Location Sound

Location sound is another department I am very passionate about. During my time in screen arts I have been on most films as a sound operator, both in the studio and on location. I found my love for sound though our Set Ettiquet course instructor, Olivia King, who inpired me to get into sound. seeing a strong and talented woman doing location sound as a career was inspiring and from then on I have been doing sound ever since. Bootcamp at the end of our first year was when I did sound for the first time on two productions. It took some learning but I had done alot of research and even read the Zoom f8's manual a few times to be ready. I had some practice from helping with lavs and the sound report on Fool God Yourself, but actually being the sound operator was far different. I hade an amazing sound partner, Connor Saulnier, from the Music Production and Engineering program that teamed up with our class for bootcamp. I genuinely could not have asked for a more kind and friendly person to be a sound duo with and I feel working together helped me learn so much about not only being a sound team but learning how to be a sound person in general. I have worked in several sound teams but that bootcamp experience is one I hold close to my heart as the one that made me fall in love with this department. I look forward to continuing to explore this passion in the future.

Sound work

The Cult of Personality (2025)

The Cult of Personality was our first end of first year bootcamp film. It was also my first time being the sound operator for a production. In preparation I read the zoom f8's manual front to back several times and practiced with the boom and lavs as much as I could. Practice made perfect and despite the technical difficulties with the equipment, the sound was good. I worked in a sound duo and we switched back and forth from doing boom and handling the audio recorder. We found a great rhythm by the end of it. Having the harness for the audio recorder bag was a life saver for my back and if I could share any wisdom it would be to have that.

Fraud, Marry, Kill (2025)

Fraud, Marry, Kill was our second bootcamp film. I was the sound operator in a duo for the first portion of the day with Connor Saulnier again, and a classmate for the second half of the day. This script followed a couple in an argument moving from being inside the car, to walking outside, down a covered walkway. The outdoor portion of the film worried me because we were filming in a wind tunnel in front of the school , next to a hospital and a very busy road. During our tech day it was not as windy or cold as our actual shoot day. Another issue that came up was the echo under the covered walk way was very bad. We had to get the actors to walk closer to the side so they would not echo as much and so we could get usable sound.

On the shoot day it was so cold and windy that we had to borrow clothes from many people. My coat made too much noise and so I had to settle for several sweaters that we not mine. Connor and I's hands were getting very cold and so we had to keep switching roles more frequently than the previous production. We used the dead cat to cover the mic but the wind was very strong as was the echo at times as well as helicopters and traffic. We thankfully got usable sound from the first half of the day and us freezing outside was worth it!

After the first half of the day we moved to the car scenes and a classmate stepped in for Connor. We somehow manage to fit in the back of the car with the audio recorder. If I could go back in time I would have probably done sound in the back alone, but it was helpful having someone to do the sound report and let me know when someone would be opening the door so I could brace myself rather than falling out of the car.

This shoot taught me a-lot about doing location sound outdoors and I learned a-lot by researching settings on the recorder for being outside and in the wind. I also learned batteries die FAST outside and to always have extras and have some inside staying warm!

Show Me Your Bones (2025)

Show Me Your Bones (2025) was the first film we made in our second year of Screen Arts. I was the Sound Operator in a duo with a classmate, Oliver Pond, who was the boom operator. This time around I had been practicing and excited to do sound on a production since bootcamp. I was in more of a teaching role this time and taught my classmate how to use the recorder and lavs as well as booming ,where he already had a little experience, and how to do the sound report. This film was part of our 5-7 minute productions and I did two roles on this film. This production was a little stressful due to some group dynamics but in the end everyone got along and we had a nice shoot. This film was shot over two days, the first day was inside the studio, the second day was partially outside for the morning.

The first shoot day the fabric of the costumes were causing a lot of sound issues and so that was a major stressor for both days. In the end the sound was usable and I am glad we got ADR. I felt by this production I was very confident in my skills regarding the audio recorder and had learned a lot of shortcuts on the machine to help with saving time. There was a draft in the studio for some reason and so we had to work around that.

It was colder out and so I was worried we would have a repeat of last time, but I had learned and gotten a weather kit. I did not end up needing the fleece lined thermal layers I was wearing and all the other layer ontop. It was very warm surprisingly and a very sunny day. The wind occasionally picked up and we were filming near the waterfront and so the boats and traffic on the bridge and from Halifax, including the noon gun that terrified me, was alot to deal with. Nothing was worse than the helicopters and planes, there had to of been 7 or more of them within 2 hours. The wind was not as bad listening back as I thought. We used some settings for the wind and the dead cat of course. We also got some ADR in someones car while they switched lenses so we could use that in post. I am very glad the sound turned out well in the end.

Vini's Documentary (2026)

Near the end of our second year I was the sound operator on my classmate Vini's documentary. We filmed his coworker at the tattoo shop he works at, Oceanic Art. This was a very busy time for me as I was filming my own documentary and working on the set for The Last Rites of Missy the Misfit. I enjoy working with Vini and it was a fun experience being able to visit his tattoo shop and meet his coworker who was an amazing person. The sound for this was all boom, we did not lav him. It was relatively simple and we even used a c-stand and put the boom on it since it was a static shot. I got some room tone outside in the early morning. I got some lovely environmental sounds outside while they set up inside and shot some things that did not need sound. I had fun doing sound for this simple production and look forward to working with Vini again in the future.

Bonaventure Anchor Memorial Documentary (2026)

I did my end of Screen Arts documentary at Point Plesant park. Myself and Vini went early and got the gear at the school. We then headed over to point plesant park. I did not go in with a specific area or idea other than wanting shots of ducks since I love ducks. It was set to rain and very wet and muddy and so we did not want to stay too long and we were also on a time limit. Vini was on camera and I was doing sound. I got some decent sound but it started raining and was very damp the entire time and the batteries we had died and so other than some waves and distant ducks I did not get as much sound as I would have liked. But part of doing sound is learning and adapting so we used the on board mic and I know for next time to figure out different methods to making sure this does not happen and bringing more batteries. Overall I am happy with my documentary now. With the footage we got the documentary found its own story and that was on the Bonaventure Anchor Memorial.

And we are no longer speeding.. Thats a wrap on Screen Arts 2026!

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