Past Workshop Descriptions

Designing Realism, Emotion and Experience with Sound

This panel explores how sound shapes audience perception — grounding stories in realism, heightening emotional impact, and crafting immersive experiences. Join a professional industry leading film composer, sound designer and mixer as they share their professional journeys and their creative and technical approaches to blending dialogue, effects, and environments, revealing how audio becomes a powerful storytelling tool.

Moderator:
George Flores is a professional Sound Editor, Designer, and Re-Recording Mixer, based in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Flores’ accreditations include: Cinema Audio Society, Motion Picture Sound Editor, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), and Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (ACCT). As a sought out sound post producer, Mr. Flores expansive body of work includes: 120 (one hundred and twenty) feature films, 500 hours of television programs, documentaries, corporate, educational and e-sound projects. Mr. Flores’ work is distributed worldwide via film distribution outlets, and through broadcast and streaming services such as: The Smithsonian Chanel, Animal Planet, Discovery, CBC, YTV, Rogers, Tree House, PBS, Super Chanel, APTN, The Documentary Channel, Amazon Prime, I-Tunes, Hulu, and Netflix. Most recently, Mr. Flores completed sound work for the IMAX feature film, "Volcanoes The Fires Of Creation."  www.georgefloressound.com | www.imdb.com/name/nm2699715

Panelists:
1. Robbie Teehan is a JUNO-award nominated Canadian composer, known for his nuanced and melodic scores to film, TV, and video games, and broad musical experience. He scored the critically-acclaimed Canadian film SCARBOROUGH, hailed by NOW Magazine as “A New Canadian Cinema”, and winner of 8 Canadian Screen Awards including “Best Motion Picture”; BELOW THE BELT, which recently premiered in New York City with Executive Producer Hillary Rodham Clinton in attendance; and BOTTLE CONDITIONED directed by Academy Award nominee Jerry Franck. Robbie’s scoring credits include additional music on three seasons of hit TV series ELEMENTARY and two seasons of JESSICA JONES alongside his mentor, 4-time Emmy Award-winning composer Sean Callery (24, HOMELAND, BONES, THE MEDIUM, HALO, etc.), with whom he apprenticed for five years in Los Angeles.  Robbie created a heartfelt orchestral score for the animated short LOVE LETTERS FROM EVEREST, which received two Canadian Screen Award nominations, and a Ukrainian-folk inspired score for the feature documentary THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL, lauded by the Chicago Tribune as “provocative, powerful, poignant, and frankly, unforgettable” and award-winner at nine film festivals including the Los Angeles Film Festival. Classically-trained, Robbie has composed and arranged for artists and ensembles across North America including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.  His orchestral composition, “Dreams of Flying,” was hailed as “fresh and tuneful” by MacLean’s Magazine and nominated for a JUNO award for “Classical Composition of the Year.”  Robbie has performed thousands of shows around the world with a diverse array of musical projects, and his work as a composer, arranger, band member, session musician, and record producer has earned him four JUNO and eight Canadian Folk Music Award nominations.  He is currently active with his indie folk singer-songwriter project, Gentle Sparrow, releasing two EPs on streaming platforms and performing throughout his home province of Ontario, Canada. Robbie is also the founder and CEO of The Pro Composer, a boutique career coaching firm and online community serving and supporting thousands of professional media composers around the world. https://www.robbieteehan.com

2. Bruce Baklarian is an audio-forward promo producer and multimedia storyteller with over a decade of experience in broadcast and post-production. Currently a Promo Producer at AMI-tv, he crafts compelling campaigns from concept through final mix—directing voiceover sessions, shaping sound design, and weaving music and narrative to elevate brand storytelling. Bruce’s career began in audio, designing and mixing sound for documentaries, promos, and live television. He has since expanded his toolkit to include video editing, motion graphics, and creative direction, while maintaining a strong ear for audio as the heartbeat of every project. With a background in audio engineering and filmmaking, Bruce bridges technical expertise with creative vision, delivering content that resonates across broadcast, digital, and social platforms. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucebaklarian/

3. Mishann Lau is an independent filmmaker, producer, director, multi-media artist, and Post Production Supervisor. Starting her career in post-production, Mishann is an award-winning sound editor of 20 years, garnering a DGC award for best sound editing on the Canadian/ US production of Queer as Folk, and Genie nominations for Nurse Fighter Boy and Ginger Snaps. Last year, Mishann’s installation What Are You Saying was chosen and mounted at Toronto’s 2024 NUIT BLANCHE. Mishann’s video work was featured in Syrus Marcus Ware’s 2022 installation MBL: Freedom and his 2019 8-channel video wall, Ancestors: Do You Read Me. In 2020 and 2022 Mishann had the great honour of being chosen to participate in Netflix’s Banff Diversity in Voices Initiative. In 2019 Mishann was commissioned to create LBD, a room installation at Gladstone Hotel’s, That’s So Gay exhibition. Mishann’s independent films have played in festivals around the world. Presently, Mishann is working as a Post Production Coordinator on shows like Wednesday Season 1, and The Institute. Mishann is currently fostering her love for mundane acts of comfort with a series of shorts called “Creature Comforts” https://www.mishann.com

Location: 1137 Dupont Street, Toronto, Ontario M6H 2A3
Category: Industry Panels
Maximum Capacity: 50
1.5 hours of instruction $0 or PWYC donation

Wait List
Add your name and email to the wait list and we will contact you if a spot is available, or a session is added: