This month - Arrival wins AMPS Film Sound Award, report on AGM, John Rudling receives Fellowship, Rob Edwards awarded Pro Tools licence through AMPS Mentor Scheme, AMPS members win CAS award for fourth time, 'Excellence in Sound' award update, AMPS TV Drama timeline, new member Matt Hughes, Mumblegate rumbles on, Reel Angels launch online community, Loud Places and Liquid Mountains.

 

Marco Polo 2014 - Image courtesy of John Rodda

 

Andrew Wilson reports, "Very pleased with AMPS 'Social' progress across the UK. If anyone elsewhere in the country would like to get something going in their region please let me know and I’ll get you started. I’ll do the admin and emails, we just need someone local to host!"

 

Contact Andrew - andrewwilson@amps.net

 

All events are open to AMPS members and guests. They are a great chance to put faces to names, to network and to chat. It’s a rare opportunity for production sound and post sound folk to get together… plus there’s beer and food!

 

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28 Feb - 2 March 2017

ExCel Centre, London,

AMPS is extremely happy to confirm that the Arrival sound crew are winners of the 4th annual 'AMPS Award for Excellence in Sound for a Feature Film'.

 

AMPS took advantage of the team making a brief stop in London for the BAFTAs and hastily arranged our presentation. There was not enough time to organise a grand event, but at short notice a group of AMPS members met Sylvain Bellemare, Claude La Haye, Bernard Gariépy Strobl in the Bassoon bar at the Corinthia Hotel.

 

Our chairman Paul Davies was able to congratulate them in person and
present the coveted bronze trophies. Bernard Gariépy Strobl, the Re-Recording Mixer said, " It's a pleasure and an honour to be recognised by this beautiful group." All the winners paid tribute to the other creative contributors in the team and their collaborative relationship with the director. After being joined by Olivier Calvert, the Sound Designer for the alien-shell vessel, the team were interviewed by Stuart Wilson and Laura Lovejoy which revealed some interesting insights into the original recording and post production of the excellent Arrival soundtrack.

 

We then raised a glass or two to celebrate their win and wished them further success in the BAFTAs and Oscars.

 

The interview recording will soon be available on the AMPS website.

AMPS Chairman, Paul Davies reports, "AMPS held its AGM for 2017 on the 19th February. The well attended meeting was hosted in the spacious premises of University Technical College in Borehamwood. After coffee we started promptly with a brief EGM, where a vote was taken on various constitutional amendments which were proposed and passed.

The AGM proper kicked off with eight new and returning members of council confirmed and elected for eight vacancies. As they were the sole nominations, a hope was expressed that there would be more members in the future willing to stand for Council.

Clive Derbyshire Hon. Treasurer presented the financial report confirming that the finances of the association were in good health and he assured members that the figures would be easier to decipher next year as AMPS moves to having a single bank account.

John Rudling presented the Membership Secretary's report stating that the association’s membership had remained stable over the past year.

I presented the Chair's report detailing various events, activities and sponsorships that the association had engaged in, concluding with a plea for more members to become more involved in AMPS activities in any way that they could.

There was a proposal from the floor that Council seriously consider raising subs next year, so that AMPS would have more resources to broaden its range of activities; this motion was passed overwhelmingly.

A good lunch was served, afterwhich members were able to attend a well-organised and attended Sustaining Members show - and to catch up with old friends and colleagues over a drink."

 

Ambient, Audio Limited, Everything Audio, Rycote, Zoom, Richmond Films, Giant Sound (Aaton) & Colin Broad (CB Electronics) displayed at the Sustaining Members' Show whilst VW Commercial, Hearing Dogs for the Blind and WPA represented AMPS' Benefit Providers.

Rob commented, "I would like to say thank you to the AMPS Council and Shelly Jones for the fantastic organisation of the AMPS AGM meeting held at Elstree University Technical College on Sunday the 19th of February 2017.

 

The meeting was highly informative and I was very impressed with the Sustaining Members exhibition and wonderful catering supplied by the college adding to the overall success of the day. A big thank you also for the decision to award a Pro Tools licence for my involvement with the AMPS mentoring scheme, where I have been under the guidance of Andrew Wilson at Real World Studios.

 

The mentoring scheme has allowed me to be able to broaden my audio post production skill-set within a professional environment. I would strongly recommend the scheme and for anyone interested to make the most of this fantastic opportunity on offer. A great day indeed!"

AMPS members Ronan Hill and Richard Dyer have received their fourth consecutive Cinema Audio Society Award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing', for their work on Game of Thrones Battle of the Bastards season 6.

Last September they picked up an Emmy for the same episode.

 

Congratulations, once again to Ronan and Richard.

AMPS Awards for 'Excellence in Sound' are now in their fourth year, and are gathering recognition and respect in the industry internationally.

The aim of the awards is to promote the creative craft of Sound for Film and Television. We conduct our ballots and announce our results ahead of both the BAFTAs and Oscars. We hope this will influence all the 'non-sound' voting members of these organisations, who may take notice of the decisions made by Sound Professionals when casting their votes. So far we are having reasonable success!

The prestigious cast bronze trophies are presented to the Heads of Department, all Nominees receive a certificate, and we issue 'Certificates of Merit' to crew members of the winning title who have creatively contributed to the soundtrack. As we grow, it is intended to extend the scope to include more awards and further categories.

Last year we arranged for AMPS voting members to be included on the lists for invitations to awards screenings and hope to include digital screeners in the future. We are also working to get AMPS Awards included in the IMDb listings. All this will take time, but we are making steady progress.

An AMPS Sound Award is very special, it reflects the appreciation shown by Sound Professionals - your peers, who know what to listen for. The most successful soundtracks fully immerse the audience and support the narrative storytelling whilst reinforcing the emotional content. A powerful element that requires creative, intelligent and imaginative input from talented sound teams.

An AMPS Award for Excellence should be the pinnacle of aspiration for all practicing members of our association, whilst collecting Certificates of Merit and Nominations on the way up.

The suggestion list for eligible Television Drama titles is open to all voting members. The closing date for your suggestions is 1st March. Spread the word. Support the Awards. Use your vote! It will enhance the respect and recognition your creative professionalism deserves.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about AMPS Awards, please address them to admin@amps.net - your input is welcome.

Film awards are sponsored by Dolby Laboratories.
Television awards are sponsored by Twickenham Studios and Goldcrest.

 

Graham Hartsone

 

Make sure that you get your TV Drama Award suggestions in before March 2 here - Click here for TV Eligible List Suggestion Form.

 

March 1  - 23.59hrs. Closing date for Television Drama Award suggestions.

March 3 - Nomination Ballot opens.

March 13 - 18.00 hrs. Nomination Ballot closes.

March 14 - Nominations announced.

March 15 - Final Ballot opens.

April 7  - 18.00 hrs. Final Ballot closes.

April 8 - Winner announced.

I am very much looking forward to starting on new projects and learning from the best in the industry.

 

 

** If you are a new AMPS member and would like to feature in the Newsletter, please send a short bio and photo to newsletter@amps.net. **

Flatscreen TVs, actors or realism: what’s to blame for SS-GB’s mumbling problem?

The BBC’s Nazi thriller is the latest primetime drama to be beset by hard-to-hear dialogue. AMPS member Simon Clarke explains what's going on.

 

 

Reel Angels have recently launched ‘RA: NETWORK’: An inclusive and supportive online community for women in the industry - it is now live and free!

Loud Places captures three iconic venues in their current state - venturing inside a restaurant, a gym and a vaudeville theatre to explore the addresses that were once home to live music.

 

When you think of the Great Lakes, you may not picture towering 30-foot waves. But Dave Sandford knows better.

 

Click on image above to watch a short YouTube video.

AMPS has been running a Mentor Scheme for a number of years; we currently have a number of Members waiting for mentors.

If you think you can spare a couple of hours a month and would like to pass on your experience and knowledge to someone just starting out in the industry then please send an email the address below and we will send you an information pack about the AMPS Mentor Scheme.

We are particularly looking for Production Sound Mixers who are London based to mentor students based at the NFTS, Beaconsfield.

 

We're keen to hear from you with ideas for seminars and training sessions which would contribute towards Continuing Professional Development.

 

We're very aware that keeping up with techniques and updates can be a full time job in itself, so if there's any way that AMPS can contribute towards maintaining and developing your industry knowledge and skills, please get in touch.

 

Please send your thoughts to admin@amps.net.

 

Also, have a look at Creative Skillset's website which contains career advice.

27 Old Gloucester Street

London

WC1N 3AX

Tel: +44 (0)1753 669111

 

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AMPS, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX

www.amps.net / +44 (0)1753 669111