Veteran Soundman Hemang Prajapati Joins Film Drama ‘Mermaid Down’

Veteran sound editor and music producer Hemang Prajapati (“Among the Shadows”) has joined writer/director Jeffrey Grellman’s fantasy drama “Mermaid Down.”

“This movie’s refreshing story and script attracted me the most, so I’m excited to be a part of it,” Prajapati said. “It’s a fantasy and mystery thriller which keeps you on the edge for every minute of the film.”

“Mermaid Down” follows the story of a mermaid who is taken from the Pacific Ocean with her tail chopped off and is then thrown into a mental home where no one believes she is a mermaid. The film was written, directed and executive produced by Grellman and produced by Jeri Baker (“Ant Man and the Wasp”) and Kelly Lauren Baker.

The film, which stars Alexandra Bokova (“By Light of Desert Night”), Phillip Andre Botello (“The Art of Self-Defense”) and Eryn Rea (“Outside In”) posed a number of challenges for Prajapati with a number of exteriors, interiors and  underwater sequences, all requiring specific sounds and particular problem solving skills from the industry veteran.

“The visuals had frames near the sea, on a yacht, different boats, suburbs, simple house environment, creepy cellar, port, underwater sequences, a jungle and more,” Prajapati recalled. “Now just to put things into perspective it took me 3 months of time to just go to places and record sounds to get my raw material to start background sound designing.”

But for the India native, the outdoor, underwater and other sequences are especially appealing to him since they give him a chance to explore his creative side.

“I like to work on films where there are lots of outdoor scenes. My interest usually don’t gravitate towards only on genre or story,” he said “I like to work on different sorts of stories and not something too similar or repetitive. Technology has way more crucial part in our industry now than before and allows us to be more creative. Twenty years ago, the amount of time and manpower it used to take to finish was too much and still our capabilities were very limited. Now technological advancement has taken out that barrier.”

Prajapati comes to the film after working on  the films “Mino: A Diasporic Myth,” and “Wayward Nature.” His past film work includes “Hangman,” “Maximum Impact,” “Boogeyman Pop,”as well as television series such as “Bridges Burnt, Tables Turnt,” “Decades Rock Live,” and others.