We were lucky to catch up with Matt Leake recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

From a young age (high school) I was always kind of interested in entertainment whether it be video audio etc. I started a Youtube Channel & Twitch stream around then and my biggest problem was always getting quality audio . So I just taught myself what I could and slowly got better that higher level of audio.

When it was time to think about college, I bounced around a couple different things (Aerospace Engineer, Pilot) and ended up deciding a really wanted to entertain and contribute to that. So I went to the University of Rhode Island to primarily study Film & Media. On one of our projects I decided I wanted to be the Sound Mixer. I didn’t want the stress of having to direct, act or be the cinematographer. I really enjoyed that project and slowly began to learn more through the school. Eventually an upper classmen asked if I knew how to use a certain piece of gear and if I wanted to be her Sound Mixer. The answers to both questions were yes, and from there I kinda just started doing audio for everyone’s projects.

I do want to credit a lot of that learning to school, but a good deal of what I know I learnt for my craft I found by asking the internet and eventually some mentors that were already in the industry. I by no means know “everything” and im always in that pursuit of learning more by asking more questions on Online Chats, consulting the even more mentors I have now and even purchasing some specific Production Sound Mixing & Boom Operating books to learn more.

I think to speed up the processes I could have started asking those questions a little sooner, while I was a lot of people’s “go-to” mixer in school it still took me a few years into my college journey to realize this is the craft I wanted to commit to.

There’s a lot of crazy specifics in the world of audio I have figured out are pretty important. To me the biggest is boom mic placement and how to operate in a scene getting the best & tightest audio I can while staying out of the camera and the lights way. Wiring talent and managing wireless frequencies are a big one too that I still feel I’m just dipping my toe into. I don’t get the cleanest LAV mics, but I’m always in pursuit of finding new methods to make them cleaner and hide the mic packs better and better. There’s still a whole lot in the newer tech of the production audio world I’m still clueless in. I’m always looking at new gear, figuring out it’s ins and outs so I can be a pro when it comes to be my turn to use it.

I don’t necessarily think I’ve had too much obstacles when it comes to learning more. But I would say my biggest was being afraid to ask people my questions. I get nervous sometimes when it comes to talking to a more seasoned veteran, so that’s what sometimes holds me back there. Especially if I have a super stupid question to ask xD . That and google is horrible sometimes for figuring out industry specific things. It never knows what I’m trying to figure out.

I’m always in that pursuit of knowledge. There’s always something I can improve on and learn more about to get that higher quality audio!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m realizing I kind of answered some of this already in the last question lmaooo

So I am a Production Sound Mixer & Boom Operator here in New England. Basically my responsibilities on set as a Production Mixer are to record all of the on set audio. The main priority is properly capturing all the dialouge and getting it as clean as possible, but It’s important to also focus on getting all the natural sound effects and ambient noises I can. Like if an actor is typing, I always try to get that so post-production doesn’t have to add it all in later. Sometimes what I record will turn into reference for post but it’s always better to give them something than it is to have them work with nothing.

When I’m working under someone as a Boom Op I do share a lot of those same responsibilities, but my primary focus is getting that boom as close to the action as possible without coming into the frame lines on the camera or causing a shadow. It definitely is a very difficult position (since I spend most of the day with my arms over my head) but when you get it right and get that audio clean it’s such a rewarding feeling. I definitely prefer it when I’m working as a Boom Op to a Production Mixer. Still being in that pursuit of knowledge, I feel like I have a lot more to learn when it comes to the full scope of audio. So being that second in command allows me to continue to learn while still being on set and swinging that mic around. Having to solely focus on getting that mic in place and not deal with managing levels & talent mics takes a lot off my back and let’s me really focus on the operating side of things. Boom first always.

In college I realized I really enjoyed doing this. So I joined some Facebook groups where people post looking for crew members. While still in my senior year of college I reached out to one of these productions “Trauma Bond” directed by Jaina Cipriano. Jaina and her producer Viktor Herrmann decided to bring me on, it was definitely hard to balance since production was happening in the midst of finals, but I figured it out. I made a really strong connection with the friends I made on that set. From there Viktor brought me on to his movie “Woodshedding”. Then they (and other crew members) recommended me to friends for more movies and that kind of snowballed. Most of my work came from people recommending me to other shows. There are still things that I apply for but a lot of it does come from recommendations.

I then worked on my first indie feature as a Sound Mixer “Everwinter Night” directed by Adam Newman followed by my first Hallmark feature called “The Snowball Effect” where I worked as my now friend Yvonne Corbett’s Boom Op. From there I worked on more and more shows to eventually get to the point where I had enough gigs under my belt to apply to join IATSE Local 481. I was accepted as a member October 2023, and now I’m just waiting for the industry to recover from the SAG and WGA strikes so I can get to work on the higher tier productions.

I would like to also shout out my good friend Sarah Angeloni for bringing me on as a production assistant on the show “Kevin Can F*** Himself”. Without her bringing me into that (although it wasn’t for a sound position) I would have never met my union sponsor Jason Fyrberg (Who was the sound mixer on that). That connection there is what led to me getting into the union.

I primarily work on narrative film, it’s so fun because I get to help be a part of creating a story. Without my department it would be a silent film, so I love being that pinnacle piece of a production. While narrative is my favorite form I’m usually down to do anything in the field. Whether it’s commercials, interviews, TV shows, etc. If you need to record sound, I can probably be your man to do it!

I will say, I’m a very hypercritical person so I’m never really truly happy with my work but a lot of people in this industry can be like that. Being that way I take a lot of pride and passion in really fighting to get as best sound as possible on set. Always doing as much as I can to negate noise and get the audio right. Even when I get frustrated I always try to keep a smile on my face and help keep the energy up on set. I do keep things goofy and fun, but I never let that get in the way of my craft. I think that’s why a lot of people value having me on set. Not only do I put a lot of work into getting clean audio but I tend to be a fun smiling face. You can always turn to me if you need a little laugh between setups. In the end we’re all just a bunch of grown ups making fairytales so you can’t really get too caught up in the stress of it all.

I will say I am very proud of the audio I caught on “Everwinter Night” that feature was tough but when it all came together the director and post audio engineer loved what I got and I feel like it sounds as good as it can for what I knew at the time. There’s so many movies I’ve worked on it’s hard to pick favorites. I can add more later lol, but for now I’ll just stick that one there because it was the first full length feature I was able to Production Sound Mix.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think the biggest things that have helped me build reputation are my attitude and my pursuit to my craft and really getting things right.

I know from a couple of my first jobs they didn’t even have the edit started before they started recommending me to other productions. I always strive to keep things light and happy, even when being serious I try to not be too overly serious. When you’re working long days sometimes having the fun and telling the dumb jokes is what keeps morale up. I always try to be kind and happy. I tried to build relationships with all the department heads and keep things light, so when we get into those tough situations we can all work together to get through them and get the movie finished. A happy crew always makes a better movie, so I love to try and be that happy person that can help keep the morale up.

With all the goofiness and happiness mentioned above, I do take my job very seriously. When it’s crunch time I do buckle down and get things right as best and as fast as I can. I’m always doing whatever I can to make sure the production isn’t waiting on me. I try to stay ahead of the game while still being prepared and ready for any curveballs the day might throw. At the end of the day my job is to record audio the best I can. Some scenes and locations make that challenging, but I’m committed to doing everything I can to get it right. Usually that means talking to other departments to give me a hand whether it’s turning off loud fridges or maybe adjusting the lights a little so I can get the boom in there better. I’m always fighting to get it right and I think that dedication really shows when I get on set.

A lot of people know I’m dedicated yet fun to be around and that’s really why I think a lot of them continue to recommend me for more work.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I truly think the most rewarding part of all this is seeing the joy people get when the production is finished. We work so hard to bring this movie to the screen. Lots of long days and nights go into it. But when that film premieres and you get to watch it with an audience, hear their laughs, their reactions. There’s nothing more rewarding than that. I love the way film makes people feel. You have total control of their emotions. Whether they’re happy, sad, scared, what you filmed makes that happen.

I’m just one piece to the puzzle when it comes to making a movie. I capture the actors performance for the world to hear. It takes a lot of people and a lot of teamwork for a movie to get finished but damn seeing it done and hearing how it made people feel, feels so good.

On the flip side of that, usually a director puts a lot of time into creating this story. Sometimes it’s a personal story or an event. So helping them bring that vision to life is so much fun. The smile on their face when their dream becomes a reality is almost just as good as the audiences reaction to it.

Just a bunch of Adults making fairytales.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mattleake171.wixsite.com/digitalmedia
• Instagram: Leaker_Speedz
• Facebook: Matt Leake
• Other: maybe add my Imbd page? not really necessary tho, it’s just “Matt Leake Sound department” there but here is a link too https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10997690/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Image Credits
Personal Pic: Hunter Anderson 1. Hunter Anderson 2. Aidan O’Connor 3. Andrew Allen 4. Madeline Gravelle 5. Bren Hickey 6. Elizabeth Friar 7. N/A 8. Jenna Hobgood