We couldn’t have written this book without the input of many friends and colleagues, and the support of our families and colleagues. We would like to thank Bailey Allmon, who worked as Cheryl’s intern at Ott House Audio before going on to her new career, and who helped us organize images and review early drafts for typos and other writing misfortunes. Cheryl would like to thank Greg Lukens for giving some of her technical chapters an early read for accuracy, and for his continued mentorship, spanning many years. And we’re both so appreciative of the detailed review given by Korey Pereira, Lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin and active member of M.P.S.E (Motion Picture Sound Editors) for his input at the peer review phase, and for the careful read and feedback from audio engineer/producer Dave Dysart. We appreciate the hard work of our team at Taylor & Francis, including Editorial Assistant John Makowski, our diligent copy editor Jennifer Collins, our production manager Jeanine Furino, production editor Helen Evans, and our Editor Emma Tyce. We would also like to thank the many colleagues we interviewed, both on the record and on background, who spent time discussing with us their views of the art of sound and story. Your insights and expertise were essential to our project.

Cheryl and I have been lucky enough to give workshops all around the world, and one of the colleagues who often shares the dais with us (so to speak) is Jeff Greenberg, who kindly took the time to write the Preface for this book. Thank you, Jeff, not only for supporting our project but for your contributions to the production field and the people in it. We also could not have done this without support on visuals from Scott Simmons and David Fuchs. Many thanks to you for your fast turnarounds and high-quality work.

One thing we both know for sure: you can’t live the crazy production life without the support of a great partner. Thanks to Amy’s husband John Bader and Cheryl’s husband John Ottenritter. You appreciate the importance of music and sound in our lives and are the foundation that lets us do our thing.