So, what makes a fantastic audio engineer? Is it technical mastery? Artistic intuition? Or is it that uncommon capacity to translate the sound of dust on the wind into narrative? For Emma Staake, the solution is to mix all of this into a truly remarkable career that is as colorful as it is inspiring.
Emma Staake is more than an audio engineer. She is a creative inspiration and a force changing the sound landscape of Seattle. From her trailblazing cross-disciplinary production approaches to her championing of inclusivity within the creative industries, Emma is a visionary in what leading by example looks like in the field.
In this post, we chart Emma’s journey from a young music lover to an audio technology, artistry, and education professional.
The Roots of a Visionary
Before Emma Staake was a household name in the world of sound design, a love for music and theatre set her on that path. This incipient affair with sound was fostered at Bellevue College in both Jazz Studies, Music Theory, and the study of German and Philosophy.
Belonging to the prestigious “Celebration” Vocal Jazz Ensemble not only polished her musicality. It developed an inherent feel for harmony and emotion that would influence her future as an audio producer.
But Emma isn’t your average creative who takes the direct route. She combined her music background with further education at Evergreen State College. She received her Integrative Psychology, Health Arts, & Transformational Leadership degree. This broad-based education further solidified her belief in human connections and the power of storytelling.
From there, she’d complete an Associate’s in Audio Engineering Production at Shoreline Community College to further refine technical aspects. This technical background allowed her to transform bold creative conceptions into seamless technical realities.
Crafting Sound in the Pros
Emma’s career is like that of a perpetual boundary pusher. She is the rare artist who can successfully marry creative intuition with technical know-how, and she has an impressive résumé that beautifully attests to that versatility.
FaderPro
At FaderPro, she is a Post-Production Editor, working between creativity and technology. In charge of scouring for polished educational music content, her role goes beyond editing. She works with international crews and ensures the final films are technically flawless and emotionally authentic.
As a key player in the music education space, FaderPro offers Emma exciting productions with many of the globe’s premier electronic artists. Her contributions showcase how she can smoothly transition from art to science.
Blue Danube Productions
Emma thrives on adaptability. Her role as an audiovisual technician at Blue Danube Productions truly exhibits the breadth of what she can conduct in the field of live event production , down to the “nitty-gritty.” She runs soundboards, lighting rigs, and elaborate visual installations for various events, including corporate conferences and high-octane concerts.
Her work in live production isn’t operational so much as immersive. Emma builds spaces where audiences are invited, demonstrating her special talent to entwine practical logistics and sensorial impact.
The Leap Into the Gig Economy
Few within the business community seem to be able to balance the unique creativity of the art world with business. Emma does both. She started Funny Button Productions in 2018, a creative studio that creates audio for film, commercial, and narrative projects.
This was not simply a career apex. It was a statement.
Providing a myriad of services from sound design and music scoring to dialogue editing, Funny Button Productions has become exactly what Emma set out to create – a hub for ground-breaking audio storytelling. Her leap into the depths of entrepreneurship is expressive of her desire to be a part of helping definitely in the future of sound and media production.
Emma is an educator, mentor, and advocate. Emma has contributed to something more comprehensive than just the scope of her professional activity. She is a staunch champion of the new generation of creators who empower through music and audio. In Rain City Rock Camp, a program that facilitates young creators to write original songs, perform them live, and work in groups, Emma teaches with a particular emphasis on technical detail and self-expression. In addition to teaching at Rain City Rock Camp, Emma has been an instructor of voice and piano, which illustrates the importance of her work: to help beginners lay a foundation for success. Emma’s help is piloted by the technical-audio aircraft of a contemporary creator.
Emma possesses skills working for audio: Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, Adobe Audition, and video: Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, as well as experience in live sound and scoring for visual media. Emma’s work with the tools goes beyond everyone else’s, as she uses them to create new sounds and narratives that encourage people to listen. Emma is in charge of making creative tech a diverse industry.
Emma is obsessed with symbolizing efforts to remove the extraneous and amplify the need. She publishes unknown artists and has a minor tone of voice. She crafts arrangements and designs with those whose creative work must be heard more. In the future, she hopes to make and support educational programs to help minority sound techs and media creators at the beginning rather than be preoccupied with looking more fully later on. This is Emma Staake. She’s a name to view.
“Her entire career has been a marriage of incredible technical rigor and artistry, combined with a lifelong, no-compromises dedication to education and advocacy. Be it from her experience-building, her investment in the creative talent of tomorrow, or her support for underrepresented voices, Emma is a powerhouse in the sound and media industry.
Emma is more than an inspiration to fans of sound in Seattle and well beyond. She exemplifies what artistry, empathy, and expertise can achieve when they meet.
