Let the SOUND Tell the Story

Founder Charlie Hewitt works alongside his son Nico, also a sound engineer. Here, they’re working on the soundtrack for “Aria.” PHOTO BY KAREN DAY

Boise-based Mirror Studios brings film and TV to life through sound

BY SONYA FEIBERT

A grand piano, guitars, and a couple of drums welcome guests to Boise’s Mirror Studios, located just off of the Greenbelt and Americana Boulevard.

The instruments are the physical representation of the magic happening here, pure passion housed within a few walls that reverberate with the kind of joy that comes from loving what you do.

“We’re all musicians,” said Mirror Studios Founder and President Charlie Hewitt. He’s been playing guitar and singing for as long as he can remember, and his love of music led him to build a recording studio in his garage. Soon, friends, and then friends of friends, were asking if Hewitt could record them.

“Over the years, I got better and honed my craft,” he said. “I have an appreciation for what it’s like to be on that side of the microphone.”

What started as a homegrown endeavor has spanned into a 30-year award-winning career creating sound that resonates. Today, Mirror Studios focuses on post-production, specializing in sound for feature films and television, mixing music in Dolby Atmos, and most recently, long-form immersive audio. The studio was part of a team that released “The Metal Detective,” the first narrative podcast to use the Immersive Audio Experience (IAX) mastering standard developed right here in Boise.

As Hewitt explained, “With the proliferation of immersive audio, it’s frustrating when a great studio mix doesn’t translate well to headphones or your car audio system. The IAX mastering process ensures audiences hear the same experience no matter what listening device they choose.”

You’ve likely seen a movie that Mirror Studios was part of, but, as Hewitt said, “If I’ve done my job, someone comes away saying, ‘I love that movie.’ The minute our technology is noticed, we’ve lost the audience.”

Hewitt’s journey has carried Mirror Studios from Southern California to Alaska to its current home in Boise. Hewitt was working in Los Angeles when he met his wife, Mary, on a business trip to Alaska. Like the opening lines of a song, Hewitt knew that it was the start of something beautiful.

Despite people telling him it was a mistake, Hewitt moved his studio to Alaska. There, he brought on technology that hadn’t existed in the state before, including the capability to connect his studio to anywhere in the world. He built relationships with Disney, Pixar, Warner Brothers, and Sony while working on movies like “Burlesque.”

In the spring of 2017, Hewitt and Mary took a fortuitous trip to Boise to visit friends. In classic Boise fashion, “the weather was perfect, and the people were perfect,” Hewitt said. On their flight back to Alaska, Mary looked at him: “I could live there,” she said.

A year later, they moved to Boise.

“I love it,” Hewitt said. One of the aspects he enjoys most is collaborating with other sound and film experts in the Treasure Valley. “There are so many talented people here,” he said.

As he did in Alaska, Hewitt embraces technology and the ways that it can elevate sound. The cutting-edge equipment he’s brought into the Boise studio speaks to this.

Hewitt played a stereo mix of a piano and flute instrumental song, then played the same song again mixed in Dolby Atmos. You can hear the difference from the first note: the sound is richer and far more immersive. It feels like you are in the performance instead of just a listener.

Even more clear than the sound is how much Hewitt enjoys his work. “It’s so fun!” he emphasized over and over again. Passing by posters for “Die Hard” and “Alien 3,” just a couple of the movies that Mirror Studios’ team members have contributed to, it’s easy to see—or rather, hear—that fun.

“I like helping to tell the story through sound,” Hewitt explained. “It’s all in the subtleties.”

For Hewitt, that philosophy guides all parts of life. He makes sure to take it all in: the sun streaming through a window; the smell of lilacs on a walk; his granddaughter rubbing her hands together after playing in the dirt. “Subtleties are the thread of the tapestry. It’s not all bold colors, but the subtle hues that bring it together,” Hewitt said. An essential part of the tapestry of Mirror Studios is the people. This includes Producer Carolyn Robinson and Cinematographer Steven Rychetnik of SprocketHeads; Composer and Engineer Kevin Barnett of Lovin’ Dog; and SFX Editor and Sound Designer Nico Hewitt, who is also Hewitt’s son. “The talent and creative chemistry here is what makes this place special,” Hewitt said.

Through collaboration and creativity, Mirror Studios and its team members have helped to make sure some of the biggest films of the last 30 years are pitch perfect. Hewitt is excited to bring more stories to life through sound. “I’m just getting started,” he said.