunt crafted a thrilling piece of neo-classical orchestral music that serves to heighten the tension, highlight the horror, & enhance the mystery of who killed whom & who may die next in this movie trailer. On February 21, The Night Clerk arrives in theaters & we can’t wait to see who did it! But until then, when your next project requires the riveting music to empower the plot, maximize the thrill, & leave the watcher wanting more, we have, or will create, the perfect music for you. We’re waiting, watching, & listening to hear your problem & provide the bespoke solution your work deserves.

    Hear The Hit House composer William August Hunt’s “The Barn Owl” on SoundCloud:

  • It’s. Just. A. Doll…

    The scary side of The Hit House emerges, with Horror Sounds for Brahms: The Boy 2

    When STX Entertainment needed the sounds that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, they turned to The Hit House. For Lakeshore Entertainment’s Brahms: The Boy II, the official trailer required the best way to underscore the horror of a supernatural murderous doll. To help break down the viewer’s sense of reality, belief in the good, & sublimation to a home filled with evil, The Hit House provided just the right elements of sound design.

    Brahms: The Boy II is directed by William Brent Bell, & stars Katie Holmes as Liza, the mother of Jude (played by Christopher Convery). When their family moves into the guest house of the Heelshire Mansion, the young son Jude is “befriended” by Brahms, a frighteningly life-like doll that soon inserts itself into all aspects of their lives & slowly turns their mundane existence into one filled with creepiness, destruction, & death. A broken & possessed doll brings a disturbing nightmare to life & pulls them into downward spiraling journey of horror. The film also stars Ralph Ineson & Owain Yeoman.

    Broken & afraid, fearsome & creepy, loathsome & horrific, the emotions of Brahms: The Boy II’s Official Trailer run the gamut of emotions. Thus just the right tones to accentuate & amplify those feelings were required. To truly appreciate what The Hit House creators delivered, watch the trailer thrice more, namely once without sound, & then once again with sound. Are you afraid yet? Now lastly, wait ’til evening, turn off the lights, & watch it once more… Can you hear it calling you? Jude…

  • Disney+ Streaming “Togo”

    The Hit House contributes to TV Spots for Disney Plus’s “Togo”

    The unsung hero in an untold tale now gets his day in the sunshine of Disney Plus, where all can see the heroic acts of Togo & his owner Leonhard Seppala. To best extol the sense of adventure, the selfless acts of heroism, & the joy of running sled dogs, Disney looked for the contribution of The Hit House.

    Directed by Ericson Core & starring Willem Dafoe as Leonard “Sepp” Seppala, Togo tells the story of the Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer & musher, & his faithful sled dog Togo, who together played a critical role in saving countless lives in Nome during the 1925 serum run. The streaming movie shows how Sepp & Togo first met, had their issues with one another, came together as a team during races, & ultimately saved the city of Nome from the diptheria outbreak. Also starring in this moving story of the loving bond forged between a man & his sled dogs are Julianne Nicholson & Christopher Heyerdahl, with Michael Gaston, Michael McElhatton, Jamie McShane, Michael Greyeyes, Thorbjørn Harr, Shaun Benson, & Nikolai Nikolaeff.

    The beauty of Disney+’s Togo, in addition to telling a heartwarming tale of man’s best friend saving a whole town of humans, is that it highlights the heretofore unheralded key role that Sepp & Togo played in saving Nome. A reporter at the “finish line” of the serum run saw another musher, Gunnar Kaasen & his dog Balto, arrive to the town on the last leg of the multi-leg journey, & mistakenly assumed that he had completed the entire distances solo. In actuality, Sepp & Togo had covered a longer & more treacherous portion of the route, a well as other mushers who assisted in other stretches of the trip. Now they can finally get the accolades they so richly deserve. It just goes to show, that in any major endeavor there is a team that lends its collective work to make the mission a success. In the same fashion, next time your team has the need of trailer music or sound design for one of your projects, keep us in mind. Whether you need a lead dog to take charge, or just another member of the pack to help carry the load, The Hit House is here for you, ready, willing, & able to deliver just the track to give your project the perfect amount of pull. Until then, we’ll be streaming Togo & all the other incredible offerings of Disney+.

  • THE MANDALORIAN ARRIVES WITH DISNEY+

    Disney+ Begins Streaming November 12, With the Live-Action Star Wars Original Series, The Mandalorian

    As if getting to contribute to The Lady and the Tramp for Disney+ was not special enough, The Hit House had the privilege of contributing to this trailer for The Mandalorian. Thus The Hit House continues to have the honor of contributing to the Star Wars universe as with previous spots for The Rise of Skywalker, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Last Jedi, & A Tribute to Carrie Fisher. Yes, we are unapologetic super fans here, & cannot wait to finally see more Star Wars tales!

    Created, written, & showrun by Jon Favreau The Mandalorian streams its first season with 8 episodes. Starring Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Bill Burr, Omid Abtahi, Taika Waititi, Ming-Na Wen, & Werner Herzog, this Star Wars epic occurs after the fall of the Empire, & prior to the First Order arriving. It follows a lone gunfighter’s adventures in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the New Republic’s authority. If we know anything about Star Wars, it will be a thrilling adventure to watch, but one that also has depth of insight that will teach us not only about the characters, but also about ourselves.

    When the long-awaited Disney+ arrives with not only new content, but also classics, Disney+ Originals, & content more from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, & National Geographic, we will be watching it all, but especially The Mandalorian & Lady and the Tramp. Be sure to sign-up now for Disney+ as when November 12 arrives, you don’t want to be the only one who isn’t up-to-date on the newest happenings in the Star Wars world. Until then, when you need that special something, perfect for your campaign, you know where to find us… Working, but continuously thrilled to contribute to such groundbreaking projects such as The Mandalorian.

    Enjoy The Hit House’s custom work, “Concord Dawn,” for The Mandalorian, here on SoundCloud:

  • 2019 CLIO Entertainment Awards Shortlist Announced

    2019 CLIO Entertainment Awards with The Hit House's trailer music & sound design work.

    The Hit House was privileged to contribute to the works of 5 of the 2019 Clio Shortlist Nominees

    The Clio Entertainment Awards, formerly known as the Clio Key Art Awards, announced their 2019 Shortlist Nominees for their annual awards program, which celebrates the creativity of the entertainment business. The Hit House is once again honored to have contributed our varied skill sets of composing, producing, & arranging music, as well as providing music supervision for some of the incredible Finalists on this year’s Shortlist. Directly contributing were Jesse Goodwin, Scott Lee Miller, William August Hunt, Dan Diaz, Chad J. Hughes, & David Andronico. They contributed to the incredible campaigns for Avengers: Endgame, Jumanji: The Next Level, Knives Out, Ghostwire: Tokyo, & Antman and the Wasp. Collectively we were beyond honored to contribute to the works of our wonderful clients, The Hive, The Walt Disney Studios, Big Picture, Motive Creative, Petrol Advertising, & Trailer Park.

    A huge congratulation is in order to all the 2019 Clio Entertainment Awards nominees, our fellow composers, music supervisors, sound designers, & all the other creatives involved in the process of making this genre rise to such a level of excellence. The Hit House is honored to be counted in such illustrious company. We’ll see you at the 2019 Clio Entertainment Awards show on November 21, 2019 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. May all the talented Finalists have the stars align & be given their moment to shine… but of course an extra special round of applause from us & the best of luck goes out to our amazing clients & their tremendous campaigns this year. You all never cease to inspire The Hit House’s creative endeavors as is evinced by the following projects.

    Avengers: Endgame


    Short List – The Hive, The Walt Disney StudiosAction/Adventure: Audio/Visual Mixed Campaign

    Jumanji: The Next Level

    Short List – Big PictureAction/Adventure: Theatrical Trailer

    Knives Out

    Short List – Motive CreativeMusic: Theatrical: Audio/Visual Technique

    Ghostwire: Tokyo

    Short List – Petrol AdvertisingCGI Trailer: Games: Audio/Visual

    Antman and the Wasp

    Short List – Trailer ParkTrailer: Home Entertainment: Audio/Visual

  • THE SAGA ENDS, BUT SKYWALKER RISES

    An Intergalactic Honor for The Hit House to Be Part of This Final Star Wars Series Trailer

    Since we were young Padwans the Star Wars universe has been a guiding light in our existence. It has helped us confront fears, it has taught us about an undeniable Force within all of us, & it has brought us together… but now it ends. Through it all The Hit House has had the distinct honor & privilege to contribute to various Star Wars trailers, & now with the final trailer it has all seemed like destiny. In this ending we take one last look at our friends, our family, & our lives as the truly epic Star Wars saga concludes.

    Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, directed by J.J. Abrams, is the 3rd & final installment of the sequel trilogy. In it, the Resistance faces off against the First Order as the Jedi finally meet their near eternal foe, the evil Sith. The Rise of Skywalker begins one year after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as the tattered remains of the Resistance regroup, deal with their pasts, & their private & interpersonal issues. Starring in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Joonas Suotama as Chewbacca, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine/Darth Sidious, & Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.

    On December 20, the Force will be with us all, always. While it is an ending, we see it as also an opportunity for a new beginning, but all that remains to be written. For now, we focus on that best gift we could ever receive for the holidays, the viewing of this final film, & as we watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Hit House shall think back & cherish all blood, sweat, & tears that went into contributing through all the years for this most beloved of tales. As Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker states, “This Christmas, the saga will end, the story lives forever.”

  • END OF MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, BEGINS

    The Hit House’s Custom Cover Contributes to Beating Nazis in “The Man in the High Castle” Season 4 Official Trailer

    Hope can spring from many places, & in this case it arises from the idea that Nazis being vanquished in one universe can provide the template for saying auf-nimmer-wiedersehen to them forever in this world. Amazon Prime Video’s 4th & final season of The Man in the High Castle arrives on November 15, & with it they needed a way to exemplify the terrible longing for victory, the monumental journey traversed, & a way to properly conclude a story worth fighting for. To this end, The Hit House composer Scott Lee Miller meticulously crafted a custom cover, of Skeeter Davis’s 1962 hit single The End of the World, to which Lydia René lent her mellifluous vocals. This custom piece provided the ideal accompaniment to the stunning visuals of the final season’s epic conclusion of one of history’s greatest battles.

    Based upon the eponymous 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle depicts a dystopian parallel universe in which the Axis Powers win World War II & have divided the United States of America into the East Coast’s Greater Nazi Reich & the West Coast’s Japanese Pacific States. Between the two zones lies the neutral territory of the Rocky Mountains. As the plot progresses various characters find newsreels & home movies that depict a for them alternate reality that shows Japan & Germany losing the Second World War. Created by Frank Spotnitz & produced by Amazon Studios, The Man in the High Castle stars Alexa Davalos, Joel de la Fuente, & Jason O’Mara. In Season 4 Juliana Crain’s self-imposed mission is to eliminate Reichsmarschall John Smith. While the Nazis have developed the Nebenwelt Portal to invade different worlds, other plots points arise as Helen Smith fights to save her shattered family, Chief Inspector Kido is torn between the Imperial Army & the Royal Family, & amid all these conflicts the Black Communist Resistance blossoms as a new rebel force.

    Whether it comes to destroying Nazis or creating customized trailer music, The Hit House is always ready, willing, & able to fight on the side of the righteous. No evil Reich can reign forever & thus fighting back is something that comes naturally to us, just like creating music or sound design. In that vein, we are happy to work with such talented artists as Lydia René, & on behalf of those such as Amazon Studios, who are willing to tell the stories that are worth dying for. When next you need such assistance, send up a flare, & we will be there. Until then, we can’t wait for November 15, when The Man in the High Castle arrives, & you better believe we will be watching & inspired, along with millions of others.

    Enjoy The Hit House Scott Lee Miller’s custom cover of The End of the World, with Lydia Rene’s vocals, as The End of the Castle on SoundCloud:

  • SOLVING CRIME WITH PAPA

    FOX’s “Prodigal Son” Rolls out Preview with The Hit House’s Trailerization

    “A rolling stone gathers no moss” & “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” are two classic aphorisms which may encapsulate FOX’s new drama Prodigal Son as a fresh take on the procedural crime genre, with a darkly comedic & provocative tone. The preview trailer certainly takes no prisoners as it aggressively & entertainingly shows the complicated background of the lead characters of Prodigal Son. As the perfect music for illustrating the fraught complexity of hunting sociopaths while having one of the most notorious as a father, Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone by the Undisputed Truth (made famous by The Tempations), was the only choice for trailer music. To trailerize this well known song, The Hit House was tasked & composer William August Hunt stepped up to deftly shape the iconic song from its original to trailer form.

    Produced by Emmy-nominated Greg Berlanti & Sarah Schechter, Prodigal Son stars Tom Payne as Malcom Bright, a young criminal psychologist & profiler who learned how to hunt serial killers from his father Michael Sheen playing Dr. Martin Whitly. The reason Dr. Whitly knows the criminal mind is that he himself has killed at least 23 people during the 1990s while he was embarking on a serial killing spree that earned him the moniker “The Surgeon.” Now working as a consultant for the NYPD, Malcolm is forced to ask for his father’s assistance while working on a copycat serial killer case, while simultaneously navigating the complex family dynamics of having a convicted & incarcerated serial killer father, a sarcastic New York mother played by Bellamy Young, & his TV journalist sister played by Halston Sage. Prodigal Son also stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau, Frank Harts, & Keiko Agena.

    On Monday, September 23, when Prodigal Son premieres on FOX, The Hit House will have popcorn ready, all the lights on, & all communication muted so the first episode has our full & undivided attention. Should you have any trailer or commercial needs prior to or after 8/9c, we will be available, but during the show, sociopath papas & their prodigal sons are the only ones for whom we’re there.