Meet Nathaniel Smith | Owner of Post Up Audio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nathaniel Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nathaniel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I was a kid it was pretty clear that I had trouble following rules and obeying authority. My mom once told me “you’d better start learning how to run your own business because you clearly aren’t going to enjoy working for other people.”

In late 2019 I had been working as a permanent freelance post production audio editor and mixer for Viacom Digital Studios for a little over three years. Prior to that I had been bouncing around in the film/tv music world as composer, assistant composer, and composer’s assistant for about 8 years. Post Production audio used all the skills I had gained in the composer space with a lot more stability. I was finding my feet, learning every day, and really enjoying the ride my new career was taking me on. I was mostly working out of the Viacom Hollywood audio facilities with a little at-home remote work as well. I started having daydreams of operating my own studio, and I casually started looking at available spaces in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Studio City, and Burbank.

COVID threw a wrench in all of my plans. But, in early 2021, I was seeing the commercial rent prices drop dramatically while my workload was steadily increasing. I found a space very close to the Viacom offices in Hollywood with a rent that I could actually afford. It needed work, but it was the right time, price, and location. I took a deep breath, got a small SBA loan, signed the lease, and opened Post Up Audio.

For me, the timing of opportunity really drove my decision making. I knew that COVID couldn’t last forever and that commercial rent prices won’t stay low for long. I love the work that I do and I imagined that having a location to be able to grow my career would be very beneficial. The final deciding factor was actually the people I get to work with and the projects I get to work on. I put a lot of trust in the amazing creatives who trust me with their projects, and I put a lot of faith in my own abilities to keep generating work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Post Production Audio is a fulfilling blend of creative and technical, and I love helping creatives to realize their vision. While I do take a lot of pride and ownership over my work, my job isn’t to put my own fingerprint on the project but instead to bring a filmmaker’s ideas into reality. I love being on a team, and I especially enjoy working with filmmakers who have a clear vision for their work.

A career in the arts is never easy. My father is a clarinetist, an orchestra conductor, and a university professor. I was born into a life saturated with musicians, artists, dancers, and actors. The common theme of all of their careers was community and practice. We have to surround ourselves with other artists and creatives, creating a supportive community that can rely on each other for jobs and advice. And when we’re not working, we need to be practicing.

Everyone knows the old saying “it’s who you know” but when “who you know” gets you through the door it very quickly becomes “what you know” and you need to be ready for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love showing visitors DTLA. Disney Hall, The Broad, MOCA, Grand Central Market, and then one of the many little dives or amazing restaurants to choose from.

I also love a nice scenic drive through Malibu Canyon into Malibu and then visiting some of the secret, out of the way beaches you can find if you do a little internet research.

Lastly, I truly enjoy the many rooftop bars and restaurants down in Hollywood. It’s a fun night to hop from one spot to the next and see the skyline from each. living here it’s easy to forget how beautiful our landscape is, sometimes just getting a few stories up from street level really helps remind you how pretty it is here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m going to give my shoutout to the whole team I’ve worked with at Viacom since I first walked though the door. The head of the department Bobby Burns, our operations managers Meghan Socha and Cymoen Simien, and of course all of the editors and producers at Comedy Central, MTV, and BET. They keep asking me to work on their projects for ViacomCBS/Paramount and beyond. It’s a network of people who I couldn’t keep working without.

Also, the Daily Show Podcast team of Rob Vitolo, Aaron Burlson, and Alan Miller have been the most amazing friends and co-workers. I am so honored to get to work with them.

Website: postupaudio.com

Instagram: @misternathaniel

Image Credits
Eleonora Palmieri