We’re looking forward to introducing you to Cory Choy. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Cory, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
There are many things that I’m proud of building, and I’m particularly proud of helping create the Silver Sound Sonic Dash (www.sonicdash.nyc) specifically BECAUSE nobody sees it. It’s a no-holds-barred 48-hour audio storytelling competition (audio only, baby!) where the grand prize winner(s) get audio software and hardware and computers and cash for a prize that’s worth over $10,000. I absolutely love being part of something that builds the audio-only ecosystem, is fun, and that can be both collaborative and transformative for competitors.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Cory Choy (www.corychoy.com) and I am an Emmy Award-winning sound mixer at Silver Sound (www.silversound.us), the founder of the NYC Podcast Awards (www.podcastawards.nyc), and a movie director (www.esmemylove.com). For over 20 years I have collaborated with artists and creators in NYC and all over the world, helping them create, mix, master, finish, and perfect works that they are proud of.
I’ve made music videos (bit.ly/riseupnyc) and I’ve one Tribeca Festival for storytelling (https://tribecafilm.com/films/aisha-2023)
I’m always looking to do new and exciting things, always looking to grow, and hope to make a positive impact on the lives of the people I work with and for.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I’m a proud Jewish American. I believe strongly that no one can be free unless everyone is free– and I believe in freedom, dignity, and equality for all people. One thing that shaped how I saw the world was going to the West Bank for the first time while working on a small documentary, back around 2010.
I had never been to Israel or Palestine before (nor did I really even have a good understanding of what the situation between the Israeli government and the Palestinian people was). What I wasn’t ready for was an apartheid state. I will never forget– some people had yellow license plates and some people had white license plates. If you had the wrong color license plate you weren’t allowed in certain facilities (not this school, not this hospital, not this neighborhood.) If you had the wrong color license plate, there were military checkpoints you had to cross through. If you had the wrong color license plate, you were seen as potentially dangerous, as not deserving the same rights as other people. I grew up in a place and time and country that was proud of our progress in terms of human rights when it came to desegregation between white and “colored” folk. I was taught from a very young age that discriminating against people because of their race or beliefs is wrong. And yet, all of a sudden, I found myself in a country where Palestinian people were being denied their rights.
The morals and values I learned as a young boy in synagogue and as an American citizen told me that this was not right. And yet, I learned, the American government is perpetuating these atrocities by providing untold billions of dollars every year to the Israeli government– specifically to help them purchase and use weapons to subjugate, murder, and kill.
Ever since that moment, I’ve had a different perspective on the ethics of governments. The Israeli government does NOT represent me as a Jew. The American government, particularly now, is NOT currently helping spread freedom, Democracy, and dignity around the world. And I realized that it is up to all of us to speak out against the injustices we are seeing and to work together towards a better world.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
ESME, MY LOVE
The creative process began in earnest years ago in September of 2015 after I heard the story of a woman’s encounter with an angel. In 2016, when I finished the basic outline of the plot, I began looking for scriptwriting partners. It was about a year after that (after several starts with different potential partners) in 2017 that I was introduced to my co-writer, Laura Allen. We went up to scout the Delarm Farm in Hague, New York — much of this story and the characters’ backstories are borrowed from actual Delarm family history — and also conducted interviews with the town historian (conveniently also a Delarm sister, Sally). The script was written specifically for the location.
Fletcher Wolfe, the cinematographer, was involved with the project almost since inception, and conducted several extensive scouts of the property during different seasons (winter, fall, summer), pre-visualizing shots and scenes — mapping out where the sun would be, figuring out if locations would be logistically possible, even helping with the writing process.
Fast forward to April of 2018, when we were casting in earnest (big thank yous casting director Catherine Corcoran with major lifts from Louis Gordan and Elizabeth Watson) and were absolutely bowled over by a performance from 9-year-old Audrey Grace Marshall.
We conducted intense callback auditions, shooting full scenes in Prospect Park that summer, where it became apparent after some rolling around in the dirt, playing with leaves, and climbing a tree that Stacey Weckstein was our Hannah.
We then went deep into pre-production with wardrobe, makeup tests, and shot-listing as best we could. Rehearsal time was scant, so as a way to get time with the actors and also to get some emotional work done in advance, we recorded all of the dialogue in the script in the booth at Silver Sound.
Although we had planned extensively, and very much in advance, we still had an uphill battle to fight in terms of getting it in the can. We only had budget for 13 days of principal photography! Without the help and support of the production team — AD Aaron Schillinger and UPM/fight choreographer Crystal Arnette — it would never have been possible.
Suffice it to say that it was one of the most intense experiences of my life — whether it was dealing with the loss of a key prop early on in the filming, having underwater camera housing and picture cars break down, or a surprise horde of hornets. Working with Stacey and Audrey was pure joy. They balanced emotional discovery with dogged persistence and daring, allowing us to focus our attention on Hannah and Esme’s relationship rather than logistical challenges. We made it through with some absolutely incredible performances and footage but needed to schedule pickup days — which had challenges of their own (including building a 3D model of a very specific car, simulating the inside of a lake in a swimming pool, and doing some bigger-on-the-inside-than-the-outside magic)
but we did it!
Then, in the spring of 2018, began the editing process. Among other things, Esme, My Love was accepted into The Edit Center (other alumns of the Edit Center Program include Beasts of the Southern Wild and Winter’s Bone, so we weren’t in bad company). After more than a year of work with several different editors, it became very clear that something important was missing in the creative process. At which point I brought on composers Stephanie Griffin (of Momenta Quartet) and Charlotte Littlehales–whose work has transformed the emotional soul of this project.
The musical conversations and palettes developed cracked open the editing process for a while, but it again got bogged down…
Until I was able to land on the decision of working with not one, but two editors so that, among other things, I could explore the same idea in different ways with different people simultaneously. Emrys Eller (a documentary filmmaker by trade) and Ellie Gravitte (who also directs her own films) made the perfect team for this project. We picture-locked fall 2021.
Then came the intense processes of both sound design and finishing the score – with several back and forths between composers and sound mixes and musicians. Sometimes we’d spend up to 16 hours at a time in the studio. Stephanie Griffin (viola) and I made some wonderful discoveries musically that would then send me back into the sound design for several days, and necessitate more recording with bass player Hilliard Greene and drummer Phil Pardell.
Brent Ferguson and Paul DeSilva and I raced through tightening up and completing the compositing and visual effects, which yet again called for a re-examination of the sound!
Colorist Tom Younghans and DP Fletcher Wolfe worked with me on color, finishing, and general look. It was a very detailed, many hour process where, once again, Fletcher’s even hand and incredible eye shone through.
Finally we finished! And our world premiere was in the Spring of 2022.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Empathy is strength. All people deserve freedom, dignity, the opportunity to feel joy. Love is stronger than hate, and unnecessary cruelty should never be tolerated.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When have you had to bet the company?
Running a small business means that, in one way or another, we’re constantly “betting the company.” But one thing I’m particularly excited about and proud of is the NEW YORK CITY PODCAST AWARDS (www.podcastawards.nyc)
The NYC Podcast Awards were born from a simple observation: while podcasting has exploded globally, many exceptional creators—particularly from underrepresented communities—remain overlooked by traditional industry recognition.
Founded in 2025 by Silver Sound, an Emmy-winning production company based in Manhattan, we created these awards to bridge that gap. We believe New York City, as a global crossroads of culture and media, is uniquely positioned to celebrate the full spectrum of audio storytelling talent.
We welcome entries from podcasters and audio creators globally—you don’t need to be based in New York City to participate. Our mission is to recognize excellence wherever it originates. We’ve structured our fees to ensure emerging creators can participate alongside established studios, with scholarships available for those who need support.
Our awards celebrate three pillars: CRAFT, CONTENT, and CREATOR. Through our CREATOR categories, we specifically honor excellence from LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and international voices—ensuring diverse perspectives are central to our recognition.
Beyond the awards themselves, we’re creating community experiences that celebrate audio storytelling. Our winners’ celebration at Bravo Studios (28th Street, Manhattan) will be accessible at no admission charge. Throughout the year, we’ll also host listening parties at venues across New York City, featuring winning work and fostering connections within the audio community.
In a country and world where the audio-only ecosystem needs strengthening, we proudly stand alongside conventions, contests and awards such as the Signal Awards, Ambies, our own Sonic Dash competition, Tribeca Audio, Audioflux, Resonate, ON AIR Fest, Podcast Movement, Audio Spice, and others. Together, we’re being the change we want to see—creating spaces where audio creators can not only be recognized but truly thrive.
The LIBBY Trophy
Designed by artist Zach Shukan of Omega Darling, our trophy, the LIBBY, features a vintage microphone transformed into Lady Liberty—a symbol of both New York’s creative spirit and podcasting’s power to amplify voices seeking freedom of expression. Each cast trophy represents not just excellence, but the democratic ideals of accessible storytelling.
Silver Sound brings decades of audio excellence to the NYC Podcast Awards. Our work has premiered and won at Tribeca, and we’ve collaborated with companies like ESPN’s 30 for 30, HBO, Netflix, The New York Times, Apple, Spotify, National Geographic, and The New Yorker on some of their most ambitious audio projects.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.corychoy.com
- Other: https://www.podcastawards.nyc
Image Credits
David Choy
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
