Audio is sometimes the last position on the list for any indie filmmaker and many times a thankless position. There have been countless projects that have great high quality video, but the audio is fuzzy, hard to hear or distracting. That doesn’t make sense, because audio is HALF the movie experience. Professional audio is key. We had the chance to sit down with field mixer and audio engineer Dana Simmons, Dana is a in demand field mixer having recently worked on several Blank Stage projects Hot Muffin, Black and Strong, and World Wide Deception.
“Dana has been a God send to us at Blank Stage”. Says Blank Stage owner Brent Brooks.
“On-set Dana wants to know the story, he wants get it right and he is like a sponge when it comes to learning the every aspect of the craft. Without Dana we don’t know where we would be.”
What all do you do?
That’s a hell of a question. It’s deceptively complex. I keep my mind open to new avenues and try and embrace new opportunities. I try not to see myself as just a “sound person”, but as an artist, a creative, who happens to be fluent in sound. I try and maintain a discipline in many areas besides sound. I write (to varying degrees of success as can be seen on my blog and in my personal journals), I create music, I take photos and record/edit videos. It’s very important to me, to consume a lot of creative material in order to stay creative, which is a challenge sometimes depending on what my schedule is like.
What has been a few of your highlights working with the crew here?
Having the chance to really develop relationships with Brent and the Blank Stage crew has really been THE highlight of my experiences. I feel like part of the family. I was introduced to Zach Cowan, another amazing sound mixer and he and I have had great audio discussions.
Also, The networking here has been unreal. The people I have been introduced through Blank Stage has lead to many a job. The Blank Stage team has taught me the importance of getting out there and meeting new people.
From your perspective tell us about the couple of projects you have helped in?
The Script Table Movie series this summer was a really fun idea that resulted in some unbelievable projects. When I heard about it I was really excited because the idea was something I had been wanting to try for a long time. In traditional art there is this idea of a “study” drawing or painting. It’s an experiment in expressing a shape or object on canvas. It’s intentionally brief and supposed to focus on only a single object or idea. Painters, do them all the time, its a way of practicing how to express an idea in order to make a larger more complex piece more effective. I think of the Script Table series the same way, as individual “studies” of an idea. Having simple, low stress projects like that to work on was really a lot of fun and good experience. Now seeing the projects come together they are looking better then expected, and they don’t sound that bad either.
When your not working with the crew at Blank Stage, What other projects have you been working on?
As with anyone in this business, there is a wide variety of jobs one takes to pay the bills. A handful of business/corporate shoots, film festivals, some freelance editing. This year was particularly fun because I got to record some tracks for one of my mentor’s bands, which got released as a compilation CD with the Indigo Girls to benefit the Atlanta Humane Society.
As a sound mixer what are some of the precautions that you take to ensure your getting optimal sound.
I like to joke that actually recording sound is only about 5% to 10% of being a sound person. Hitting that red button is 
the easy part. The important part is telling a story with that sound. I won’t pretend to have any new or revolutionary insights into the narrative power of video and sound. The most critical part of recording anything (video, audio, anything) is to understand the story. This can be difficult sometimes because the sound person is competing for time/attention from the director, producer, or writer, or whoever is providing the direction (sometimes all three and more). As a result one often has to infer a lot and really spend some time with the script. Of course this becomes easier as one gains experience, but the story never becomes less important. The second most important aspect of being a sound person is communication. That goes for any member of a team oriented endeavor of course. Communicating the needs, expectations, and ideas are absolutely critical to working on any project, and sometimes you really have to push to open up that communication, but it’s crucial.
What are your goals in the future? Where do you see yourself?
My only singular goal is to never stop pushing boundaries. All of my other ambitions stem from that idea. As a creative, I feel it is critical that I never stop pushing my work to the next level.
Am I missing anything?
I feel like that a lot, all you can say is “if I am, and it’s important, it will come up again”, if it doesn’t come up again, then it probably wasn’t important.
You can check Dana online
http://www.simmons-audio.com
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