Today we’d like to introduce you to Alejandro Watson.
Hi Alejandro, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started working in the film industry as a production assistant (PA) on locally-shot indie films, worked my way up to being a full-time commercial PA for several years. After a few years of film set experience, I knew that I wanted to work in the sound department, and these days I am a full time location sound mixer & boom operator working on projects ranging from feature films, television, commercials, sporting events, and anything in between that requires an audio professional.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road to break into the film industry. The nature of the work is freelance, so I never know where my next paycheck will come from, what my next project or client will be, or where my next job will be. The benefit to this is that I am able to set my own schedule and accept projects at my discretion, and this flexibility allows me to pursue other interests in my free time more easily than a 9-5 job. It is also a very network- and connection-oriented industry so most if not all my work comes from referrals, which was a big transition from working a full-time day job where you apply for a job and go through a traditional interview process.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a location sound mixer & boom operator in the film industry. This role entails recording dialog for any kind of video application, hiding lavalier microphones on actors, coordinating frequencies for wireless microphone transmitters, making sure video and audio are synchronized, troubleshooting noisy environments, and collaborating with all other departments on a film set to ensure we can record the cleanest dialog possible.
I am most proud of any project I work on that can shine a light on any community, culture, or person that has an important story to tell. I have been privileged to record interviews with Texas artist McKay Otto, with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation to feature the work being done by Lisa Eicher at Sandal Gap Studio for artists with Down Syndrome, working on the PBS show Roadfood to feature many Vietnamese restaurants and the Vietnamese community at large in Houston, and working with Lululemon to record a round table discussion with local Black community leaders for Black History Month.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memories that I took for granted until recently revolve around growing up in Houston and going a diverse school where my classmates were from East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Central & South America, Africa & Europe, and that this was a completely normalized experience for me. I thought nothing of the fact that I could find amazing Indian food minutes away from a great Ethiopian restaurant, Colombian food just down the road from one of my favorite Thai restaurants, and truly any cuisine imaginable was available to me.
Contact Info:
- Email: sudo.sound.tx@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sudo_sound/?hl=en
- SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/sudo_haus
