Frank Serafine Makes "Noise" With Tyros

BUENA PARK, CA (May 16, 2003) — While studying at the Ali Akbar College of Indian Music in San Francisco, Frank Serafine did something few were doing in 1979 – creating sound effects on an electronic keyboard. Although commonplace for music creation, sound effects creation often involved resorting to stock effects in libraries or going out into the field to create your own.

Upon completing studies in orchestration at Denver University, Serafine moved to Los Angeles to start a multi-media project, composing and performing original music for the opening of Space Mountain at Disneyland. His unique approach to sound effects generation attracted producers at Paramount, where he completed the special sound effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. With the success of the Star Trek films and then later TRON (OSCAR – nominated Best Sound 1982), he was able to broaden his credits to include the stunning cinematic electronic sounds heard in John Carpenter's The Fog, Brainstorm, The Day After, Poltergeist, Short Circuit, Pumpkinhead, The Hunt for Red October (Academy Award Best Sound Effects Editing 1992), The Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity.

In addition to films, Serafine composes music and effects for video games, (including Grand Theft Auto, Interstate 76, Wing Commander IV, the Pocahontas Animated Storybook, and the TRON arcade game), and is actively involved in simulation projects for entertainment and military applications.

The Serafine Studio was formed in 1981 at Lionsgate Films, and moved into its permanent home in Venice Beach (CA) in 1985. At the state-of-the-art facility, the composer provides sound design, Foley, ADR, editorial and music via sophisticated digital editing systems. All sound sources from the production suites are interfaced directly to the main mix stage. The mix stage is outfitted with a custom theatrical cinema monitoring system, configured for 7.1, 5.1 and Dolby Surround print mastering. Complementing these systems, a diverse assortment of analog and digital synthesizers provides a variety of sounds and textures.