Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524863
152 M PS E . O R G Chris Reeves MPSE: Let's talk about how you got started in the business. Kevin Senzaki MPSE: Movies captured my imagination when I was really little and inspired me to draw. I thought that when I grew up I might go into animation or practical effects. I had The Making of Star Wars and The Making of Jurassic Park on VHS and I remember thinking, "it's really cool that normal people are making these amazing things." But as I got older and kept drawing, I got very frustrated by the lack of motion and the lack of sound. When I was taking advanced placement art in high school, I realized that I hated doing assignments—drawing what other people wanted me to draw. I did not have a professional temperament, because I wouldn't be able to handle clients! So I was like, okay well, I also really like film, and I had already taken some video production courses at school, and really enjoyed them. During college I ended up transfering to USC for film, but at that point, I hadn't really zeroed in on a specific career path within the industry. But one semester, every student was to pick a specific production role for the creation of a short film, and there weren't enough post sound people. So... Chris: At USC you gravitated towards post sound? Kevin: Right. In high school, I had already done some rudimentary sound editing and manipulation, in video editing programs, some freeware music software, and Cool Edit Pro (which is now Adobe Audition), so I already had the basic conceptual understanding of how a DAW worked, which made sound editing at USC really exciting—oh, this is something I know I enjoy, but now I'm on the Pro Tools, pardon the pun. At USC, we were on I believe Pro Tools 7, which was my first introduction to the "real deal," back at the end of the Digidesign era with DV Toolkit. Chris: Did you grow up in LA? Kevin: Yes, I grew up in the South Bay area. Chris: So, you went to USC?