Neil Hillman

Dr Neil Hillman (born 31 January 1960, Sutton Coldfield, England) is a British television and feature film sound designer and editor, notable for his work on the Oscar-winning film ''Lincoln'', '' New York I Love You'' and '' Grace of Monaco''. Hillman was awarded the World Medal for Sound Design at the New York Festival for the film ''The 13th Day'' in 2010 and in November 2010 was awarded the Royal Television Society award for Best Production Craft Skills for Sound Design and Mixing on the film ''Handle With Care''.

Early life and education

Hillman began his career as an electronics engineer with American machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Milacron. After completing his apprenticeship he graduated from the University of Aston in Industrial Electronics and Instrumentation in 1981, after previously studying Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at Matthew Boulton College and North Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University). He completed his PhD by Practice within the University of York’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television (TFTV), researching ''Emotion in Sound Design'' under the supervision of Dr. Sandra Pauletto.https://www.york.ac.uk/tfti/study/postgraduate/profiles/neil-hillman-profile/

Career

After completing his foundation degree and apprenticeship in Electrical Engineering, Hillman joined the Midlands-based Central Independent Television in 1982 as a sound technician, working on all aspects of broadcast audio. He left Central TV in 1989 to work as a freelance location Sound Recordist, Dubbing Mixer and Broadcast Sound Supervisor. During this time he contributed regularly to long-running BBC TV series', including The Antiques Roadshow (where he introduced stereo location recording to the programme), travelled extensively overseas to record sound for programmes such as Tomorrow's World and Top Gear, and recorded and mixed choral music on location for Songs of Praise.

In 1999 Hillman was invited to join Optical Image, a growing UK video post-production company, in a new position as Head of Sound. Hillman set up the post-production sound department for a joint animation venture with Mike Young Productions, Butt Ugly Martians; a 26-part production where Hillman worked alongside Producer Bill Schultz, better known at this time for his role as a Producer on US animation hits The Simpsons and King of the Hill. Hillman was the Sound Designer and re-recording mixer for the entire Butt Ugly Martians series, collaborating with multiple-Emmy winning Sound Editor, Rick Hinson MPSE on episodes 1 and 2.

Between 2000 and 2001, he both location recorded and then audio post-produced a four-part series for Discovery, called Beyond The Horizon, which documented a year in the lives of a group of RAF pilots as they attempted to qualify for the elite Red Arrows display team. The year spent working alongside such excellence, Hillman later said, would irrevocably focus his determination and commitment to achieve similar levels of quality and professionalism in his own work.

Hillman left Optical Image in 2002 to form his own audio post-production studios, The Audio Suite. Between 2002 and 2012, The Audio Suite worked as preferred audio suppliers to All3Media, the UK's largest television Production Group, and they were also suppliers to the terrestrial channels of BBC
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