Cuppa with UNIT’s Creative Director of Sound Jamie Thomas

Q> What inspires you and drives you as a creative director of sound?

Jamie> The world around us really. I’m constantly learning new things about sound just by listening every day. I might hear something on the journey to work that gives me an idea about a sound effect - essentially always being open to inspiration even from the most mundane of places. What drives me is the desire to always do better and to keep learning, I’ll retire the day I stop learning!! 

Q> How is it heading up the UNIT Sound department?

Jamie> Great!! I love it. I get to collaborate with people on a daily basis and I love the problem solving aspect of it - really trying to get the best results for clients, even if the budgets are sometimes constraining! I’ve got a real vision of where I’d like the company to go and I’m lucky that I get the opportunity to try and make that happen.

Q> What is involved in sound design / composition? 

Jamie> What isn’t involved, more like!! Where do I begin? I’ll answer this in a more abstract way. I think, first and foremost, PASSION - there’s no point in doing anything unless you’re passionate about it. I don’t think I’ve met any contemporaries who aren’t extremely into what they do sound wise. In fact it can get quite boring for the average joe if they happen to be  out having a drink with a group of ‘soundies’ - be prepared for the conversation to focus solely on sound related topics!! Secondly, having a clear idea of what you want to do with the project - there’s no point just seeing what sticks - it’s great to experiment (indeed, that’s where a lot of happy accidents happen), but you need to have an idea of the sound / emotion that you’re trying to create. I say emotion as well because obviously sound / music has the potential to steer the audience in terms of how they should feel at certain points in the picture. 

Lastly - being sympathetic. You have to take everything into account when designing sound /  music for picture. Everyone wants their efforts to be ‘front and centre’ - we’re all guilty of doing (what we think) is a great sfx / sound design pass on a project only for the director to pare it all back. There are other elements at play and you have to make sure the piece you’re working on gels as a whole - so try to think of the whole picture, not just the sound. 

Q> What first inspired you to get into this career?

Jamie> A lack of love for anything else - seriously, nothing else gave me the feeling that I get when I start work on a project for a client. Daunting at times, yes, but also very rewarding. 

Q> Whose creative work do you admire most?

Jamie> The list is too long but some musical scores have stuck out to me recently so : 

• Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow - Annihilation / DEVS / Ex-Machina / Civil War.
• Johnny Greenwood - You Were Never Really Here / There Will Be Blood.
• Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans - The OA / TheOutsider / Ozark.
• Oneohtrix Point Never - Good Time (soundtrack more than a score but still conveys the craziness and tension of that film).
• Nathan Micay for his work on Industry.

Q> What are you watching / reading / listening to right now? 

Jamie> 

TV:

• Industry (kinda like a cross between Succession and Skins but banking, shouldn’t work but it really does!!).

Film:

• I really need to go and see Folie A Deux. Watched Civil War recently as well, Alex Garland doing a ‘road movie’ - but not your average one, obviously. (Also Zone of Interest - just because Jonny Burn and the team at Wave are VERY good at what they do).

Reading:

• Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson - just epic SciFi and very thought provoking. Will be reading 2312 afterwards as well. 

Listening to:

• Overmono (just wow). 
• Nilufer Yanya - British singer with her own sound.
• FCUKERS - BAGGY$$ (album).
• Mandy Indiana - sounds like Alt Rock cavern based techno - and I’m here for it!!
• Laurent Garnier - 33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont - such a great album…and I’m also very excited he’s playing Fabric soon.

It’s really bad, I tend to listen to stuff to death and then get sick of it and move onto something else.