Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533995
56 M PS E . O R G out to be the biggest and most successful night yet. As the MPSE shares similar aims of bringing the sound community together through many of their own initiatives, it's an ideal match. When I organized the first Los Angeles Sound Design Meet Up in 2023, it was a bit of a leap of faith. I'm not based in Los Angeles and I had no idea if anyone would show up. About 70 members of the L.A. sound community came out to the Thirsty Merchant in Studio City—a wonderful turnout. A great time was had by all and I decided that I'd do it again the following year. In 2024, I booked the same bar, this time for 70 people. More than 120 showed up! The bar was pretty full, with a good mix of people. Students, junior editors, career pros, and even some Hollywood heavy hitters. Everyone was mingling and talking to new and old friends alike. It seemed like a perfect night. I thought that 120 people seemed like a saturation point for an event like this. So, this year, I booked the bar for 120 people. With the MPSE sponsorship's help, and in an eŽort to bump it up a notch, I had name tags and ra'e tickets made, and optimistically printed 130 of them. Turns out, I should have been much more optimistic. The meet up started at 7 p.m. and by 7:25, all the name tags had been claimed, and people were still streaming in. To my shock and amazement, we reached capacity for the large patio set aside for us and our group spread out to fill the rest of the bar as well. Unbelievably, there was well over 250 people in attendance, sharing their love of sound, their stories of triumphs and defeats on the job, and best of all … lots and