Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546054
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 19 production while getting a well-rounded "undergrad" education in media and broadcasting. I started taking continuing education courses in audio production where I met my production instructor at SAIT, Richard Stroobant, a celebrated Canadian radio producer who made the jump to teaching and academia at SAIT, who became another early mentor in my professional journey. I was moonlighting as a radio production assistant which mostly entailed loading syndicated programming into the station's content system as part of the night shift, manning operations for pre- programmed on-air content, and producing a live on-air call-in show, which WAS all sound ... but it didn't give me the same spark my earlier experiences inspired. Radio wasn't as satisfying so it didn't feel like it was a destination in my journey toward a professional audio career. After some searching, I found the Sound Design for Visual Media program at Vancouver Film School, which I found far more interesting. After I got my piece of paper from SAIT I immediately moved to Vancouver and enrolled in the one- year course studying sound for film, and my first taste of game audio. It was in film school I found that my passion really came from telling stories with sound (and making cool sound effects). To this day, it is still what I find most fulfilling in my audio career. During my time at VFS, the program head was Bob Grieve, a Canadian that made the transition from Toronto to Hollywood to become a well-respected supervising sound editor who was very generous with his time, experience, and advice. After graduating, he put in a good word for me with the team at Sharpe Sound where I was brought on as a freelance sound editor cutting my teeth editing SFX and BGs on MOWs and TV episodics. It was here I got to know Kris Fenske who was an invaluable friend and mentor in my professional journey. Jose Miguel Enriquez, a classmate of mine from VFS, brought me on to contribute to editorial on several Mexican films, and recommended me to his colleague, Alejandro De Icaza, a well-respected sound supervisor in Mexico City who also brought me on board for more film projects. John Iaquinta, an Emmy-winning sound supervisor and re-recording mixer at his studio Six Degrees in Calgary, also became a mentor while he brought me on to contribute toward his studio's work in advertising and sports programming. Through these connections, these projects became my first real credits I would leverage later in my career and although I worked hard to get these under my belt, it was with the recommendations of my mentors and peers that helped me achieve these milestones and propel me forward. All of the skills developed on the job fed into each other in my professional development in this technical/ creative field, and the contacts I made connected in ways I couldn't have predicted earlier in my journey in sound as I tried to branch out and network as someone pursuing their dream career. I continued freelancing from my various home studios in Vancouver for an international clientele of studios and content creators, sending my edit sessions as far away as Mexico City, London, and Abu Dhabi. It was 2021 when I got the chance to contribute to AAA game cinematics with my linear storytelling experience and started getting more involved in the game industry. Charles Deenen encouraged me to apply to be a sound editor for Source Sound at a time when they needed extra bodies for a large volume of work they were crewing up for. I connected with his partner/co-owner of Source Sound, Tim Gedemer, and after meeting the bar on a test scene, I was brought on to contribute to the cinematic audio for Marvel's Midnight Suns as part of their all-star team. Over the next few years, I contributed to other game cinematic projects like the Dead Space Remake, which is still a career all-time high for me. My role on these projects was just one man contributing to a large all-star team, but being on the inside seeing what the best in the industry does creatively, technically, and logistically with a high degree of excellence to get the work done on time was an invaluable experience. I could not do the work I'm currently doing without them taking the chance on me to contribute to their work and I will always value this experience as being pivotal in my career. In my career besides a stint working at DHX Entertainment (now WildBrain) on cartoon series like Inspector Gadget and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, I have been entirely freelance rather than an in-house employee. In 2023, the longtime looming spectre of work slowing down finally caught up to me. Most post houses/teams I had worked with in the past were busy enough to keep their in-house teams busy but couldn't bring on more freelancers with their project loads. I was beating the pavement and reaching out to longtime contacts to reconnect, and that's when I reached out to Sean Kolton, a freelance game sound designer and composer. We had gone out for some lunches (and pints) shortly after I had graduated VFS and this was a lucky strike of talking to the right person at the right time. He had transitioned from being a freelance sound designer/ composer for Piranha Games to their in-house audio lead. PGI was shifting focus into more cinematic-style storytelling in their games, and they needed help on the audio side. Fast-forward to today as I write this and we're working on our sixth title where I've been the entirety of the cinematic audio department handling