Ayako Yamauchi '10 Forges Post-Production Career in TV, Film, and Video Games
Ayako Yamauchi B.M. '10
Image by Kazuki Hirata
Los Angeles-based audio engineer Ayako Yamauchi B.M. '10 has persevered in pursuing a successful post-production career in TV, film, and video games with roles that span from dialogue editing and sound design to mixing, mastering, and producing. A few of her notable credits include feature films such as The Darkness and TV shows such as Mad Men and The Get Down.
The alumna moved to Los Angeles in 2013 after working as a freelance audio engineer in Boston following her graduation from Berklee, where she majored in electronic production and design. She says her road in L.A. was not always easy, admitting that, “I was thinking I should quit at some points.”
However, her tenacity began to pay off when she received her first major feature film opportunity, recording foley and assisting the sound editor thanks in part to a referral by Justine Taormino, associate director of Alumni Affairs in Los Angeles. Taormino also informed Yamauchi—and the Berklee in L.A. community at large—about the SAE Tech Expo, where Yamauchi met veteran mastering engineer Dave Collins, who previously worked at A&M Studios with Rob Jaczko, chair of Berklee’s Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Department. Yamauchi went on to work for Collins, doing quality control on major records and gaining confidence in the process.
“Dave encouraged me,” Yamauchi says. “At that time, I had just moved to Los Angeles without any major credits on IMDb like now, so that meant a lot.”
Competition for audio engineering work remained high, but Yamauchi’s persistence eventually paid off. She credits the skills she gained from working at mastering studios, as well as Berklee Online's Introduction to Game Audio course with Gina Zdanowicz, as key to her success.
Yamauchi has stayed in touch with the Berklee community, enjoying work on a music video project, “Eternally,” with Berklee alumni musicians Noriaki Hosoya B.M. '06, Koichi Kimura B.M. '09, and Carlo Ribaux B.M. '13.
To those interested in following a similar path, Yamauchi advises, “I started as a sound editor, but a lot of people need to start as an assistant or runner, which is normal.” Yamauchi says her field of work comes with few guarantees, but she has found that persistence and an openness to playing necessary roles can lead to great opportunities in the future.