RTA Media Production alum brings stories of the North to the world as sound engineer at Nunvat-based production company

Taqqut Productions short-film 'Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice’ widely recognized throughout the film festival circuit

By: Aya Elmeligy

August 02, 2022 - 9:00 AM

A man wearing glasses, an orange shirt, and a red baseball cap is sitting in a chair surrounded by audio equipment.

RTA Media Production alum Michael Carlucci in his studio

RTA Media Production alum Michael Carlucci is the lead sound engineer at Taqqut Productions (external link) , an Inuit-owned film production company located in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Carlucci was the sound designer/sound mixer for Taqqut’s latest award-winning film ‘Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice’ (opens in new window) . Garnering a lot of buzz, this short has received six awards and five nominations, including IMDbPro Short Cuts for Best Canadian film at TIFF in 2021 and a Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short in 2022, in addition to being shortlisted for a 2022 Oscar nomination.

Bringing the project to life

Directed by Zacharias Kunuk, ‘The Shaman’s Apprentice’ is an adaptation of a traditional Inuit story that follows a young shaman’s journey to the underground to help a member of the community that has fallen ill. The stop motion film mixes puppets, visual effects, and animation and is presented in Inuktitut with English Subtitles, resulting in an engaging and enchanting narrative that pulls the audience into the character’s world.

“When I first saw it, I found it breathtaking. I couldn’t believe I got to work on this. And I was fortunate that I led the audio operations for this project,” said Carlucci.

There were many intricate elements and layers to bring this project to life, from folly artists to dialogue editors and music composers.“I was really grateful to be a part of a film experience where I actually get to work with a larger team instead of just being myself,” says Carlucci. “It made the sound design process for me a lot easier to focus on, since all the other nitty gritty stuff, for example, footsteps, were already done.”

A man is holding a mouse with audio mixing equipment on his left and a screen infront of him

Carlucci in his studio working on ‘The Shaman’s Apprentice’.

From RTA Media Production to working in the industry

The RTA Media Production program had a great impact on Carlucci’s career as a sound designer. “RTA Media Production allowed me to find opportunities in the real world to learn mixing for film and television. I wouldn't have been able to get that with any other program. I got the chance to go to Los Angelos and that helped open up my mind to like the rest of the production world.”

Carlucci was involved in several productions during his time in the program and encourages students to get involved as much as they can during their years at RTA. He credits the program with enabling students to break out of their shells and work on their networking abilities which are crucial within the film industry.

“The people you meet within the program, you might only get that opportunity to meet them in those four years, says Carlucci. “Utilize that as much as you can.”

Stories from the North Baffin region

‘Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice’ was a turning point in Carlucci’s career. “This film changed the course of my career,” he says. “I'm glad I'm part of a production company like Taqqut which takes on projects like these on and help produce them.”

Projects like ‘Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice' represent stories of cultural significance from indigenous communities while being entertaining and educational. Getting recognition in Canada and globally is important for building media presence and delivering such narratives to a larger audience.

“It's growing, and it's nice to see that companies like Taqqut are constantly getting bigger and bigger in scale and production,” says Carlucci. “More people get to work on these films. We're getting larger budgets, and it's reaching audiences in the south.”

‘Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice’ is currently available to watch on CBC Gem (external link, opens in new window) .

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