The unsung hero of any good film is the audio engineer. Quality sound will make or break any viewing experience, and while plenty of awards are given out for sound design, it is rare that there be entire events in Colorado dedicated to the craft. This is where filmmaker and festival organizer Jesse Nyander finds himself with his latest festival, LOUDframe.
“Something I like to point out to people is whenever a film is being shown, if the video looks kind of whatever, people will say, ‘oh that’s an artistic choice,’” says LOUDframe founder Jesse Nyander. “But if the audio stinks, then it’s game over, we don’t want to watch this. I want to show how important audio in film is, though soundtracks and audio design.”
A continuation of many of the things Nyander set in motion with his previous event, Horsetooth International Film Festival, Nyander and festival director Komette Elgee set out to bring the auditory experience in film to the foreground. LOUDframe will feature three days of events that include films, music videos, live music, expert panels, workshops, and an array of family-friendly events at the Lyric Cinema.
From Horsetooth to LOUDframe
Nyander founded Horsetooth International Film Festival in 2019 to showcase Colorado filmmakers, and it always had a musical element including live performances and music video premieres, but the visual elements were the primary focus. During that time, Ft. Collins began gaining notoriety for the number of music videos being produced in the city. With the success of local music festivals like FoCoMX, which showcases hundreds of local bands each April, Nyander saw an opportunity.
“LOUDframe is just another platform that we can use to highlight what we do best here, which is music videos. From whenever I talk to people around the state, they’re like, ‘oh yeah, music videos come out of Ft. Collins a lot,’” says Nyander. “FoCoMX is the live aspect of what we do in town, and us lining up the festival at the end of the month just seems to make sense to bridge that gap into the summer.”
“Our goal was to bridge the music industry in Northern Colorado with the film industry. This was already happening before we even came into the picture, because these amazing bands were riding these production companies in town to make their music videos,” adds Elgee. “And then, sadly for us, the videos were unceremoniously being put on YouTube, I don’t want to say to die, but to show friends and family, and that’s kind of it.”
Refocusing After Hiatus
While LOUDframe is under the umbrella of the non-profit Horsetooth Organization, it’s a continuation of the Horsetooth International Film Festival, which Nyander paused after 2023. What had grown into a beloved Ft. Collins event hit the snag of logistical and organizational issues that often face grassroots events. That year, the HIFF team found themselves with an abundance of live music that outweighed the film aspect, muddling the festival’s mission.
These issues led to funding headaches and a needed reset. Nyander took a hard look at what went wrong and saw an opportunity for an event tailored to the audio experience, tying together strengths from past HIFF events.
What to Expect at LOUDframe
The program blends explorations of sound design and scoring with hands-on activities (including a foley workshop), plus curated music videos, short films, bands, and panels. LOUDframe aims to give film and music lovers a different type of festival that highlights why audio matters.
“We’ve been super intentional about every aspect of LOUDframe, between the music videos, the bands, the short films and films in general,” says Elgee. “We’ve been intentional about bridging all different aspects of the community up in Northern Colorado in hopes of breathing new life into the film festival circuit. We want to make HIFF’s better little brother.”
Tickets are now on sale and cost $25 for a day pass and $50 for a weekend pass. Tickets can be bought at filmfreeway.com/loudframe/tickets.
