Audio, Radio, and Podcast: Dominic Dew's Reflections as a Creative Circle Judge
Having been invited to judge Audio, Radio and Podcast at the Creative Circle awards this year, Jungle sound designer Dominic Dew takes us behind the scenes on what elements made for winning pieces, his personal favourite work and his best advice for great sound work in the coming year.
LBB> Tell us about how you got involved with judging at Creative Circle this year.
Dom> I was invited to judge at Creative Circle this year by the lovely Rachel Menzies, from BMG, who hosted the Gold Awards judging panel.
LBB> What did you think of the winners selected - were there any pieces in particular that you are personally passionate about and why?
Dom> As this was a Gold Award judging panel, in many ways pretty much every piece of work submitted was a winner. Our job was more to decide whether they merited Gold, Silver or Bronze. It honestly made me feel humbled to have been invited to judge such top calibre sound design.
The piece that really stood out for me was a charity film for Save The Children. It told the story of people going about their day suddenly having their lives shattered by war, and the resulting children that were left behind. It was very moving, and I thought the sound design really drove the narrative.
LBB> What elements do you feel all the winning pieces of work had in common?
Dom> I think a winning piece of sound design needs to have a number of qualities. It needs to tell the story and set the mood of the film, but also there needs to be unique elements that have clearly been heavily considered which highlight the right movements. It’s hard to describe, but I guess it needs to take the viewer on a journey through the film.
LBB> How was the judging process - was it a difficult back and forth?
Dom> The judging process was really a lovely experience. The judging panel came from different areas of the industry, and it was interesting hearing other people’s perspective on what sound design means to them. It was a great collaboration, and everyone had very relevant comments to make.
LBB> What did you most love about taking part as one of the judges?
Dom> It was so nice meeting up with a couple of old friends and making a few new ones in the process. It was a really lovely day, and we all enjoyed a few drinks in the sunshine afterwards thanks to Jeremy Green, the very charming CEO at Creative Circle.
LBB> What advice do you have for creating great audio, radio and podcast work over the next year or so? What are the latest developments / insights to consider?
Dom> Well, with the inauguration of AI, it’ll be interesting to see how things turn out over the next year or so. I’m not sure whether I’m excited about it or terrified by it, so the jury is out (pardon the pun) for the time being.
Honestly though, I do hope that AI can be used in a positive way that enhances the work that we do, rather than just being used to take people's jobs away from them. And I think that we all need to be wary of it until we know how it can be best implemented.
