We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Lige Wuri recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Olivia Lige, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
The first thing we learned in film school is: Never be late, always be on time! As a filmmaker, communication and commitment is very important. While most of the job opportunities come from connection and network, being respectful and reliable is considered as one of the essential values to have. Me myself as a sound mixer often finds the necessity of maintaining high standards and keeping self-monitoring while working on set. If there are any issues interfering with recording clean lines on set, I always talk to the directors and producers while actively looking for solutions. Pictures are easier to follow on set since it is visual, however, for sound team, work ethic becomes highly important because we are the ones to monitor ourselves.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m Olivia Lige Wuri, I’m a Los Angeles-based director and sound mixer. I was born in Inner Mongolia, China. After graduating from Hangzhou Dianzi University, I continued my film education in Loyola Marymount University. During my MFA period, I participated on over forty short films involving various positions. Now working as a professional production sound mixer and post sound designer in the industry, I am glad to work in a filed that I love. The best part about being a sound person is that we got to work with talented storytellers to build amazing world through sound. Establishing tones and vibes together with the team is the first step for us to follow the story on the paper and on screen. By constructing different spaces and feelings, we help creators to express the emotions and tell the story.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, communication, adaption and patience are three qualities that helped me all the way here. Filmmaking is team work, communication with different departments is essential both in production and post. Communicating helps you keeping on track of time and phase, also leads you to your next project by having great relationships. Adapting yourself to different group of people and different working environment is important. Our work is often very flexiable, it is rare to stay working with the same group of people. Therefore, changing the way we work and communicate according to the work environment is crucial. Last but not least, being patient is something I am trying to establish myself. As a sound person, standing by on set is normal, waiting for feedbacks and notes is normal too. Being patient with your work and with your client will provide you with calm and confidence.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Meeting more filmmakers and collaborating on more diverse projects has been one of my biggest challenge lately. Expanding network and building a stable client circle is my goal. By actively attending mixers and events, I hope to meet more talented people who needs professional sound workers. If you are a filmmaker in need of sound, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urlig_olivia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lige.wuri/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-lige-w-26060722b
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