Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541592
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 69 sound, I absolutely love collaborating with re-recording mixers, but with score I found the opposite. I thoroughly enjoyed the music pre-dub, but I could not be in the final mix and I realised why music editors are so important. As a composer, when I was in the room, it felt a bit like the horror of waking up during a medical procedure and all your internal organs are sitting on display. I'd spent a longtime investing shape into details, which were then reshaped in ways I did not need or want to bear witness to. Far better to retain objectivity and attend the mix screening and provide input then. Changing tack, I couldn't talk to you without mentioning your incredible efforts to disseminate information and advice through your multiple online sites. What drives you to share so much with the sound community? There are two aspects to this, one is practical, but I think the more interesting aspect is philosophical. Practical: I live in Aotearoa, New Zealand, which is about as far away from the rest of the world as it's possible to be. I grew up with the tyranny of distance and isolation. When the internet arrived, it enabled access to everything and at first that meant access to information. But it was via blogs that human connections were made, as this was long before social media had arrived. I started my blog Music of Sound in 2006 after attending a workshop at the Berlinale Talents campus on 'Internet Marketing for Indie Films' by Peter Broderick. I didn't have a film to promote but I was keen to learn and one of his maxims was 'every creative person should have a blog!' He encouraged us to share our creative process online, with the motive being to find your tribe, that is, to connect with people who work in the same field and/or people who are interested as a potential audience. As soon as I got home, I had a friend set up WordPress on their server for me, and I started. For a while, it felt like I was shouting into an empty gymnasium, but I knew I should persevere, and it was early during sound post on 30 Days of Night (2007, Dir: David Slade) that the penny dropped. We were working toward the first temp mix. The film was set in Alaska, but it was summer in NZ and therefore, I had no access to real snow for recording. We had been experimenting using salt and ice in the Foley room and I shared a photo on my blog. That night, someone in Sweden commented that there was a big snowstorm forecast, and they would soon be inundated. As they had a recording kit, would I like them to do some recording? Within 24 hours of me sharing a photo, someone I had never met was out in the snow recording body falls, footsteps, and movement for us. That created a profound shift in my thinking. Through my blog, I could connect and collaborate with kindred spirits from all over the planet! But that opportunity only existed because of being open and sharing. Tudor Consort Choir, conducted by Ewan Clark, recording Tim's score for One Thousand Ropes (2016).