Ever wonder what it’d be like to take home not one, not two, but three Emmys?

46-year-old CSUSM student Luke Bisagna knows just the feeling. Known for his musical collaborations with environmental documentaries, Bisagna uses his talents to create post-production sound for Emmy-winning Palomar College Television (PCTV) documentary films Joshua Tree: Threatened Wonderland (2015), Threatened: The Controversial Struggle of the Southern Sea Otter (2013) and Larger Than Life: The Story of the Northern Elephant Seal (2013).

Bisagna worked at PCTV since 1999 but originally didn’t pursue music as a career. He earned a certificate in computer accounting and gigged as a drummer on the side, having learned to play for fun when he was 17.

The number crunching didn’t sit well, so Bisagna turned to sound design.

“The reason for the dichotomy was that I have always been both technically and creatively oriented,” Bisagna said in an email last week. “The accounting began to dominate my time, however and I could feel the creative part of myself start to wither away. So, it was time for a change.”

He broke through with the Sea Otter project.

“The team on that film was really something special and that particular mix of talent helped to take the already, compelling subject matter and turn out a pretty extraordinary piece.  I was very fortunate that our Producer/Director Bill Wisneski, put me in the sound design and mixing role.”

Bisagna said the film won Emmys ‒ the top regional awards in the television industry ‒ in each of the five categories in which it was entered.

“It was one of the best nights of my life and I think it proved to our whole team that we could continue to strive to work at higher and higher levels.”

Although Bisagna had won two Emmys by the time he enrolled in CSUSM in 2013, he said he feels as though his time here has still been influential.

“My experience at CSUSM has significantly changed my approach to sound design in an artistic sense.  I have learned to trust the intuitive process and allow myself to explore much more freely and that has, without a doubt, greatly contributed to the breadth and overall quality of my work.”

Bisagna is currently teaching at Palomar and Mt. Jacinto College and is hopeful to receive his B.A in Arts and Technology from CSUSM in Summer of 2017. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in sound design in order to pursue more opportunities. He and the Palomar TV team are currently working on a documentary about the water crisis in the Southwest.

His advice to aspiring students?

“Never give up. Always keep at it. Remember that you are constantly marketing yourself with everything you say, do and make. With every person you work with, whether that’s in class, as a freelancer on a project, or at a ‘permanent’ job, you are always making what could be a lasting impression, so it’s a good idea to make it a positive one.”

To learn more about Bisagna’s projects, visit his website at

http://www.foodogmediaworks.com