A COLLABORATIVE POST
WRITTEN BY BOOM BOX POST

Meet Boom Box Post’s newest interns, Jon Black and Lizzie Marcou. We’re so excited to have them on board with us! To learn more about Jon’s and Lizzie’s background and sound journey, we asked them a few questions. Here’s what we found out!

How did you get started in audio and where did you study?

Jon: I was always a huge fan of music, and hearing music in video games inspired me to research the audio process for entertainment. From there, I fell into a rabbit hole of foley, sound effects, background and everything in between! I realized the world of sound is much bigger than I ever thought, so I knew I had to explore it. I studied at Dodge college of film and media arts at Chapman University.

Lizzie: Sound has always been a huge part of my life. I started my audio journey in the music sphere, where I taught myself Garage Band and Logic Pro to make demos for my band when I was fifteen. I picked up a lot of audio skills through my journey as a performing musician, and I ended up pursuing a Bachelors in Music Industry at USC. Here, I took a multitude of audio mixing and production courses and collaborated with creatives in music, film, games, and more. In my junior year, I decided to take a sound design course within the film school, and I immediately fell in love. Something really clicked-- It was really fun to be able to utilize a different part of my brain and learn the process of cutting sound effects, backgrounds, mixing, and more. After that, I started throwing myself into as many film audio projects as I could!

What sparked your interest in sound for TV/Film?

Jon: As I researched sound for video games due to my love for music in it, it brought me to the sound process for one of my all time favorite movies “The Dark Knight”. I then decided to mute the tv and try watching the movie without sound to appreciate what it does for film. I could not get through the first five minutes. From there, I slowly fell in love with audio for tv and film, and decided to apply to Chapman’s sound design program.

Lizzie: I've always thought that sound effects were just so cool– especially in the cartoons and anime I would watch growing up. You can really get creative in animation and build soundscapes that transport the viewer to a different world. When I began learning film/TV sound in college, I really enjoyed the meticulous trial-and-error process of cutting and layering different sounds, as well as the collaborative process of making sure they were properly conveying the director’s story and vision for their art. I also love being able to bring my musical background into my editing process and style.

How did You find out about the Boom Box Post internship?

Jon: My professor at Dodge first mentioned Boom Box Post when I said I love the sound design in kids shows. I knew I would love to sound edit kids shows, so from there, I checked online and discovered Boom Box Post. I proceeded to cold call the studio multiple times and even come in person to physically hand them my resume. Either they liked me so much or they wanted me to stop bugging them, because they emailed me soon after! It is where they told me about their internship program. 

Lizzie: I initially found out about Boom Box when I decided I wanted to pursue animation sound, and I just began doing research online on who did the sound for my favorite shows– for Boom Box, it was Amphibia. I had also learned more about the company through the Tonebenders Podcast, where Kate Finan is featured in a few episodes. During my internships with Women’s Audio Mission, I got the opportunity to shadow editors at Boom Box for a day and watch them work in a professional environment. After that experience, I was one-hundred percent sure that I wanted to try pursuing an internship with Boom Box and learn more. One cold email and interview later, here I am!

Which intern lesson are you looking forward to most?

Jon: The lesson I am looking forward to is the one on backgrounds and ambiences. What’s considered a background and what’s considered an ambience can be very confusing, but they are going to make it very easy for me to understand the difference. 

Lizzie: One that I’m looking forward to is the dialogue editing lesson, since I don’t have too much experience with it. I’m excited to be able to learn some real techniques! I’m also very excited for the final project, where I get to put everything I’ve learned to the test and cut/mix a scene from scratch.


What was your favorite animated movie or television series as a child?

Jon: SpongeBob was my favorite show growing up. The writing is very good, and still makes me laugh today. My favorite episode is when SpongeBob and Patrick get stuck in Sandy’s house during her hibernation and they fight over who’s pinhead and who’s dirty Dan. 

Lizzie: I could write a whole essay for this question, but the shows from my childhood that have stuck with me until now are Avatar the Last Airbender, Gravity Falls, and Adventure Time. I still rewatch episodes of all these shows today!

Have you worked on the sound for animation projects in the past? Tell us about it!

Jon: I have not worked on sound animation projects in the past, but I am really excited to try one now! I am very interested to see what it’s like since the sound effects and dialogue recording process in animation is completely different from live action. 

Lizzie: This past year, I did the sound design for a USC Animation thesis film. It was an animated music video that actually featured a song from my band, Dear Elise. Getting to do sound over my own voice was definitely a strange experience, but I found the entire process really fun!

Tell us about something you've already learned so far!

Jon: The biggest thing I have learned so far is the collaboration involved with sound design at a professional level Boom Box Post works at. Going from freelance projects where I did everything from dialogue editing to foley, then coming here and seeing how different people do specific aspects of the sound editorial, pre-mix, is great to watch. I learned there is a specific person who puts everyone’s sessions together as well. I am very glad since it means it saves everyone time on their specific task rather than taking longer for one person to do everything. 

Lizzie: So far, I’ve learned how to organize a session layout, as well as a long list of Pro Tools shortcuts that have changed my life. I’ve also been getting more familiar with the animation post-production pipeline and how all of the editors work together on a single project! In just a week, I feel like I’ve already learned so much from simply being in the space and observing everyone’s work.

Thanks to Jon & Lizzie for letting us get to know them!

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