Today we’d like to introduce you to Xueying Ou.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m a sound designer/sound editor for film and television. I always wanted to work in the film industry, but I never thought I would become a sound editor if you asked me five years ago. But now, when I look back to the way I came, I realize that perhaps every bit of what I experienced prepared me for who I am today.
I was born and raised in Changsha, China, a city famous for its television entertainment industry. I went to Communication University of China in Beijing to study Film Translation and Dubbing. However, soon after I stepped into college, I found my passion for story-telling and film making. I joined the International Youth Media Center of CUC, where I started my filmmaker path with shooting and editing documentaries. One of my work, “The Story of ‘100,000 Cats Project’”, won the Best Editing Award in the 4th Youth Documentary Trans-Pacific University Students Documentary Competition. Upon I got my BA degree, I chose to move to Los Angeles study Film Production at Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. By then, I focused more on picture editing, knowing little about sound design for film and television.
In a class the first week after arriving at school, our teacher brought in the sound designer for Son of Saul to give us a talk about the sound design in film. This was the first time that I touched the field of sound design. I was immediately fascinated by how the sound in Son of Saul expended the world in a “one-shot” film. Then I started to incorporate sound design in my work consciously. During my time in film school, I grabbed all the opportunities to learn about sound design. In three years, I worked as a sound designer for seven short films I also participated in many other projects as the production sound mixer, foley artist, and SFX editor. Among them, the short film “Skin Hunger” has been well recognized and screened on festivals worldwide.
Right after getting my MFA, I joined a dubbing mixing studio, Post 2.0, which provides central localization mixing service for films and television shows. As a foreign version dialogue editor, I got the chance to combine what I learned in Sound Design and Translation and Dubbing together. The experience at Post 2.0 improved my mixing and dialogue editing skills. Also, it leveled up my knowledge of how an audio post house works. During my time there, I worked on many top tier projects, including the documentary series “The Last Dance”, the crime drama “White Line”, and the recent Netflix superhero film “The Old Guard”.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say it’s always challenging on the path to pursuing a dream. My biggest enemy is time and experience. Comparing to some of my peers, I started rather late as a sound designer. At the beginning of my path, I felt that there is a massive amount of knowledge to learn. And there’s too long a road ahead of me that I need to catch up on. However, I’m fortunate that I met many people who’re willing to help me along the way.
When I was sound-designing Skin Hunger, I came across many challenges that I never met before, such as the recreation of the factory ambiance, the city ambiance, the onset recording of singing on the street, and so on. Many professors and friends generously shared their knowledge with me to help find the solution. However, the most critical and hardest of all was the skin touching sound in the film. As skin touching is an essential element to this film, it’s vital to give the right sound to picture. However, as we all know, touching itself doesn’t create too much sound. My partner Bin Lin, who is also a sound designer, spent a bunch of time with me in the foley room experimenting on the different textures. We put different powder and liquid, like sugar, salt, flour, water on the skin, and recording the rubbing sound. Eventually, we found the best combination and recreated the intimacy in the picture.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m currently working as a freelance sound designer and set up an independent sound and picture studio with my partner Bin Lin. It is called Studio 42 Film. We provide audio mixing, sound design, sound editing service for all types of media, including films, commercials, animation, and many more. We aim to offer the high standards in any given situation involving professional audio needs, working closely with customers, and deeply understanding their requirements.
Bin Lin and I have been worked together on many projects. Some of our work has won or selected at several festivals. The shot film “Skin Hunger” has been selected in the 2019 Leo Freedman Foundation First Cut Showcase, 2019 VGIK Student Film Festival, 2020 Latin America Short Film Festival, also a finalist in USA Film Festival’s 42nd Annual International Short Film & Video Competition. The film “Clean” has screened at Newport Beach Film Fest 2019 and as won Best Sound Design at the 2020 Top Shorts Films Festival.
We are looking forward to collaborating with more filmmakers and using sound design to convey the story and emotion.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First of all, I want to give the credits to my partner in crime, Bin. We’ve been worked together for more than three years. We faced a lot of challenges and difficulties together. He is not only my working partner but also my emotional supporter, who saved me so often when I was stressed or depressed. I’m also fortunate to meet many tutors along the way. While at Chapman, I had the opportunity to be guided by Michael Kowalski, Roy Finch, and Harry Cheney. They built the foundation of my sound design knowledge palace. Although I was not a sound emphasis student at the beginning, they still let me sit in their classes and offered many bits of help on my projects.
When I went into the real professional world, I also received much knowledge and advice from many experienced editors and mixers, such as Trip Brock, Ray Park, Demetri Evdoxiadis, Eric Hoehn, Ian Chase, and Tim Preston. They generously shared their experience and knowledge with me, which hugely enhanced my ability. I also want to say thank you to all the directors and filmmakers that I worked with. They trust me and are willing to put their project in my hand, giving me the opportunities to play with the sound and story. I gained a lot from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.studio42film.com/about-us
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Bin Lin, Juliana Glodek
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