By

Tags:

Walking across a frozen lake can be risky. The sound of creaking footsteps conveys tension and drama. That's where Foley artist Hyoenzi "Alex" Wang comes in.

Nominated this year for an Emmy for her work on Apple TV's award-winning Severance, Wang (B.F.A., sound design, 2022) created the ominous Foley footfalls of Lumon Industries employee Irving (John Turturro) at the beginning of the pivotal episode "Woe's Hollow."

Originally from Gwacheon-si, South Korea, Wang began working at acclaimed NYC sound design studio c5, inc., in 2023, a connection facilitated by SCAD sound design professor Jamie Baker.

"I am beyond proud of Alex and her Emmy-nominated Foley artistry on Severance," says Baker. "In only a couple years' time, Alex has gone from my Foley Production Techniques class to the Foley stages at c5, inc. Alex represents what we aim for when it comes to preparing students for creative careers in sound design."

Fresh from her trip to the Los Angeles for the Emmy Awards, Wang caught up with SCAD to discuss her red carpet moment and those frozen footsteps.

Gold standard: Hyoenzi "Alex" Wang at the Emmy Awards 2025.  

Alex Wang:

"I've been Severance fan since season one. To go from being an audience member to working on the show was a huge deal for me.

When I watched the first season of Severance, I noticed how prominent and important the sound of footsteps is on the show. When I looked in the credits, I found the names [c5 founders] George Lara and Marko Costanzo—of course, the Foley on the show sounds great! Then to go work at c5 and work on Severance myself, it all progressed so fast and I was like, oh my god, you know?

The scene where Irving is in the middle of a frozen lake and starts running towards the mountain, they wanted to have the sound of the ice creaking. I got to do it. Marko had shown me the technique of that frozen lake sound. You prepare a sheet of glass, duct tape it really hard, and then using a hammer you break it a little, and then you crunch it. It requires a lot of control of how much power you're putting into that glass sheet. You have to be careful so it creaks but not breaks.

Sometimes, a really good Foley stands out, but most of the time, when people don't notice the Foley, that's great, that's the art. According to our supervisors, [director and executive producer] Ben Stiller is someone who really appreciates Foley. He wants to use Foley as much as possible, especially with the footsteps, which are like a signature on Severance.

We were hoping to get nominated for an Emmy for sound, but you never know until the list comes out. I was at home doing chores and George texted me a screenshot of my name and the nomination for sound editing, and a message saying how proud he is of me. He and Marko have been so supportive and important in my career.

I flew to LA for the Emmy Awards. Apple TV booked me into the JW Marriott downtown right beside the Peacock Theater. The experience didn't feel real until the moment I was preparing for the show. I walked into the theater, took the escalator to the lobby where they were taking official red carpet pictures. I couldn't believe that I'd come to this moment professionally in such a short period of time. 

Looking back at my SCAD experience, the sound design program taught me how to be a professional sound designer from on-set sound to post-production. For Foley, SCAD is the best—Professor Baker knows everything. One of the key things I learned at SCAD is how to communicate with people from different departments and backgrounds. By collaborating in SCADpro with students from animation, film, visual effects, and motion media, I learned how to suggest ideas that improve the work.

This has been my tenth year in the United States. I want to be a resource for international students who come to SCAD wanting to succeed in a career in art and design. I hope to come back to SCAD one day to talk about my journey."

Connect with Hyoenzi "Alex" Wang on LinkedIn.

Banner image/Severance still: Apple TV+.

As told to Peter Relic.

By

Tags:

More than 200 SCAD students and alumni contributed to Primetime Emmy-nominated productions this season, garnering 275 different credits across 88 unique titles. Nominations for Ozark, Stranger Things, The Outsider, and more highlight the Georgia entertainment industry. Many diverse majors are represented in top productions such as The Mandalorian, Succession, Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Westworld, The Last Dance and Rick and Morty. Two alumni, Dirk Valk (B.F.A., animation, 2008) and Garette Warner Rose (B.F.A., film and television, 2007), were directly nominated for Emmy Awards this year for Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Lost in Space) and Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program (Queer Eye), respectively. Congratulations to all alumni who contributed to nominated shows – we look forward to continuing to watch your work!

Update: Two alumni won Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Emmys this year: Jill Dykxhoorn (B.F.A., animation, 2013), lead background artist, Archer: 1999 (episode: "Road Trip"), and Dan MacKenzie (B.F.A., animation, 2011), character animator, Cosmos: Possible Worlds (episode: "Vavilov"). Congratualtions, Jill and Dan!

The following SCAD alumni worked on these Emmy-nominated and Emmy-winning shows:

#FreeRayshawn: Lori Snow (B.F.A., film and television, 2011).

American Factory: Xiao Hou (M.F.A., sound design, 2015); Cindy Takehara (M.F.A., sound design, 2015).

American Horror Story: J. Jeongyeon Son (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012); Austin Ramsey (B.A., film and television); Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Dale Bunten (M.A., visual effects, 2019); DeRon Horton (B.F.A., performing arts, 2015).

Archer: 1999: Jill Dykxhoorn (B.F.A., animation, 2013).

Bad Education: Colin Alexander (B.F.A., sound design, 2005); Patrick O'Keeffe (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); Kayli Carter (B.F.A., performing arts, 2015).

Better Call Saul: Jimmy Fisher (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2011).

Between Two Ferns: Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television); Bryan Godwin (B.F.A., computer art, 1998); Gabe Gilden (B.F.A., film and television, 2014).

Big Little Lies: Sara Chaisson (B.F.A., film and television).

Big Mouth: Erica Hayes (B.F.A., sequential art, 2012); Katie Tamboer (B.F.A., animation, 2014); Corey Barnes (B.F.A., sequential art, 2006); Hunter Curra (B.F.A., sound design, 2005).

Black Mirror: Reed Lovell (B.F.A., sound design, 2013); Richard Reed (M.F.A., visual effects, 2005).

Bob Hearts Abishola: Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television).

Bob's Burgers: Drew Newman (B.F.A., animation, 2007).

BoJack Horseman: Louisa Lawler (B.F.A., animation, 2018); Tom Soulen (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Christopher Nance (B.F.A., sequential art, 2012); Hunter Curra (B.F.A., sound design, 2005); Michael Britt (B.F.A., sound design, 2018).

Carnival Row: Dixie Pizani (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Matthew Kiefer (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009); Andrew Maynard (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015); Ryan Ng (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016); Mimi Violette (B.F.A., industrial design, 2018).

Central Park: Lexy Naut (B.F.A., animation, 2012); Corey Barnes (B.F.A., sequential art, 2006); Jon Higgins (B.F.A., illustration, 2018); Drew Newman (B.F.A., animation, 2007); Dabney 'Hank' Hamner (B.F.A., animation, 2015); Betty Liao (B.F.A., sequential art, 2015); Sarah L. Pacetti (B.F.A., sequential art, 2011); Tiffany Rishel  (B.F.A., animation, 2014).

Cosmos: Possible Worlds: Michael Pickering (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018); Bria Jones (B.F.A., animation, 2015); Kitty Tomblin (B.F.A., animation, 2016); Erica Hayes (B.F.A., sequential art, 2012); Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television); Josiah Howison (B.F.A., visual effects, 2004); Elliot Thompson (M.A., sound design, 2012), Dan MacKenzie (B.F.A., animation, 2011).

Crank Yankers: Kathryn Molloy (B.F.A., film and television).

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Ric Griffith (B.F.A., video, 1992).

Defending Jacob: Derek Mola (B.F.A., film and television).

Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: Dany Flores Arias (B.F.A., film and television, 2019); Keith Anderson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2011); Matthew X. Trinkle (B.F.A., architecture, 2016); Elizabeth Luis (M.A., production design, 2018).

Drunk History: DeRon Horton (B.F.A., performing arts, 2015).

Dummy: Brian Freesh (B.F.A., film and television, 2005).

El Camino: Jesse Meler (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012).

Euphoria: Brett Hinton (B.F.A., video, 2001).

Family Reuniuon: Sean Amlaner (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007).

Godfather of Harlem: Justin Diamond (B.F.A., computer art, 2003).

Grace and Frankie: Megan Librizzi (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2018).

Hollywood: Logan Coffey (B.F.A., performing arts, 2016); Michael Metzner; Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television); Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010).

Homecoming: Amy Christensen (B.F.A., computer art, 1997); Brett Hinton (B.F.A., film and television, 2001);

How to Get Away with Murder: Sean Amlaner (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007).

I Know This Much Is True: Michael Pickering (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018).

Insecure: Jordan Bridges (B.F.A., production design, 2019); Nicole Baker (M.A., film and television, 2008); Brian Freesh (B.F.A., film and television, 2005).

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Andrew Kaczynski (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2010).

Lost in Space: Cheri Fojtik (M.F.A., animation, 2011); Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television); Dirk Valk (B.F.A., animation, 2008); Kristen Prahl (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005).

Love Is Blind: Nieshia Crawford (M.F.A., film and television, 2018); KP Hendry (B.F.A., photography); George Dunlap (B.F.A., film and television, 2009).

Modern Family: Leslie Merlin (B.F.A., film and television, 2005).

Modern Love: Colin Bright (B.F.A., sound design, 2010); Linzy Elliot (B.F.A., sound design, 2011).

Mr. Robot: Brett Hinton (B.F.A., video, 2001); Dionysius Vlachos (M.F.A., sound design, 2015).

Mrs. America: Ryan Ng (B.F.A., sound design, 2016); Kayli Carter (B.F.A., performing arts, 2015).

Orange is the New Black: Anna Tringali (B.F.A., production design, 2012).

Ozark: Grace Chahine (B.F.A., film and television, 2019); Camden St. Onge (B.F.A., film and television, 2018); Melissa Hansen (B.F.A., film and television, 2018); Rachel Kerby (B.F.A., film and television, 2019); Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Alyssa "Grizzly" Goldman (B.F.A., film and television); Layne Brightwell (B.F.A., illustration, 1985).

Pose: Noreen Souza-Bailey (B.F.A., film and television, 2005).

Queer Eye: Garrette Warner Rose (B.F.A., film and television, 2007).

Rick and Morty: Erica Hayes (B.F.A., sequential art, 2012); Kitty Tomblin (B.F.A., animation, 2016); Dan O'Connor (B.F.A., illustration, 1994); Ferguson Winston (B.F.A., animation, 2008); Joey McCormick (B.F.A., animation, 2011); Hunter Curra (B.F.A., sound design, 2005); Michael Britt (B.F.A., sound design, 2018).

Robot Chicken: Alex Kamer (B.F.A., film and television, 2004); Dan MacKenzie (B.F.A., animation, 2011); Savelen Forrest (B.F.A., computer art, 1999); Hunter Curra (B.F.A., sound design, 2005); Michael Britt (B.F.A., sound design, 2018); Steve Gallant (B.F.A., animation, 2012); Charles D'Avignon  (B.F.A., animation, 2016).

S.W.A.T.: Austin Ramsey (B.F.A., film and television).

Saturday Night Live: Milton Ladd (B.F.A., video, 2002).

Sea of Shadows: Dominque Koski (B.F.A., film and television, 2019).

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker: Ian Chase (B.F.A., sound design, 2017); Steven Blevins (B.F.A., sound design, 2018).

Shameless: Angela Gunn (M.F.A., film and television, 2008); Jie Meng (M.F.A., visual effects, 2015).

Silicon Valley: Chun Seong Ng (M.A., animation, 2007); Sarah Ridenour (B.F.A., animation, 2016).

Space Force: Rob Holland (B.F.A., film and television, 2009); Jonathan Nelson (M.F.A., computer art, 2004).

Star Trek: Short Treks: William Appleby (B.F.A., film and television, 2014); Zach Smith (B.F.A., visual effects, 2019); Sarah Hamilton (B.F.A., animation, 2018); Emily Shock (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015).

Star Trek: Picard: Dan Knight (B.F.A., computer art, 1996); Sean Amlaner (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007); Kristen Prahl (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005); Michael Rhima (M.A., visual effects, 2016).

Steven Universe Future: Julian De Perio (B.F.A., sequential art, 2016); Becky Dreistadt (B.F.A., sequential art, 2008).

Stranger Things: Sophie Wagman (B.F.A., production design, 2017); Chris Harris (B.F.A., sound design, 2007); Heather Fetter; Nathan Alexander (B.F.A., production design); Sarah Okun; Madison Eckler (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018); Steve DiNozzi (M.A., visual effects); Forrest Arnold (B.F.A., computer art, 2000); Burke Roane (B.F.A., computer art, 2003); Lucas Gregg (B.F.A., film and television, 2016); Joe Elfanbaum (B.F.A., sound design, 2016); Erin Choroszylow (B.F.A., film and television, 2012).

Succession: Kenzi Parker (B.F.A., animation, 2012); Grant Anderson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017); Greg Radcliffe (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); David Anger (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016); Kelsey Drown (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017); Gabe Gilden (B.F.A., film and television, 2014).

Survivor: Jamie Gordon West (B.F.A., photography, 2011).

Tales from the Loop: Dionysius Vlachos (M.F.A., sound design, 2015).

The Blacklist: Haley Samms (B.F.A., animation, 2017).

The Boys: Kathryn Molloy (B.F.A., film and television); Amber Evans (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015); Ryan Ng (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016).

The Dark Crystal: Noah Hamdan (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012); Nikki (Makar) Pataracchia (B.F.A., computer art, 2004); Ian Chase (B.F.A., sound design, 2017); Steven Blevins (B.F.A., sound design, 2018); Eric Schultz (B.F.A., visual effect, 2014); Michael Rhima(B.F.A., visual effects, 2016); Timothy Preston (B.F.A., motion media design, 2015).

The Good Place: Dionysius Vlachos (M.F.A., sound design, 2015).

The Great Hack: Andres E. Marthe Gonzalez (M.A., sound design, 2018).

The Imagineering Story: Kevin Kabfeld (B.F.A., production design, 2016); Matthew Burgette (B.F.A., film and television, 2003).

The Kominsky Method: Rob Holland (B.F.A., film and television, 2009).

The Last Dance: Ian Chase(B.F.A., sound design, 2017); Steven Blevins (B.F.A., sound design, 2018).

The Mandalorian: Maia Kayser  (B.F.A., electronic arts, 2001); Dan Knight (B.F.A., CMPA, 1996); Steven Quinoñes Colón (B.F.A., painting); Siyu Niu (M.F.A., visual effects, 2018); Jesse Hildreth (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008); Shawn Monaghan (B.F.A., CMPA, 2004); Diana Chu (M.F.A., visual effects, 2019); Cheri Fojtik (M.F.A., animation, 2011); Cameron Kashtan (B.F.A., film and television, 2017); Douglas Addy (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007); William Appleby (B.F.A., film and television, 2014); Delane Leahy  (B.F.A., film and television); Brandon Martin  (B.F.A., animation, 2008); Michael Callahan (B.F.A., film and television, 2003).

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Kenzi Parker (B.F.A., animation, 2012); Grant Anderson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017); Greg Radcliffe (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); David Anger (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016); Michael Pickering (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018); Carmine Picarello (B.F.A., sound design, 2006).

The Morning Show: Hilary Gayle (B.F.A., photography, 206); Heather Turner (B.F.A., film and television, 2006); Luis G. Reyes (B.F.A., production design).

The Outsider: Richard Weller (B.F.A., illustration, 1989); Megan Fudge (B.F.A., production design, 2016); Austin Ramsey (B.A., film and television); Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Darby Abraham (B.F.A., production design, 2016); Matthew X. Trinkle (B.F.A., architecture, 2016); Nate Foster (B.F.A., computer art, 2001); John Harton (B.F.A., production design, 2015); Ben Dishun (B.F.A., film and television, 2012).

The Plot Against America: Greg Radcliffe (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); David Anger (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016); Steven Nyberg (M.F.A., film and television, 2015).

The Politician: Steven Nyberg (M.F.A., film and television, 2015); Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Morgan Lee Miller (M.F.A., production design, 2013).

The Rookie: Sarah Galley (B.F.A., film and television, 2008); Danielle Aziz (B.F.A., production design, 2012); Ric Griffith (B.F.A., video, 1992).

The Simpsons: Jon Higgins (B.F.A., illustration, 2018); Emma Barker (B.F.A., illustration, 2018); Matt Mantel (B.F.A., animation, 2017).

The Voice: Julie McReynolds (B.F.A., performing arts, 2002).

This Is Us: HanYun Chang (M.F.A., animation, 2019).

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Jaime Morgan (B.F.A., film and television, 2011); Carlos Alarcon(B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); Tommy Love (M.F.A., film and television, 2013); Gabe Gilden (B.F.A., film and television, 2014).

Unbelievable: Drew Huntley (B.F.A., visual effects, 2011); Alex Jansen (B.F.A., animation, 2010); Matt Klimek (B.F.A., sound design, 2011); Nicole Baker (M.A., film and television, 2008).

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend: Matthew T. Perry (B.F.A., film and television, 2011).

Unorthodox: Steven Blevins (B.F.A., sound design, 2018).

VICE: Brian McGee (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007); Josh Luddeni (B.F.A., film and television, 2008).

Vikings: Brittany Piacente (B.F.A., animation, 2012); Amber Evans (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015); Ryan Ng (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016).

Watchmen: Ziyan Tan (B.F.A., illustration, 2018); Nano Afrane (B.F.A., animation, 2017); Kristen Kuchenbecker (B.F.A., film and television, 2008); Jo Hepburn (B.F.A., fashion); Lauren Driskill (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, 2010); Chris Richarson (B.F.A., sound design, 2008); William Appleby (B.F.A., film and television, 2014); Nicholas Leone (B.F.A., film and television, 2010); Sarah Okun; Ethan Guice (B.F.A., photography, 2016); Kang Hui (M.F.A., animation, 2019); Josh Tamburo (M.F.A., sound design, 2015); Adam Wagner (M.F.A., film and television, 2018); Jana Acevedo (M.F.A., production design, 2013); Noelle Jean-Baptiste (B.F.A., production design, 2011).

We're Here: Chloe Heidt (B.F.A., film and television, 2017).

Westworld: Dan Knight (B.F.A., computer art, 1996); Sean Amlaner (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007); Patrick Warner (B.F.A., animation, 2008); Casey Roberts (B.F.A., visual effects); William Appleby (B.F.A., film and television, 2014); Sarah Hamilton (B.F.A., animation, 2018); Dustin Colson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010); Philip Fraschetti (M.F.A., visual effects, 2007; B.F.A., computer art, 2005); Jorge Sanchez (B.F.A., film and television); Erik Zimmermann (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008); Brian Freesh (B.F.A., film and television, 2005).

What We Do In The Shadows: Abhishek Singh (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017).

Why We Hate: Josh Feezer (B.F.A., film and television, 2008); William Atkin (M.F.A., computer art, 2005).

Wu-Tang: An American Saga: Harrison Jaffee (B.F.A., film and television, 2012); Alex Dubois (B.F.A., film and television, 2016); Antonio Aguas (B.F.A., animation); Nathaniel K. Hearns (B.F.A., animation, 2017); Ali Lavoie (B.F.A., animation, 2018); Hannah Saunders (B.F.A., animation, 2018); Nana Boachie (B.F.A., animation, 2011); Laura Ceredona (B.F.A., animation, 2005); Tiffany Rishel Droke (B.F.A., animation, 2014); Reed Gauthier (B.F.A., animation, 2011); Kathy Kissinger (B.F.A., animation, 2013); Travis Lockhart (B.F.A., animation, 2011); Andrew VonGravely (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2013); Andrew Lainhart (B.F.A., film and television, 2014).

 

See a name missing from the list? Send name and show the alumnus worked on to [email protected].