We recently connected with Alex Walker Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

For the most part, I learned by doing. I grew up in a musical family. Even though my parents didn’t force me or my brothers to take piano or music lessons, we still learned a lot just by being surrounded by music. I was a bit unprepared when got to college, the biggest obstacle being my inability to read music.

After college I began to study film music on my own. I spent a lot of time synching film music tracks to their respective scenes so I could watch the film with isolated music. This helped me to realize something essential to the craft: composers don’t just write whatever they want; first and foremost, they compose music that serves the scene. I spent time recreating my favorite soundtracks by ear and writing music in the styles of film composers I admired, eventually finding my own “sound”.

I’ve been working as a professional composer for almost a decade now, and I’m still learning by doing. Each new project has unique challenges that force me to adapt and grow. But looking back now, if I had learned to read music fluently as a child, it would have made things a lot smoother. But then again, maybe the rough path is what forced me to develop other skills to compensate.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have a dual career as both a composer and a voice actor. I have just as much passion for each of them, and sometimes I even end up doing both on the same project.

I compose original music for video games, animation, film/tv, and more. I specialize in orchestral music, but I can write in a variety of styles; jazz, rock, classical, you name it. I produce my music using the best sample libraries available, and I work with live musicians when the budget allows.

I also provide voiceover performances for characters in video games, animation projects, commercial, narration, and more. I love bringing characters to life, whether they’re bombastic and cartoonish or realistic and more film-like. Something that’s often overlooked about voice acting is that it is – in fact – acting. People sometimes think it’s just “doing voices”, and while being able to change your voice can help you to be cast as more character types, none of it matters if you can’t act.

In addition to these specialties, I also do other audio-related work like sound design, mixing/mastering, voiceover casting/direction/editing, and even audio implementation on occasion. With video games, I sometimes produce all the audio for the game, which can bring a special kind of cohesion to a project. In animated projects, I can produce what is referred to as the “radio play”, which involves take selection and pacing (which requires a certain amount of musicianship) to create an audio-only version of the show for the animators to work with.

I take pride in the work I do. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a project do well and knowing I did the best job I could.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I haven’t really built much of an audience on social media, because the truth is I don’t like it. You are at the mercy of the ever-changing algorithms, which encourage quantity over quality. You need to upload the right kind of content of a specific length and aspect ratio, using the right words, and upload on a certain day at a certain time, consistently… It’s stressful, and takes a lot of time and effort. Does it work? Yes, it can get you the exposure you want, and it can lead to work or even be a source of income in itself. If you can do it, good for you. But personally, I don’t want to do social media for a living; I want to do my craft.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Some people have trouble finding their true passion. This can be because they point to something they enjoy and call it their “passion”, and they stop looking. But your passion isn’t simply something you enjoy; it’s something that you’re compelled to do, something you can’t ignore. It’s a large part of who you are as a person. I believe I’ve discovered my passion, and it is story telling. Whether I’m using sound, visuals, words, or whatever, I want to tell a story. I’m also privileged to have skills through which my story telling can manifest.

Non-creatives (is that derogatory?) sometimes ask “what’s your backup plan if your career doesn’t work out?” And what they struggle to understand is that there is no backup plan, because this is who I am. I’m fortunate to have found a way to support myself and my family by doing the thing I’m compelled to do. If it stops working I will find another way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alexwalkersmith.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexwalkersmith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexwalkersmith
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwalkersmith/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexWalkerSmith
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/alexwalkersmith