Andrew Yankiwski
Owner
Andrew caught the audio production bug as a hobbyist in 1992. The drummer in his Grindcore band moved out-of-province, so he quickly learned to program a drum machine prior to recording an EP in a local studio. This led to early experiments in Industrial Metal followed by Techno, Deep House, Downtempo and Drum and Bass. By 1996 he began releasing music independently and performing at raves, warehouse parties and club nights as one half of the duo FLFK.
Andrew cofounded Precursor in 2000 out of the need to have a dedicated studio for his own music projects, but it quickly attracted clients and students. Naturally drawn toward boundary-pushing music in every genre, he created innovative studio workflows to infuse Precursor’s audio production with this spirit. Andrew also developed Precursor’s audio production courses from the ground-up, in response to the limitations of traditional audio production training. He has an undergraduate Arts degree (History major, English minor) and a Law degree from the University of Manitoba. His volunteer work as a board member of New Media Manitoba and as Chair of Film Training Manitoba reflects his passion for film, digital technology and video games.
Career highlights include recording Liam Neeson’s ADR for The Marksman, dubbing Mark Hamill for episodes of The Sandman series, recording Natalia Dyer’s ADR on episodes of Stranger Things season 4, recording Dan Bakkedahl’s ADR for the final episode of Veep and recording Hilary Swank’s narration for the documentary Becoming Annika.
Auston Green
Associate Engineer and Sound Designer
Auston’s path in audio production grew out of his love of Hip Hop, beat-making and poetry. He completed Precursor’s audio production training program in 2013 and began working as an assistant engineer in 2014. He furthered his education by completing his Diploma at Recording Arts Canada in 2016, continuing his work with Precursor throughout his studies.
Auston showed an early aptitude for sound design and has brought his unique approach via Foley and sound effects work on innumerable films, television shows, video games, apps, podcasts, audiobooks and installations. He is an accomplished Foley artist, sound effects editor, dialog editor, music editor, mix engineer and assistant re-recording mixer. In his free time he devotes himself to his passion for writing poetry and screenplays.
Career highlights include: recording Alex Hassle’s narration for the audiobook version of Lynda La Plante’s Vanished, editing the audiobook version of Wab Kinew’s The Reason You Walk, recording Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ narration for the audiobook version of Dammed, by Brittany Luby, recording Holly Bernier’s voice acting for the Industries of Titan video game and recording with A Tribe Called Red, Faouzia and Wilbert Chancy.
Paul Blandford
Associate Engineer, Producer and Sound Designer
Paul’s path into audio production sprang from his desire to bridge left-field styles of electronic music with dance floor-friendly genres. Under the moniker Dan Fur, he has produced, performed and released electronic music since 2016. He joined the Precursor team in 2019 after completing advanced custom training the previous year.
His deep love of synthesis is reflected in his unique collection of analog, hybrid, digital and modular synths. As a producer, Paul uses his extensive knowledge of traditional music theory to ground his more experimental tendencies. He is an accomplished mix engineer, mastering engineer, dialog editor, Foley artist, sound effects editor, ADR mixer and assistant re-recording mixer. In his time at Precursor he has overseen countless advertising spots, ADR sessions, voiceover sessions and podcast records. Paul also instructs Precursor audio production classes and provides custom tutorials. Paul has a Bachelor of Management from Dalhousie University (major in Leadership and Organization).
Career highlights include: engineering Natalia Dyer’s ADR recordings for episodes of Stranger Things season 4, engineering Laurel Marsden’s ADR recordings for episodes of Ms. Marvel and producing music and completing full audio post for G Adventures’ Bring On The World campaign.
Julien Michaud
Associate Engineer, Producer and Sound Designer
A longtime associate of our studio, Julien completed Levels 1 through 4 of the Precursor audio production training program from 2007 - 2008. He began working with us in 2016 on various projects and formally joined the Precursor team in 2021. Over his time in audio, Julien has initiated several community-building initiatives. He founded a shared creative space in downtown Winnipeg for musicians and content creators which included the Winnipeg band Living Hour. Very active in the gaming sphere, Julien developed a Discord community for video game streamers and industry professionals to share their work and connect. A major focus of this group is participating in charity gaming events via Extra Life, which has contributed over $5000 USD to date for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.
Julien produced the musical score for short film Outer Space in 2009. He mixed and mastered the Diggin' a Hole EP by D-List Rivals in 2009, Hey Buddy by Dreamcatchers single in 2011, Come, With Dirt In Hand single by From Giants in 2011, Untitled EP by Matt Dirks in 2011 and The Smile Album by Max and Haywood in 2012.
Julien authored the articles "Rocket League's best mode is its least played" (2018) and "Reinstall: CSGO" (July 2022) for PCGamer.com. He was also featured in the PCGamer.com article "Cheap, janky multiplayer games are one of Steam's best offerings" (Tyler Wilde, 2021) and in the IGN.com article: "Opinion: I miss When Battle Royales Were Boring" (Tom R Marks, 2020).