How to get work – and keep working – in Audio Post: Joel D. Catalan shares insights from 18+ years in sound

Emmy-nominated re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor Joel D. Catalan, CAS, MPSE has worked nearly 19 years in Hollywood, and in this in-depth interview he shares his hard-earned insights on how to get work – and keep working – in audio post production:

Find out where he thinks the search for a first paid gig really begins, why he tells people to pick one lane instead of listing four, how and where to find post-production work in 2026, what he says to the anxiety about AI tools in dialogue editing and the mix, the one step he would have a reader take this week + tons more below.

Watch the full interview below:

You spent twelve years on the stage at Smart Post Sound before founding your own company, Straight Ahead Sound, and these days a large part of your energy goes into helping other people find their footing in post sound. What pulled you toward coaching rather than simply staying heads-down on the stage?

Let me be clear, my head is still very much down on the stage. I’m mixing constantly. But about three and a half years ago something shifted. I saw a Foley artist making videos on TikTok and thought, why not me? And my wife said something at dinner I’ll never forget: “Joel, you’re more than a mixer. You have more to offer this industry and this world.” That stuck. I still have goals in the mix room, but I couldn’t avoid the bigger purpose, pouring what I’ve learned into other people.

You have said the videos and lessons you make now are everything you wish someone had handed you earlier in your career. When you think back to your own way in, what was the hardest part to figure out on your own?

That I could advocate for myself. I had no direction and didn’t realize I could ask people for help or put myself out there. There was a lot of fear. Nobody hands you a roadmap in this industry, and honestly, that’s the whole reason I built the space I wished had existed for me.

You once wrote that the people who make it in this work are not always the most talented in the room – they are the ones who stayed in it. If talent is not the deciding factor, what is?

Talent matters…don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But the people who build truly lasting careers are the ones who are exceptional with clients. They know how to take a filmmaker’s vision and execute it. They’re great communicators, great people-people. I’ll put my skills up against anybody, but what I hang my hat on is my client service and my relationships, because that’s what keeps the phone ringing.

For someone fresh out of audio school, the gap between finishing the program and getting an actual project can feel enormous. Where does getting that first paid work really begin?

Before you graduate. The people sitting next to you in audio school are your future collaborators, supervisors, and clients. One day they’re going to need a dialogue editor or a re-recording mixer, and if you’ve built that relationship, you’re the call they make. Start thinking about internships, networking, and who you know while you’re still in school. It starts there, not after.

You describe a reel as a “digital handshake.” What separates a reel that opens a door from one a busy supervisor closes after ten seconds?

Does it sound right? That’s it. In the first ten seconds, we know. Are the levels in order? Is the dialogue clean and warm? Are the right sounds being chosen? You can’t really teach someone to choose the right sounds. You either have the ear or you’re still developing it. If it sounds unprofessional or unrealistic right out of the gate, we’re moving on.

A lot of people starting out want to be the ones who can do everything, and you make the opposite case – pick one lane and own it. Why does choosing a single focus help you more than staying flexible when you are new?

I encourage everyone early on to get their hands dirty and learn everything. But at a certain point, the professional world works in lanes. I’ll never forget getting feedback that my resume said composer, sound designer, editor, and mixer and someone said, “Well, which one is it?” That hit me. When you’re trying to be everything, you’re not known for anything. Gravitate toward your lane, mixer, editor, Foley, ADR, and go all in on it.

You put relationships at the top of your list and call it a fact rather than a cliche. For someone who does not yet know a single person in post sound, how do you build those real relationships, without it tipping into networking for its own sake?

Start by following the mixers and supervisors of your favorite films on social media. Like their posts. Engage with their comments. Do that for a while before you ever send a message. And when you do reach out, just say hello. Don’t lead with your resume or ask for coffee right away. We know what’s coming after that. Also, look into becoming a student or associate member of the CAS (Cinema Audio Society) or the MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors); that’s where you can meet people in real life, the right way.

You tell people to learn the business and not only the craft – union rates, how facilities run, the customer-service side of the work. Of all of that, what do new sound pros most underestimate?

That this is a client service business. Hands down. My first job out of high school was at Starbucks, and I learned more about dealing with people there than I realized at the time. Working on a mix stage isn’t all that different. Someone’s always going to have a note, a temperature complaint, a direction you didn’t expect. The professionals who build lasting careers create an experience that makes clients want to come back. That’s everything.

Calling post sound a customer-service industry is a striking thing to hear about a creative craft. How should that idea change the way someone approaches the projects?

Remember it’s not your project. If a filmmaker tells you to rip out all the sound design you worked hard on, set your ego aside and do it. It’s their film. And understand that everything is negotiable. You may not be in the union yet, you may not have leverage, but you can always negotiate something, a credit, a relationship, a meal. That mindset changes how you show up.

You tell people to show up like a professional before they feel like one, and that confidence is reliability rather than arrogance. On a real post-production schedule, what does that reliability actually look like day to day?

Early is on time. On time is late. Late is fired. I learned that as a musician and it’s never stopped being true. Beyond that: are your edits turned in when your supervisor needs them, not the day of the mix? Did you finish all the notes before the client shows up? Are you taking detailed notes during the session? That’s what reliability looks like. It’s not complicated, it’s just consistent, and consistency builds credibility.

Let’s turn to the present: From where you sit in Los Angeles, running your own shop, how would you describe the state of the post-production sound market in 2026 – where is the work, and where has it thinned out?

The industry has changed significantly, and anyone who tells you they know exactly where it’s headed is guessing. What I can tell you is that right now, I am the busiest I’ve been in three years, pre-COVID busy, and that’s after a very difficult stretch for a lot of us. Things have been on an uptick. Work that left the US is slowly finding its way back as people realize the tradeoffs. I don’t have a magic answer, but I do know this: if you stay good at your craft, take care of your clients, and have the resilience to ride the ups and downs, you’re going to be okay.

For someone trying to secure their first paid work in audio post today, are the ways in different from when you started on the stage in 2010 – and are there doors opening now that simply weren’t there before? And what resources do you recommend for spotting those openings – websites, community forums or similar?

I started in 2007, and with the exception of that first vault job, I have never landed a gig from a job posting. Every single one has come through relationships. That said, game audio, podcasts, branded content, social media, those jobs do get posted, and those opportunities weren’t really there in 2007. What A Sound Effect does with their job board is genuinely valuable and worth checking regularly. For TV and film specifically, though, it’s still going to come down to knowing somebody.

If you were pointing someone toward the parts of the business that are hiring right now – features, streaming, episodic TV, trailers, podcasts, games, branded content – where would you tell them to aim in 2026?

Podcasts right now are enormous, everyone from major media personalities to independent creators needs audio help. Branded content and YouTube are real. Game audio is growing. For those areas, LinkedIn and job boards are legitimate paths in. For TV and film, that’s going to be a longer road built through relationships, and it’s something to aspire toward as you build your career. Start where the doors are open, build your credits and credibility, and work your way toward where you want to be.

There is real anxiety in audio circles about automation and AI tools reaching into dialogue editing, cleanup, and the mix. How do you talk to people about it, and what does it change about how someone builds a career now?

My philosophy is simple: learn the fundamentals first. Understand why we make the editorial choices we make, why we choose the sounds we choose. When you have that foundation, AI tools become something that helps you move faster, not something that replaces you. And honestly? I believe the human element. Sitting in a room with a director, navigating a scene together, responding to the creative in real time, is going to take a very long time to replace, if ever. People are craving authenticity. That’s not going away.

When work is tight, it’s temptation is to take anything and undercut on rate. How do you advise people to protect their value early on without pricing themselves out of the jobs that build a career?

I use a rule of two of three: people, project, money. You need at least two of those three things to say yes. Great people, great project, not much pay? Take it! That’s a reel builder. Great money but bad people and a bad project? Walk away. I’m warning you from experience. Early in your career you will work for low or no pay. That’s part of getting your reps in. But start asking “what’s your budget?” rather than stating your rate. Negotiate. And as you build credits and credibility, your rate follows.

You wrote that success comes from failing over and over, and that the wish should be for the skills and mindset to handle the hard parts rather than for the work to get easier. When the calls are not coming in, how do you keep someone from leaving the industry altogether?

You have to have a strong mindset. This industry is going to test it. Earl Nightingale defined success as the pursuit of a worthy ideal, and I love that because it means the goal isn’t just landing the job, it’s who you become in the process. When it’s dark and slow, ask yourself: do I really want this? Because if you throw in the towel, you might be this close. I’ve experienced the high highs and the low lows. But zoom out like a stock chart, the trend is always upward for those who stay in it.

You have built “Mastering Post Production Sound” into a YouTube channel, an email list, and a coaching community, and you even ran a community vote to design a shirt for the whole post-sound world. Why has building community become such a large part of how you help people get and keep work?

Because you were not meant to navigate this industry alone. That’s the simplest way I can say it. Find your tribe, whether that’s my Inner Circle community or someone else’s, but find it. The isolation of this industry is real, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are on the same journey changes everything. That’s the whole reason Mastering Post-Production Sound exists.

If a reader closes this interview and wants to take one concrete step this week toward getting work in audio post, what should it be?

Reach out to someone you’ve already worked with. Not to ask for a job, to genuinely check in, see how they’re doing, and let them know you’re available. If they don’t have work, ask if they know someone who might. We underestimate how powerful that simple ask is. And if you can, grab coffee with someone from your past, just to connect. Not to pitch yourself. Authentic relationships create opportunities you can’t manufacture, and they last a career.

About Joel D. Catalan, CAS, MPSE

Joel D. Catalan, CAS, MPSE is an Emmy-nominated re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor based in Los Angeles, with nearly 19 years of Hollywood experience. His credits include Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Fox), The Orville (Fox) NCIS: Origins, Average Joe (Paramount+), and The Body (Netflix). He is the founder of Mastering Post Production Sound, an education and coaching community dedicated to helping audio professionals build lasting careers in post-production sound. Connect with Joel and find resources at masteringpostproductionsound.com or subscribe to his YouTube channel at youtube.com/@MasteringPostProductionSound.

A big thanks to Joel D. Catalan, CAS, MPSE for sharing his insights on how to work & succeed – and keep doing it – in audio post!