OE 1982-1987
In February 2018, Ben Wilkins won an Oscar for sound mixing the recent Hollywood film Whiplash. Along with his two sound editor colleagues, Ben completed a rare double, winning the BAFTA award and quickly following the success with an Academy Award. He has worked on well over 100 television shows and films, including The Sopranos, Paranormal Activity, Terminator 3 and the 2009 reboot of Star Trek.
Ben fondly recalls the long driveway from the street to the Emanuel School buildings, the beautiful architecture and the age of some of the smaller parts of the school. He studied A level Art, Design and Physics, simultaneously honing his interest in sound technology, before starting work in an all-digital Soho studio at the age of 17. Following a brief stint at the Tape Gallery (where he worked mainly on commercials) he made the risky jump to Hollywood, with Candyman his first Hollywood film. Over 24 years later, he’s still working on Hollywood films.
Over 30 years ago, I was a young man from Battersea, attending a local school. Then in March 2015, I am that same person, living and working in Hollywood, Los Angeles, up on stage at the Oscars ceremony receiving an Academy Award.
He originally started out as a re-recording mixer, but as the standard was so high and the competition so intense in LA he found more work as a sound editor. His personal favourite film was U571 – a WW2 submarine movie.
Ben states touch type as a number one skill in his field – or any field that involves computers!