Meet Ollie, Sound Designer
This month we’re speaking with Ollie, Sound Designer extraordinaire, about his vast industry experience, from his time as a student to the present day where technology allows him to work with a range of global clients, seemlessly and efficiently, from his own studio in Hertfordshire.
Did you study a related course that enabled you to get into your field, if so, where?
I studied Visual Communication at West Herts and Ravensborne Technical Colleges. We covered all aspects of broadcast, production and post production. Trouble was, it was as technology in the industry transitioned from analogue to digital so, although it was useful to learn the industry's practices, I didn’t learn anything technologically useful until I started as a runner at a post house. Those were the really useful times, making tea and learning on state of the art equipment, showing off how creative I could be using the technology that mattered. I also developed my people skills as a runner, that’s an oft overlooked massive part of our job - being able get get on with people you’ve never met before over the period of an 8 hour job.
Can you describe your journey into sound engineering? How did you get started?
As I said, I started as a runner in the biggest post house of its time - Complete Video. They were owned by Celador Productions (Who Wants to be a Millionaire). They weren’t short of money so they had all the latest gear in editing, TK, graphics and audio. I’d stay after my runner’s shift had finished and help out in audio learning the technicalities as I went. I was fortunate as in that they said to me ‘do what you like, just don’t delete anything!’ That gave me the freedom to express myself without fear of breaking any expensive kit (except maybe the odd tweeter!) and sure enough my abilities were heard by the people that mattered. As soon as an opening came up in that department I was in, off and running.
For young aspiring sound designers, what’s the best advice you can give them to get into the industry and have success?
Learn and develop your craft, explore the possibilities you have with the technology available. Find the boundaries and push them. And never - never - be afraid to express yourself creatively. Always try what you want to try and show it without apology. Say what you really mean when working on a project. Finally, learn the technology at your disposal but remember - it should be secondary to your ideas - make it do what you want, somehow, and don’t let its apparent constraints hold you back.
How has the industry changed in your field over the years?
I started at the cross over from tape to digital, which was really useful as those old technologies are still valued and sought after today. But moving to digital, non linear audio editing and total recall for all mix parameters changed everything beyond belief. It really was a case of something magical dropping into our laps. It enabled us to try multiple routes quickly and create indefinite versions. I think people saw a digital, non destructive workflow as a time saving boon to start with, but it quickly enabled us to try lots of different things within the given time constrains of a typical session booking. On top of that, it enabled us to have multiple instances of ‘outboard’, rack-mounted audio processing equipment, such as reverbs, EQs etc. That stuff, being stand alone equipment that you had to patch out of the desk and back to the recorder was expensive. We could generally only use one reverb unit/echo unit/tape delay per job but suddenly we could have a £1000 reverb unit on every track. As time’s gone on the plug-in market has exploded and you can find one to do almost anything, and use it as many times in a job as you want. It’s really moved the boundaries of creative possibility outa sight.
What are the key elements that contribute to creating exceptional sound design?
I think if you go back to that principal of not dismissing an idea before you’ve tried you can create some beautiful things. I mean, you’ve got to be creative to start with, but it’s about taking the kernel of an idea or style and running with it. The only constraint is the time given on a job, as long as you know your equipment and are up on the technology you can try those ideas freely. It's also about being willing to listen - someone on the project usually has an idea of what they want to get from the soundtrack so it’s about taking that idea and supplying something that fulfils that brief and goes beyond, giving even those close to it something magical or impressive.That’s what I love about audio - often people know what they want, roughly, but I get to develop that into something no one was quite expecting. Detail is the other thing that makes a soundtrack pop. They say god is in the detail and I find getting the small things right helps bed a track in, attach it to the visuals and make it all the more believable, that’s when magic happens.
What is the most memorable project or moment in your career as a TV sound engineer that you are particularly proud of?
Most proud moment was beating George Michael at pool when he was producing the promo for Freedom! But in all seriousness I think it's all and any of the jobs where I’ve been able to realise not only my vision but that of the clients too. Everyone feels fulfilled and delighted with the job at that point. I think back to a series of spots we did for a technology retailer. The idea was to have one narrator over a whole host of actors in different scenarios. Not only did I have to build sound for some amazing scenes but the director and I had to overcome the logistical difficulties of having all the actors post-sync on set to the narrative. We pulled it off, to plan, and the results were fantastic.
Do you think working remotely post covid has been a positive thing?
Working remotely has only served to make the whole process more flexible and quicker. I love my work so I’m not constrained by 9-6 Monday to Friday by being remote. If I have an idea that can’t wait I can hop on to a project, day or night, and try it out. No one’s in my studio, looking at the back of my head while I try something….and sometimes wish I hadn’t bothered, but, more often than not, I'm glad I hadn’t let that spark of an idea slip away waiting for an official studio booking to come round. It's also a much more flexible way of working for clients. We can all jump in to a job with a moment's notice. People can come together, VOs very much included, from all over the world in an instant - no traveling time, no time wasted sitting in reception, no cost wasted in getting from agency to facility to another facility. With the advent of fast internet there's no depreciation in the quality of sound and picture when reviewing as opposed to sitting in studio in Soho, I think people actually concentrate more watching on a laptop they know, listening on headphones comfortable to them. I remember having a chat with a head of TV years ago, he wanted to cut down on the wasted time getting his people to ridged bookings in facilities all over town. It just wasn’t possible then - it is now, that future is here.
