Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/830490
52 S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y 'Sincerity sells.' I have found that this influences, not only the quality of work and storytelling I strive for as a professional, but also in my decisions in life. Rodger is a person that exemplifies that statement and is a positive role model. The other thing that he impressed upon us is that there are no stupid questions, only the questions you don't ask. It is very important to ask questions when you do not know how to do something; we are always learn- ing. He taught us the importance of humility. He always made sure that we could ask him something, whether it was specifically related to his class or not, and even after graduation. He is never hesitant to go above and beyond but doesn't call attention to it." She continues, "A year into my first industry job, I joked with my boss about how nervous I was when I interviewed, and he told me that I was essentially already hired because Rodger wrote to him beforehand. I had known that I was brought in for the interview because of Rodger's connection to my boss, but I did not know the extent he went to make sure I was hired. I also think the level of trust and respect my former boss showed for Rodger's opinion speaks volumes. I really have a lot of respect for Rodger as a professional mentor and as a person. Not only is he very accomplished, he is also very kind, and the caliber of his character is what makes him an excellent mentor and person. I am grateful to have his support, which he has always given so generously." Years ago, I got an email from Rodger asking if I had any students who knew music editing. I recommended my teaching assistant (TA) at USC at the time, Paul Apelgren. It turned out that Rodger had a request from a former student of his at LMU, Alex Levy, who was working as a music editor for Michael Giacchino. Alex wound up hiring my TA as an assistant. Paul is now a music editor on his own, and has won two MPSE Golden Reel Awards, including one for The Force Awakens. It is very gratifying to see that several generations of USC students have continued the mentoring process at USC and elsewhere. The last of my mentors from USC that I would like to discuss is CAS Board member and Career Achievement Award recipient Tom Holman. Tom was different from my other faculty mentors in that he did not come directly from film production, he came from engineering at Lucasfilm. One year when Ken Miura had a sabbatical year, his former student George Lucas invited him to spend the year at Lucasfilm, where he could work in the sound department doing research. Ken had breakfast practi- cally every day for a year with Tom Holman, and spent the year trying to talk Tom into accepting a teaching position at USC. It did not happen until a couple of years later in 1987, when I was his first teaching assis- tant. Ken had a huge influence even after he stopped teaching regularly. Tom did not come from USC, so his mentors were different. Although Tom had intended on majoring in engineering, he was drawn to the theater department at U. Illinois and eventually changed majors to journalism and communications, which was a broadcasting pro- gram. He wound up working on films for years there, and later went to Hollywood where he operated boom on the film Cool Breeze for production mixer Jeff Wexler (also a CAS Board member and Career Achievement Award recipient). The film is also Jeff's first film as a mixer. One of Tom's classes at USC was a lecture class to all production students, which could have as many as 120 students. (After I became faculty, I taught the class a few times when Tom was on sabbatical.) The class was loved by students. On the first day of class, he showed the production track from the first scene in the first Star Wars film, complete with plywood footsteps, muf- fled dialogue through various characters' masks, and the voice of British actor David Prowse as Vader instead of the iconic James Earl Jones voice. He would follow that up by playing the individual stems from the rolling boulder scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tom says he could Ken was absolutely a pivotal force in my life. He recognized my passion for movie sound, which was not a common trait among film students in 1971-1975. He demonstrated a calmness under fire, a patience, and a work focus which set the example for me as to what perspective a sound person should have to succeed in the production 'machinery' in Hollywood. " "