Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel.
Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started when I picked up my first guitar at the age of 10, a red Squier Stratocaster. It was 2001, my mom couldn’t afford a guitar for my birthday that year, but for Christmas, the whole family pitched in and bought one for me. I instantly fell in love with the chase of expressing myself through sound. I was enamored by the fact that I could escape my reality and dive into a creative sandbox. At that age, it was the same feeling I had watching TMNT movies or Power Rangers. I was addicted from the start. As my passion grew bigger, I taught myself how to play the Trumpet and Drums. What followed was me playing in various bands and learning the art of writing/recording/and performing music. Eventually, I was blessed to sign a record deal with Next Generation Music, where I went on to work and record with David Ivory, a former president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy. Inevitably, I became curious about what was happening on the other side of the glass (in the recording studio). I wanted to take a leap and go to college at Full Sail University in Florida. I toured the campus, but wasn’t sure of my next move because of financial aid and such. Then a friend of mine called, saying he just moved to Los Angeles and that I should take the world by storm and move out as well. I told him about my passion to attend college to learn recording on large format consoles and editing/mixing/mastering. Well, next thing I knew, we were sharing a bedroom right in Hollywood on Yucca Street, and I had my first week of school coming up at the Los Angeles Recording School. After a few months of attending the school, I met someone who changed my career path forever, a teacher by the name of Jake Alston. I was presenting some music I recorded during my free period, and Jake came up to me after class and asked me what I thought of Sound Design/Editing for film. He mentioned that he noticed I was always creating and cutting sound effects on top of my music to help tell the story. I told him, “You can get paid for making crazy weird sounds, sign me up!” What followed was me staying after class every day picking Jake’s brain about Sound for Film. We hit it off, and he showed me the ropes. Well, the school year went on to finish, I graduated with my associates in Recording Arts and I racked up a bunch of experience with Supervising/Mixing and Designing on student films, but I still couldn’t land a job in the industry to save my life. Next thing I knew, a whole year had gone by, and I felt useless. I was struggling to figure out my next move when I heard the Los Angeles Recording School was now offering a Bachelor’s Degree for Audio Production, so I signed up to dive in again. The school year was flying by, and I still needed to figure out how I was going to break into this industry. Then, one day I got on the elevator to go to class and saw a sign saying “ARE YOU GOLD?” I thought to myself, “I think I am…” really not sure of who or what I was, but it was an internship for the Academy, so I took another leap and signed up. Out of thousands of applicants, I was blessed to be selected for the Academy Gold Internship. The snowball effect came into play here. Although I was stacking good days and keeping my chops up, I really felt the momentum shift when I joined gold. I was surrounded by like minded people who were all chasing to make amazing stories and movies. The internship was coming to an end, and I was appointed a mentor for the next 8 months; his name was Tommy McCarthy. He was the piece to the puzzle I was always searching for! At that time, he was President of Sony Pictures Sound Department, so I knew I was close, but my next mission was how to get his attention and let him know I can hang even with the best of them. I truly believe life led me to that exact moment. Well, a few months passed as I kept crafting, chopping, and researching to get better. I knew I needed to be better, faster, stronger. I needed to outwork everyone on the playing field. I treated this like it was life or death. I was close, and I could see the doorway. After I felt I was completely ready to dive in, I asked Tommy to challenge me with a scene from a movie and a TV show. I wanted to show him what I could bring to the table. He accepted, saying, “Let’s see what you got, DON’T LET ME DOWN!”. Well, challenge accepted!! I cut an episode from the TV series Blacklist and a scene from Spider-Man: Homecoming. He told me to take as long as I needed, so I took about 3 weeks in total for both assignments. When the day came, we went over to Dub Stage 17 at the Sony Lot, and Tommy invited a couple of Sound Designers/Editors to give him the thumbs up or down if I could hold my own. Well, needless to say, I knocked that test/challenge out of the park. Everyone was impressed with what I accomplished, that’s without saying there were definitely some constructive criticism notes that were dished out, but I passed! From that day forward, Tommy put his trust in me and started introducing me to several supervisors. That’s where I met Richard Yawn, who hired me right away on The Good Doctor, where we went on to do over 4 seasons together, pretty much 60 episodes. Along that crazy ride, I met Geoff Rubay, who hired me onto the feature The Magician’s Elephant (A Netflix Animation). He wanted to triple check I could hold my own when it came to doing union feature films since I only had experience in union TV work. We hit it off, and the rest is history, we went on to do Spider-Verse, Sausage Party, and some really amazing films. Tommy and Richard eventually retired, but I still work for Sony and Geoff to this day! I’ve just been riding this wave ever since the crest of momentum started. I just keep showing up early and staying late, trying to outwork any obstacle in my way, and trying to be there for my team/peers in any way I can be. I believe that’s why I was able to build the relationships I have so far, and why I got the opportunity to be blessed enough to work in this industry. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just about networking, sure that’s how you get the door opened for you, but you still have to walk through the door and do the work!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh man! The road has not been smooth, but I’ll tell you what – I’m grateful for it, as it’s crafted and refined me into the person I am today. So, obstacles and struggles along the journey? Well, first and foremost, I was born in Vorhees, New Jersey. All of my family is from Philadelphia and South Jersey, so when I moved to LA in 2015, a really big struggle I had was learning to cope with the anxiety and hopelessness of being on the other side of the country from my family. That meant missing holiday’s, birthday’s, weddings, graduations, funerals, you name it. Another struggle I dealt with, as most do, was breaking into the industry; it took me years and years to make any headway. Along with financial troubles trying to stay afloat while out of work, but I pride myself in always finding a way, and believing in the “This too shall pass” Theory. You’re worried, you’re tired, you’re lost? This too shall pass… You’re feeling like everything’s going great, you have it all figured out, you’re working all year round? This too shall pass… The up and down rollercoaster of life is ever evolving, and i’m just here for the ride, so to speak. With that being said, the biggest obstacles I had in my journey were more personal, dealing with the loss of loved ones. It’s a daily struggle, but I’m always striving to find solace in dedicating my journey to them.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in Re-Recording Mixing, Sound Design, and SFX/Field Recording. Mainly doing Sound Design for feature films and television. I’d say the biggest projects I’ve worked on would be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Good Doctor, and Sausage Party: Foodtopia. Definitely proud of the contributions I made on Spider-Verse, that was a blast working with such an amazing team and supervisor! Endless days of crafting thwips and whooshes, keeping up with all the conforms, not to mention meeting some of the best mixers in the business while being a stage editor on the mix! I made some lifelong friends working on that movie! I think my attention to detail, my drive to show up early and stay late, my ability to adapt on the fly, along with my endless endeavor to grow/evolve, is what separates me from most.
How do you define success?
The definition of success, I believe it’s measured by your surroundings and how many times you get back up after being knocked down. It’s having enough freedom to choose meaningful projects, the respect of your peers and loved ones, and the satisfaction of knowing your craft/work leaves a lasting impression on others. It’s not just about professional milestones, but balance: creating stories that move people and a life that feels aligned with who you are. I could never measure my success by money or awards, I think its more of a personal goal to keep showing up for yourself and the people you love, than any material things, although when I close my eyes and think of success, there’s definitely a golden retriever running around in the background. 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: https://danmacsound.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmac_sound/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dan.mcnamara.790
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmcnamara44/
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm8023204/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_daniel%2520mcnam&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnwEjKRqWLx_g30KKzrNYS-zrUfQI03bmFmoKonCCCAdxAyp8k8FV-5GuH9aY_aem_L5VathlL2QTHdd8NzNu6iQ
