Case: Sound Design, Mixing, and Mastering of the Documentary Series “CHELYUSKIN. THE EMPEROR’S MISSION.” Directed by Andrey Timoshchenko. 4 episodes, total duration 240 minutes.
The documentary series tells the life and heroic deeds of pioneer Semyon Chelyuskin, the discovery of Russia’s northernmost point, and the exploration of the Arctic. Nearly three centuries later, a group of St. Petersburg extreme athletes attempted to repeat Chelyuskin’s feat, traversing the icy wilderness on skis without mechanical transportation.
The film explores the creation of Russia, the Great Northern Expedition, Peter I’s vision, and the explorers of the 18th century who charted the Northern Sea Route—a global, destiny-defining path from St. Petersburg to Nakhodka. It features navigator Chelyuskin, his captain Vasily Pronchishchev with his wife Tatyana, who tragically died during the journey, the Laptev brothers—Khariton and Dmitry—and, of course, Commander Vitus Bering, the first and main leader of the expedition, who also perished along the way. These Russian naval officers, all members of one team and expedition, were united by an extraordinarily complex task—the Emperor’s Mission.
Client: Central Partnership, “SOVA” Film Studio
Objective:
From the rough audio edits of the documentary series “CHELYUSKIN. THE EMPEROR’S MISSION,” produce several final 2.0 audio versions suitable for distribution across various television and cinema platforms, in accordance with the technical specifications of those platforms.
Solution:
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All audio tracks were standardized to consistent loudness levels. Key narrative phrases were cleaned of extraneous noise and repositioned within the sound space.
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To fully immerse the viewer, SFX were added, both in-house and sourced externally.
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“Layering” and sound framing techniques were applied—adjusting volume based on the hero’s proximity in the frame, and spatial processing of voices and ambient sounds according to the scene’s environment.
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Final mixing and mastering were completed in accordance with the technical requirements of the intended platforms. The film is currently being prepared for wide release.
Author and Director: Andrey Timoshchenko
Cinematographers: Kirill Zhukov, Elena Kabanova, Andrey Timoshchenko, Leonid Kruglov, Dmitry Botov, Konstantin Epishin, et al.
Editing: Elena Kabanova, Kirill Zhukov
Design and Color Grading: Julbert Kadzhoyan, Kirill Zhukov
Sound Engineer: Konstantin Omelchak
Composers: Ruslan Prosvirin, Sergey Efimenko
Screenplay: Valeriy Timoshchenko, Nikita Sutyrin, Andrey Timoshchenko
Producers: Vadim Vereshchagin, Georgiy Ryumin, Andrey Timoshchenko
Production: “SOVA” Film Studio
Film created with the support of:
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The “History of the Fatherland” Foundation
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Union of Cinematographers of Russia
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Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives
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All-Russian Youth Film Forum
