Dave Hamill - Film & TV Music Composer & Sound Mixer

I work in two fields of program production: composing music and production sound. I currently dodge between the two like a wee dodger.

What sort of stuff have you worked on recently?

Interestingly, I worked on a short film called The Clip with a rather fast moving cameraman! I worked on a 16mm short called Domestic Flight as a boom operator and I also do dailies on Casualty as 2nd boom operator. I've been very busy musically this year, most recently for Tsunami Sound, doing a pitch for a BBC1 Ident. I've also been writing tracks for two music production libraries and a title track for a new online sitcom called The Brian Jackson Show ...which should be online very soon!

Who and what most inspired you when you were younger to want to work in TV and Film Sound?

I've always been musical. Sound Recording came from my knowledge of music (and Karate for booming!). The corporate term for being good at something through another thing is ‘transferable skills", or something equally as dull. But I went to college and was lucky enough to have had a brilliant lecturer who introduced me to orchestral music, Gustav Holst's The Planets in particular, and I somehow combined that fascination with a module in Film-Scoring. From that moment on, I was determined to work in Film & TV.

What are your best and worst experiences of sound recording?

Well, lets get the worst out the way first! I was on a shoot one time as a boom op, when the Sound Recordist suddenly announced that he had to leave for something very urgent...so I was left (rather inexperienced) to record a whole scene of complex dialogue, on a wide angle lens, tracking on a dolly, ducking under a door and trying to figure the equipment out!!
On a brighter note, I had the chance to record sound on a short documentary about an arctic explorer in Greenland. The trip was exciting, dangerous and very challenging technically. It was amazing to discover all the different sounds in a place where the temperature drops below -40C, as the pack-ice creaks and screams in the distance, and the sled screeches along frozen sea-ice at speeds you couldn't imagine possible.

What do you consider the best examples of music composition/sound design in Film?

In film I believe that it isn't just one thing that makes the music or the sound design brilliant. As you'll find with many technical roles in TV and film production, knowledge can't be limited to one job; it has to cover other roles for it to function properly. Good music and sound design in film is often a combination of several successful factors.

However, music in particular has been known in the past to pull a film out of a mess, such as John Williams' score for Spielberg's Jaws. Even Spielberg admitted a large proportion of success was due to Williams' clever and frightening score!
Many of the best films I've seen don't actually have music in them - such as Michael Haneke's Caché (UK title Hidden) and many of Ingmar Bergman's, or more recently, Cristian Mungui's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

Other examples of films with great sound design include Babel and the new Batman film, The Dark Knight. But if I'm to cite a modern score which has impressed me most it would have to be Jonny Greenwood's score for There Will Be Blood.

What do you think about film courses compared to work experience for young film makers?

I personally think young people should study first. Film & Sound/Music courses are a great place to be inspired and meet life long friends. You get time to refine what it is you love about film, consider your future and have a good time along the way. It's hard work as a trainee, mentally and physically, and it might be a passion killer for some, if not most. But studying gives a good introduction and creates a passion to keep your spirits alive through the tough times.

What do you think is the future of the production side of film and television and what skills will the industry require from filmmakers in the future?

I hear a lot of people talking about how unstable the industry is at the moment, with money being spread more thinly than ever before. I've had advice from some very reputable people in the industry to have ‘something else' to fall back on as things are looking bleak, but I'm of the opinion there is always work for someone who has talent and passion. No two ways about it - someone has to do it.

Your skills must include the following: common sense, good people skills, financial control, determination and creative vision beyond what has been done before.

Is there one piece of extra advice you would give to young filmmakers?

Find out what you love about film. Then learn how to be yourself using that passion.

What are your ambitions in the industry now and who would you most like to work with next?

I'd like to record more documentary sound, as I love travelling. Musically, I strive for a feature film that warrants an experimental and original score. I don't have any particular notion to work with a single individual. Well, I did get a chance to work with Chris Munro once: shame it didn't happen! Billy Connelly would a good laugh and definitely George Fenton, who composed for the BBC Natural History epic, Planet Earth.