Andrew Somers(I)

Andrew Somers became interested in visual and performing arts & sciences at a very early age, starting with photography with his first Kodak Brownie camera in the early 1970s at age 8. His school placed him in an experimental program for gifted children, where he attended afternoon classes at Westminster college once a week, developing skills still used as a life-long learner. By age 10 he wrote, drew, and animated his first animated short, shot on Super8 film.

Some years before the IBM PC, Andrew was introduced to computer programming via teletype to the local college mainframe (line numbered Fortran IV & BASIC). This was also the era of experimental electronic music, and in learning to play a MiniMoog, Andrew realized the potentials for merging technology and art, which became the underlying theme of his life's work.

As a teenager, Andrew played a Miraphone in the local symphony orchestra, and worked in the layout/production department of a small newspaper. At Western Washington University, Andrew became involved at the college radio station, getting his first broadcasting license in 1979. There he learned multi-track recording, and actively pursued performing arts, playing in Summer Stock before entering professional broadcast radio, thanks to the guidance from his friend Glenn Beck.

For much of the 1980s, he worked in broadcast radio. Hired not only for his skills in news gathering, writing & producing radio content, but also for his skills in broadcast engineering. This led to a position as Chief Engineer for an AM/FM combo in Southern California, and joining the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Shortly thereafter, a local television station (KADY) brought him on to work with the news department, and he found additional engineering work with a satellite up-link facility.

But Andrew recognized that he needed greater creative challenges. KADY was handling post-production for a syndicated television program (GLOW), and when he was offered a creative position in sound and music for the show, he jumped at the chance. This was his "break" into television and film, circa 1988. This led to his first professional credits as a Director of Photography with the same production company. He has since developed a lengthy list of credits and awards, including three Emmy awards, two of which were for supervising sound designer for "Beakman's World" (CBS).

He was also sound effects supervisor & SFX mixer for "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" (FOX), this show was among the first to employ digital sound technology for editing sound for picture, the Fairlight MFX2-this was well before ProTools was capable of the task. Andrew became a technology evangelist for digital film tools, particularly Fairlight, and this led to some significant feature-film credits, including "Flubber" (he developed the sound of flubber itself), "The Thin Red Line", "The Matrix", "Deep Impact" and others.

By the late 1990's digital picture editorial was becoming the rage. Andrew rode the wave of rapidly emerging digital imaging technologies, as the film industry transitioned from chemical imaging (film) to digital. In addition to being the "go-to" guy for solving intractable problems relating to these technologies, Andrew is frequently called upon for visual effects, title design, and research & development for special technical solutions. Some of these projects included "TRON: Legacy", "Terminator: Salvation", "Beauty and the Beast" (live action), "The Fourth Kind" etc.

As an actor and voiceover artist, he's a member of the Screen Actor's Guild, and is cast most often for his commanding presence. He's a member of the Editor's Guild in Hollywood as a film editor and visual effects supervisor, and works on major studio feature films. Also member of Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and formerly, industry advisor and director of technology for the non-profit Filmmaker's Alliance.

He writes articles on filmmaking technology, color, imaging, and typography for industry trade publications, and gives seminars and leads discussion groups on film related technologies, with an emphasis on digital filmmaking and post production. He was formerly a columnist for the New York Times' About.com sites, where he wrote a column on civil rights, constitutional law, and civil liberties. His other interests include industrial design, inventing, writing, flying, restoring old cars & old appliances, and cats.