Five Questions with Optimus’ Zach Scheitlin
What do Nightcrawler, John Goodman, and an audio track of sizzling bacon have in common? They’re all right here as Optimus Senior Audio Engineer Zach Scheitlin stops by for a thoroughly entertaining round of Five Questions with SCREEN. Let’s get to it!
SCREEN: Thanks for playing, Zach! So, Zach, if you could play any superhero in a major studio movie, which would it be?
ZACH: I feel that all the roles have been claimed. But if Alan Cummings would like to take a break, I’d happily stand in for Nightcrawler so that Alan can focus on new seasons of Traitors.
Here are some Nightcrawler highlights for Zach and for all of us to enjoy…
SCREEN: Worst job ever?
ZACH: I’m from Iowa, so the coming-of-age job when you turn 13 is detasseling. Detasseling involves walking fields of corn in the peak of summer, to rip off any corn tassels so that they don’t pollinate unwanted plants.
SCREEN: Your favorite project you’ve ever worked on?
ZACH: Wright’s Brand Bacon “Bacon Beats” for Ogilvy. During COVID, I was sent 10 lbs of Wright’s bacon and asked to record it sizzling for 20 mins so that we could then press that recording into a vinyl and mail it to TikTok DJs. I only ended up recording 1 pack (1 pound) of bacon so I ate BLTs for over a month using the remaining product.
For the B-side of the record, we interviewed employees at Wright’s plant. It was very engaging hearing all of their stories about the facility and the history behind it.
Let’s take a listen…
SCREEN: So you’ve been chosen for the new season of Shark Tank. What are you pitching to the Sharks?
ZACH: It’s called the Chronovisor. It’s a device that allows users to view past events. Supposedly a prototype is locked away underneath the Vatican.
SCREEN: Most famous person you’ve ever met?
ZACH: John Goodman. He came into record at Optimus on a weekend for a travel video his daughter was producing. Once he was in the booth, before he rolled on his first take, he went to the corner of the booth and screamed “JOOOOOOHHHHHN GOOOOODDMAN” at the top of his lungs before calmly walking back to the mic and beginning his read.
Let’s enjoy Mr. Goodman leading off Saturday Night Live right here…
BONUS QUESTIONS!
SCREEN: One restaurant, one meal, anywhere you want, and we’re buying. What will it be?
ZACH: Sayat Nova, the Spicy Sautéed Chicken. They stopped serving lunch after covid and I yearn.
SCREEN: Best advice you’ve ever been given?
ZACH: I have two.
Kindness is the most important skill. And…
Every position is a sales position.
Thanks for playing, Zach! For more from Zach and the fine folks at Optimus, click right here.
Check back here at SCREEN for new rounds of Five Questions with SCREEN. You can also click right here to subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.
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