#019 Jonathan Glazier: the heavy lifting behind light entertainment
The Apple and Biscuit Show
Jonathan Glazier is one of the television industry’s leading lights in television Light Entertainment. Over a 40-year career, Jonathan has directed and produced some of the most popular TV shows, such as ‘Stars in Their Eyes’, ‘Gladiators’, ‘The Weakest Link’ and ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ (and he has the awards to prove it). He has the rare experience of firstly consulting to, and then leading, one of the BBC’s most historically significant and influential departments as the Editor of BBC Light Entertainment and International Formats. Today, he works with global clients as...
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#018 Mark Franken: On designing the tools that re-conformed an entire industry
The Apple and Biscuit Show
Mark Franken is the double Emmy-winning creator of the sound editing software tools EdiCue, EdiLoad and EdiPrompt; products that since their inception in 2007, have come to be indispensable to dialogue editors, supervising sound editors, ADR recordists and re-recording mixers working in the sound for moving pictures sector. They are now the industry standard protocols for the organisation, exchange and delivery of post-production audio for film and television. With their time-saving capabilities, it’s also fair to say that they have had a significant impact on the ability of streaming...
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#017 Dr. Iain McGregor: Why hearing means feeling–designing sound for the real world
The Apple and Biscuit Show
Dr Iain McGregor is an Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, specialising in interactive media design and auditory perception research. His PhD in soundscape mapping examined how sound designers’ expectations compare with listeners’ experiences. With over 30 years of experience, he has worked across film, video games, theatre, radio, television, mixed reality, robotics, and auditory displays, exploring soundscapes, sonification, and human interaction. His patent Evaluation of Auditory Capabilities (WO2024041821A1) informs accessibility, user experience design, and...
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#016 From Edgar Wallace to Wallace and Gromit–A Grand Day Out at the National Film and Television School
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In the last of his mini-series of three documentaries recorded on a recent trip to the UK, Neil visits the home of the National Film and Television School at the historic Beaconsfield Film Studios in Buckinghamshire. On his visit, he is given unprecedented access to the workspaces, students, lecturers and visiting professionals that make NFTS such a unique establishment. Neil talks to Stephen Holdsworth, NFTS Chief Engineer about the history of the site; Guy Hake, Senior Lecturer on the Sound Design Masters course and Sound Design Masters student Tom Bosher; and BAFTA and Academy...
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#015 Dead Cats and Fish Poles—The Story of the Basket Windshield
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this documentary, Neil looks at the emergence of location sound recording for cinema and one of the significant technological developments that enabled this. Starting with the Italian neorealism movement of the late 1940’s, the desire for dialogue authenticity gained hold in 1950’s Hollywood films. This and the artistic truth of French New Wave filmmaking in the 1960’s led to the indispensability of the location sound recordist by the 1970’s and one of their important needs was met by the invention and refinement of the now-familiar microphone basket windshield. To help tell...
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#014 Acoustic Ecology with Dr Jesse Budel
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this episode Neil and Jason speak with Dr Jesse Budel, a composer-performer, sound artist, academic and arts entrepreneur based in South Australia. As a composer, his works are for diverse media and spaces, ranging from concert works and installations to community and interdisciplinary collaborations. Jesse’s PhD research at the Elder Conservatorium of Music focussed on adapting soundscape ecology to creative process, resulting in a body of works responding to South Australian ecosystems and soundscapes. As an emerging member of the Acoustic Ecology and Ecoacoustic communities, Jesse...
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#013 Blast-off from Birmingham – The Story of Grosvenor Road Studios
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this documentary, Neil travels back to his home town of Birmingham to learn more about what he considers to be the city’s best kept cultural secret – Grosvenor Road Studios: the family-run sound facility that came to be known as ‘Birmingham’s Abbey Road’. Still in operation today, the studios were founded 80 years ago by John Taylor, and his business partner Charles Hollick, to record music - which they did prolifically; as well as expanding into creating soundtracks and recording dialogue for iconic television series’ and blockbuster movies. To help reveal the story, Neil talks...
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#012 Reading others, understanding ourselves – Michelle Mills-Porter
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this episode, Neil and Jason talk to behaviour analyst Michelle Mills-Porter, about the challenges faced by creatives: particularly freelancers who work in ad-hoc teams and find themselves having to adapt to others' behaviour. Through understanding our own driving forces, Michelle explains how we can realise the powerful potential within us all to reap the rewards of our own unique, valuable, and often transferrable, skills. Michelle is a compelling speaker, with an equally compelling back-story; it's one that gives hope to anyone finding themselves questioning their own worth in the...
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#011 Dreamcatcher – composer David Lowe on ambition, hope and phenomenal success
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this episode, Neil and Jason talk to the prolific British composer David Lowe about his rise to success and his musical milestones along the way—from work experience at BBC Radio Birmingham to composing the BBC theme that has heralded the corporation’s global news output for more than 25 years. With familiar theme tunes for internationally syndicated TV programmes such as ‘Grand Designs’ and ‘5th Gear’, unforgettable commercials for British Airways and DHL, and even a number one in the indie chart, it’s all been a dream come true for a Sutton Coldfield schoolboy with a passion...
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#010 (Pt. 2) The devil in the detail – Simon Hayes and Josh Winslade on recording live vocals for Wicked
The Apple and Biscuit Show
In this episode (Part 2 of 2) Neil and Jason talk in-depth and ‘totally technical’ about the musical Wicked with the Oscar-winning Production Sound Mixer Simon Hayes and on set music editor Josh Winslade. We discuss the creative decisions behind Simon’s sound recording strategy, his timing and justification for switching to digital radio mics and the low-down on how a great relationship with the Visual Effects supervisor is so important in the quest for capturing the best possible performance from artists on set. About the presenters: You can find more about Simon and his work ...
info_outlineIn this episode, Neil and Jason talk to emerging Australian sound designer Andrew Dean about his work, in particular the award-winning films ‘Mud Crab’ (written and directed by David Robinson-Smith), ‘Gorgo’ (directed by Veniamin Gialouris) and the forthcoming feature film ‘Salt Along the Tongue’, (directed by Parish Malfitano), that Andrew sound designed and mixed.
Andrew describes his journey from working in a Bathurst multi-screen cinema, then studying for a music degree, moving from recording studios to mixing television shows for SBS, and then studying sound design at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Andrew graduated from their Masters programme in 2022 and has subsequently pursued several creative endeavours with AFTRS alumni.
About the presenters:
Andrew Dean -
Web: https://www.andrewdeansound.com
Films:
‘Mud Crab’, (2022), available at: https://youtu.be/hclZdRKflNw?feature=shared
‘Gorgo’, (2023), trailer available at: https://vimeo.com/905788706
Neil and Jason -
Details of Neil’s 1-to-1 and Coaching Programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at https://www.drneilhillman.com and at https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching
Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers is here: https://www.theaudiosuite.com
AFTRS:
Learn more about The Australian Film Television and Radio School here: https://www.aftrs.edu.au
Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman
Recorded using the Squadcast remote recording system
Programme edited by Jason Nicholas