With credits on The Dark Knight (recently Oscar-nominated for Sound Mixing), Horton Hears a Who, The Incredibles, Fahrenheit 9/11, and even Office Space, Recording Arts alum Gary Rizzo has built his career on some high-profile films while working at Skywalker Sound.

“It is hard to believe some of the projects we’ve come out with,” he shares about his time as a Re-Recording Mixer at George Lucas’ acclaimed audio facility. “It’s always nice to see your name in the credits, but for me it’s about working on interesting projects that keeps me going. I just love the medium.”

Gary’s role as a Re-Recording Mixer has him handling one of the most vital stages of the post-production process – balancing the dialog, sound effects, and music for a film’s final audio mix. From noisy summer action movies to low-key political documentaries, he’s enjoyed the challenge of crafting different moods for the variety of genres that come through the studio.

“It’s a matter of finding the right tone for the right film,” he explains. “Each film should have its own character with the soundtrack. What we do is try to help the directors tell their story utilizing sound as best we can. And the fun part for me is at the end of the first playback – when you hit stop, and you swivel in your chair and say ‘How’s that?” And the director is just beaming because he hasn’t heard the picture like that yet. That’s the big payoff.”

Relying on his ears for his livelihood, it’s not surprising that Gary is acutely aware of the ambient noise most of us don’t even think about. Something as simple as a walk in his neighborhood or a trip to the store can wind up contributing to the audio mix for a blockbuster film.

“I carry a recorder with me just in case I bump into something that has a unique sound,” he offers. “If there’s a scene that happens in a shopping mall, you want to know what that sounds like. Or if you’re in the car you want to know how much you actually hear as you’re going over speed bumps. Any experience will help you, so I try to be aware of everything around me sonically.”

That attention to detail was put to the test during one of his favorite recent projects – collaborating with director Christopher Nolan on 2008’s The Dark Knight. The pair had previously worked together on both The Prestige and Batman Begins, but the latest film in the comic book franchise had Gary pulling together his best work to create one of the most complex audio mixes he’s worked on for a feature film.

“The Dark Knight was a great experience, and working for Christopher Nolan is an absolute treat,” Gary shares about the project. “He will push you to excel because he wants the best out of you, and those are my favorite kinds of filmmakers to work with because they want something very particular from the track. You don’t often get to work with a filmmaker that talented, and the fact that I can contribute to part of his project is hugely flattering.”

Listening to Gary talk about his work on such influential films, he makes it all sound like just part of a typical day’s work at Skywalker Sound. However, looking back on his 16 years in film audio, he’s quick to credit a simple passion for pursuing what he loves for helping him succeed in his career.

“Audio post was something that jumped out to me very early in life,” he shares. “I knew the role that I wanted to play in the filmmaking process, and I think that most of the people attending Full Sail come in with that. They believe that what they’re pursuing is important, and if you have a passion for something you’re going to make sure that things go the way that you want them to go.

“I was no different from anyone else in my class – I went through the same curriculum. What made me different was the self-motivation factor. I did not get into this to go halfway. It’s a matter of knowing what you want and going after it.”