Canadian making sound waves in Hollywood

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: PIXAR
Canadian Justin Pearson has had his hand in movies like Monsters University and Brave, as sound mixer and editor.

Canadian-born but admittedly raised in the U.S., Justin Pearson has played a part in producing Hollywood projects, including I Love You, Man, Monster's University and Oscar-nominated Pixar short La Luna.

Pearson, though raised in the country south of the border, still frequented his northern roots every summer.

Now in sound mixing and editing, Pearson was educated at University of California Davis.

“I'm a sound person, but I studied history and political science,” he said. “I basically went for a general education, [but] throughout my whole life I've been interested in music and sound.”

Pearson jumpstarted his career after befriending a professor in the music department. “I ended up working for him a lot, and really found out you can make a living designing sounds for film,” he said. “Right after college, I left for L.A., and decided to pursue that path.”

The move to L.A. was just a step in the right direction. Pearson found work at a company that did music and sound effects for TV ads. That's where he “built up a knowledge of recording and creating sound effects.”

After that, however, he found himself at a small company, doing what he called “menial” work such as picking up groceries and “things like that.” He stuck around, though. “I slowly got to sit in rooms and watch people work. Eventually they gave me work,” he said.

Before long, Pearson started working on TV shows and feature films. His most recent work was up on the big screen this summer — helping with sound editing bringing Mike and Sulley together in Pixar's latest, Monsters University (MU).

For MU he was the sole sound employee in the early development stages. “I helped the director determine a musical direction for the film,” he said. “[I helped the movie] get its legs and find its voice.”

“What I did on [Monsters University] was recording and creating a lot of sound effects, which is a very creative thing,” he said. “You're using sound to tell stories.”

In the past, Pearson has been able to record unique objects to create sounds.

“On the movie Brave, [I recorded] Scottish deerhounds running around. I've recorded liquid nitrogen exploding,” he said with a laugh. “You just look for anything and everything that makes noise and capture it, and try to use it.”

If you asked him what his favourite project he's worked on is, he would have trouble pinpointing just one.

“I love every film I've been involved in at Pixar ... It's sort of saying which one is your favourite child.”

He did admit that working on Oscar-nominated short La Luna, was his proudest accomplishment, however.

He had some advice to give to anyone interested in sound mixing.

“Start listening to movies, and dissecting the sound work. Pay attention to how the sound is used to convey emotion. There's a lot to be learned by being a conscious listener.”

Pearson's suggestion for students who want to get a head start in the industry is to look for an internship. “Internships are very valuable, getting your foot in the door and observing the work; finding out if it's something you want to do.”

When your name does make it to the big screen, double-check the spelling.

“You want to make sure it's spelled correctly. The first time I saw my name on the big screen was very exciting,” said Pearson.

“If you're asking me if I'm vain and have an ego, yeah. I like to see my name up there,” he laughed. “It's nice when my mom calls me and says, ‘I saw you in a Toy Story 3 credit!' It's fun!”

The ever-evolving sound industry keeps Pearson's job interesting, but he said he will always enjoy it, even if the world reverts from 60 speakers back to one.

“It's about telling stories for me and using sound as a tool,” he said. “If I can create something that can move somebody in some way, I'm always going to be happy.”

He had one more word for us Canadians.

“I think that as Canadians, you should be proud that you have a strong tradition of animation, and I've worked with numerous Canadians in the sound industry. Go Canada!”