ST Mary’s Old Girl makes ‘note’worthy impression in Hollywood

ST Mary’s DSG Old Girl, Reanne de Klerk, is making musical waves in the entertainment industry in America.

From the Head of Orchestra at school, to studying IT and Music, Reanne now works on the famed Warner Bros. Studios Lot.

She is currently living her best life in the bustling city of Los Angeles and the Highway Mail nabbed a few minutes of her spare time to catch up on her overseas journey.

1. How did you make the transition from performing music, to sound editing on TV series and film?

I’ve always had a very creative and analytical brain – but they do say that music and maths are very closely linked and I do agree!

My career in film started when I moved to Cape Town. My wife is a film editor and I started working as an assistant editor in feature films. I alternated between working as an assistant editor and a dailies technician and then I moved across into sound design and then music editing and sometimes I compose.

2. How is life in the States?

It’s the most amazing place to be if you are in the film industry! This doesn’t only apply to the big budget films and TV series – because of the huge film industry here you can find productions to satisfy almost any creative need that you have.

3. Describe a typical day on the Warner Bros Studio Lot?

Driving onto the lot and seeing the iconic water tower never gets old. There are about 30 stages with different productions being shot, not including all the sound and recording stages. They have different sections on the lot where there are different buildings – and one section is just like New York. We have a post production golf cart that we can take around the lot whenever we like, or if we want to drive to Central Perk (from F.R.I.E.N.D.S) for coffee!

4. Have you come across any of your childhood heroes since you moved over to LA?

Well, my childhood hero was MacGuyver and I would hope to never bump into Richard Dean Anderson as I love my idealised childhood version that I will treasure forever!

5. Are you still practicing your music over there?

I will always play music wherever I am, it’s been a part of me my entire life.

6. Do you have any new exciting projects in the pipeline?

A very special film I worked on, Escala, is busy doing festival runs. I did the sound design and music edit. We were selected for the Top Shorts Festival and the film won three awards and one of them was an award for my sound design.

I’m also busy working on the music and sound for a sci-fi pilot with a South African director. It’s about a post-apocalyptic future, based in Cape Town, where the world has run out of water.

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7. What advice would you give to readers aspiring to follow a similar career path in the movie/sound industry?

Take lots of courses, do lots of tutorials, find people to shadow – learn, learn, learn and create!

8. What has been the biggest challenge for you living in another country?

I think one of the biggest challenges is starting over and nobody really knows you, so suddenly you have to build new networks and prove yourself again.

9. Is there any food that you have fallen in love?

I especially love the massive range of vegan restaurants and food options over here.

10. What do you miss the most about SA?

Definitely the food, especially curry!

11. Where are you hoping to go from here, career wise?

I’d eventually like to move across into music editing for feature films.

12. In your free time, where can you be found and what will you be up to?

Free time, what’s that? If I do have time, my favourite things to do are: volunteer, play and create music, go to the beach, go to concerts and shows, travel to anywhere possible.

13. What is your current favourite series you think our readers should binge-watch?

Black Mirror, The Handsmaid Tale, Homecoming, The Haunting of Hill House and for something lighter, The Good Place.

14. Where do you get your musical inspiration when you create/select music while editing film/series?

Usually I get hired after the picture has already been cut to do sound and/or music so I read the script and already start formulating ideas and then I watch the cut and I’ll start building character ideas and elements and it grows organically from there.

15. What are the three things you absolutely cannot be without?

Musical instruments, puzzles/games and coffee!

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