Undergraduate / UC Prompt "My passion for film sound" [2]

Prompt #1: What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field - such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities - and what you have gained from your involvement.

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There is unnecessary footstep sound in the movie that looks so awkward. What am I supposed to do? I have to 'edit' them, so that the scene of the movie looks much better. Since 2007, I have been working as a sound editor at the audio post studio, LA Recording. Sound has been a big part of my passion since I was 18, and working at the studio had given me a confidence about my dream in the future.

Looking back to high school in South Korea, I was attracted by sound recording after watching the Korean movie called 'One Fine Spring day'. The main character in the movie is a sound engineer at radio station, and he wanders over forest and country side to record sounds from the nature. It looked so beautiful that I wanted to pursue sound engineering as a college major. Since I was not a good student, and my friends didn't believe me when I said I would go to college. I had to study harder than other students to get into the college. Finally I was accepted by the college that has sound engineering major. It made me so proud of myself, and I realized that having a dream can make anything possible.

However, after three months I went to the college, I had to quit my school to move to United States due to family circumstance. Early dropout made me have a lingering love for sound, so I decided to continue my major in America. Luckily, I could obtain an internship at LA Recording. First one year, I had hard times because there were so many things to learn. After I get several credits at iMDB.com, I finally got used to the work flow. When film festival comes, the studio usually doesn't have much time to work on the project because of the deadline. Then I have to stay up all night. It makes me extremely tired that I sometimes bleed at the nose, but when the clients are satisfied about the result, it is the most rewarding of my work.

On September this year, my friend asked me to help out her friend's film. The thing was that I had only two days to work on the film due to the deadline. Because I was a full-time student, I could only work on at night. Since the film was already selected by Pusan International Film Festival, the client paid more careful attention to the sound. After staying up all night for two days, I could show him the final work that I had completed. As he watched it, I saw a big smile on his face. "This is unbelievable work! I love it!" It was not just him. After that, he showed the final work to his crews, and everyone was amazed that I completed it only for two days. Although I suffered from fatigue for a few days after the completion, I was very happy about the client's satisfaction, and it reminded me how passionate I am about film sound.

My heart still beats when I work at the studio, and it has led me to be greedy for further study. I don't want to limit my study to only sound, so I believe that systematic study about film will make me not just professional but also distinguish and remarkable film sound engineer. And my experiences and my passion will be big supports to bring me there.

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