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How it all started....

My Life in Film by Rosa Tyabji

I became acquainted with the film making process at a young age, as a result of my maternal Grandparent's involvement in the film industry. My Grandfather, Thomas Horton, began his career as an Executive Producer for Jacque-Yves Cousteau, Cousteau Society. He then went on to create his own documentary film production company in California, Thomas Horton Associates, specializing in underwater documentaries and TV series such as "Search for Adventure" and the popular "Shark Week" for the Discovery Channel.

My Mother began her work in the film industry as an editor for this company, and went on to produce Emmy and Golden Camera Award winning documentaries, "America Remembers JFK" and "Te Maori". Three out of four of her siblings would also get a start in the entertainment industry in this way, as well as my eldest cousin. By this association which led to my inspiration, but not direct employment, I would as well.

Some of my earliest childhood memories include watching my Mother at work, as she edited on 3/4" Umatic. The jog wheel was fascinating, that she could make a picture slow down, reverse and go high speed were amazing. I would sit and review some of her edited work, those appropriate for my age, such as the cartoon The Adventures of the Little Prince which she re-edited for Nickelodeon from the original Japanese release.

The machines with their blinking lights, the stacks of film canisters and Umatic Tapes, and the fun looking production equipment always held my attention.

As I got older I got into acting through drama classes in school, and was always cast in prominent roles, which was encouraging, as I was very shy. In Jr. High school, when I was 11 years old, I was a lead actor and solo vocalist for a musical, which definitely boosted my confidence. But, after doing theatre and bit parts in films until I was 15 years old, I began to change my focus to what was happening behind the camera.

That magic that took place when a team of creative and technical people worked harmoniously to achieve a single goal. That was what fascinated and challenged me.

At that time I was just into the whole thing...lights, camera, roll sound...speed...action!

I was also getting into music more and more, and spent all the time I could learning from my friend, the DJ and producer Danny Gonzalez, in NY. As I experienced the world of music production and mixing techniques on the Technic 1200's, I realized that this was really the thing for me. The audio equipment, the different possibilities, and, of course, the music all inspired me. Danny kept telling me that I had potential, but that I needed to learn how to listen critically. He introduced me to the idea of audio engineering as a profession.

I enrolled in and was accepted into the Institute for Audio Research in NYC, in 1996. At that time it was a 900 hour course that gave a Diploma in Audio Engineering, with hands-on training in analog recording and editing techniques. So, with that foundation of knowledge, I was able to come back around to my love of film making with a technical mind.

I began an apprenticeship as a boom operator for a sound mixer who showed me the ropes working on NYU and Columbia University student films. As I was working hard to understand the process, I soon was able to work as a Sound Mixer. I made more contacts, and after three or four shoots I was able to get a gig as a Sound Mixer on the set of"Gloss", a Micky Movie. It was really my first gig running the Nagra, and it all worked out.

After Gloss went off well, I got passed around the campus and worked on another dozen Columbia and NYU student thesis films, some with budgets and some without. Sometimes, I even got paid! And I realized that this really could lead to a career. It was exciting. I was 17 years old.

I continued working on films whenever possible, and in September 1996 I was accepted as a technical intern by Bill Daly , who was then the Sound Mixer for Universal/ Wolf Films TV series New York Undercover. He now works on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. That was a great experience for me, as we were all over NYC on location and also in the Universal Sound Stage, where they also shoot some Law & Order. My duties as a technical intern were mainly cable and circuit construction, building BNC's and XLR runs. But, most important, I was able to watch and understand the protocol on a fast paced TV set.

After that technical internship, I also began accumulating experience in other aspects of the audio industry - post production and music recording studios. I became the Manager and Assistant Engineer for a new start-up post production facility called New York Sound. There I did everything from secretarial work to audio editing on Pro Tools. So, I took bookings and managed clients, and also assisted the engineer Jo Cunningham on his sessions.

Some of these sessions included Sound Design for film and commercials, some were purely VO recording or ADR, and some were just foley and FX creation. It was great experience that helped me round out my understanding of the whole audio process for film and TV, from initial location recording to final studio mix.

New York Sound was a one person operation and after my help getting it started Jo informed me that I was no longer needed, so I then applied and was accepted as an intern at Soundtrack Recording Studios in NYC. There I worked as an assistant engineer on music sessions, mostly with hip-hop artists. Some of the sessions I assisted on were songs for Busta Rhyme's second album When Disaster Strikes (1997) andMissy Elliot's debut album, released in mid-1997, Supa Dupa Fly.

In 1998, after months at Soundtrack I was offered a better paying gig at a dot com company called Pseudo Online Network.

At Pseudo I was responsible for the live audio engineering and netcasting, or internet broadcasting, of various kinds of multimedia content. I streamed the audio using Real Media G2 encoding software, while simultaneous video streams were handled by the video engineer adjacent to me. We netcast over 30 live shows per week, each was one hour in length. Some of the content was in talk show format, some was music TV and live DJ's, and others were purely interactive chat events.

The shows which I regularly engineered included: Koolout Lounge, Velocity!, FreQ, Beatminerz Radio, StreetSound, and All Games Network. Check them all out at the Pseudo Online Network.

As I worked at these various gigs in New York City, my idea of who I was and wanted to become expanded. I realized that I really loved the production process, and due to my technical understanding, I was able to facilitate creative people to accomplish their dreams.

This was what kept me excited - to be part of a team and reach a goal, then to let it go and see it interact with others in the world, where your efforts would be a contribution to society at large. I was to continue this passion in a more defined and obvious way as I travelled in 1998 from the hustle and bustle of New York City to the tropical dream which is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.