AN INTERVIEW WITH JESSEY DRAKE
SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR, BOOM BOX POST
With the new demands of our expanding business, we have had the pleasure of bringing on another talented editor, Jessey Drake, as part of our team. She comes to us with both a master's degree in sound design from The State University of New York at Fredonia and several years of experience in animation sound editorial. To get to know her a little better, we asked her a few fun questions.
Where did you grow up?
A small town outside of Buffalo, NY called Elma.
What inspired you to choose post-production sound as a career?
I started as a music business major with a dual major in audio production, and my thesis capstone class was in sound design. It was one of those things, like, “Oh my gosh, this is a whole new world!" It kind of came full circle. I had hearing problems when I was little, and everything just clicked in that class.
What are you most excited about in joining the Boom Box team?
Just being creative and being able to challenge myself. Feeling like everything that I do, it’s a puzzle, and I get to figure out that puzzle (and prevent Alzheimer's). And I just get to have fun!
What do you like to do outside of work?
The last six months have been pretty work-filled, but I’m starting to enjoy life again: going to the gym, catching up on TV shows on my DVR, going to Disneyland with my annual pass, spending time with my fiancée.
What is the last movie that you saw in the theater, and what did you think of the sound?
I saw Jurassic World. I thought the sound was pretty good. The dinos sounded like dinos. Everything was big, and there were definitely moments when you could tell the sound was making you anticipate the suspensefulness of the scene. Nothing jumped out at me, and when nothing jumps out at me, you’re doing a good job.
What is your favorite sound to experience in real life?
I love crickets. Crickets and cicadas. They remind me of home at nighttime. We used to have a field behind our house, and all we could hear were crickets, cicadas, and fireflies. Also, fire. We burned different things, and they all sounded different. That totally makes me sound like a pyromaniac.
What is your favorite sound effect?
There are these really long slo-mo whooshes that are just completely low-end sub food and all they do is elongate the moment. There are also these stylized whooshes that have this synth moment that rises, and then when it goes into a hit, it’s just an epic synth low-end boom. I like to use those a lot.
What is the strangest thing that you actually like the sound of?
A York Peppermint Pattie when you break it in half. You break it, and it’s just telling you how fresh it is.
What was your favorite animated movie or television series as a child?
I loved A Goofy Movie. I know all of the music to that, and I can do all of the voices.
What is the last book you read?
I read a lot of conceptual sound design books in my spare time. Right now, I'm rereading Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema by David Sonnenschein.
If every time you said “yes” or “no” for the rest of your life a sound effect came out of your mouth instead, what would you like each sound to be?
For "no," just a big obnoxious lion roar. "Yes" probably would be an 8-bit chip tune ascending gliss.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Editing at lightning speed. That would be nice.
If Boom Box Post were an animal, which animal would it be?
It would be a unicorn. Because it’s a rarity and they seem nice, calm, and docile, but they probably could sound design you under the table.