The Apple and Biscuit Show

Dr Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas
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  • FILM INTERVIEWS
  • EVERY TWO WEEKS

Dr. Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas, two professionals working in film and television sound, discuss the many ways sound is used in moving picture productions to engage, entertain, educate and inform audiences. The podcast covers a range of topics through interviews with industry insiders as well as academics and professionals in other fields who talk about the human understanding and perception of sound.

  1. #021 Russ Hughes: He's keeping score and we should be paid more

    30 MAR

    #021 Russ Hughes: He's keeping score and we should be paid more

    In this episode, Neil and Jason talk to Russ Hughes, who founded the Production Expert blog nearly 20 years ago. Now it attracts over 7 million viewers a year: and all of them drawn to the Expert website by the blog's justifiable reputation for trustworthy, relevant and topical free content for audio-post and music studio professionals. Five years ago, in the midst of Covid, Production Expert ran a survey to capture the financial health of freelancers in the professional audio industry. Five years on, it has just published its latest survey – and with the number of respondents almost doubled, it makes for sobering reading…work patterns have shifted, costs have risen and maintaining a steady income is clearly taking more effort than it once did. At times, this is a frank and revealing conversation that makes for difficult listening (please note this episode does contain a reference to suicide); particularly as Russ dives into the survey and lifts the veil on what the true cost is to current craft creatives, in terms of their financial, physical and mental health. About the presenters:  You can find out more about Russ Hughes's work here and here. The Production Expert website is here and you can read the 2026 Production Expert survey here. Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here. Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Details of Neil's books, including his best-seller 'Sound for Moving Pictures', are available here. Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    44 min
  2. #020 Pip Piper: The role of documentary in social change

    5 MAR

    #020 Pip Piper: The role of documentary in social change

    Over a 30-year career, UK indie Producer and Director Pip Piper has Produced nine feature documentaries, including 'Mountain Biking: The Untold British Story' and 'Bicycle', both with two-times BAFTA winning director Michael Baig-Clifford; directed six feature documentaries, including the music industry trilogy 'Last Shop Standing', 'The Vinyl Revival' and 'Long and Winding Road'; and Exec Produced three more. He also Produced the critically acclaimed drama feature 'The Insatiable Moon'. But Pip has also been busy in other areas, too; for 30 years he has run the One Small Barking Dog charity; spent 16 years running production company Blue Hippo Media; 10 years as the Chair of the West Midlands Producers Forum; 10 years teaching an MA in film distribution and marketing; and he has run three film festivals.  Pip has a new feature documentary coming to British cinemas in March 2026, called 'Jo In The Water'. It was filmed throughout 2025 and it follows Jo Bateman, an Exmouth-based sea swimmer, who became a "reluctant activist" campaigning for clean water in UK rivers and seas when the dumping of millions of litres of raw sewage by her local water company impacted her physical and mental health — a familiar story all over the UK; and such has been the impact of the documentary, on March the 2nd, British MPs attended a special screening of the film at Westminster. For his work in highlighting social issues to bring about awareness and change, we might fairly describe Pip as an "active activist". About the presenters: You can find out more about Pip Piper's work here and here; and a selection of his films can be found on the Vimeo on Demand site, for instance here and here. Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here. Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Details of Neil's books, including his best-seller 'Sound for Moving Pictures', are available here. Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Jason Nicholas YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    1hr 16min
  3. #019 Jonathan Glazier: the heavy lifting behind light entertainment

    24/10/2025

    #019 Jonathan Glazier: the heavy lifting behind light entertainment

    Jonathan Glazier is one of the television industry's leading lights in television Light Entertainment. Over a 40-year career, Jonathan has directed and produced some of the most popular TV shows, such as 'Stars in Their Eyes', 'Gladiators', 'The Weakest Link' and 'Asia's Got Talent' (and he has the awards to prove it). He has the rare experience of firstly consulting to, and then leading, one of the BBC's most historically significant and influential departments as the Editor of BBC Light Entertainment and International Formats. Today, he works with global clients as diverse as CBC and NHK and creates formats for widely different cultures from 'Suka Lattew' in Malaysia to 'How Normal are You?' in New Zealand.   But Jonathan's remarkable television career started in the sound department at the famous ATV Elstree studios. Jonathan explains how this background has been the foundation of his incredible career. About the presenters: You can find out more about Jonathan Glazier's consultancy company here  Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here Our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Details of Neil's books, including his best-seller 'Sound for Moving Pictures', are available here Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Jason Nicholas YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    1hr 17min
  4. #018 Mark Franken: On designing the tools that re-conformed an entire industry

    29/09/2025

    #018 Mark Franken: On designing the tools that re-conformed an entire industry

    Mark Franken is the double Emmy-winning creator of the sound editing software tools EdiCue, EdiLoad and EdiPrompt; products that since their inception in 2007, have come to be indispensable to dialogue editors, supervising sound editors, ADR recordists and re-recording mixers working in the sound for moving pictures sector. They are now the industry standard protocols for the organisation, exchange and delivery of post-production audio for film and television. With their time-saving capabilities, it's also fair to say that they have had a significant impact on the ability of streaming broadcasters to start the production trend for movie-length, multi-episodic series.  But the integral component in each of these products is borne out of the experience of Mark Franken as a highly successful sound creative in both hemispheres… Before Mark founded his software company Sounds in Sync, he was a busy and time-pressed dialogue editor, sound effects editor, music editor and re-recording mixer, working on major motion pictures. FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2025, enjoy 20% off ALL Sounds in Sync products by using the discount code: APPLEBISCUIT25 About the presenters: You can find out more about Mark Franken's products, and his company Sounds in Sync, here  Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Dr. Neil Hillman YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    58 min
  5. #017 Dr. Iain McGregor: Why hearing means feeling–designing sound for the real world

    28/07/2025

    #017 Dr. Iain McGregor: Why hearing means feeling–designing sound for the real world

    Dr Iain McGregor is an Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, specialising in interactive media design and auditory perception research. His PhD in soundscape mapping examined how sound designers' expectations compare with listeners' experiences.  With over 30 years of experience, he has worked across film, video games, theatre, radio, television, mixed reality, robotics, and auditory displays, exploring soundscapes, sonification, and human interaction. His patent Evaluation of Auditory Capabilities (WO2024041821A1) informs accessibility, user experience design, and auditory technologies. His research extends to human-robot interaction, and he currently consults for companies in mixed reality and robotics, shaping advanced auditory interfaces. About the presenters: You can find more about Iain McGregor's work here Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman – IMDb Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Jason Nicholas YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    47 min
  6. #016 From Edgar Wallace to Wallace and Gromit–A Grand Day Out at the National Film and Television School

    01/07/2025

    #016 From Edgar Wallace to Wallace and Gromit–A Grand Day Out at the National Film and Television School

    In the last of his mini-series of three documentaries recorded on a recent trip to the UK, Neil visits the home of the National Film and Television School at the historic Beaconsfield Film Studios in Buckinghamshire. On his visit, he is given unprecedented access to the workspaces, students, lecturers and visiting professionals that make NFTS such a unique establishment.  Neil talks to Stephen Holdsworth, NFTS Chief Engineer about the history of the site; Guy Hake, Senior Lecturer on the Sound Design Masters course and Sound Design Masters student Tom Bosher; and BAFTA and Academy Award-winning Supervising Sound Editor Nina Hartstone about her work delivering master classes and how, through her work, she aims to help prepare the next generation of sound professionals to be industry-ready. About the presenters: You can find more about the National Film and Television School here  Nina Hartstone at IMDb Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Dr. Neil Hillman – IMDb Programme edited and mixed by Dr. Neil Hillman on DaVinci Resolve v20. Recorded on location by Neil using a Sound Devices 664 recorder, with Sennheiser 416 and Sanken COS-11 microphones. YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticising", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content. Excerpts from 'The Dinner After' and 'BABA' used with kind permission of NFTS.

    1 hr
  7. #015 Dead Cats and Fish Poles—The Story of the Basket Windshield

    03/06/2025

    #015 Dead Cats and Fish Poles—The Story of the Basket Windshield

    In this documentary, Neil looks at the emergence of location sound recording for cinema and one of the significant technological developments that enabled this.  Starting with the Italian neorealism movement of the late 1940's, the desire for dialogue authenticity gained hold in 1950's Hollywood films. This and the artistic truth of French New Wave filmmaking in the 1960's led to the indispensability of the location sound recordist by the 1970's and one of their important needs was met by the invention and refinement of the now-familiar microphone basket windshield. To help tell the story, Neil plays real-world examples of Outside Broadcast sport; excerpts from classic movies and amateur YouTube filmmakers and also talks with Radius Windshields Managing Director Simon Davies as well as the owner and MD of plastic injection moulding company Elbmar Limited, Keven Rich and the Oscar-winning feature film Production Sound Mixer - and enthusiastic Radius Windshields user - Simon Hayes.  About the presenters: You can find more about Simon Hayes' work here The Radius Windshield site is here Details about Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Dr. Neil Hillman – IMDb Programme edited and mixed by Dr. Neil Hillman on DaVinci Resolve v20. Recorded on location by Neil using a Sound Devices 664 recorder, with Sennheiser 416 and Sanken COS-11 microphones. YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content. Content: 02:39 – 03:25 The Bicycle Thieves, (1948), Dir. Vittorio De Sica 04:25 – 06:24 On the Waterfront, (1954), Dir. Elia Kazan 06:57 – 07:42 Breathless, (1960), Dir. Jean Luc Goddard 09:55 – 11:58 The Conversation, (1970), Dir. Francis Ford-Coppola 19:48 – 21:28 Les Misérables, (2012), Dir. Tom Hooper 27:52 – 28:50 @MakingParadiseinVA, YouTube channel (2023) 51:57 – 52:25 Wimbledon, Men's Singles Final 2024, Alcaraz v Djokovic 52:30 – 52:38 FIFA World Cup, South Africa 2010 53:41 – 54:21 Sydney 2000 Olympics, Men's-8 Rowing Final

    57 min
  8. #014 Acoustic Ecology with Dr Jesse Budel

    01/06/2025

    #014 Acoustic Ecology with Dr Jesse Budel

    In this episode Neil and Jason speak with Dr Jesse Budel, a composer-performer, sound artist, academic and arts entrepreneur based in South Australia. As a composer, his works are for diverse media and spaces, ranging from concert works and installations to community and interdisciplinary collaborations. Jesse's PhD research at the Elder Conservatorium of Music focussed on adapting soundscape ecology to creative process, resulting in a body of works responding to South Australian ecosystems and soundscapes. As an emerging member of the Acoustic Ecology and Ecoacoustic communities, Jesse currently serves as the Secretary for both the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology and World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. This is a wide ranging interview discussing the history of Soundscape Ecology, as defined by the work of R Murray Schafer and the World Soundscape Project, starting in the 1970's, through to the present day scientific use of sound for bioacoustic research of natural environments.  About the presenters: You can find more about Jesse and his work here: https://www.jesse-budel.com/about Details about Neil and Jason's work as dialogue editors and mixers and how to contact them is here: https://www.audiosuite.co.uk/ Details of our 1-to-1, training and coaching programmes for ambitious media professionals are available at: https://www.drneilhillman.com and https://soundproducer.com.au/coaching and www.soundformovingpictures.com Further reading and links: The World Soundscape Project: https://www.sfu.ca/~truax/wsp.html Principles of Soundscape Ecology: Discovering Our Sonic World by Bryan C. Pijanowski: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo187218508.html The Australian Acoustic Observatory: https://acousticobservatory.org/ SPAT Revolution: https://www.flux.audio/project/spat-revolution/ Technical notes: Written, produced and presented by Jason Nicholas and Dr Neil Hillman Recorded using the CleanFeed remote recording system Programme edited by Jason Nicholas See Dr Budel's Bandcamp page for a selection of his compositions here: https://jessebudel.bandcamp.com/ The final piece that ends the podcast is a clip from "Early Afternoon on the Mountain" from the Cathedrals album. YouTube fair use disclaimer: Where copyrighted material appears in episodes of The Apple and Biscuit Show, it is used under the 'fair use' guidelines of the Copyright Act: i.e. "Use of these clips follows Fair Use laws regarding commenting and criticizing", where Fair Use allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material for purposes such as Commentary, Criticism, Parody, News reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. In instances where copyright or credit is questioned, please contact us directly to discuss receiving credit, or removing the featured content.

    1hr 16min
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About

Dr. Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas, two professionals working in film and television sound, discuss the many ways sound is used in moving picture productions to engage, entertain, educate and inform audiences. The podcast covers a range of topics through interviews with industry insiders as well as academics and professionals in other fields who talk about the human understanding and perception of sound.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Neil Hillman and Jason Nicholas
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    The Apple and Biscuit Show

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