The music supervisor at Nike reached out to me regarding a piece of music I had previously released, Spectral Divisions. They licensed the track for use in a biographical short video about decathlete Ashton Eaton as he headed into the 2016 Olympic games in Rio. This spot aired on Supersport in South Africa as well as on the NBC Olympic Coverage during the track and field events. I worked with the team at Nike and their content production crew to deliver the necessary elements for the mix which included some stems and some arrangement tweaks.

In 2019, one year away from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics I was commissioned by Vancouver branding agency Hulse & Durrell to compose some music for a video for the IOC to help create interest and excitement about the upcoming Olympic games. I tried to blend some modern electronic elements with several traditional Japanese elements. This was the result.

Agency: Hulse & Durrell

Produced and Directed by Hulse & Durrell

Music by Mark Lazeski

Sound Design by Toby Hulse

The first video on this page is called Rituals which was produced by Arc'teryx My role on this project was to use a library track they had found and add some more impact to the music and soundtrack though sound design. The intention was to have a very organic feel using environmental sounds from the settings seen in the video as well as human elements such as breath and skin. I combined those with some impactful booms and drones and unique reverse effects to create this rich soundscape that blended well with the stock music track.

For the second video, Arc'teryx contacted me to use this a composition of mine called 'Spirit Forest' in a spring/summer promo video to get people pumped up for a new season of outdoor adventure. This is the great piece of eye candy they put together to my music!

Overview

I was commissioned by Vancouver branding agency The Still to compose original music and handle all aspects of the audio post production on this video which highlights the internal workings of the Facebook Infrastructure and Operations Center.

Overview

I had another great opportunity to work with the wonderfully creative team at Giant Ant to be a part of a great video project for Slack. A computer software startup that has developed a cloud-based team collaboration tool for messaging and communication. My roles for this project included:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound Design
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

The creative brief called for an ambient electronic soundscape with upbeat rhythms and a technological theme. Using various synthesizers and drum machines and created a palette of sounds that fit the brief. I then used a variety of delays and reverbs to create a scattered and spatial array of those sounds to represent a pre-Slack work environment. I then incorporated some suction like reverse whooshes and dry sweeps which transform some of those those looser ambient sounds into a nice tight package which was meant to represent a work environment that has been streamlined and organized by using Slack.

Overview

This is a short film telling the story of SAP’s collaboration with the McLaren Formula 1 Team. I worked closely with the team at The Still to create a piece that respected and celebrated both the SAP and MacLaren brands.

My Credits for this project include:

• Original musical score
• Sound design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

"Working with Mark is always a pleasure. He brings great technical insight and creative intuition to our projects." - Adam Bognar, Partner, The Still

Challenges

Achieving just the right dynamic structure for the films' score posed the biggest challenge in the creative process. There were to be 5 distinct stages in the film and the music needed to help guide the incredible footage from the MacLaren Racing test center through the different stages and effectively transition from one to the next.

My initial musical ideas were met with positive and constructive feedback and through thoughtful collaboration with the creative director we quickly came to achieve the right tone and dynamics for the piece. The music delivered the impact needed and left space for the voice over as well the many sound design elements throughout the film.

In creating a soundtrack for a series of videos for Equestrian Canada I was tasked with finding a musical blend that spanned a range of emotions but was able to remain consistent in its palette of sounds. We wanted the music to land somewhere between the score for Downton Abbey and indie rock bands like Arcade Fire with a slight country/folk twinge. 

With creative inspiration from the agency Hulse & Durrell I was able to find the right mix of acoustic instruments, such as guitar and mandolin as well as orchestral elements and some electronically created synth pads to find the right tone for the videos.

Each video still has its own distinct identity. The jumping athlete video has an upbeat country/folk guitar finger-picking style where the brand launch video has more musically refined sensibilities with big driving percussion and exciting orchestral string sections.

Credits:

Directed & Produced by Hulse & Durrell
Videography / Editing by Benjamin Taft
Original Music by Mark Lazeski
Audio Post-Production by Toby Hulse
Animation by Natasha Ali

Overview

Hootsuite is a social media management system for those looking to streamline their social media strategy. I was hired by Hootsuite to compose a piece of music for this video which depicts the struggles that can go along with making an impactful splash in the world of social media. 

Challenges

Not all of us are prolific in terms of expressing ourselves on social media. Many people struggle with coming up with something engaging and interesting to post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram on a daily basis to promote their brand or business. This goal for this video was to illustrate the frustration and tension of putting "yourself" out there and to show the viewers that Hootsuite just might have the solution to your social media writer's block.

The brief called for music with a steady building dynamic starting from a contemplative pondering feeling which elevates toward a tense, frenetic and frustrated crescendo. It would then reveal that the answer to all your woes lies within Hootsuite which would be accentuated by a positive simple outro stinger.

By approaching the piece with classical orchestral instrumentation the expressiveness of the instruments allowed me to create the quirky and slightly comical dramatic edge needed to convey the feelings of frustration that resonate with those of us that struggle with this task. Slowly adding in more layers increased the intensity and as the end of the song approaches the key of song and basis of the chord structure begins to drift and make some erratic changes which add to the struggle and the madness. 

Overview

My good friends at the blooming Vancouver branding agency Hulse and Durrell invited me to help out with their massive rebrand project for University Sports in Canada. I was asked to supply music for a series of 6 videos which included 4 athlete profiles, a story setup video behind university sport and the Rebrand video itself.

Challenges

Timelines and budgets were tight so I wasn't able to produce a custom score for all the videos but we had identified several existing pieces of music I had recently created that would serve well as the soundtrack and it was up to me to re-arrange, edit and in some cases combine the songs for each different video to fit its specific timeline and dynamic curve.

Overview

This is the 2014 show reel for The Still Brandworks, a full service boutique agency in Vancouver. I was tasked with developing the soundtrack for this video. My credits include:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound design
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

“Mark has been instrumental in helping us develop a sharp new sound as we focus our business and pursue a new direction. We’re looking forward to another exciting year of collaboration!” - Andrew Simpson, The Still

Challenges

The creative brief for this project called for cold, calculated and explosive sound design complemented by a confident musical score that demonstrated refinement, precision and trust.

By using sharp, dry and concise sound effects I constructed a soundscape that fit the brief and in finding a unique blend of organic and digital high-tech musical elements I achieved the right tone for the score.

Overview

MEC Homewaters is a project dedicated to preserving Canada’s fresh water from coast to coast. In this short film I was tasked with creating a soundtrack that complimented MEC's brand and reflected a sense of adventure and exploration that would inspire the viewer to think about the importance of keeping the waters in our beautiful country clean. I collaborated with the creative team at Giant Ant to establish the direction of the music and handled all aspects of the audio production including:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound Design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

The beginning of the soundtrack needed to give the feelings of peace and oneness with nature and then develop into a pulsing heartbeat type rhythm before ramping up to a wide open and expansive crescendo. It was important to have an earthy and natural sound throughout the video so I used a warm rhodes piano, ambient electric guitars and soft synth pads to fill out most of the sound. I also wanted to use very natural drum sounds so I used taiko drums and an acoustic guitar as percussion elements. This brought up the energy during the crescendo without losing the natural tones I was looking to retain.

Overview

ARC is a North American energy marketing company that offers alternatives to consumers in a volatile energy market. I was the composer and sound designer for this advertisement which was created to help ARC recruit new members for their growing sales and marketing teams. My tasks for this project included:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound Design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

"Mark's sound design work brings our work to life in ways that don't cease to inspire me. Our collaborations are fluid, efficient, on schedule and a lot of fun." - Adam Bognar, Partner, The Still

Challenges

One of the most notable challenges in this project was finding the right sounds for the animated yellow streams of light that fly through many of the shots.

It was up to me to implement some sounds that accentuated these exciting animations without sounding too sci-fi. After trying a few synthesizer based sounds it was clear that more organic, real-world sounds so I started experimenting with jet airplane recordings and I found through pitching down and layering different jet samples I was able to achieve a result that fit the brief.

Overview

Soundtrack & sound design for a series of 5 commercials for bazinga!, an innovative cloud-based platform that connects everyone in a condominium community. I executed on all aspects of audio production from start to finish including:

• Original musical score
• Sound design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

“Mark is an incredibly talented composer and meticulous sound designer. I wouldn’t work with anyone else.”” — Ben Hulse, VP of Design & Brand, bazinga! Technologies Inc.

Challenges

The bazinga! brand attempts to balance a range of qualities and the creative brief for this composition presented a range of unique challenges. The brief called for a piece which was at once friendly and lighthearted yet reflected a sense of innovation and inspiration. I experimented with a range of real and digital instrumentation integrating insights from the creative director to reach an extremely well-received solution which was cut into all 5 commercials.

Overview

In the spring of 2015 I was tasked by branding agency Hulse & Durrell to create a musical score and sound design for Curling Canada's re-brand video. My credits include:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound design
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

In early briefings with the creative director at Hulse & Durrell it was determined the music needed an open and spacious feel with an emotive sense of positivity and evolution. Dynamically the music would follow the arc of the video so there would need to be a steady build up to the video's climax which would include exciting tournament action and celebrations of Canadian curling teams.

A goal of the video was to celebrate the history of the sport while looking toward it's future as well so I used some traditional instruments such as piano and some orchestral string elements to begin with and as the score progresses certain electronic elements are introduced and the finale takes on an edgier and exciting orchestral / electronic hybrid feel with some heavy brass sections and bombastic drum patterns.

Overview

Starting in 2015 I began work on a series of videos for LUVO Inc, a startup company providing healthy and nutritious frozen food alternatives to consumers. These videos are focused on the stories of three of LUVO's brand ambassadors including professional athletes Derek Jeter, Natalie Coughlin and Russell Wilson.  My roles in this project included:

• Original Musical Score
• Audio and Dialogue Editing
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

The main challenge for this project was to develop a sense of excitement for a change in the way people eat and inspire them to make healthier choices. In creating a unique score for each individual athletes' story, personality and character I worked closely with the project lead at LUVO to outline these points and then began work in the studio to translate those outlines in a complimentary musical score and soundscape. For Derek Jeter's video we were looking for an emotive sense of strength and trust and we wanted to touch on the emotional side while still keeping a masculine tone to the music to reflect his character. Natalie Coughlin's video took on a lighter and brighter feel to again reflect her personality and her excitement toward healthy eating and healthy living. The approach with Russell Wilson's video was to create a more youthful and exuberant score to represent the younger wave of ambassadors out there looking to inspire change but we also hearkened back to some similar musical themes from the Derek Jeter video to reflect the fact the Russell was directly influenced by Derek to help join LUVO and spread this positive message.

Overview

Eurika is an international internet marketing company offering website and social media marketing and analytics services for businesses. I was tasked with executing all aspects of the music and sound design for their recruitment video as well as three animated videos to be used in their sales process.

"Mark designed an amazing soundscape that not only complimented, but greatly enhanced, the visuals in each Eurika video. He brought every scene to life." Derek Pante, Motion Designer/Animator, The Still

My credits for this project include:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

The sales videos have an upbeat score, a steady and informative voice over and a thick wall of sound effects and background ambiences to support the constant movement and excitement in the animations. The big challenge was to create each of the main audio aspects in a way that when combined together wouldn’t walk all over each other. With so much going on it’s easy for things to get cluttered.

I was effectively able to overcome this pitfall by assigning a general frequency range to each component of the soundtrack. The voice over was simple to assign because the majority of the human voice consists of mid range frequencies. The music was bound to crossover into the mid range frequencies as well but because of it’s twinkling high frequencies I chose a xylophone as the core instrument so it wouldn’t get totally buried by a booming voiceover. This left room for the sound design to take more of the low frequency range. Frequency crossover happens throughout the music and sound design but by using this as a general template I was able to carve a niche for each element of the audio.

Overview

The Garage Sale is a luxury real estate company that specializes in marketing and selling high end homes. I have been the lead composer, sound designer and audio post-production technician for a series of their videos including luxury home showcase videos, auction event videos and several short films explaining the company’s story, processes and marketing procedures. My tasks in these projects have included:

• Original Musical Score
• Sound Design
• Voice Over Recording
• Location Sound Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

Challenges

These video projects called for the soundtrack to deliver feelings of warmth, trust and quality in order to align it with both the product and the services offered by The Garage Sale. By using classic orchestral instrumentation I was able to achieve the desired sense of refinement and sophistication and with the right choice of notes and chord structure the feelings of comfort, confidence and assurance were appropriately expressed.

Overview

I was hired by Vancouver branding and video production agency The Still, to compose and produce music and sound design for two videos for an American energy company called NRG who are transitioning their energy sources to renewable and green energy. They needed one video as an internal piece for recruiting and another as an external video for promoting their new rebrand.

• Original Musical Score
• Sound Design
• Voice Over Recording
• Full Service Audio Post-Production

"Mark's sound design work brings our work to life in ways that don't cease to inspire me. Our collaborations are fluid, efficient, on schedule and a lot of fun." - Adam Bognar, Partner, The Still

Challenges

The brief called for music that sounded like it could be background music for the Juno Satellite mission. They needed a sountrack that was inspirational and had a sense of technology and possibility.

I used a blend of orchestral and electronic elements to find the right tone and executed some dramatic sound design moments to punctuate important moments in the voice over and compliment the impressive images in the videos.