This spring, Disney Channel and Disney+ viewers were introduced to a new rodent running amok in the Mouse House with Kiff, the vibrant cartoon buddy comedy from South African creators/executive producers Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal. The show follows optimistic squirrel Kiff (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) and her chill bunny bestie Barry (H Michael Croner) on their adventures in Table Town, highlighted by original songs in each episode.
Music and sound are a crucial part of any animated project these days. So how do you craft a soundscape to compliment a Cape Town-inspired cartoon land full of talking animals and magical mishaps? We recently had an email chat with Justin Kaupp, a mixer/sound designer at full-service audio post shop Pomann Sound, to get a behind-the-board perspective.
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about how you got involved with the show?
Justin Kaupp: We have a great relationship with the animation studio Titmouse, who is producing the show. Last year we worked with them on an Apple Original series, Duck & Goose for Apple TV+. When that wrapped, they thought we’d be a great fit for Kiff. After we did some work on the pilot episode, we met with the creators Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal to chat. We hit it off, and found out pretty quickly that we had similar ideas about what Kiff‘s world should sound like.
What do you love about working on the sound production and design of the series?
Since Kiff is a new show with new characters and in a whole new cinematic world, we’re really lucky that we get to be a part of this series right from the beginning. Because there’s no legacy behind the show or characters, we get to create what their world sounds like as we go. The show has magic, action, flashbacks, car chases, mystery, etc., etc. … And you can approach those things in a wide range of ways. It’s basically a sound designer’s dream project.
What kind of prep work and/or homework did you have to do?
As soon as we received the pilot we dove right in, so there wasn’t much prep. For me, it was about learning the show in real time, as the season production had already started and we had to keep working. We started to really flesh out the sounds and style after a couple episodes working with the creators and producers.
Early in the season’s production, I started archiving sounds and building a library I could use in future episodes. This is very common practice, but is really helpful for keeping things consistent across the episodes. It’s also a big timesaver, since we were moving so fast through the production.
One thing I started doing that was a lifesaver was archiving the sounds in layers. For example, if I layered five sounds together to make a funny sound for Kiff falling over, I’d archive it as one whole combined sound and as individual layers. Then I could manipulate it a bit differently, if needed. So, if the archived “tumbling sound” had a gritty gravel layer that didn’t work in another episode, I could just remove that layer.
What was the biggest challenge for you on this production?
A totally new range of sounds is needed for every episode, The stories are really creative and contain multiple plot points which must be represented in the sound. The characters are almost never in one setting while almost always getting into a variety of funny, crazy situations. I mean, in just one episode I can design a motorcycle chase, a water park, a magical spell and then a school musical with 12 different songs in a montage — and all with different perspectives! It was inspiring to make that happen in every episode.
Founded in 1984, Pomann Sound is a full service, fully remote audio-post production facility located in New York City. Learn more at pomannsound.com.
Kiff airs on Disney Channel and is available to stream on Disney+.
