Today we’re excited to be connecting with Gilly Moon again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.
Gilly, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Gilly Moon, and I am an audio engineer and sound designer for all sorts of media including film, video games, podcasts, live events, and themed entertainment.
My background is strong in theater, theme park attractions, and brand activations. I’ve designed sound systems and sonic content for attractions such as Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights and San Diego Comic Con. In 2018, I won an Ovation Award for Sound Design: Intimate Theater for Rogue Artist Ensemble’s production, “Kaidan: Walls Grow Thin.” It was a play where the audience searched for a missing person possessed by a Japanese spirit through three floors of a warehouse, immersing themselves in traditional Japanese ghost stories all along the way.
I came to themed entertainment and immersive theater through my MFA Sound Design program at CalArts. Through the curriculum of theater and interactive technology, I developed a niche. I can think nonlinearly and see the big picture and how sound impacts story. A background heavy in being a live audio engineer is an added logistical bonus; I know how to collaborate gracefully and see how my part affects other departments.
Over the years, I’ve developed a broader range of skills in post production for independent film, sound design for games, and sound for podcast production.
Alright, so our main goal today is to give our audience an update on what you have been up to since our last conversation. We’d love to hear how things are going and what you are most looking forward to or excited about these days.
So much has happened! I’ve branded as Auralune Studios, and worked on a ton of cool projects! I’ve designed and mixed sound on a handful of short films, diving into the world in independent cinema. And last July, a game I did the sound design for was released: “Love, Ghostie.” It’s a dating sim/cozy game where the player is a ghost and they play matchmaker. It was a very rewarding collaboration and quite a different spooky vibe than my previous spooky projects!
I began a full-time job as an audio engineer in 2020, right before the last interview with Voyage LA was released. It has been a busy past five years! Notably, I mixed season two of the podcast “Louder Than A Riot.” From that experience, I was invited to speak on a panel about the future of podcasts at the Audio Engineering Society Convention in 2023. Eventually, I also stepped into the role of Podcast Technical Director on top of my daily responsibilities. My job is to oversee podcast production. Think mixing and editing workflows, mentoring producers and other audio engineers on best practices, quality control on home recording setups, writing documentation on standard operating procedures, and ensuring we are mixing to loudness specifications and working together in the smoothest way possible.
Then there’s the random tidbits of extracurriculrs and professional development. I wrote for Soundgirls.org for a couple of years. My blog can be read at https://soundgirls.org/category/blog/gilly-moon/. I received my Pro Tools Specialist certification a while ago. I am always putting myself out there and meeting people, whether it is networking, mentoring, or also learning from others.
What’s next? I am undertaking new projects and reaching out to potential clients so that I can continue to build Auralune Studios.
Alright, so let’s do something a bit more fast-paced and lighthearted. We call this our lightning round and we’ll ask you a few quick questions.
- Favorite Movie: I am going to regret anything I don’t write! Ah! Okay, “The Neverending Story” has always stayed with me.
- Favorite Book: I mean….The Neverending Story. I am growing very fond of Stephen King lately, as well. His recent book “Fairytale” is an excellent read.
- Favorite TV Show: Severance, Yellowjackets, From, Bob’s Burgers, The Great North.
- Favorite Band or Artist: Best to ask me this every week, it changes. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Green Day, No Doubt….
- Sweet or Savory: Porque lo nos dos?
- Mountains or Beach: Mountains
- Favorite Sport (to play): I’m a huge fan of running. I just completed my first 50k.
- As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: It changed all of the time, which probably led to my want to learn something new all of the time now!
- French Fries or Onion Rings: French fries
- Favorite Breakfast Food: If you’re in LA, I feel like “breakfast burritos” is the only acceptable answer!
What do you want people to remember about you and your brand? What are some of things that you feel are most important, unique, special, etc?
My brand is still developing, but I’m confident in what I want it to represent.
Sound is an incredible presence, and the silence between notes (to paraphrase Mozart) is as important as the notes themselves. Auralune Studios believes that every story deserves presence through sound and values deliberate choices.
I value feedback from my collaborators and clients. I am trying to learn to push back on choices that I think weaken the sound and story. Sound design is a service-based job, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make recommendations and have conversations. We are the subject matter experts after all!
Learning is important to me. The industry is always changing, and there is always new technology or processes. It’s very exciting. On the flipside, I do enjoy sharing knowledge too. Swapping information with other sound designers is fun. Mentoring is fulfilling.
Lastly, whenever I can work on a team that is telling the story about a minority group, or the cast and crew is made up of underrepresented people — that’s the room I want to be in. There are so many films out there that are feminist stories and were directed by women, but then women and gender expansive people are not represented on the sound team. I hope I can work my way up and do my part to support those stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.auralunestudios.com
- Instagram: gillymakessound
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/gillymoon
