POP Sound recently provided complete audio post production services to Discovery for its two-part original documentary series Jeremy Piven Journey of a Lifetime. Three-time Emmy nominee Mitch Dorf mixed the 5.1 soundtrack for the inspiring travel series, debuting in HD on Discovery HD Theater this month.

Jeremy Piven Journey of a Lifetime follows the actor as he travels across India, exploring the country spectacular sites, natural and man-made, ancient and modern. Piven journey takes him from the teeming slums of Bombay in the south to the head waters of the Ganges in the north, where he participates in mystic Hindu rituals under the guidance of a swami.

Dorf prepared the final soundtrack from field recordings that were conducted on the fly under wildly varying conditions. ‘Ideally, documentary recordists will use lavaliers to record key talent and boom mikes to capture other sounds, but often the crew is working in an environment where they can only have a single camera and record a couple of tracks,’ observed Dorf. ‘We can’st bring people in to re-record their dialogue tracks, you have to work with the elements that you have.

‘Fortunately, we have a lot of tools that can be used to save a scene?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üa scene that may be the crux of the show. You know you’sve done your job when the producer or the editor hears something that they didn’st hear before. It like magic.’

One of the documentary most memorable scenes occurs inside Rikhi Ram, the Dehli music store where the Beatles were introduced to the sitar. It includes a jam session between Piven and the store owner and his son ‘That scene was a real treat to put together?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üespecially as a theatrical mix,’ said Dorf. ‘The HD imagery and the 5.1 sound deliver an experience that is so crisp and clear, you feel as though you are right there in the room. It sounds amazing.’

Dorf also helmed a recording session with Piven for the voice-over track. ‘As a travel documentary, this show couldn’st lend itself more perfectly to HD and 5.1,’ said Dorf.

POP Sound is located at 625 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401. For more information, contact Claudia Skimina at (310) 458-9192 or visit www.popsound.com: http://www.popsound.com