Zach is a lifelong musician and sound artist, with a background in music production, guitar performance, film score and sound design.
Zach is a lifelong musician and sound artist, with a background in music production, guitar performance, film score and sound design. Zach attended Chapman University, in Southern California, where he acquired skills as a music technology student, gaining proficiencies in digital audio workstations, scoring student films, and producing and mixing his own original music. Zach’s band Freedoms was able to successfully release music and complete tours in California, further igniting his passion for music.
In New York City, Zach acquired his master’s in Music Technology from NYU Steinhardt, where he focused on Game Audio, Automotive Sound, and Immersive Audio. Zach’s work included his master’s thesis on electric vehicle sound design, Audio designs and composition for VR learning apps, and an immersive original score mixed in Dolby Atmos.
Zach also works as a sound designer for theater and live performance such as his work on successful producer and choreographer Kiara Benn’s ‘Just For You’, an immersive and experimental dance show, and Saidiya Hartman & Kaneza Schaal’s ‘Litany for Grieving Sisters’.
Zach is currently working as a freelance Sound Designer, Engineer and producer taking on artistic projects and continuing the development of his original artificial engine and propulsion sounds for electric cars.
This is a clip from Spencer Stroud's Intero, performed on May 2nd and 3rd at The Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn, NY. This is a short clip from the 23 minute soundscape and original score Zach composed for this piece. This vast sonic experience includes hard beats, synth soundscapes, mandolins and guitars and field recordings of the city. Choreographer: Spencer Stroud Dancers: Kiara Benn, Eury Germ, Demetris Charalambous Video Credit: Emily Massey
This is a re-sound design of the iconic Cadillac CT5V Black Wing launch commercial. I wanted to re-create this ad with more detailed samples of the Black Wing, creative sound design techniques and my own original music. Hope you enjoy! Video Credit: @Motor1 on Youtube
This is a short clip from Beyond The Deli Door, directed by John Mastandrea. Zach utilized modular and polyphonic synths, and manipulated samples of various wind instruments to compose this otherworldly score. Director: John Mastandrea
Sound Design Demo Reel by Zach Salem-Mackall The following is a set of clips lovingly borrowed from Youtube to demonstrate some Game Sound Design. Each clip was re-sound designed and mixed by Zach Salem-Mackall. I do not own the rights to these clips and the gameplay is credited below. Elden Ring- @Shirrako Assetto Corsa- @Vroomy Deadspace- @gamespot Starbound- @EpicSmileYT Jak and Daxter- @projectlongplay
This is a clip from Kiara Benn's 'Just For You' an immersive dance show performed back in 2022 at The Performing Garage. Zach created an soundscape with recordings of household objects paired with a drone for the opening sequence of the show. He also composed an original song for guitar and bass that was performed live by musicians with improvisations from each dancer at the performances. Choreography/Direction: Kiara Benn Dancers: Christian Denny, Celina Haber, Elisa Hernandez, Jessica Robling, Spencer Stroud, Jailyn Philips-Wiley Video Credit: Charlotte Youkilis Bass: Grayson Jobst
This is a clip from the short animated film, Mansion Melodies, directed and animated by the talented Amy Santana. Zach used dreamy and droning guitar for the haunted house and also composed an original tune for the ghost trio to play. Animation/Direction: Amy Santana Bass: Matt Owens Trumpet: Jeremy Davalos Composer: Zach Salem-Mackall
Designed over 30 original sounds and melodic ideas for two VR and AR research studies; Designed trailer music, score, UI, UX, and environmental sounds for two VR games; Participated in weekly brainstorming meetings and creative design projects; Worked closely with game developers and animators and assisted with Unity implementation; Created high-quality audio assets for Looking Inside Cosmos and Looking Inside Cells VR games.
Maintained and assisted NYU's recording studios and classrooms; Installed, tested and repaired speaker systems, consoles, compressors, microphones, instruments, cameras, and projectors; Provided AV support to classrooms and professors with ticketing and tracking; Operated AV and sound for official NYU recordings, concerts, panels, and discussions.
Taught semester-long private music production, guitar, and bass lessons for students of all ages; Created and executed music theory curriculum for beginner to advanced guitar; Assisted students in becoming proficient in Logic Pro X, GarageBand, and Final Cut Pro; Developed music production 101 curriculum including recording audio, MIDI, basic mixing techniques, and equipment maintenance.
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