Kerstin Ahlrichs is a German director. She studied at the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) first camera and later directing. In addition, she worked as a DJ, at a film equipment rental and as a camera assistant. Ahlrich’s full-length graduation feature film Sieh zu, dass du Land gewinnst was nominated for the Grimme Award. As part of the Media Sound Hamburg 2015 she presented together with the musician Michel von Dyke excerpts from her second feature film Taxi after the novel by Karen Duve.
Karim Aïnouz is a Brazilian director. After studying architecture and film studies, he worked as assistant to Todd Haynes. His documentary Seams (1993) was awarded the Vito Russo Award of the New Festival in New York. Aïnouz’s first feature film Madame Satã (2002) marked his breakthrough as a director. As part of the Media Sound Hamburg 2014 he presented together with the German film composer Volker Bertelmann / Hauschka his feature film Praia de Futuro, which ran in 2014 in the competition of the Berlinale.
Bille August is a Danish film director. For his film Pelle, the Conqueror, he received in 1989 in Cannes, the Golden Palm and an Oscar for best foreign language film. Other films are the literary adaptations The House of the Spirits, Smilla’s Sense of Snow and Night train to Lisbon. At the Media Sound Hamburg 2012 he presented excerpts from the international coproduction Night Train to Lisbon in a public event in cooperation with Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein before the German theatrical release.
Frans Bak is a Danish composer, choral conductor, saxophonist, and pianist. He is a graduate of Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium, and is known for his work as a jazz performer and composer of film music. He creates the score for the Danish television series Forbrydelsen, the BBC series Doctor Foster as well as the American remake, The Killing, on Netflix. His latest projects include Lilyhammer on NRK1/Netflix, starring Steven Van Zandt and the British adaption of the Ruth Rendell novel Thirteen Steps Down. Frans Bak has also scored numerous commercials, short films and feature films including three Academy Award nominated shorts Ernst & The Light, Sweethearts? and Helmer & Son. At MediaSoundHamburg 2018 Frans Bak will lead the MasterClass FilmMusic.
Volker Bertelmann is a German composer and pianist who publishes primarily under his stage name Hauschka. He was known for his recorded with the help of prepared pianos pieces of music. In 2012, Bertelmann produced the film music for Doris Dörrie’s film Glück and the Israeli documentary Schnee von gestern by Yael Reuveny. 2017 was nominated together with the film composer Dustin O’Halloran for the feature film Lion – The long way home for the Oscar and Golden Globe Award. As part of the Media Sound Hamburg, he presented the film Praia do Futuro by Karim Ainouz and gave a public concert at the Elsä Brandström House in Blankenese.
Ben Burtt is an American sound engineer and sound designer who is considered a pioneer in the field of modern sound engineering, especially in science fiction and fantasy films. Ben Burtt has developed the famous sound effects for the Star Wars films. He made the laser sword “sound”, developed the language and sound of the droid R2-D2 and created the famous heavy breathing of Darth Vader. In addition, Burtt has used the most famous cry in film history, the so-called “Wilhelmine cry,” in his films and made his trademark. Multiple Oscar winner Ben Burrt directed MasterClass SoundDesign at MediaSoundHamburg 2017.
Oliver Deriviere is a French video game composer, best known for his work on the Alone in the Dark, Obscure and Remember Me soundtracks; the latter of which notably won the 2013 IFMCA award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media.
Patrick Doye is a Scottish actor and film composer. After studying music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Doyle composed the music for smaller radio and television productions. His breakthrough as a film composer came with the music for the film Henry V. by Kennath Brannagh. He also wrote the film music on Sense and Sensibility, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Murder in the Orient Express. In 2011, Patrick Doyle directed the MasterClass Filmmusic at MediaSoundHamburg.
Annette Focks is a German musician and film composer. After her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, international scholarships and workshops in Los Angeles, she wrote the score for numerous national productions including Four Minutes, Ostwind, The Wild Chicks, Three Quarter Moon and The Bloom of Yesterday. Internationally she worked with Bille August and wrote for him a.o. the music to Night Train to Lisbon, Silent Heart, The Chinese Widow and 55Steps. As part of Media Sound Hamburg 2012 she presented excerpts from their score for the international co-production Night Train to Lisbon.
Stephan Eicke worked for the only European film music magazine, Cinema Musica, for eight years, four of which as the editor in chief. He has written the music for over 50 radio dramas and advertisements as well as short films. In 2013, he founded the CD label Caldera Records which is specialised on the release of film scores. He has written countless articles, essays, interviews and reviews for several publications and is currently writing a book on film music. He has also given lectures and hosted film music events in Europe. Stephan Eicke is a regular guest at MediaSoundHamburg and has also been a lecturer since 2017.
Glen Gathard works as Head of Digital Recording and Mixing at the Pinewood Studio Group. As a foley specialist and sound designer he was involved in the films Sherlock Holmes, Quantum of Solace, Monuments Men and Accident Man. At Media Sound Hamburg 2015, Glen Gathard conducted the Master Class Sound Design.
Merlin Györy is a German game and film music composer. The computer game fan describes himself as a sound alchemist and composed after years as a producer of electronic music in Berlin and Toronto now from Hamburg music for games and films. At MediaSoundHamburg 2017, Merlin Györy conducted the MasterClass FilmMusic.
Martin Hernández is a Mexican radio presenter, sound designer and sound editor. He discovered his love for radio during his college years. He discontinued his studies and worked as a radio presenter at the Mexican radio stations WFM and Radioactivo 98.5. As a sound designer and sound editor he commuted back and forth between Los Angeles and his hometown Mexico City. He is under contract at Warner Bros. and works mainly with the director Alejandro González Iñárritu, whom he met while working on the radio. Hernandez was twice nominated for an Oscar: 2015 for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and 2016 for The Revenant. At MediaSoundHamburg 2018 Martin Hernandéz will lead the MasterClass SoundDesign.
Chris Hülsbeck, born in Germany, started piano lessons with his Grandmother. At age 14 he acquired his first computer, the legendary Commodore 64, and started to learn various programming languages while still playing and composing music. A few years later he won the first prize in a computer-music contest hosted by a famous German computer magazine. This was the beginning of his career as a professional composer for computer and video game soundtracks. Credits include projects like the Star Wars Rogue Squadron Series, Turrican, Giana Sisters and Doctor Who: Legacy. At the Media Sound Hamburg 2012, directed the MasterClass Gamemusic.
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek is a Polish composer who lives in Los Angeles since 1989 and also composes for international film productions. In 2005, he received the Academy Award for his film music of Finding Neverland by Marc Forster. He also composed the film music for Unfaithful by Adrian Lyne, Aimée and Jaguar by Max Färberböck, and Zwischenwelten by Feo Aladag. At the Media Sound Hamburg 2012, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek directed the MasterClass film music.
Joe Kraemer is an American film composer. After studying film composition at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he composed music for The Way of the Gun, Jack Reacher’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and the television films and series The Poseidon Adventure and Femme Fatales. At the 2017 MediaSoundHamburg, Joe Kraemer directed the MasterClass FilmMusic.
James Mather, born in the UK, lives and works as a sound designer in Hollywood. He was responsible for the sound design in the films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Sherlock Holmes, Battle of the Titans, Mission Impossible – Rouge Nation, Wonder Woman and Murder in the Orient Express. James Mather led the MasterClass Sound Design at Media Sound Hamburg 2012.
Lisle Moore is one of the world’s most renowned composers in the field of trailer music. Among other things, he has composed the trailer music for the Soccer World Cup in Germany (2006), South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014). At MediaSoundHamburg 2014, Lisle Moore conducted the MasterClass Trailer Music.
Javier Navarrete is a Spanish composer who has become known mainly through film music. Navarrete initially composed for Catalan TV series and television films and also for cinema productions. He became internationally known for his score for Guillermo del Toros Pan’s Labyrinth, which was nominated for the Spanish Film Award Goya and the Oscar. Javier Navarrete conducted the MasterClass film music at Media Sound Hamburg 2014.
Carsten Nicolai is a German artist and musician. He is considered one of the most famous representatives of contemporary electronic music. In 2015, Carsten Nicolai, under his pseudonym Alva Noto, together with Ryūichi Sakamoto, was responsible for the soundtrack for The Revenant. The soundtrack was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards 2016 in the Best Film Music category.
Tim Nielsen is an American sound designer. After graduation, he worked for Skywalker Sound and was responsible as a sound designer for the films Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Little Prince. Tim Nielsen led the MasterClass Sound Design at Media Sound Hamburg 2014.
Michael Nyman is an English composer best known for his music films by Peter Greenaway, including Drowning by Numbers, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, and Prospero’s Books. Nyman studied piano and music history at the Royal College of Music and King’s College London. His greatest success came with the film music for The Piano by Jane Campion. As part of Media Sound Hamburg 2012, Michael Nyman gave a solo concert at the Rolf Liebermann Studio.
Ari Pulkkinen is a Finnish video game composer, musician and sound designer. One of his most famous works is the game music for the computer game Angry Birds, Pulkkinen worked as a demoscene. He won many music competitions and released his first public album for the freeware game Starfight VI: Gatekeepers in 1999. As audio director at the game development company Frozenbyte Inc. he created the original soundtracks and sound design for the video games Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds: Survivor and Trine. After training in audio design, production and music technology, Ari Pulkkinen founded his own sound production company, AriTunes, in 2008. Since then, he has created original soundtracks and sound designs for over twenty projects, including video games such as Angry Birds, Dead Nation, Trine 2 and Resogun. Ari Pulkkinen releases his music on his own label AriTunes. At MediaSoundHamburg 2018 Ari Pulkkinen will lead the MasterClass GameMusic.
Niki Reiser is a Swiss musician and film composer. After studying classical music (flute), he studied jazz and classical music with a focus on film music at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. At workshops in the USA he met Ennio Morricone and Jerry Goldsmith, among others. Back in Europe Reiser composed mainly for director Dani Levy, who also became famous with his debut Du mich auch. Reiser also wrote the film music for Beyond Silence, Nowhere in Africa and In Winter One Year by Caroline Link, Nobody Loves Me by Doris Dörrie and Heaven by Tom Tykwer. Niki Reiser talked about his intensive cooperation with Dani Levy at MediaSoundHamburg 2011.
Kuno Schmid is a German jazz pianist, composer, producer and arranger. Already during his piano and composition studies he worked as a studio pianist and arranger. As an award-winning jazz musician, he has performed with Kitty Winter, Jerry Goodman, Ernie Watts, Toots Tielemans and Robben Ford, among others. In cooperation with the Austrian software producer Vienna Symphonic Library, he was commissioned to compose ten concerts for large orchestra, which he programmed with the VSL database. Schmid made orchestral arrangements for Patti Austin, Marian Petrescu, Erik LeVans and Torsten Goods, among others. He composed the film music for Moon 44 by Roland Emmerich, Dream on Silly Dreamer by Dan Lund and December Boys by Rod Hardy. Kuno Schmid will lead the MasterClass Orchestral Film Scoring at MediaSoundHamburg 2018.
Nicklas Schmidt is a Danish film composer. He wrote the music for the Danish-German coproduction Flaskepost after the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen and reported in a workshop discussion in the context of the Media Sound Hamburg 2016 of his work on the film.
Mark Stoeckinger is an American sound engineer. He began his career in 1980 as a production assistant for the student film Proof. From 1984 to 1988 he worked in Hollywood as a sound engineer and occasionally worked for television, including for the television series Miami Vice. Between 1998 and 2011 Mark Stoeckinger was three times nominated for the Oscar: 1998 together with Per Hallberg for In the body of the enemy, 2010 together with Alan Rankin for Star Trek and 2011 for Unstoppable. Mark Stoekinger directed the MasterClass Sound Design at Media Sound Hamburg 2011.
Elias Struck has been dealing with questions of good tone for many years. He studied audio engineering, trained at the Loft recording studios, and was a sound engineer and sound designer for various television stations. Since 2008 he has been co-owner, sound engineer and sound designer at Tonfabrik in Berlin, producing and designing sound for advertising, film and music. He is also a passionate sailor, vocal coach and lecturer for Pro Tools and sound design workshops.
Randy Thom is an American sound designer and sound engineer. He started his career at a radio station in Berkley. In 1975 he met Walter Murch. About him he received a job as a recording technician in the post production of Apocalypse Now. From 1980, Randy Thom worked on films by George Lucas and received in 1983 a permanent job at his company Skywalker Sound. He also worked with directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton and was twice awarded an Oscar: 1984 for The Right Stuff and 2005 for The Incredibles. At Media Sound Hamburg Randy Thom directed the Master Class Sound Design in 2013 and 2016.
Shigeru Umebayashi is a Japanese film composer. He has composed music for over 40 films from Japan and China, including the soundtracks for several films by director Wong Kar-Wai (In the Mood for Love, 2046). Before his career as a film composer, he was the front man of the Japanese new-wave rock band EX. Shigeru Umebayashi conducted the MasterClass film music at Media Sound Hamburg 2013
Michel van Dyke is a German musician and producer. In addition to his career as a singer for various groups, he also traveled internationally with various bands, including Simple Minds, Oasis and Fury in the Slaughterhouse. In addition, he composed and produced songs for the German feature films Anatomy, Crazy and Herz im Kopf. For Taxi by Kerstin Ahlrichs, Michel van Dyke composed, texted and sang most of the 18-song soundtrack and publicly performed some songs as part of Media Sound Hamburg 2015.
Than van Nispen tot Pannerden is a Dutch composer for media music. He describes himself as an interactive music strategist. Than van Nispen tot Pannerden is a member of the management board of the Music Institute for MultiMedia MiMM and co-founder of the DutchGameMusic platform. He has been lecturing at MediaSoundHamburg for years and chaired the jury for the Young Talent Award Media Music.
Youki Yamamoto is a Japanese composer, arranger and orchestrator best known for his work with Oscar winners Rachel Portman and Patrick Doyle. Yamamoto studied composition at the Royal College of Music. After graduating, he has worked on numerous British, German, French, Turkish, Chinese, Canadian and American films, including Harry Potter, Meryem, Bel Ami and Two in One Day. At Media Sound Hamburg Youki Yamamoto conducted the MasterClass Orchestration in 2015 and 2016.
Gary Yershon is a British composer who gained international fame through his music for movies by Mike Leigh such as Happy-Go-Lucky or Mr. Turner. For the historical drama starring Timothy Spall in the lead role, he was nominated in 2015 for the Oscar in the category Best Film Music. In addition to his work as a composer, Gary Yershon also works as an arranger. At Media Sound Hamburg 2015 Gary Yershon directed the MasterClass film music.
Christopher Young is an American film composer. In Los Angeles, he first worked as a jazz drummer and later studied film composition, including with David Raksin. Young wrote the music for Password: Swordfish, Spider Man 3 and Deliver Us from Evil. In 2016, he directed the MasterClass film music at Media Sound Hamburg.