Kickstarting Benny and the Cosmic Light Bearers
Towards the end of 2021, I was contacted by Brite Star Productions and asked to help compose the main theme, produce sound design and mix/master the trailer for a new kids show called Benny and the Cosmic Light Bearers. Since I’m a dad to two awesome boys, I’m MORE than familiar with kiddo TV programming. Some of it is actually pretty dang good. And some of it is…… yeah. Not so great. Patti and Jeff Zucker are passionate about making a show that will bring media that will support and address many issues that children face these days. As they put it:
Every year children commit suicide or suffer other trauma from bullying and other social issues. It is our goal, through our “edu-tainment” series of children’s animations, to save at least one of these precious lives. Benny and his band of Light Bearers live in the cosmos. When he uses his superpower of being able to detect the cry of a child, he calls forth his team Love, Faith, Joy, Peace, Charity and Hope to come to the aid of that child. They descend on the wings of an eagle and Benny endears himself to this child. As the situation develops, each of the Light Bearers uses their own unique powers to smooth out the situation. They work with both the child and the antagonist(s) to bring them together as friends.
Check out the Trailer!
You can see our the trailer below.
Please visit the Kickstarter and, if you can, please consider sharing or donating if so moved! It would mean a great deal and help us make Benny and the Cosmic Light Bearers a reality. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook!
Producing the Trailer
Most of my audio work is solo by nature. I compose the music or I produce the sound design by myself. It’s rare that I get the opportunity to actually co-compose with someone. It’s even more rare that I get the chance to co-write lyrics as well! Patti and Jeff came up with a foundation of lyrics and then Natalia Chai and I reworked those to make them flow better in the context of a song. Natalia also came up with the main hook for the main theme to which I set to an arrangement and produced the song around it. Then K-Riz, a friend and colleague of Natalia, tweaked those lyrics even further and recorded himself rapping. Natalia and I both sung over the chorus sections and finally it was my task to mix and master all of this together. It was quite a job but I’m really happy with how it turned out. But this was only the song!
Next I had to create the underscore of music that happens prior to and after the main theme song in the Kickstarter trailer. I also had to produce all of the sound design for the visuals and then mix and master all of those elements. Natalia and I often mentioned that none of this would’ve been possible on just our own. It took all of us combining our talents and efforts as well as our various backgrounds to make this happen. Our team is spread out all over the globe and in different age brackets, different cultures, different creeds. What a neat example of the very things Benny and the Cosmic Light Bearers is aiming to teach kids. We’re stronger together. Our differences unite us.
Please consider helping us make this new TV show a reality!
BIO
Nate Madsen is an established composer, sound designer with 16+ years experience and over 1,035 credits. He’s worked in-house at FUNimation Entertainment, NetDevil, Bee Cave Games and is currently a Principal Composer, Sound Designer for SciPlay. He also helps out often with creating sound design, mixing and mastering anime trailers and commercials for FUNimation. Two of his recent side projects have been Great Wolf Lodge’s Magiquest and Glass Bottom Game’s SkateBIRD. He lives in Austin, Texas, loves craft beer and dreams of queso. Be sure to reach out to Nathan with any audio needs you may have!