Laurence J. Hyman, Owner
Crescendo! Studios is owned and supervised by Laurence J. Hyman. Laurence comes from a background in still photography, journalism and filmmaking, and previously owned and managed Woodford Publishing in San Francisco for 18 years. His clients have included Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL, Coca-Cola, Bell-South, the 1996 Olympics, and numerous professional sports franchises including the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, the Oakland A's and Warriors, the Chicago Cubs and Bears and the New York Yankees and Giants. His large-format books have won numerous awards for editorial and design excellence.

Jason Plunkett, Director of Operations
As Director of Operations Jason Plunkett supervises all facets of Crescendo! Studios. He also oversees Crescendo's sound design division, Resonante, and our new online casting division, Voice Talent Casting. Jason started with Crescendo! Studios and former sister studio Russian Hill Recording in 1999 after attending Full Sail University in Florida. Originally from Indiana, Jason started with us as an intern and has steadily worked his way up through positions as receptionist, scheduler and Studio Manager to become Director of Operations in 2006. Jason has brought to Crescendo his hands-on personal approach, lifelong love of music and media, and fondness for close interpersonal contact with clients and staff.

Kimberly Villamar, Office Manager
Taking care of clients' needs throughout the day is concierge Kimberly Villamar. After graduating with honors from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Telecommuncation, Kim made her way to New York, where she completed internships at various film and video production companies, before heading out to San Francisco and joining the Crescendo! team.

Eliza Yabut, Staff Accountant
Staff accountant Eliza Yabut joined Crescendo! in 2000. Born in the Philippines and raised in San Francisco, she has more than 10 years of accounting experience, having previously worked for several San Francisco advertising agencies.

Craig Helmholz, Senior Engineer/Technical Director
Senior engineer and technical director Craig Helmholz joined Crescendo in 1998 after working for many years as a music recording engineer and composer. Craig says he loves to tell stories through sound and treats every project as an opportunity to do things differently, reinventing his approach each time while staying open to new creative possibilities. In his spare time he provides sound design and mixing for independent films, documentaries and theater groups. Craig is also available for sound design projects through Resonante Music and Sound Design, a division of Crescendo! Craig's many commercial credits include Hershey's Kisses, Adidas, Lamisil, Careerbuilder.com and Taco Bell.

David Baker, Senior Engineer
Senior engineer David Baker has been with Crescendo! since its opening in 1996. David's ability to work with the creative vision of his clients and help them achieve superb results—fast—has made him a sought-after and valued collaborator. David is an Emmy-nominated lead composer/sound designer for Resonante Music and Sound Design, a division of Crescendo! A native of San Francisco, David's interests include film, literature and music, both as a composer and listener. David counts Budweiser, The California Milk Processors Board, Saturn and Yahoo! among his many mixing and sound design clients.

Matt Wood, Senior Engineer
Bay Area native Matt Wood graduated from Ex'pression Center for New Media, and has since recorded a wide variety of music in the Bay Area, including jazz, rock and hip hop. Matt joined the Crescendo! team in 2001, and has remained with us since, rising steadily from intern to assistant to Senior Engineer. Among his credits are spots for Chevrolet, Yahoo, Expressjet, Dreyers, Esurance, Adidas and Amnesty International. In his off-time Matt continues to record and mix for independent films and documentaries as well as musical groups. His hobbies are cooking and mountain biking.

McKell Smith, Producer
Handling scheduling and studio assignments for Crescendo! Studios is McKell Smith, who earned a degree in recording arts at Full Sail University in Florida. He started here in 2003 as an intern, and quickly was hired as concierge, then CMR technician and then assistant engineer before becoming producer in 2006. Originally from Salt Lake City, McKell previously coordinated event installations for corporate and private events, including the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Erik Motyl, Assistant Engineer
Erik Motyl started at Crescendo! Studios as an intern in the fall of 2006 and began to work as an assistant engineer in the early spring of 2007. Erik enjoys his off time writing, recording music and collaborating with local artists. Originally from Springfield, MA Erik earned his degree in Recording Arts at Full Sail University in Florida.