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- Meet the Collective: Rob Acocella
Meet the Collective: Rob Acocella
From being the “old guy” in my college film class (a seasoned 30!) to becoming one of the first people I called when starting Edits Etc., Rob has always been the one to raise the bar. A sharp filmmaker, a sound expert, and our resident smart ass, he brings both craft and humor to every project.
James Barker
August 28, 2025
Let’s rewind to 2014. I’m a freshman in college, wide-eyed, nervous, looking like I’m 15. I walk into class and everyone looks about the same.
Except Rob.
Here’s this old guy. Like really old. Like probably 30. I was confused, but since my brain wasn’t fully developed yet, I just rolled with it.
And now, for the record, I’m as old or older than Rob was then. Do 18-year-olds see me the same way? Egads!
Over the next four years, I got to know Rob as an incredibly hard-working filmmaker. He wasn’t afraid to speak up, always had sharp insights, and pushed our projects further than we ever could have on our own. His attention to detail and perspective made us better writers, directors, and collaborators.
That’s the thing about Rob. He’s always been the person to raise the bar. Whether it was a scrappy student film or the work we’re doing now, he finds the nuance and makes it sharper. He’s also our resident smart ass, with that New Jersey spirit flowing deep within him.
After graduation, we went our separate ways but always stayed in each other’s orbit. So when I launched this Collective, Rob was one of the very first people I reached out to. I knew I needed his expertise in the sound department, something I have always lacked (sorry Professor Lacey, you did your best).
Anyway, enough from me. Here’s Rob:
My name is Rob Acocella and I'm the resident smart-ass/grumpy old man at Edits Etc. I also act as a sound editor, sound designer, and re-recording mixer when asked nicely.
Q: What’s a recent project you’ve worked on that felt exciting or creatively fulfilling?
A: Earlier this year I was the dialogue editor on Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror which went on to be Netflix's #1 film in America for a couple days and then stayed in the top 10 for a little over a week. That was really amazing since we truly never know what kind of splash or impact our work will have once it's out in the wild.
Additionally I'd recently worked as the sound editor on two new spinoff shows in the Fixer Upper universe. One being Mini Reni, and the newest season of Magnolia Table: At The Farm with Joanna Gaines which debuts in September.
Lastly, an indie horror feature that was years in the making, which I was the supervising sound editor, sound designer, and re-recording mixer on, called A44 just got released on Google Play and YouTube VOD. I had a team of great audio professionals working with me on that one and so I'm really proud that it's finally out. Indie projects struggle to get done, and get properly released, so it's always nice when something like that finds success.
Q: Do you have a go-to creative tool, software, or workflow hack you swear by?
A: This is such a hard question because my workflow is constantly evolving, especially as new tools come out, or I adopt new things that maybe I was a little slow to warm up to.
Lately I've been swearing my by StreamDeck. To get them to work with Pro Tools you need third party software and a slight bit of scripting/macro knowledge, but the time it saves you on regularly repetitive tasks is worth the investment into the learning curve.
I'm definitely late to the party on this one, but once I started using it, it's become as valuable as my keyboard and mouse.
Q: What’s a piece of media (film, show, music, book) that’s inspired you lately?
A: The original Daredevil series on Netflix was one of my major inspirations to pursue sound design as a career, and I'm happy to say that the recent revival Daredevil: Born Again did not disappoint, and still captured that sonic signature that gave me chills the first time around.
Maybe it's because I was currently studying audio in film school when I started watching the show, but the way they mixed certain effects, and used clever panning to emphasize how a blind man would perceive the world totally changed my impression of audio as a storytelling tool.
Q: How did you get into this line of work? What drew you to post-production (or your specialty)?
A: I actually went to film school to become a better shooter and editor, because prior to that I already had an existing career in media as a photographer and video journalist, mostly in, but not limited to, the music industry.
But while I was there I met an amazing audio professor, who I still keep in touch with to this day. His influence, combined with the inspiration I got from watching Daredevil, and my history with music, totally changed my perception of what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be.
If it wasn't for those things aligning when and where they did, I don't know what I'd be doing. I'd probably be an out-of-work DoP trying to string together an income with wedding gigs.
No disrespect to those guys, I get the hustle, but I did a few weddings and I swear I'll never do them again.
Q: When you’re not working, where can we find you?
A: That's the funny thing about being a Sole Proprietor with a Type A personality. I'm almost never not working, and all of my hobbies revolve around work. It definitely borders on a personality disorder.
When I'm not working IN my business, doing the actual tasks that make clients happy and get me paid, I'm working ON my business, trying to figure out who I can network with next, and talking shop with colleagues to share ideas, or testing new tools and plugins. I'm a little bit obsessive, but I think in this economy you have to be.
I guess one of my strictly non-work activities would be strength training.
Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: I hate talking about myself but I've got a real knack for turning everything into a joke. I'm also morbidly verbose for someone that hates talking about himself. But once you get me rambling [Editor's Note: character limit exceeded]
Q: Is there a link you want us to plug? Portfolio, Instagram, etc.?
A: My website is www.setandpost.com and you can also find me on Instagram at @setandpost - If you're the IMDb stalker type, you can find me here: www.imdb.me/robertacocella
Please also check out Scenic Fights on YouTube, I've been part of that channel since the beginning and we're nearing 1 million subs which is huge for guys that just do this part-time.
Rob Acocella (he/him) | Resident Old Man |📍New Jersey
🎬 Edits Etc. is a post-production collective built by artists, for artists. We bring stories to life with a full-service approach to editing, sound, color, and motion—always rooted in collaboration, integrity, and craft.
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