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 the story, Neil plays real-world examples of Outside Broadcast sport; excerpts from classic movies and amateur YouTube filmmakers and also talks with Radius Windshields Managing Director Simon Davies as well as the owner and MD of plastic injection moulding company Elbmar Limited, Keven Rich and the Oscar-winning feature film Production Sound Mixer - and enthusiastic Radius Windshields user - Simon Hayes.

About the presenters:

You can find more about Simon Hayes’ work here
The Radius Windshield site is here

Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at:
https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:

Written, produced and presented by Dr. Neil Hillman – IMDb
Programme edited and mixed by Dr. Neil Hillman on DaVinci Resolve v20. Recorded on location by Neil using a Sound Devices 664 recorder, with Sennheiser 416 and Sanken COS-11 microphones.

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

Content:
02:39 – 03:25 The Bicycle Thieves, (1948), Dir. Vittorio De Sica

04:25 – 06:24 On the Waterfront, (1954), Dir. Elia Kazan

06:57 – 07:42 Breathless, (1960), Dir. Jean Luc Goddard

09:55 – 11:58 The Conversation, (1970), Dir. Francis Ford-Coppola

19:48 – 21:28 Les Misérables, (2012), Dir. Tom Hooper

27:52 – 28:50 @MakingParadiseinVA, YouTube channel (2023)

51:57 – 52:25 Wimbledon, Men’s Singles Final 2024, Alcaraz v Djokovic

52:30 – 52:38 FIFA World Cup, South Africa 2010

53:41 – 54:21 Sydney 2000 Olympics, Men’s-8 Rowing Final

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 currently serves as the Secretary for both the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology and World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.

This is a wide ranging interview discussing the history of Soundscape Ecology, as defined by the work of R Murray Schafer and the World Soundscape Project, starting in the 1970’s, through to the present day scientific use of sound for bioacoustic research of natural environments.

About the presenters:
You can find more about Jesse and his work here: https://www.jesse-budel.com/about
Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here: https://www.audiosuite.co.uk/
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at:
https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Further reading and links:

• The World Soundscape Project: https://www.sfu.ca/~truax/wsp.html
• Principles of Soundscape Ecology: Discovering Our Sonic World by Bryan C. Pijanowski: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo187218508.html
• The Australian Acoustic Observatory: https://acousticobservatory.org/
• SPAT Revolution: https://www.flux.audio/project/spat-revolution/

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman
Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system
Programme edited by Jason Nicholas

See Dr Budel’s Bandcamp page for a selection of his compositions here: https://jessebudel.bandcamp.com/

The final piece that ends the podcast is a clip from “Early Afternoon on the Mountain” from the Cathedrals album.

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. “Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing”, where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

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 with John Taylor’s wife and creative partner Jean Taylor, their two successful musician sons Christopher and Richard Taylor, and Birmingham popular music academic, Jez Collins, from the Birmingham Music Archive.

About the presenters:
You can find more about Chris Taylor’s work here

You can find more about Richard Taylor’s work here

The Birmingham Music Archive is here

Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Dr. Neil Hillman – IMDb
Programme edited and mixed by Dr. Neil Hillman on DaVinci Resolve.

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. “Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing”, where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

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 current, sometimes bruising, climate of the film and television industry.

*The Clarity and Essence reports referred to in this podcast are available to download here

About the presenters:
You can find more about Michelle and her work here
Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at:
https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb
Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system
Programme edited by Jason Nicholas

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. “Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticising”, where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research.
In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

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 for synthesisers.

About the presenters:
You can find more about David and his work here
Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at:
https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb
Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system
Programme edited by Jason Nicholas

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. “Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticising”, where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research.

In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

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 here
Josh Winslade on IMDb
Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here
Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at:
https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb
Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system
Programme edited by Jason Nicholas

YouTube fair use disclaimer:
Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the ‘fair use’ guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. “Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing”, where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research.

In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

Dr Mark Deeks is someone who likes to challenge our assumptions about music, and in particular Heavy Metal, which he suggests has more than a passing resemblance to folk music (as someone with a Ph.D. from researching Heavy Metal music, he’s able to say). But not only is he a Heavy Metal performer with his band Winterfylleth and as a solo artist, he’s also a piano teacher, a musical director for various professional artists, as well as a conductor for ensembles as diverse as workplace choirs and the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Mark’s passion is helping people to understand the important role that music can play in mental wellbeing; and his workshops and seminars on subjects surrounding the use of music to improve mental health and reduce stress are hugely popular. In this interview, Marks speaks candidly about his own experience of trauma; coming to terms with the loss of a child, and the role that music played in his recovery. This is an unusual and remarkable interview that may very well change your life.

About the presenters:
Mark’s website is here (https://markdeeksmusic.com/)

Details about Neil and Jason’s work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here (https://www.theaudiosuite.com)

Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com

Technical notes:
Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb
Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system
Programme edited and mixed by Jason Nicholas