We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Akinori Chen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Akinori thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The production sound mixer is the person who records the dialogue on set. In most cases, people hear the dialogue on the screen from movies, TV series, and documentary are captured by a sound mixer.

The responsibility for the production sound mixer is critical because most of the best talent performances happen on set, so capturing their clean dialogues supports the quality of the content.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I first learned about production sound mixing while I was an undergraduate film production student at California State University, Northridge. When I took courses in production sound mixing & recording, I found it fascinating that production sound mixing is not only limited to capturing audio but includes mixing audio on the spot to create playback tracks for directors and producers, and eventually for editors in the form of dailies. It also helped that I am communicative since being a production sound mixer requires close communication with directors, producers, actors, and teams from the makeup, wardrobe, and camera departments. This could be challenging for some, but it is gratifying for me.

As a sound mixer, I have encountered situations where extreme ambient noise or challenging scene setups made it difficult to record good audio. But I always feel the greatest sense of accomplishment in moments when I manage to capture great audio despite all the setbacks through careful preparation and ingenuity.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative
The most rewarding aspect of being a sound mixer is always being flexible. Creative people always have a strong ego, essential when expressing their talents. However, Film and TV production always work under a very tight schedule, so always be flexible when changing the original plan to a new one. Also, I need to cooperate with other departments, such as camera, makeup, and wardrobe crews, so flexibility helps when they change their shooting plan, and I can adjust my plan to fit the production schedule.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Building my reputation in my industry means always preparing the best and providing the best performance for the clients. If clients love my recorded audio, they will hire me in the future. Also, they will refer me to another client looking for a production sound mixer. Networking is essential for the entertainment industry, so it helps expand my business opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aki_jp_55/
• Website: aki-sound.com