I’ve been working with technology and had a passion for sound from an early age. Studying Electronic Engineering at Rolls Royce, specialising in Electronics with Music Technology, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics at the University of York, I joined Dolby Laboratories and as senior sound consultant in 1997, providing technical and creative support to the international motion picture industry. I’ve worked with many first-time productions and independent film makers throughout post production and have worked on over 1,000 films in over 100 film studios, cinemas and film laboratories worldwide. I have gained a fantastic engineering background with a focus toward sound for film, understanding how sound behaves in the studio and how we perceive sound in the cinema,
Over the past 27 years, I’ve worked with all the major studios including Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros; I’ve toured Scandinavia with Baz Lurhmann; provided technical sound support at the Cannes Film Festival; completed the first Dolby Digital mix in Czech Republic and Egypt; provided consultancy services for new studios in many territories, including Thailand, Turkey and Scandinavia and I’ve had the pleasure of completing work for George Lucas (The Phantom Menace – Royal Premier), Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd – private screenings at Warner UK for Tim and composer), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – private screening at Warner UK for Tim and animators) and Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes The Barley – World Premier, Cork, Ireland).
In 2009 I set-up my own production and post production company, Dreambase Studios and in 2011, directed and produced the charity music video – Wake Me Up When September Ends to raise money for military charities.
Since 2015, I am a full ‘voting’ member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the BAFTA Crew, a year-long professional development programme of live and online masterclasses with BAFTA-nominees for crew based outside London. Over the years I have been part of professional bodies such as the Association of Motion Picture Sound (A.M.P.S), a voting member of the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and on multiple juries including the The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) Student Film Festival.
In 2013 I started my film production company Bad Blood Films, the British Blumhouse, developing a slate of horror features. In 2019 I produced my first British horror feature Sacrilege with award-winning writer/director David Creed.
I continue to provide international film sound consultancy services to studios, cinemas and film schools worldwide, offering a range of film sound consultancy services including; studio/cinema specification, installation and alignment, measurement of studio/cinema acoustics, sound mentoring, lecturing, international training and sound post production/supervision, specialising in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound mixing for film. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
A full credit listing can be found here on my IMDb page and if you would like to link up with me, then please email mark@filmsoundconsultant.com or visit my LinkedIn page. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and passion for film sound, working with you to achieve high quality monitoring, a controlled and calibrated environment for your mix, creating great sound for your project.
“Sound is often overlooked, being the last element in the production chain, but will most certainly have more than a 50% effect on your film. Great sound is often transparent to the audience, however this requires an understanding of film sound to achieve intelligible dialogue, believable atmos that describes the environment and a dynamic mix to add suspense to the film. It’s important to mix for your intended platform – theatrical release, tv, gaming, mobile or the web. This can have a huge impact on the quality and perception of your content. It is paramount that you start with good sound source, freeing up time to be creative in post. It is also important to work in a controlled environment, a reference for your mix is critical to the final result. If your monitoring is incorrect, then your mix isn’t going to translate into the cinema” – Mark Kenna B.Eng