Ever since his parents gave him a music system at the age of 12, John Kochanczyk has been interested in the reproduction of sound. He recently set up a professional sound studio, Mile Studios in Dubai. He talks to The National about what inspired him to create the venture.
How did your interest in sound start?
The sound path kind of started when I was about 12. I ran a little deejaying business when I was a kid, so I would do birthday parties, little corporate events, things like that. That led me on to theatre sound and live sound as well.
When did it become a serious career option for you?
It was probably when I was considering colleges, just getting ready to graduate from high school. I went to high school [at the] American Community School of Abu Dhabi. I was either going to be an aeronautical engineer or go to film school. Film school won. All my hobbies were doing sound in one way or another, so I thought 'let's go there.'
Where did you study sound?
At Vancouver Film School. I did two courses there, actually. The first year I did their foundation visual arts and design course, which is basically just a broad overview of everything, so you do classical animation, a little bit of 3-D, architecture drawing, art history. Then I did the sound design for visual media course.
Why did you come back to Dubai?
One of the main reasons I came back was because the industry was so young. In the other media hubs of the world they have been established for 100 years. It would be great to work there and to get involved there, but I wouldn't really have a chance to make a difference. Here I saw the chance of trying to create a standard, to develop and help the industry. I am slowly moving towards that.
You have been teaching at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi for the past three years, so why did you choose to set up your sound studio in Dubai?
That's been great to help out with educating the next generation, so to speak, but not a lot of the media is centred in Abu Dhabi. All the projects that I hear of, all the things that are going on, happen in Dubai.
Have you worked on any studio sound projects yet?
Through the actual studio - sound-wise, no. But I have been doing a lot of freelancing over the past couple of years. I did have The Intruder! film at the Dubai International Film Festival [last year]. I really hope people notice the sound in that and say 'OK, I want it.'
Why is sound so important in film?
One of the good quotes in filmmaking is by George Lucas, who said: 'Sound is half the picture,' which is absolutely true. The soundtrack really involves and invigorates the audience. If the soundtrack is not up to par or there are issues with it you notice it instantly. A lot of [the problem], especially for aspiring young filmmakers ... is just not planning for it, not considering it. I find people are scared of it as well because it's not visual. People can't see it.