Film and TV sound designer Veronica Li: “Sound has very powerful influence on how we feel, yet it achieves the goal in a very subtle and poetic way.”
The human senses, those five distinct elements which combine to create our day to day reality, provide an immensely variegated realm. Whether smell, touch or vision, each delivers critical perceptive data, but isolate one of them, say, hearing, and it becomes apparent that taken alone, the sense is uniquely susceptible to manipulation, a portal to the mind where one can insinuate, excite, soothe or delight any listener down to their very core.
Chinese-born, Los Angeles-based sound designer Veronica Li has perfected the delicate intricacies of this field and, in the course of five fruitful years, has gone from boom and foley duties to distinguish herself as an auditory auteur whose technical capabilities and impeccable sense of creative nuance qualify Li as one of the top hands in her field.
“I did my undergrad in Beijing University, film study major, and later got my MFA degree at USC film school, film production major with a focus on sound design,” Li said. “I’ve always wanted to become a filmmaker. My education in undergrad gave me a deep, academical understanding towards films, but I wanted more hands on experience, and it’s at USC that I really learned the craft.”
“I was introduced to sound during my studies,” Li said. “I think it’s the abstractness of sound, when it comes to storytelling, which interests me the most. When I first started doing sound design, there was a scene where a woman walked out of a hospital very upset, and my professor told me that I should make the sliding door closing behind her sound like a sigh. At that moment, I fell in love with sound.”
Li’s drive and determination was apparent while still engaged in studies at USC.
“I started working professionally before I even graduated,” Li said. “I sound supervised a Chinese TV movie “Simple Days” which aired on CCTV-6, the biggest movie channel in China. Then I worked on “Native,” which starred Rupert Graves and Ellie Kendrick, and “Papa,” which was released both in China and the US.”
At University, Li’s skills and gift for the field easily won significant recognition. “During my three years at USC, I won best sound award in the First Look Film Festival two years in a row and two projects got nominated for the same award in the third year, which I’m quite proud of,” Li said. “Even though it’s just a USC film festival, it’s quite competitive and, in recent years, nobody had won this twice before. I’m proud of it not only because of the awards themselves, but also as a confirmation that I can maintain the quality of my work—that is what’s most important to me.”
Following graduation, Li joined the team at E² Sound studio, an award winning outfit whose credits include the successful “Transformers” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises and major films such as “Godzilla” and “Argo.” There she continued to distinguish herself, working on bigger studio projects like Michael Bay’s politically charged “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” and the just-completed “The Shallows,” a suspense tour de force starring Blake Lively.
“Veronica’s level of intuition when it comes to sound design is outstanding and hard to find in the industry with so many young sound designers surfacing every day,” Tobias Poppe, veteran Hollywood sound supervisor, said. “With her attention to detail in editing and mixing, she created the ‘right feel’ for the thriller “The Shallows,” which is one of the hardest things to do in our job. Her creative sensibilities and great personality make an irreplaceable member of my team. I am looking forward to work with her in the future, and actually have Veronica already booked for my next project.”
With an already impressive roster of achievements, Li is poised for the continuation of her highly successful career as a professional sound designer. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think sound design, for every good story, is a challenge and a very interesting one,” Li said. “It should focus on details, make the movie more believable, help audience to connect to the characters and work together with all the visual elements to tell the story. Sound has very powerful influence on how we feel, yet it achieves the goal in a very subtle and poetic way.”