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AMPS Newsletter February 2014
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Welcome to the AMPS Newsletter
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Hi, welcome to the first issue of the AMPS Newsletter. This is our new vehicle for distributing news, articles and information to members, so we would very much welcome your input on what you would like to see covered - don't be afraid to let us know.
This month we are also very pleased to welcome three new full AMPS Members -
Ric Perrin, Oliver Tarney and Kian McClure.
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Gravity Crew Wins AMPS Award for Excellence in Sound
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AMPS is extremely happy to announce that Chris Munro, Glenn Freemantle and Skip Lievsay have won the inaugural AMPS ‘Award for Excellence in the Craft of Sound for a Feature Film’ for their work on Gravity.
Glenn Freemantle commented, " What an honour to be awarded the first AMPS Award for Excellence in the Craft of Sound for a Feature Film. This was a great film to work on and with both Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, knowing the importance of sound and making it a priority, it allowed us the creativity and also the time to get Gravity sounding as it did. I have a great sound crew and this award is for all of us."
Long-time AMPS Sustaining Member, Dolby Laboratories acted as headline sponsor for this year's award. Guy Hawley, Senior Director, Cinema Sales and Services from Dolby commented, “We collaborated with the AMPS Awards to bring together the very best talent in cinema. This celebrates all of the nominees’ outstanding achievements and is a world-class showcase of their dedication to making entertainment sound its best."
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Who's doing what, where and more interestingly… how?
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John Rodda is a Production Mixer with more than 30 years experience working in Feature Films, Television Drama and Commercials all around the world. He kicks off this series explaining how he eventually resolved a very 'sticky' situation!
"Wheels, clagged in mud, jammed up and were useless! By the time we'd shot for 116 days I decided that, if I was to do anything like this again, I had to find a better way to get around in conditions like these."
We want to hear the stories of how you overcame your problems on set. Please email them to newsletter@amps.net |
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AMPS Member Selected for Sarah Putts Trainee Scheme
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AMPS assistant member Josh Ward has been successfully selected for Sara Putts Trainee Scheme 2014. The scheme mentors trainees over the course of 6 months, offering
advice sessions, workshops and access to the agencies production lists and information. Entrants were put
through a written application and then interview process to
join the scheme.
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Josh commented, "The scheme will be a great opportunity for me to work with new mixers and sound departments. Although the scheme does not directly place me, I am confident their network of contacts and reputation will provide excellent chances to further my knowledge and experience." AMPS will catch up later in the year to see how he gets on. Click on the logo to discover more information on the trainee scheme.
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Did you know that the Directory pages on the AMPS website are some of the most frequently visited?
Make sure that your profile is up to date - you never know where your next work enquiry will come from!
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The BBC Academy is to present a series of events around the UK to raise awareness of loudness and audibility issues in TV sound amongst BBC staff, indies, freelancers and external suppliers.
The Sound Matters events are being held with the assistance of Creative Skillset, IABM, IPS and UK Screen Association and will offer two tracks: one aimed at producers and the other at creative technical operators.
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Each event will feature masterclasses from experienced and renowned audio professionals from both the production sound and post production communities. The events will be launched by a keynote speech from Danny Cohen, Director of BBC TV, who will emphasise the importance of delivering good sound to the TV audience.
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Can we help with your Professional Development?
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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.
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Joe Dunton & The Making of 'Dance Craze'
Regarded in the UK and US film industries as a camera and sound expert, Joe Dunton championed some of the film industry’s key developments including the development of film and video cameras and lenses that changed film making.
He has been associated with some of the most well known directors including the late Stanley Kubrick and the late Oswald Morris. Dunton developed many cutting edge firsts during the making of Dance Craze which are now taken for granted - like having cameras on stage and not in the audience. Dance Craze was also one of the first films recorded with Dolby sound.
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Dance Craze was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film about Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. At the urging of his son who was a ska fan, Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement. He then tapped Dunton to help him. The film which was shot in 1980 captured Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, The Beat and Bad Manners on tour throughout the UK and US. A soundtrack album of the same name was released that year (and reached #5 in the UK album charts), featuring fifteen songs from the film.
2 Tone Blogger Marco on the Bass recently put together a 'Behind the Scenes' article for his Blogspot which includes extracts from an interview with Joe highlighting some of the complexities of making Dance Craze.
"I ended up with a contract that offered me 10% of the movie
and then – as in those days - I got a telex from Chrysalis
Records to say it was 1%. I told them they had left the “0” off:
no, no, they said we have done a new deal!"
There's also some YouTube links featuring interviews, outtakes and the entire Dance Craze film.
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Showcasing the latest products and services available to the film and tv production industry, AMPS recently exhibited at the BSC Expo at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.
Pictured - Brian Simmons (left) and Richard Manton manfully… er, manning the AMPS stand!
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Two AMPS Members, Raoul Brand and Ania Przygoda are listed as nominees for their work on 'First Light' and 'The Magnificent Lion Boy' respectively in the 'Verna Fields Award in Sound Editing for Student Filmmakers' at this year's MPSE Golden Reel Awards.
A further notable achievement is that six of the seven Verna Fields nominees study at NFTS (an AMPS Sustaining Member), whilst another NFTS graduate film 'Sleeping with Fishes' has a BAFTA nomination in the British Short Film & British Short Animation category.
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AMPS AGM
16 February at the NFTS Beaconsfield Studios
Coffee and registration 10.30am, meeting starts at 11.00am followed by Sustaining Members show and buffet lunch.
BFI National Archive Tour
20 February at BFI National Archive , Berkampsted, Herts.
This is a bit of a teaser as all the places are fully booked! But, you can go on the waiting list by clicking here.
BVE 2014
25, 26 & 27 February at the ExCel Centre, London
We expect to have a joint stand with BKSTS and IPS.
… and finally, on the first Tuesday of every month
Make sure that you attend the AMPS Social at the De Lane Lea bar in Dean Street - be social with your AMPS members! Next event Tuesday 4 February.
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AMPS, 28 Knox Street, London, W1H 1FS
www.amps.net / +44 (0)20 7723 6727
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