Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538144
74 M PS E . O R G very memorable time in my career that I will never forget. Giving Back: Mentorship & Advocacy "I would not be where I am today without their guidance and support." Have you had mentors who significantly influenced your approach to sound design, and how do you mentor others enter the field? Caron: I have been fortunate to have had many mentors throughout my career who have influenced me and taught me a lot about sound editing and design. Scott Gershin at Soundelux Media Labs taught me how to properly edit, combine, and lay out tracks. He also had a big impact on my approach to creating emotion with sound to help tell the story. While working at Interplay, Charles Deenen taught me an immense amount about game audio, and I developed a keener ear for what kinds of sound elements and plug-in processes to choose when creating particular sounds. Eric Lindemann also played a key role in helping me to "declutter" my sounds by choosing the right elements and plug-ins and showed me that "less is often more." I also had the amazing opportunity to work at Danetracks with Dane Davis and was very inspired by his creative and experimental approach to sound design and his use of cutting-edge plug-ins and unique recording methods to obtain source material. I am very grateful for the help from all these mentors, as I would not be where I am today without their guidance and support. Starting around 2016, I began giving talks and participating in panels at conferences like GDC, GameSoundCon, and WAMCon. I saw this as a way to share some of my knowledge and experience with aspiring sound designers entering the field—especially in game audio. Becky Allen, Scott Gershin, and Caron Weidner–GameSoundCon 2018. Jak X: Combat Racing stations, E3 Expo booth 2005. Gametracks partial audio crew L-R: Rommel Molina, Watson Wu, Caron, Charles Maynes, Roland Thai. 2010