Credentials

Professional Guilds: MPSE MIPS ASSG | Member: BAFTA

Neil Hillman MPSE joined UK broadcaster Central Independent Television in 1982 after graduating in Electronics from Aston University, leaving in 1990 to become a freelance Sound Supervisor / Mixer / Recordist. Award-winning audio post-production facility The Audio Suite was founded by Neil in 2001 to better serve an increasing demand for him as a Re-recording Mixer and Sound Designer, but by 2021, a desire to look out of his windows and onto palm trees and endless blue skies, led to him establishing a sister Audio Suite studio in Brisbane, QLD.

Neil’s feature film work is increasingly as a Sound Producer, drawing on his enviable CV as a Production Mixer on location, as well as his work as a Dialogue Editor, ADR Mixer and Re-recording Mixer. His Sound Producer role is a budget-managing, single-point of reference for pre-production, production and post-production audio; overseeing quality, style and strategy and delivering peace of mind to Producers and Directors for any moving picture production’s soundtrack – from concept through to completion.

As an Audio Director and Commentary Systems Engineer on Outside Broadcasts, he has been engaged by Host Broadcasters at global events such as the London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020ne Olympic and Paralympic Games; the Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games; and the 2023 Pacific Games Opening and Closing ceremonies.

In 2010 he was awarded a prestigious Royal Television Society ‘Best Production Craft Skills’ award for his Sound Design and Re-recording skills, and in 2019, ‘Scott and Sid’, one of many feature films recorded on location by Neil, won ‘Best British Film’ at the National Film Awards. He is a multiple winner for sound design from the New York and Los Angeles Festivals, and in 2022 he reached the milestone of 1,000 individual IMDb entries across 150 production titles. He is a DaVinci Resolve Fairlight Certified Trainer, has trained operators to an advanced level, and coached company trainers on the Fairlight Digital Audio Workstation and console at commercial facilities in the UK, and at state television broadcast stations in Europe.

‘You are an extraordinary trainer with unparalleled experience and knowledge!’ – Mary Plummer, Blackmagic Design lead trainer for Fairlight Audio Post Production.

Alma Mater: the University of York Doctor of Philosophy (2017)

Dr. Neil Hillman is not just a highly experienced practitioner; he is also an academic, an author and a speaker. His Ph.D. concerning emotion in sound design was completed within the University of York’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television, presenting a thesis entitled ‘A new sound mixing framework for enhanced emotive sound design within contemporary moving-picture audio production and post-production.’ He has written prodigiously for trade magazines such as Studio Sound, Audio Media, Resolution and Audiofile, industry blog Pro Tools Expert, academic publisher Routledge, and about broadcast sound for The Daily Telegraph.

His 2013 book, Journeyman, and subsequent 2021 work Sound for Moving Pictures, are available to buy on Amazon books. The companion website for the Sound for Moving Pictures book, and its associated online sound design academy, can be found HERE.

As well as teaching undergraduates and delivering post-graduate modules at the University of York, Neil has been a guest lecturer and an invited speaker at many other institutions: presenting talks on sound, strategy and business for institutions such as the Audio Engineering Society in LA, the BFI, the Grierson Trust, the BBC Academy and the University of Ulster; as well as teaching at Birmingham City University, the University of Staffordshire and the University of Gloucestershire. He has taught overseas students as far afield as the School of Audio Engineering (SAE Brisbane), Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and for the British Council, Sudan; and has served as an external examiner for the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) MA in Sound Design.

In 2024, he was invited to become an external Ph.D. assessor for the University of Queensland (UQ).

Originally from the UK, Neil is now based in Brisbane and works as a feature film Sound Producer, as well as mixing live-sport and Reality television Outside Broadcasts as an Audio Director; dialogue editing and mixing for clients in his own DaVinci Resolve audio post-production studio; and teaching sound design theory and practice for the Sound for Moving Pictures Academy.

He now sees sun, blue sky and palm trees from his studio window, and makes time to ride one of his four motorcycles most days.