Today we’d like to introduce you to Emerson Cole

Hi Emerson, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

I have a unique upbringing in which I was an army brat and lived in many states over my years throughout highschool. I believe because of my upbringing, I chose to continue my life of being a nomad. I don’t think instability is particularly a bad thing, I thrive in a constant changing landscape. It allows me to continue moving forward no matter what outcome comes to me. I was taught that I needed to tell stories to survive. I needed to fit in, I needed a way to connect to those who experienced similar or dissimilar lives. I think I have gotten to where I am today because I was adaptable and willing to learn.

I’ve always been known to be the odd job person. If you had some weird request, I’d be happy to figure it out. When I was a kid I never stopped working. From cleaning out horse stalls, to volunteering at a soup kitchen garden picking plants and moving mulch, to selling Christmas trees, to teaching little kids how to swim. I never cared what job I was required to do, I just wanted to do it well. In college while learning about film production, I tried to pick up any position my friends or colleagues needed on their set, just so I can get experience doing it. I know that’s why after graduating I was able to move so quickly into the workforce. Even though I had very little professional experience, I was able to maneuver and learn quickly because I felt comfortable on set.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

My life was never a smooth road. Because I started my life moving around, I had to change my education every new school. I switched school systems seven times throughout my childhood. To put it in perspective, in history class, normally you learn American history from the very beginning to modern day. I instead learned 1600s to 1920s until my junior year of high school. With sometimes very specific parts of that history involved only in that state I lived in, such as Arizona which only taught Arizona history, but when I moved to Connecticut the next year, everyone was then taught history in South America, the the next year I went to school in upstate New York which taught us Vietnam war. That’s just history class, but math was always difficult to grasp because every teacher was on a different level. Since my highschool career was the only consistent schooling, I was way behind everyone else, which significantly stunted my grades until my senior year, which at that point I had to already submit to colleges and my GPA was in the can. Luckily I was able to get into Columbia College Chicago, which ultimately was the right choice overall.

The second huge obstacle I faced was starting my career in COVID. I graduated from Columbia in 2021, which means my most important years in college were right when the world shut down. My career path is a very practical one, which means zoom classes are basically pointless. I was supposed to be actively on set making movies but instead I was wearing my pajamas in bed listening to a lecture. When I graduated some of the red tape was being cut so everyone was able to get back to work. Fortunately for me, the film industry boomed exponentially. Even though I hadn’t been on set as much during my last two years of college, I was able to jump on professional sets quickly and learn everything I needed to know almost immediately.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I am a production sound mixer in the film industry. To put it in basic terms, I am the person in charge of the audio that’s captured on set for various types of media. Be that film, TV, commercial, documentary, corporate videos, social media and more. I only started getting into audio in my final year of college, which was a total accident. I’m most proud of being able to consider myself a professional and able to work basically any job that comes my way. I may be young and not have as much experience as a lot of my colleagues but I was able to pick up the craft quickly and able to prove myself in the industry so I can continue to rise. What sets me apart from others is that I come from a background that isn’t exactly an audio perspective. Instead my perspective was from a storytelling standpoint. Originally while learning film, like many others, I didn’t care about the audio. I didn’t find it interesting enough to learn. Luckily the second I started to look into it, I found audio was actually the most important part of the process, and so many people actually need someone who understands it fundamentally, so they can tell their story and have people actually watch and listen to it.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?

I have a lot of people to thank in my life and in my career. To start I should thank my family. First would be my mom. She’s always been my biggest cheerleader and even though we’ve gone through so much adversity and trauma, we stuck together and continued to grow together. My grandparents on both sides of my family were always huge supporters. My grandfather Clark who passed away during my college years, is the reason I went to college in the first place. He wanted me to get as much experience in life as possible and to constantly challenge my brain to be as smart as possible. My grandmother Linda who I call weekly just to tell her what wins I have then. She’s always been there and continued to push me and teach me many things throughout. My step grandfather George (Deege), who was always my father figure throughout my life. He was always that smiling figure who supported me no matter what I did. He also taught me how to be useful with my hands and use my physicality for work. My step grandmother Cathy who was always kind and taught me how to think deeper than the surface level. My uncle and aunt on my dad’s side Chris and Charlotte who kept me in my dad’s side of the family. They always supported me and would keep the door open for when I needed to be in that area of the country. And finally my dad, who passed away when I was 12. I strive to be like him, a man who is likeable to everyone, always a helping hand and willing to go out of his way to make people happy.

I have a lot of people outside of my family to thank but I will name a few just because the list could go on for ages. Gerry Formicola who helped me start my career in a positive and formidable way. He helped develop my workflow and continues to support me. Joshua Boshell who is my rockstar boom operator I have worked with consistently since college. We have grown our understanding of sound together and will continue doing some amazing things together. Evan Sweeney who is one of my best friends who always keeps me humble and reminds me everyday that I should continue doing what I love, even when things are bleak. Geri Simeonova who has grown with me as a friend and a colleague since the first year of my career. She’s always been supportive and helped push me to do better. I want to thank each and every friend I have had long the way from childhood to now, and maybe one day when I write a memoir I can do so. Just know that because you were in my life, no matter how long or how impactful you may think you were, I was able to get this far. I wish everyone can have as much support as I did, just so they can feel as grateful and as loved as I feel.

Pricing:

• Labor Rate: 950/10 which is my standard rate for just working. Guaranteed 10 hours plus whatever overtime is added.
• Basic Kit: 500/day which includes my mixer, one boom mic and two wireless lavalieres
• Full Kit: 1000/day which includes my mixer, 2 boom mics, four wireless lavalieres, 2 IFBs or Comteks, 2 timecode generators for cameras and a digital slate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.noiseboysllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emersonc3799?igsh=MWdsM2pndXB0MnVhbA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emerson.cole.16
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11320826/?ref_=ext_shr

Image Credits: 
Tom Krawczyk
David Wolfgang von Ehrlicher
Joshua Boshell