Recording Alum Jonathan Greasley’s Sound Work On “42”
Going above and beyond will always bring you career awards. Just ask Jonathan Greasley, who graduated from Los Angeles Recording School back in March of 2011. The British national originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a professional musician with his band Apartment 26, but once they broke up he decided to switch paths and focus on the audio world within the film industry. Jonathan came to LARS to help kickstart this change in direction.
Jon’s fortunes and career trajectory changed forever when LARS Program Director Steve Miller helped to introduce Jon to a contact at sound design house King Soundworks, who were impressed enough to offer Jon a paid internship right after graduation. Nearly two years later, Jon has risen through the ranks at King Soundworks and is now a full-time unionized sound editor for them. Jon’s impressive audio credits include last year’s blockbuster feature Battleship, as well as broadcast network shows Parenthood, Prime Suspect (NBC) and Vegas (CBS). Jon was also assistant sound editor on the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, which is released in theaters everywhere Friday, April 12.
Originally Jon started out as an intern, and being the great person and hard worker that he is, hit it off with the team and especially with owner Greg King. It was only a matter of time before he was able to advance within the company. Duties as assistant sound editor range from pulling and mastering sound effects for both film and television, making sure the assets from the picture editing department are transferred and prepped properly, helping the sound editorial team with whatever they need to most effectively create the show’s soundtrack, spotting foley tracks for shows, and then eventually cutting both dialogue and effects. Additionally, he was able to use the expertise gained from these responsibilities to supervise and mix several independent features when the opportunity arose.
Providing a support role for the team and showing his expertise in the Pro Tools Icon consoles proved to be very essential in his work. While attending the Recording School, Jonathan paid close attention in tutorial sessions and made sure he booked the rooms out as often as possible. He also made it known that he was interested in doing post-production sound for film, so he linked up with at least five different film students’ short film projects. That gave him hands on experience, as well as networking opportunities that are so necessary to advance within the entertainment industry.
When asked about advice he would give to current students, Jonathan replied:
It helps to know what you want to do. As soon as you know, let others know. Get as much hands on experience as you can, and get to know as many people as possible. Because I put in extra effort and made it known I wanted to do post-production sound for film, Steve Miller was able to introduce me to the people at King Soundworks.
Congratulations on all your hard work paying off Jonathan! Keep it up.