Laurence J. Hyman, President
Laurence J. Hyman, owner and manager, comes from a background in publishing, photography and filmmaking. Previously, he founded Woodford Publishing in San Francisco and served as Creative Director there for two decades, working with clients including Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL, the NBA, the Olympics, and professional sports franchises around the country. His large format books in sports and music have won numerous awards. He has also served as script consultant for two major feature films.

Jason Plunkett, Director of Operations
As Director of Operations Jason supervises all facets of Crescendo! Studios. Originally from Indiana, Jason started as an intern at Crescendo! Studios and former sister studio Russian Hill Recording in 1999, after graduating from Full Sail University in Orlando. Jason has steadily worked his way up, from receptionist to scheduler/producer and Studio Manager before becoming Director in 2006. Jason has a passionate, hands-on approach to his work. It was those very qualities that led Plunkett to become Vice President of the Northern California Production Council in 2010 and President of that group starting in January 2011. Through his involvement with NCPC, Plunkett hopes to bring more business to the Bay Area production and post production community, as well as making Northern California a better, more creative place to work.

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. In his spare time he provides sound design and mixing for independent films, documentaries and theater groups.

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, Google, Visa, Nike, Esurance, Adidas and Amnesty International. In his off-time Matt continues to mix independent films as well as cycle and cook.

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.

Jon Shamieh, Engineer/Composer
Before completing his B.A. in audio from SFSU in 2008, Jon had moved up from intern to engineer. Since then, he has also composed music for various commercial spots and independent projects. When not in session, Jon enjoys freelancing with bands, producing artists, and eating delicious food.

Kate Stoddard, Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Kate Stoddard has worked in Sales and Marketing since she graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. in Psychology. She has lived in Dallas, Hartford, Boston and Boulder but now is quite happy to call San Francisco her home. In her down time, Kate volunteers at 826 Valencia, a program which helps local high school students with creative writing. You are also likely to see her at any given music venue on the weekend supporting local bands.