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Name: Thomas Mannino
Username: Evilzug
Hometown: Boston, MA
Occupation: Sound Production Assistant / Second Boom / Sound Utility / Sound Intern, I don't have a straight answer yet.
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What attracted you to the Entertainment Industry, and what was your first job or big break in the business?
I'm a big fan of the fusion of music and visuals. I think that music videos are really the last bastion of true creative expression. You really can do anything, experiment in any way you want, and the more experimental, the better. I also run a fairly successful personal website, evilzug.com, in which I show off my silly projects, films, and flash animations, some of which have become extremely popular. I realize from the fan base, etc, that I am talented, so it was just a matter of time before the opportunity presented itself. I have an interesting view of luck. Someone once told me, that there is no such thing as luck, and I partly agree. Thoreau said, "Chance favors the prepared mind," and I totally agree with him. When I was presented with this "big break," I dove on it and rode it as hard as I could. Within a week or so, I moved from working in the production office, to proving myself worthy to be helping the sound department. Had I not been educated properly in Audio, I would have not been able to take up the opportunity.
What is the biggest challenge you faced trying to break into the industry, and how did you overcome it?
I would have to say that wanting to work in the industry, it's a leap of faith. You hear many stories of people getting huge big breaks, as well as an equal if not more prevalent amount of stories of people going out there and becoming career waiters and waitresses. What you have to do is stomach your fears, and shoot for the sky. Don't deny yourself what you want to do because you think it will never happen. To sound like a motivational speaker, anything is possible. Something require lots and lots of difficult work, blood, sweat and tears, but you can get whatever you want, if you put your everything into it.
So learning this, and having this attitude, helped me a lot.
What advice can you give those trying to break into the "industry?"
See #2. The best thing you can do is work as hard as you can, without killing yourself. Hard work gets noticed. You have your whole life to learn new things, it's pretty much all in the attitude. Sure, the more you know, the less time you have to take to learn it, but if you know a lot and have a bad attitude about it all, you won't go anywhere. You could be the best cinematographer in the world, but if you are pissy and lazy, then you won't get anything done and nobody will want to work with you. So, without losing yourself, keep a positive attitude, and be yourself.
Please describe your job for those who might not know what a Sound Production Assistant/ Sound Intern is.
I worked Second Boom and Sound Utility. Second Boom is just as it sounds, holding the boom microphone to collect the audio from the scenes. It's usually for catching off-screen audio, to compliment the scene, and to catch some back-up reels, in case the primary audio isn't good enough. It's especially useful for scenes in which there are two characters talking. I would catch the dialogue of the character that is off screen, so that when they edit, they then would have clean audio of the person, in case you hear the off screen person talk while the camera is not on them. Sound Utility is really just catch-all work, like coiling and dressing cable, making runs for the sound department, fetching things from the van, making sure the audio monitors that the director, producer and all use to listen to the performance are fully powered. Assisting, really, in any way that assistance is needed, but requires more technical education then just moving things around and the like.
Can you share any tricks of the trade that help you work faster/cheaper/better?
Have fun. I truly believe that if your heart is in your work, then it isn't work. The more you love your job, the more you are willing to put your heart and life on the line for it, the better job you will do, the more care you will put into it, and the better it will turn out. I guess that boils down into efficiency, as well, which means that you will take less time, which means less money in the long run.
Please illustrate the way the performance of your position can help or hurt a movie. Name a movie that you've seen (or worked on) that we could view and understand the difference between a good job and a bad job.
I think the audio in a film really makes or breaks a film. I think, as a human, the audio is the first thing we pay attention to. Distracting noises, badly-covered dialogue can really ruin your suspension of disbelief, and pull you right out of a film. I don't have any set examples of films, but, for example, if a plane flies overhead or a car honks during a take, it may have been the most beautiful take in the world, but it's no good, so it should be done again. People argue that you can just redo the dialogue in ADR, (Automatic Dialogue Replacement,) but that entails taking the actor into a studio, sitting them in a dark room, and requiring them to reenact the scene in which the dialogue needs to be replaced. I personally think it's impossible to return to the moment in which the actor is placed in, having a set in which they are physically in, and actors to look at and play off of. Over and above that all, it's much easier to control the visuals then the audio. You can lock down parts of the set so no people wander into frame at the time, you can choose specific locations, but you can't restrict airspace, or lock down highways and the like.
What's the best lesson you've learned in regards to working in Hollywood?
Work your hardest, but don't lose yourself in the work. Many people think you have to kiss various parts of other's bodies in order to advance. I totally disagree. You can advance just as fast, and still keep your self. I think those people who find the need to suck up are the ones who don't have pleasant personalities, and have to pretend to be nice. They unfortunately forget their original personality in the process, or bury it so far down inside themselves that they become plastic. Plastic people make me sick. Sure they may go far, and do well, perhaps better then I ever will, but at the end of the night, I can be happy knowing that I'm a real person.
What advice would you give to writers on how to craft a script that addresses practical production issues?
Keep it simple. Everything costs money. The more actors you have, the more locations you have, the more elaborate sets, special effects, any considerations, (child actors, period pieces,) cost money. It doesn't necessarily make production impractical, but they all take careful planning, (and pay out beautifully in the end,) so it should be understood when getting into the situation.
What advice would you give a director on how to make production easier?
Be nice. Be understanding. Know that the set is a living, breathing organism, and an entire army is working for you to make your vision come across. Knowing that these people will do whatever they can to help you, also understand they are human beings before they are soldiers. Nobody is 'better' or 'more important' then anyone else on set. Every job on set is the 'most important job.' Without Production Assistants, their would be no one to drive around the vehicles and lock down the set. Without craft service, everyone would pass out and starve. You get the picture.
List your top 5 favorite films
This is the wrong question to ask a film major, sorry. So I'm gonna do the "List 5 random movies that have changed my life".
Best Cyberpunk Film: I'm a huge cyberpunk/cyberpunk fan, so I could go on for days, but I'd have to say Ghost in the Shell is the ultimate.
Any film by David Fincher/Spike Jonze: I want to follow in their footsteps. They started off making music videos, and went on to the big screen, only to make amazing, artistic films, (that are also very high on my list.)
American Beauty was a life-changer. Helps me put things into perspective, put me in my place when I slip up.
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