OTC graduate nominated for Emmy Award

Chris Davis remembers the exact moment when he knew he wanted to work in the world of sound effects.

Davis, now 28, was a senior at Ozark High School and studying in the band room for a science final. A DVD movie of Lord of the Rings was playing.

“It showed how they did the sound effects for the movie. I pushed my science book aside and was mesmerized by what I was watching. I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Davis said.

That was nine years ago. Today, Davis is just days away from attending one of this weekend’s Emmy Awards ceremonies in Los Angeles after being nominated for the prestigious award for his sound editing work on the Paul Simon documentary “Under African Skies,” a film about Simons return to Africa years after releasing his cutting-edge album “Graceland.”

Davis, who graduated from OTC with a degree in electronic media production in 2005, has been on the East Coast working in sound effects for the past four years. He works for Deluxe Digital in New York City but also does freelance sound work.

His work on “Under African Skies” was a freelance piece he did for a studio where he had worked before.

Davis added sound effects to the film where needed. The documentary has scenes shot outdoors and there was little sound recorded with the shots. Davis added the necessary sounds.

Davis said sound work, if it’s good, is transparent and goes unnoticed by the untrained ear.

“If someone notices the sound effects, youre not doing your job right,” he said.

Davis said his time spent at OTC studying electronic media production prepared him for his career and “guided me even more so to what I wanted to do.”

“I had great motivation from my teachers and they had the experience in their various field that I could draw on,” he said.

Davis admits hes getting more excited as next month’s awards ceremony approaches. The ceremony is Saturday. A win would be a great resume builder, he said.

“I’m hoping just the nomination would add to my credentials. Being a young editor, it’s hard sometimes to get work, I’m trying to prove myself and maybe after this, the jobs will start rolling in,” he said.

Steve Koehler is coordinator of media relations at Ozarks Technical Community College.