Liam James

How long have you been in the industry and how did you get started?

I moved to Invercargill in 2011 to study audio production at the Southern Institute of Technology. This was mostly based around studio and live sound recording for bands and acoustic environments, only briefly touching on film sound. While studying, a friend in the digital media course asked if I’d be interested in doing sound for his short film. I thought I’d give it a go and ended up really loving it. Since then I’ve worked on multiple short films both freebies and paid work in field-recording and post-production.

Why did you choose film/TV as a career?

I think it’s more that it chose me. The pace of work and lifestyle that comes with it suits my personality perfectly. Every experience has brought its own challenges, both creatively and technically and I’ve left every set with a tonne of knowledge and the drive to learn more. It really seems like an industry where you can move forward to something new and exciting throughout your entire career.

What has working experience taught you that study didn’t?

Study is what gave me the thirst for the industry but working experience has taught me how the industry really works. With study, everything is at arm’s reach and I don’t think it is as accurate as it could be at representing what the real world is like. Every project, crew, equipment, and environment can be completely different from the previous experience so being able to adapt to the demands of each project was the biggest challenge. Who you know is also a big part of the industry so making and keeping contacts is vital to the survival in the industry.

Are you able to make a living in the industry? Do you work outside of it at all?

I currently work full-time in Dunedin as a live sound engineer. This job requires the large majority of my time but I work on film projects when I get the chance to. Although it isn’t the film industry, I can’t put a value on the knowledge in equipment and theory to practice in differing acoustic environments, which I’m able to apply in my spare time to field-recording and post-production. Eventually, I’d like to be able to be full time in the industry, but the experience I’m getting will definitely help me enter as a more competent member of a crew.

What have you learnt about your department as a whole? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your department?

I find that in many projects I’ve worked on that sound is often overlooked until it’s too late to achieve the best result. This may not always be the case but I believe sound should be involved right from the screenplay as it is such a huge part of a film. On set, I find I often don’t have enough time to get the perfect audio take, where if I did it could save a huge amount of time in post. I have yet to work with another dedicated soundie on set so still think there are many things I still have to learn about my role and department. Besides this, sound is a great department to work in and gets you involved in many of the other departments and people throughout the entire project.

How easy or hard is it as a newbie in the industry? What are attitudes of other crew like to you?

Many projects I’ve worked on have been entirely made up by newbies. These were the most challenging as they lacked the direction or drive needed and at times felt lost. They were also the biggest learning curves along the way and taught everyone the ins and outs of the politics involved with being on set. I’ve really enjoyed working with professionals in the industry, most of which are filled with knowledge and experience, so there’s always a chance to learn every time you interact with them, even when they’re yelling at you when your boom is in shot. I go into every project assuming that anyone and everyone on set will know something I don’t, so treating everyone with respect makes any project more rewarding.

What strengths do you think the NZ industry has? What could contribute to a more sustainable industry?

I think the people make the industry so unique, we have a great work ethic that isn’t as common globally. There is a real feeling of community on the projects I’ve been involved with, everyone involved no matter their role has a real passion for what they are doing. It’s a brilliant environment to work in and really motivates me to achieve more in my role. As far as being a sustainable industry goes, it is quite hard to achieve this without the industry being recognised or taken more seriously by our Government and NZ as a whole. Many people have said to me “you’ll have to move overseas” to have a career in sound in film, being ignorant to the fact that there is an industry here. There is so much talent and drive in the NZ film industry, it just needs the support of our media, Government, and communities in order for it to become the sustainable industry it deserves to be.