Sound Designers You Need to Hear About: Damian Waddell
Sound has the ability to transport us in a way that images alone cannot. A good sound designer can make you feel like you are truly immersed within a scene. A great sound designer makes you forget the scene isn’t real at all. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve for us to be talking about them.
As the Australian audio space continues to boom, LBB dives into the nitty gritty of sound design. Today, LBB's Tom Loudon speaks to MassiveMusic senior sound designer, Damian Waddell.
Damian’s passion for sound dates back to 1996, when he began working in audio production. In 2010, he made the move to Singapore, where he joined MassiveMusic, before moving back home to Sydney in 2022.
Obsessed with sound, Damian’s free time is taken up by DJing, his love of old cars, and clubbing – which he admits his recovery from is a little slower these days. Damien is currently listening to Carl Cox, and his favourite album is Miles Davis’ classic ‘Kind of Blue’.
LBB> What initially sparked your interest in audio editing and sound design, and did you always see yourself working in the advertising industry?
Damian> I was always interested in music and sound from a young age, and I threw myself into learning guitar and piano and listening to a lot of different music genres as I went through my teenage years. This love for music and sound led me to my first job at a post production company nestled in the heart of Glebe, Sydney where I was introduced to this whole new world of music and sound in advertising. This was worlds apart from my aspirations at the time of being a ‘roadie’. From there, I was mentored and worked my way through the ranks of coffee boy all the way up to Senior Sound Designer.
LBB> How would you describe your role, and what are your key responsibilities and challenges?
Damian> My role as Senior Sound Designer is to simply keep producing world-class sound design. Besides the hands-on work in the studio, relationships with our clients are still front and centre. When you are in a client-facing role, having good rapport is a must and this keeps in line with my ethos of creating a studio environment that is a good place to work and play.
LBB> Can you share any notable projects or campaigns you have worked on in the advertising industry? What were some of the creative and technical aspects involved in those projects?
Damian> I spent 11 years in Singapore working at Song Zu, now called MassiveMusic, and throughout those years I worked on many global and regional campaigns for brands such as Tiger Beer, Porsche, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Airlines and the list goes on. Stand outs would be Good Mood - ‘Good Day Bad Day’ and Tiger Beer - ‘Wok’. Both of these spots took a talented team of creative minds to achieve the final result.
Good Mood saw a man standing at the convenience store fridge deciding on his drink of choice. This single choice would decide if this would lead him to a day filled with joy, happiness and internet stardom from his signature dance or a day filled with a radioactive spill leading to apocalyptic zombies trying to destroy the world as we know it. What could possibly go wrong! Half of this four-minute adventure rolled through in reverse as we backtrack through our heroes' bad choice. Crashing helicopters, zombies and, well, more zombies. The sound design for this section was all tracklayed in a forward motion and then reversed which helped not only to match with the vision that rolled through in reverse but also gave a feeling of unease which played into the ‘Bad’ day vibe. I treated the music with a vinyl record ‘warble’ which was that final touch to help tell the audio story and give that extra bit of weirdness to the already weird day. The ‘Good’ day was approached in the polar opposite to the ‘Bad’. Tweeting birds, glistening chimes and positive overtones drove this part of the story, all accompanied with an upbeat indie pop track.
Singapore's national beer Tiger was another of my clients that continually produced world-class creative advertising that was a joy to work on. ‘Wok’ was one of the standouts. In this film, the streets of Singapore are brought to life with this grimey jazzed up story of the ‘Wok’, which lays at the heart of Singapore's famous street food. Casting the voice over and capturing the right tone was one of the challenges that took many casting sessions to get just right. The sound design and music needed to capture not only the stylised sound of the wok but the heart in which it lives and breathes, the streets of Singapore.
LBB> What strategies do you use to communicate and bring brand ideas to life through audio effectively?
Damian> Sound ideas and sounds can often be hard to communicate. When I'm sitting and listening to a client giving me their best vocal attempt at a whoosh, boom, crash or whatever other sounds they might be hearing in their head, it can be a challenge to decipher exactly what they mean and what that may sound like. Having a sound reference can be a great starting point but, if that's not possible, I am happy to be left to come up with something new and unexpected.
LBB> What role does sound play in enhancing an advertising campaign’s overall impact and message?
Damian> Sound plays a huge role! Try watching any film with the sound off and you will soon see that you're only getting half the story. Whilst sound is usually at the end of the line (and credits) of the production, it does play a massive role – pun very intended – in guiding the audience's emotions. Sound should always be at the forefront of any production and not an afterthought.
LBB> How do you source or create unique and captivating sounds for advertising projects?
Damian> I'm blessed to have an enormous SFX library at my fingertips that is constantly being improved and updated. To me, these libraries are just the starting point to creating stylised bespoke audio soundtracks with the use of layering, sampling, effects processing and mastering.
LBB> How do you measure success in your line of work?
Damian> Success for me, whether it be a global launch or a small local job, is seeing my clients walking away happy with the work I have produced, cherishing a fun and creative experience in the studio. The creative process can sometimes take some time to reach a point where all parties are comfortable, but working together and keeping a good vibe is of utmost importance. Awards are great but leaving people feeling happy and wanting to come back is much more rewarding to me.
