Oscar-winning sound designer Eugene Gearty, joined Filmmaker U to discuss staying focused during the COVID-19 pandemic, getting the job you want, and to answer our questions about the world of Sound in film. If you want to learn more directly from Eugene on his processes, his insights and his vast amount of experiences; check out our online class with Eugene here.Starting in 1982 Eugene Gearty was one of the first digital Sound Editor/Designers in the film industry. He pioneered the use of the access and the Synclavier systems for use in creating and editing sound effects for movies such as "Silence of the Lambs," "Do The Right Thing," "Men in Black," and "The Hudsucker Proxy." He has worked with many New York directors including Joel & Ethan Coen, Jim Jaramusch and Lee Daniels. He has been nominated for an Academy Award 3 times and won an Oscar for "Hugo." He has won the Golden Lion (Taiwan) and the Hong Kong “Oscar"(China) for "Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon." He has also won the MPSE golden reel for Sound Effects editing for "The Aviator." His Television credits include Boardwalk Empire for which he received an Emmy for his work on the Martin Scorsese directed pilot. After being nominated for an Oscar in 2013 for his work on Ang Lee’s "Life of Pi," he has since worked on Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" "Silence," and "The Irishman." Other recent work includes "Gemini Man," "Mary Poppins Returns," and "The Nutcracker." He has also helped develop the Savannah College of Art and Design on expanding their Sound Design program.
Gordon Burkell (GB) - Hi everyone, it's Gordon Burkell here from Filmmaker U! At filmmaker.com, we create courses for film professionals to deepen and diversify their existing skill set. Today, we're talking to Eugene Gearty, who has worked on some of the best films of the last 30 or 40 years. So before we open things up, I guess, give us a sense of what's going on on your end, in terms of sound and what's happening with COVID-19.
Eugene Gearty (EG) - For me it's been a little rough schedule wise, although I am very fortunate to be working, helping Terry Malick on his next film, and it's truly an honor to to work with one of my film director idols that I just, you know, think is a true artist working. I can't talk too much about the project, but I've been helping them with their rough cut. It's just sounds so they can help them edit the picture. It's not necessarily going to be in the final, but it's like temp music in a way.
GB - What's your go to hobby to relax?
EG - We're in a community where we can walk the dog. I go up to the driving range and hit golf balls and play rounds of golf in the late afternoon. That's sort of my go to hobby because I'm kind of naturally addicted to that. That type of golf is like, compulsive, short of that that, fly fishing for sure! Out back I'm on my boat as much as possible.
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