SAE University College is delighted to announce, The Makers Series; a brand-new keynote series inviting industry experts to share their stories with the nation’s budding creatives at SAE.
The series will give SAE students an inside look into what makes great ‘makers’ tick, kicking off with From Sound to Screen; a live conversation between Emmy-award-winning Sound and Dialogue Editor Martin Kwok and ABC presenter Namila Benson.
The inaugural event on Wednesday 27 November will exclusively be open to SAE University College students in person and online, with registration essential for attendance.
Blockbuster career
Martin comes with an impressive list of credits to his name, most recently Dune II, The Beatles: Get Back (for which he picked up his Emmy), and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings franchise.
He promises to share unique insights into the world of professional sound design and production, sharing his expertise in creating immersive sonic landscapes from The Lord of the Rings to the more recent Dune II.
- Martin Kwok
Also on the agenda will be a discussion of the advanced developments in sound technology Martin has helped pioneer.
“On The Beatles: Get Back, we developed groundbreaking machine learning AI for audio source separation,” he reveals.
“Some of this technology is already commonplace five years later, but at the time, there was nothing remotely close on the commercial market available.”
The art of… the interview
Host Namila Benson will bring her signature interviewing style to the event, hoping to inspire students who see themselves following a path into broadcast or the silver screen.
“My craft is storytelling, and curiosity is at the heart of what I do,” she said.
“When it comes to shaping a conversation, exploring the ‘why’ in a person’s story tends to bring out the best in people.”
Namila said Martin’s unique journey fascinates her and will be something she will ask him to dive into.
“How does a humble kid from Wellington (Aotearoa) end up winning an Emmy? That’s wild!” she said.
“I’m very curious about his roles as a supervising dialogue editor and what that actually entails, getting a peek into a day in the life at Park Road Post alongside Sir Peter Jackson.”
Kwok said he still draws on the same skillset he built as a teenager throwing warehouse parties in Wellington.
“Work ethic, continuing to keep my ears open to new things and maintaining a sense of passion in what you do and believe in – all of those things are connections between my teenage beginnings in DJ culture, warehouse parties and radio shows and what has inadvertently turned into a career in film,” he said.
Martin said he planned to share valuable tips for success in the industry with students.
“Being a maker in the creative world is all about the process and my main advice is to take the ‘wax on, wax off’ approach,” he said.
“There’s no substitute for putting in the work, even when it doesn’t feel ultimately creative… it’s all about building blocks and teamwork.”
Namila said the event will be a unique opportunity for students to learn from one of the industry’s brightest.
- Namila Benson
For registration details and more information about The Makers Series, visit SAE University College’s website: https://sae.edu.au/makers-series/
