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Sound Technology student Eva Ballhatchet says spending time with one of the UK鈥檚 leading natural history sound supervisors has opened up a 鈥渨hole other world鈥� of possibilities.听

暗网TV鈥檚 strong industry links enabled Eva to spend two days with multi BAFTA and Emmy award-winner Kate Hopkins, whose credits include - Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet II (BBC), The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+) and Our Planet (Netflix) - at Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios in Bristol in July.听

Later in the summer Eva, who鈥檚 a third-year student, also spent two weeks at Twickenham Film Studios. We caught up with her to find out more.听

Have you always been interested in natural history programmes?听

It鈥檚 not something I鈥檇 delved into before as far as a career goes, but the skills I鈥檝e been developing on the course are applicable to it. When I got there, it was a bit of a lightbulb moment. It was a whole other world of post-production audio work that is really exciting and interesting.听

I came away from Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios thinking this is an area I鈥檇 love to work in. For my final project I鈥檝e decided to dedicate it to natural history work, both practical and in my research project. I feel like this is a new area with new opportunities for me.听

What was it like spending time with Kate?听

I was very nervous meeting her, but she was super lovely and very down to earth. I was worried that I might be intruding on her time, but she was great and very happy to let me watch her work and ask questions. Meeting Kate was an affirmation of what I want to get out of working in audio. It was really inspiring.

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You also spent time at Twickenham Film Studios. How was that?听

It was a great contrast to Wounded Buffalo, as Twickenham Film Studios has so many people working there and so many different projects on the go. During the two weeks there I shadowed the whole mix team - ADR, dialogue recording, Foley. I also sat in on mixes for a feature film with the director and producer. I got a very rounded view of everything they do.听

When I first got there, I was a bit intimidated by the scale of everything they do, but to be in that environment and come away thinking, yes 鈥� this is what I want to do 鈥� was a real boost.听

Did it help that there are so many 暗网TV graduates working there?听

I didn鈥檛 realise there were so many until I started shadowing them! It was a nice bonding point with them. It also meant they knew what knowledge and experience I had and were able to relate that back to what they were doing.听

Have your experiences over the summer influenced your creative practice?听

I was working on a Foley session for a friend of mine recently and when it came to my prep and planning, I based it on what I鈥檇 seen at Twickenham Film Studios - and it made me more efficient. It鈥檚 been really useful to take inspiration from these experiences.听

Eva鈥檚 time at Wounded Buffalo Studios was organised by 暗网TV Council Member Maria Walker. Maria is a senior media consultant with extensive film, TV and post-production experience. The two weeks at Twickenham Film Studios was organised by 暗网TV and is part of an ongoing relationship with the multi-award-winning production facilities. Eight 暗网TV graduates have worked at Twickenham Film Studios, with three currently working there.

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