A former Yellowknifer with humble beginnings in a SA国际影视传媒渟mall, dusty video roomSA国际影视传媒� at St. Patrick High School was on the sound team for Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water.

That video room in Dashen Naidoo's high school contained one linear editing machine and was the birth place of his aspirations toward a creative career, he told Yellowknifer in an email.

SA国际影视传媒淚t pretty much became my home,SA国际影视传媒� said Naidoo.

SA国际影视传媒淚 was also very fortunate to have a teacher like Rob Hart of SPHS not only acknowledge my drive, but encourage and help me in any way I needed. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 the kind of work teachers donSA国际影视传媒檛 get paid or credited for, but means the most in the long run,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

In late 2016, Naidoo was hired as a sound editor for del Toro's film, which is a romantic story of a mute cleaning woman named Elisa and an amphibian-humanoid in a cold-war era government lab in Baltimore.

Elisa, played by the actress Sally Hawkins, forms an unlikely bond with the creature.

Earlier this month, the film won four Oscars including best picture.

As sound effects editor, Naidoo created all of the ambient and background sounds heard in the film, including the winch and chain the SA国际影视传媒渇ishmanSA国际影视传媒� is attached to.

SA国际影视传媒淎s sound editors we record, create, and edit sounds together for general and specific elements and ideas, and deliver those elements to a mixer who then makes it fit into the respective world,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

One of the most rewarding parts of the film was seeing it evolve SA国际影视传媒渓ayer by layer,SA国际影视传媒� and to watch SA国际影视传媒渁 great filmmaker like Guillermo del Toro orchestrate sounds with extreme precision,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The entire sound editing team was made up of eight people, with del Toro in charge of the overall vision, said Naidoo.

SA国际影视传媒淔rom that we got to create, design and experiment as much as weSA国际影视传媒檇 like. Aside from the dialogue of an actor, most everything in movie-sound is re-created,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The chance to work with such an accomplished director would have felt like a SA国际影视传媒減ipe dreamSA国际影视传媒� in his youth, he said.
Dasheen's mother, Neela Naidoo, who still has his early awards in her living room, said the family was excited to see her son's team recognized at the Oscars.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen he was at St. Pats, he won the film festival twice there,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚t was really cool to see his name on the big screen at the screening here in Yellowknife.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭he creative industry is not recognized enough as a sustainable career,SA国际影视传媒� she continued. SA国际影视传媒淏ut what should be so inspiring for all creative people and the next generation is to know that if he could come from a small city like Yellowknife and be able to pursue his passion and to reach the stage, the opportunity is also there.SA国际影视传媒�

In his early days, films like the American sci-fi classic Back to the Future were a source of obsession, said Naidoo.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen I was younger I was very interested in films and the craft of film. Back to the Future was the catalyst that lit a fire in my brain. As I got older and more wise to the process, they became even more impressive bodies of work,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 had to figure out on my own that there is a path to this and every other niche career imaginable,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think itSA国际影视传媒檚 important for younger people in high school and coming out of high school to understand that the creative world doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 just have to be a hobby, it can be a career. I encourage high schoolers to seriously think about and explore their dream careers, even if it seems far-fetched.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭rust those instincts even at a young age.SA国际影视传媒�