Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610602
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y F A L L 2 0 1 5 15 b y A p r i l T u c k e r C A S What's your current position? I'm a freelance re-recording mixer and work a lot at Warner Bros. Where else have you worked? At most of the post facilities around town and some of the music studios. I also consult and test for several software/hardware com- panies and studios. Where did you grow up, and how did you get into audio? I grew up in a small town in Illinois near St. Louis. There was always something with music going on in my family. Someone play- ing a record, listening to the radio, singing, or playing the guitar. When I was pretty young, I got a four-track and an audio mixer and recorded music with friends. We even started doing video, too. When I was 15, I started working at a local TV station doing camera for the evening news. Over time, I got a lot of opportunities to mix sound, run master control, edit picture, and be the floor man- ager during the newscast. I also learned a lot about the engineering side of things. Working in live productions was the best training I could ask for. You had to be prepared, organized, and have backup plans to go to immediately if there was an issue. How does that compare to a film mix? Live TV was probably the most intense stuff I've ever done. With post, if something needs adjusted, you just stop, rewind, and make the change on the next pass. When you're live on air, if you mess up, there are a lot of people who see it! Where'd you go next? As much as I loved working in live TV news, I wanted to go to college and continue my education. I decided on ITT Tech in Evansville, Indiana, and studied electronic engineering. After graduating, I moved to Florida and ended up attending Full Sail on a friend's recommen- dation. It was a great way for me to learn about digital audio, consoles, and Pro Tools. In my off time, I worked with some local bands in the studio and doing live gigs along with mixing live sound at a church. Once I graduated, I moved from Orlando to Los Angeles. Did you know anyone? No one but my two roommates who I had just met through the school. How did you get started in post in LA? Moving to a new market and want- ing to get into areas of sound I hadn't worked in, I was totally fine starting as an intern or runner. I ended up interning at a few post & music studios, and did live sound on the side where I met some people in post. Through them, I worked at a Foley facility and got a job at an audio post house where I mixed television, recorded voice-over, and got introduced to a talented woman who would become my wife, Jeannie. What do you think was different about getting into the post industry when you did (early 2000s)? The music industry had been in decline, and post was just starting to be affected. At the same time, there seemed to be more independent films being made, which offered a lot of opportunities. On the technology side, Pro Tools was growing quickly as a mixing and editing platform. So, as budgets and crews started shrinking, you had to learn all aspects of the business—and be good at them. How was it an advantage to start out when you did? I really got my chops up as far as being able to mix many different types of material at various budget levels and sched- ules. I also had to be able to make some editorial changes on the stage. I think by having those experiences, transitioning to today's environment was much easier (with so many dif- ferent formats and different ways content is shared). Tom Marks CAS Tom Marks CAS Interviewed