Where are you currently employed?
I work for South Lake Audio Services, an independent audio post house in Burbank, Calif. We work in partnership with Roundabout Entertainment.
Current projects?
We’re currently expanding our operation, building two new 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix stages and three ADR stages.
Describe your job.
I am a post-production audio engineer, which means I am responsible for designing and implementing solutions for any sound-related needs in post-production. To that end, I do a little bit of everything. That includes Pro Tools (and other NLEs [non-linear editors]), network and electrical engineering, computer administration, equipment programming, acoustics, equipment rigging, and creative problem solving, all of which play a role in what I do on a daily basis.
Crucially, I also support mix crews, editors, and ADR mixers to make sure they can work as efficiently as possible without any technical downtime.
I currently have 13 recording studios, five dual-operator mix stages, five single-operator mix stages, and a handful of audio edit bays in the fleet.
How did you first become interested in this line of work?
Growing up I was a computer geek – I built my first computer in my teens. I worked at a local music store while I was in high school and community college, and through that, I was able to go to the National Association of Music Merchants [NAMM] convention in Anaheim.
One year at NAMM, I lucked out and won a Pro Tools license and MBox Mini audio interface from a raffle at the Digidesign booth, before that brand was fully absorbed into Avid and became Avid Audio. I then tried to make that MBox work with my very incompatible PC, so I got an early lesson in software compatibility and Pro Tools setup.
While I was working on my general education, I enrolled in the audio technology program at my local community college, started working as a set PA, then production sound, and finally got into post-production once I graduated from Cal State Fullerton.
Between all that and a bit of the DIY spirit I inherited from my dad, I’ve been making things work ever since.
Who gave you your first break?
My first post-production job was at Oracle Post. I did an academic internship there and got hired as a machine-room tech once I finished school.
What was your first union job?
My current one! We engineers tend to not move around too much because our work is usually tied to a facility as opposed to a production.
What credits or projects are you proudest of, and why?
My pride-and-joy project is the monitor control panel that drives all our mix stages at work. In our house, each mix stage has a BSS Audio BLU processor that handles all the possible output formats from the mix computers (or the Dolby Atmos renderer) and runs them through digital signal processors [DSPs] that are assigned to each speaker output. Those processors apply room-correction equalization [EQ], delay timing, and gain to each speaker output in order to adhere to a standard known as the X-Curve. The idea is to achieve a uniform playback consistency between our mix stages. Once the final mix leaves our facility and goes out into the wild, whether it’s destined for a theater or a streaming platform, it sounds as close as possible to how it sounded on our stage, and the audience (ideally) gets an accurate listening experience.
After I started at South Lake, I set out to build a BSS design that would be used to control a small Dolby Atmos mix stage, and it was my first-ever Dolby Atmos stage build. BSS processors are programmed and controlled using a software app called Audio Architect, and Audio Architect enables you to build a control panel that can be uploaded to an iPad for ease of use. I consulted my mixers and supervising engineer and built an intuitive, attractive, user-friendly control panel that I’ve continued to improve upon. I’ve even added new features while I’ve been answering this questionnaire.
What was your biggest challenge in your job (or on a particular project) and how did you overcome/solve it?
My biggest engineering challenge to date has been the construction of our Cinema Atmos stage, my first and only (so far).
Cinema Atmos rooms are built to a different standard from Home Atmos rooms; they utilize far more speakers, and with more speakers comes more processing. After building out the room and adapting my BSS design to accommodate the monitoring needs of that room, I was having some stability issues with our BSS processors — they were crashing quite often and would need to be rebooted often, which means stage downtime. This room required two processors instead of the typical one we can use for Home Atmos builds, and it turned out that because of how I programmed them, the two processors were trying to talk to each other so often that one would eventually crash the other.
It took a few calls to the manufacturer and effectively a ground-up redesign of my program to get it to stabilize and run without issue, using a different methodology to control the room. It’s quite rewarding to have finally solved the issue.
What was the most fun you’ve had at work?
Honestly, every day has a bit of fun involved and that’s how it should be. I enjoy creative problem-solving — there’s never a shortage of that in my line of work. I’m also here to support my mix and recording crews. I try my best to keep up their spirits as they might be working under a deadline or with a client who has highly exacting standards.
That said, I have also been known to do things like installing disco balls in server rooms, or gaming consoles on the mix stages.
Jobwise, what do you hope to be doing five years from now?
Ideally, I will still be doing what I do, but perhaps with more rooms or facilities under my jurisdiction.
What are your outside activities, hobbies, passions?
Above all else, I love music. I believe it’s one of humanity’s greatest inventions, and our greatest power of expression. I listen to music every single day – on my commute, at work, or at home.
I’m a vinyl record hoarder. My parents joke that I have more records than they ever did. I even have a turntable set up in my office so I can play an album here or there. And recently, I got a portable record player called the Sound Burger, so I’ve been having a lot of fun playing records in super impractical places.
Aside from listening to music, I also dabble in making it, when I have the time and mindset.
Favorite movie(s)? Why?
I’m indecisive as far as having a favorite movie is concerned. Perhaps I’ll mention a movie that was formative to me in a few ways. It’s a “Spinal Tap”-style mockumentary called “It’s All Gone Pete Tong” that follows the life of a (fake) world-famous DJ as he begins to (and finally does) lose his hearing. The sound team on that movie did a great job in the mix, using creative panning to approximate the DJing process, for example. A lot of those overt creative mixing decisions demonstrated to me the potential and power of the sound component of a motion picture.
I’m aware that “The Sound of Metal,” though a straight drama, has a similar premise, but I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet.
Favorite TV program(s)? Why?
“Arrested Development”! In addition to being the zany and very well-executed tale of familial intrigue that it is, some of my best friendships have been born out of mutual appreciation for that show.
Do you have an industry mentor?
He would probably scoff at the idea of me calling him a mentor, but Steve Bartkowicz, my current supervising engineer (and the Executive Vice President of South Lake Audio Services), is the absolute best. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to learn new things from him every day, and he fosters a people-first attitude that I also try to encourage in our facility.
I’d also like to give a shout-out to Jim Wright, formerly of Dolby, now the engineer for the Newman Scoring Stage at the 20th Century lot, for being an encouraging voice in the earlier days of my career.
What advice would you offer to someone interested in pursuing your line of work?
Go for it! When most people, industry or non-industry alike, think of an audio engineer, they might be thinking of what we in the union would classify as a re-recording mixer. Indeed, most people looking for a career in sound might set out to be a mixer, or an editor, but engineers are crucial to keeping an operation up and running, and there aren’t a lot of us out there.
I would encourage anyone considering the engineer path to pursue it, and I’m happy to help as I can.
Is there anything you’d like to say to your fellow Guild members, some words of encouragement?
Keep doing what you do! You are titans of industry, and I’ll try my best to help your project across the finish line. (Also, please try rebooting before calling me.)