We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Walter Thoma. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Walter below.

Walter, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

When you decide what you want to do in life, you’re faced with challenges and sacrifices. At the same time, becoming a full-time sound designer is all about negotiation, collaboration, and compromise.
I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but socializing is key when it comes to this industry. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. As much as we love the solidarity of our studios, if you want to make a living out of it, you’re gonna have to put in the time to get out and connect with clients.

I was lucky enough to have friends in film school, which made my start pretty simple. “Hey, I’ll cut your thesis for free…” Simple as that.

Before I could even blink, lots of other film students wanted sound for their projects, and that helped me create a solid foundation to get started.

So, what if you’re not connected to any film students, or filmmakers at all? – Here’s a few other options that can help you grow your network for sound design.

There’s always events like festivals and gatherings for filmmakers, even exclusively for sound designers. You just have to research what might be in your local community.

I would say film festivals overall are always a great way to connect, that’s what most people attending these events are trying to do as well.

Now you have clients, your first few gigs… but that doesn’t mean they’ll pay.

I understand, getting paid is fun, but it won’t happen unless you get experience first. Most starting freelance gigs will be really low pay, or a crisp high-five if you’re lucky. This part is tricky because only you understand your limits here, but always try to be more flexible than most. It’s what will get you recommended, and eventually, someone will be able to meet your rates!

Work with others, and they’ll work with you.

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

I’m Walter Thoma, an LA based sound designer from Mexico.

I help filmmakers create worlds and tell their stories through sound. My job is to make people forget they’re watching a film, and have them live an experience instead.

So far I’ve had the pleasure of working with unbelievable talent and learning from the best professionals around.

I’m doing my best to be a part of this gigantic puzzle we call filmmaking…

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I strongly recommend you start recording your own sounds as soon as you can.

Buy any affordable recorder, take it outside and just start recording ambiences, doors, airplanes… whatever you can.

I just started and I wish I would’ve started sooner, it adds a lot of personality to your projects!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

To be honest, I’m not looking for something in particular… but I just hope I get to keep doing this for as long as I can.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @walterthoma_sound

Image Credits
Hugo Arvizu (first photo), Ana Sierra (additional photo).