9 to 5: Jim Goddard
Image: Cathy Buckmaster
Originally from Devon, Jim Goddard is a BAFTA-nominated sound editor with Boom, a post-production studio based in Soho, London. Established in 1996, their work ranges from high-profile television dramas like The Crown to blockbuster feature films. In Issue No. 2 of ALHAUS magazine, he takes Cathy Buckmaster through his average day.
I’ve been able to work on lots of decent projects. Two of my favourites are Black Mirror and Peaky Blinders, which are very different shows with different requirements. Black Mirror is a show set in the not-too-distant future about the detrimental effects that technology can have on our lives. Each episode is unique so presents a different challenge for designing the sound of the world and the technology at the heart of it. Peaky Blinders is a 1920s gangster drama, so the challenge here is to build an authentic soundscape to reflect the time and place, whilst keeping it bold and characterful to reflect the show’s style.
“Black Mirror is a show set in the not-too-distant future about the detrimental effects that technology can have on our lives.”
I try to record sounds whenever I can, to build up a library. When recording out in public, particularly when trying to capture people talking, I’ve definitely had some weird looks from people, wondering why this creepy man is pointing a strange device at them. In the past I have recorded crowds in public with in-ear microphones so I could capture them surreptitiously.
The full version of this article appears in Issue No. 2 of ALHAUS magazine.