Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Geoff Gann. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Geoff, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

As a freelancer in the entertainment industry, there is no shortage of talent who can provide the same services that I do. How does one stand out in a crowded field? First and foremost, one must be personable. Remember that you’ve been hired to help someone else bring their vision to fruition. Listen to them. Learn what they’d like to see from you. Be pleasant in your dealings with them. It isn’t always a collaboration, but when asked, know your craft and be able to help your client see how you can better their project.

There is an old saying: fake it until you make it. I disagree with that. Surely there are industries/jobs where that mantra may hold sway, but in a visual/auditory case your BS will be seen through quite quickly. You never want to OVER sell yourself, only to show up on the day to find that you’re in way over your head. There’s no shame in saying “I’m not the person for that job.” Your client will appreciate your honesty and for not wasting their time. You’ll get there. Each journey, even our professional ones, starts with a first step.

KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT! It is always a bad look to be on set looking through the manual. Our clients pay us a premium with an expectation that we know what we are doing. They shouldn’t have to wait for us to “learn as we go.”

Learn from your peers. I’ve been in this business for an embarrassing number of years, and I still learn every time I work alongside one of my colleagues. Never be so sure that you know it all…

Have fun. We are in the entertainment industry. Have a good attitude and realize that we are in a position that most people would love to be in. Never take it for granted.

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 started out in the film industry years ago, soon after graduating university. My first job was hand cranking pasta from a cheap pasta maker for an infomercial (remember those?) for a week. From there I worked detailing cars for car commercials until someone in the grip department realized that I knew my way around a c-stand and had a strong back for carrying sand bags, so gave me an opportunity to switch departments. I never looked back. I worked several features, both big and small, many commercials and traveled all over the country for GMA and other shows.

Sometime during the early 90s the magazine shows changed crewing, going from a Producer/Director, DP, Audio Tech, Gaffer/Grip ( a 4 person crew) to a 3 person crew. A couple camera guys approached me and asked if I’d be willing to learn then work their audio gear as they’d rather have someone on the crew that knew how to light that could also run audio rather than vice versa. I thought long and hard about it but reluctantly agreed. MAN am I glad that I did.

I worked their gear for several years until the equipment changed and reality television started to become a thing. I took the plunge and invested in all of my own gear, setting myself up to provide reality clients with a robust package with all of the gear they could need without having to rent from other vendors. As an early adopter I was able to create a niche for myself (I remember a local colleague telling someone “Geoff is going to make us all go broke trying to keep up!) and my company DoubleGSound took off. Besides all of the network magazine shows, I was able to work on shows like Trading Spaces, Extreme Home Makeover, countless commercials, and several films. One claim to fame is that I have put a mic on every living president. I have been in some pretty exciting places that will be mentioned in history books long after I’m gone. That’s something I love and never take for granted.

A big break I got that surprisingly opened several doors was my involvement with the show Love it or List it. 4 season, 6 years…for a freelancer that sure felt like a full time job! (HA!) Then a little thing called the covid pandemic happened. The show went dark and I was steeling myself for a year without work. Thanks to my buddy Terry O’Deen however (a gaffer/rental house owner featured here previously) I answered a call from the folks at MrBeast a month after the world shut down. That one call turned into 3 years of a crazy world tour through the entirety of the pandemic! Had you told me in 2019 that I would have been plying my craft on YouTube videos, I might have been insulted, but I saw the writing on the wall and adapted. So glad I did!

I’m no longer with Beast due to some internal restructuring, but I’ve stayed busy since, especially within the commercial and documentary sphere.

I think I’ll stick with this for a while longer…

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is so goofy, but doing so many home renovation shows through the years I’d often find myself posted up in a toilet (where else is a sound person to hide from several cameras while shooting a home tour; no one wants to see the sh***er, and besides, its a ready seat) so I started taking selfies and hashtagging them “onetoiletatatime.” I am still shocked how that took off. I’d show up on set and a producer or AD would want to grab a selfie with me in a toilet. Peers from around the world started posting there own selfies with the same hashtag. Not a week ago someone not in the industry approached me and wondered if I’d been working because they hadn’t seen me in a toilet on IG for some time…completely goofy, BUT: it got people talking, and people remembered me for that goofiness. So goofy or not, I’d say it worked.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I touched on this previously, but taking the advice of a couple cameramen early in my career COMPLETELY changed my career path for the better. I was VERY content pushing dolly for productions, but the pivot I took to recording audio opened up my revenue stream significantly! Much thanks to those lads!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Double_G
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffgann-doublegsound?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BKCM0x8yQSQqatrBH6XTydw%3D%3D
• Other: https://zaxcom.com/production-sound-mixer-geoff-gann-mrbeast/