Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Jacobs.
Hi Todd, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story would start from undergrad where I completed a Bachelor of Music in my hometown of Sydney, Australia. I primarily played Bass Guitar and focused on music for much of my life with only a brief touch onto film sound work during a university assignment. After graduating, I focused on performing with various Sydney bands while running a live music gig guide for Sydney for three years. All of which have very much faded into obscurity now. I eventually burnt out on the Sydney music industry due to financial instability and general cynicism towards the state of support within the scene. I was then reminded of my undergrad assignment making sound for film; inspiring me to make a career change and, ultimately, a life shift to a new passion.
There were different but familiar problems working in sound for the Australian film industry. A severe lack of larger post-production studios and even further lack of support for creative industries within Australia made it difficult to build my career beyond the limit Australia could offer. I was convinced to give Los Angeles a try by fellow Australian Nick Soole, who now lives in Los Angeles working as a film composer. After spending three months checking out Los Angeles and New York City for potential work opportunities, I found myself capable of going further in my career in those three months than I had in almost three years of working in the Australian film industry. With that knowledge, I knew I had to make the move as soon as possible.
This leads me to enroll in a Master of Arts in Sound Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) which led to the opportunity to work for a year after graduating with a U.S. work visa. I met incredibly talented sound people at SCAD that I still talk to and even live with! I officially moved to Los Angeles with my work visa at the end of July 2019. Immediately starting work as a dialogue editor at a studio I had hung out at during my initial three months trip named Image Resources. Over the rest of 2019 and even the rough period for film work during 2020, I was able to build up enough work from Image Resources’ Lifetime/Hallmark TV movies and other studio work on TV shows to join the Local 700 union which opened the door for me to accept dialogue editing work at Universal Studios. A jump in a career that I could never have fathomed in such a short time if I stayed in Australia. Leading me to where I currently am! Having taken a first step through a door into a much larger field of film and TV sound work.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Reaching where I am now wasn’t always a smooth road. I’ve mentioned the general struggles of working within creative industries in Australia. But the biggest struggle has been the immigration process. Visas are expensive, stressful, and sometimes confusing! There’s some fear of being rejected for any mistake since that can mean the difference between maintaining a career or going back to a country that doesn’t satisfy your profession. The initial student and one year work visa after graduating are helped by the schools that guide international students. After that, you’re basically on your own unless you get an immigration lawyer.
Once my student work visa was halfway finished, I started planning for an E3 visa that is specific for Australians. It was cheaper than other options but only lasts two years. The process of this involved lots of paperwork, thousands of dollars (even while being the cheaper option), and a lot of calling around to different lawyers where some make you feel like you don’t have a chance to be accepted while others offer at least some optimism. The short timeline of the visas ensure that it’s on your mind very often as a background worry that one day something just goes wrong and you can’t remain in the country anymore. When getting notified that a visa application has been accepted, it’s a wave of relief and jubilation. And gives at least a brief respite to relax before thinking towards the next application to do.
Everything else in relation to the immigration process like finding work, physically moving country, leaving family/friends, and making money to live in LA pales in comparison to the struggle of a work visa in my experience. But as a silver lining, it’s always offered a huge motivation to do the best that I can and live my best life while in LA. I always want to make the struggle feel worth it!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work within the post-production sound industry which contains many jobs like sound designer, Foley artist/mixer, or re-recording mixer. But my focus is on work as a dialogue editor. This involves smoothing out the dialogue from what the editor has put together so it sounds consistent while also cleaning out unnecessary noise like clicks and bumps. Essentially if I do my job right, it won’t seem like I’ve done anything at all!
What I’m most proud of is what I’m currently working on with Universal Studios which I’m not allowed to reveal. But it’s a really exciting project that I’ve personally been a fan of for a long time and I’m thrilled to be able to work on it. Can’t wait for it to release!
Trying to think of something unique that sets me apart from others always seems hard. There’s a lot of people with similar backgrounds and attitudes. I think what helps in this line of work might be a number of little things. There are a lot of different workflows in dialogue editing with a split between old school editing and newer technology for processing sound. I like being malleable between the two and while I have my own preference, it’s important to adapt to whatever the sound supervisor or re-recording mixer prefer and doing the best job I can within that style of workflow. I also try and be friendly and professional, aiming to be good company to be around. I feel like the potential for work can sometimes hinge more on people enjoying being around you rather than being the most talented person in the room (I’m sure the Australian accent helps).
What matters most to you?
I think what matters most to me would be paying things forward. I’ve been incredibly fortunate and privileged in my life to help me get to where I am thanks to support from my family and friends. Sometimes it’s been pure luck where I was in the right place at the right time to meet someone that became a huge help for my career. So I always want to be paying that forward onto anyone else. If I can go each day feeling like I’ve improved someone else’s day in any way big or small, that matters to me.
When you’re working within an industry that is a lot about who you know and who you might meet, I think it’s an important mentality to take with you. The ability to offer opportunities to others that you may or may not know. While I still feel relatively early in my career, I would like to be in some position of authority or notoriety where I can make a bigger difference in affording opportunities to other people. Although for right now even on an individual level, it can make a big difference to others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toddjacobsaudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/binary_analog/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/binary_analog
Image Credits:
(Group image left to right) Carson Alexander, Annie Taylor, Rachel Boissevain, Todd Jacobs
