Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where and what do you study? What audio field are you in? What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?
I am a student of Advanced School Of Electrical Engineering from Belgrade, Serbia. I freelance as a film composer, sound designer and music editor. My dad initiated my passion for audio, because he always allowed me to mess around his gramophone and cassette deck, so since I was two years old, I already knew how to change the record and wind the cassette tape by myself.
Are you a musician yourself? What instruments do you play and in what musical context?
Yes I am. I play guitars, bass, everything with a keyboard, and some percussion. When people ask me what instruments do I play, I usually say that I play everything, but not in the right way, because I am a sound designer, so I always look for an interesting way to get a sound out of an instrument. Sometimes I play guitars with drumsticks, or piano with a bow etc…
Tell us about the production of your submission. What is the story behind it? What was it inspired by? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?
This was my 4th entry actually. I started competing in 2012 and I was the finalist every time I applied for the competition, which is 4 times in a row for the last two years. This competition entry was a sort of promotion for an animation studio where I work as a composer and sound designer. We are trying to do an animated “Phantom Of The Opera” feature, so the teaser trailer was the perfect way to promote the idea ,and AES in LA and Kickstarter were perfect places where to promote it. All in all, I spent maybe two weeks working on it. One week for music production, and a week for sound design, editing and mixing.
What was your most significant/funny/inspiring experience as an audio engineer?
My most interesting experience was the fighter jet and live weapons test on a military airfield in Belgrade, and they allowed me to record some sounds for my Rome 2013 entry. The funniest one was recording sounds of tigers and monkeys at Belgrade Zoo for my Budapest 2012 entry. The scariest one was recording the graveyard atmosphere after midnight with two police officers guarding me. That was for this competition entry.
Accidents happen: What was your biggest mistake in a production and what did you do to redeem the situation?
Destructive recording in Pro Tools was an interesting thing to do… I kept recording multiple takes for editing, and after I realized the destructive recording option was turned on, so I lost all other previous recordings. There was no way to redeem the situation., just do it all over again with destructive recording turned off.
What’s your advice for engineers who are just starting out?
Be original and creative. That’s the most important thing. It’s good to have role models, but it’s not okay to steal other people’s ideas.
Tech talk: What are your favourite pieces of equipment (microphones, outboard, plugins), and why?
Ooooh that’s like being a kid in a toy store. You can’t pick just one! ?
Okay, outboard gear that I’ll have to pick is a TC Electronic Reverb 4000. Favorite mic is still AKG 414, because it’s just perfect for everything in the studio. For the field recordings it’s Rode NTG5 mic. When it comes to plugins, it’s iZotope Trash 2, Slate Digital VBC, Fab Filter ProQ 2, and SoundToys Echo Boy. I jus don’t work without those.
Can you name one or multiple of your favourite recordings or productions and tell us why you like them/what you like about them?
Hmmmm… Tough one… I’ll say that best film score mixes that I’ve heard so far come from mixing engineer Alan Meyerson who works with composer Hans Zimmer. The two of them are jus a perfect match. Just listen to “Dark Knight” trilogy. When it comes to film sound, anything done by Greg Russell is my favorite. “Transformers” and “Salt”… Perfect.
What do you like about the AES? How does it help you to become a better and more successful audio engineer?
I think the easier answer is what I don’t like about AES haha! ? I don’t like the fact that conventions are only twice a year, I NEED MORE!!!! ? But seriously, what I love about AES it that the society gives me an opportunity to advance my skills and learn new stuff with each convention that I attend. Also, meeting new people and collaborating with some of them is quite a plus for me, being from South-Eastern Europe. The very fact that such a society exists is an awesome thing. I can honestly say that my “career” went up sky high since I joined the AES.
Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 137th AES Convention in Los Angeles!
There was a lot great stuff happening in LA for me. Meeting my heroes Tom Salta and Martin O’Donnell, whose music has a very strong influence on me, was a tremendous moment of joy for me. ? Walking around the exhibitors area together with Mandy Parnell and checking out the new gear, also on the first day of the convention I met EDDIE KRAMER quite accidentally! ? He came over to me to as for directions, so I took him to the hall where his lecture was, and we chatted on the way there. Super cool guy.
What is your favourite frequency?
Favorite frequency eh? Hmmmm…. 80Hz of low Taiko drum rumble and 1500Hz of French Horns.
What do you do when you’re not in the studio or doing anything music related?
I usually read or play video games. Visit the Belgrade Philharmonic or the movie theater. I ma not much of an outdoorsman.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Somewhere in the Hollywood or AAA Games industry doing music or sound design.
Could you provide us with some closing comments?
Uuuuum… TA DAAAAAAAAAH!!! :D
http://www.soundcloud.com/oaramusic
Posted: Monday, December 1, 2014
« AES 137 - Meet the Winners #1: Federico… | Main | AES 137 - Meet the Winners #1: Federico… »
