- Ira Poblete
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
A Composition Studio Built for Live Scoring Work
Project Type: Studio Conversion and Audio System Design
Client / Market: Film / TV Composer
Awards and Nominations:
Academy Awards (Oscars)
Shortlisted for Best Original Score:
Blink Twice (2025, 97th Academy Awards shortlist)
Devotion (2023)
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards / Recognition:
Outstanding Music Competition for Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2024)
Society of Composers and Lyricist Awards / Recognition
Outstanding Original Title Sequence for Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2024)
IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Awards)
Breakthrough Composer of the Year (2023)
Girls on Films Awards / Recognition
Best Composer for Devotion and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2023)
Music + Sound Awards, UK
Best Original Composition for Pigeon Kings and After We Leave (2020)
Awards / Recognition
BMI Pete Carpenter Fellowship (2002)
APM/YMF Music Business Award (2004)*
*alongside John Williams
Space: Industrial area facility
Primary Goal: Create a live tracking-able studio for high-level film score composition
Sense & Sound Scope: Consultation, system design, signal-flow design, M1xM Studio System for the control room, and SxS Tall Live Room Studio System, audio system installation, wiring routing and testing, custom mural fabric print for the live room
Key Features: Surround-able control room, fully integrated live room and booth, custom fabric-printed mural, custom signal flow design
Project Overview
Chanda Dancy needed a studio that could support the pace and precision of high-level film and TV composition.
The space was located inside an industrial area facility and needed to function as more than a writing room. It had to support composition, live tracking, booth integration, and a professional audio workflow built around scoring work.
Sense & Sound helped shape the studio through consultation, system design, signal-flow planning, acoustic systems, installation, and testing.
The Challenge
A film composer’s studio needs to support both creative speed and technical reliability. For Chanda, the room needed to work for high-level composition while also being live tracking-able.
The control room had to support accurate decision-making, with the flexibility to become surround-able. The live room and booth needed to feel fully integrated into the workflow, not treated as separate spaces.
The goal was a studio that could move quickly between writing, recording, playback, and production.
The Approach
Sense & Sound began with consultation and system planning, defining how the rooms should connect and how signal would move through the studio.
The control room was designed around the M1xM Studio System, creating a focused environment for composition, monitoring, and critical listening. For the live room, Sense & Sound used the SxS Tall Live Room Studio System to support tracking and performance work inside the facility.
The signal-flow design was customized for the way Chanda works, helping the studio feel clear, connected, and ready for professional scoring sessions.
The Studio Conversion
The studio combines a surround-able control room, fully integrated live room and booth, and a custom signal-flow design.
Sense & Sound handled audio system installation, wiring routing, and testing to make sure the technical infrastructure supported the creative workflow. The room was designed so composition, recording, and playback could happen with less friction.
A custom fabric-printed mural in the live room brought a strong visual identity into the acoustic system. The treatment was not just functional. It helped define the atmosphere of the room.
The Result
Chanda Dancy’s studio became a professional composition and tracking environment built for film and TV work.
The finished space supports high-level scoring, live recording, and critical listening while keeping the workflow clear and integrated. The control room, live room, and booth now work together as one connected studio system.
For a composer working at this level, the result is a room built for speed, confidence, and creative control.
Project notes are based on Sense & Sound’s direct involvement in the studio layout, acoustic design, acoustics manufacturing & installation, lighting design, speaker placement, and system planning for Chanda Dancy's studio
Comments