FEST2010's blog

David Macmillan, is a long established Sound Department expert winner of 3 Oscars, and who has worked in the highest level for five decades.

David has worked with some of the best film Directors of our time, he has helped names such as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Sydney Pollack, Philip Kaufman, Alan Parker, Joel Schumacher, Kathryn Bigelow, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, and many others to achive their goals.

David is widely recognized as one of the most important sound department experts in the whole world, he has been involved in films such as Apolo 13 (earning him an Oscar) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Firm , Natural Born Killer, Speed (earning him an Oscar), Nixon, City of Angels, The Life of David Gale, Hancock, Twilight, and many others.

Here are a few words from David about his career:

My family emigrated to Canada from Scotland, although I was born in N. Ireland, my mother being Irish, Father Scotish. I started studying computer electronics after finishing school, but found it not to my liking, so I applied for an apprentice technician position at The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was perfect for me, and as I completed my apprenticeship after only a year, having 3 years to do so, I had my choice of positions. The film department was sending their crews all over the world, so at twenty two, I got the job as a sound mixer on Documentaries, News, and some TV movies as series. One of my trips in 1968 was to San Francisco and I fell in love with the city. I left my job 6 months later, bought a return ticked with no thought of returning to the ice and snow of Toronto.

Scanning the phone book for film makers who could use my expertise, I happened on a Gentleman named John Korty, and helped him finnish post production on a film he had shot. He introduced me to Francis Ford Coppola, who hired me to prewire a studio he was opening there. He had purchased a Keller Flat Bed dubbing system, and when the Studio was not completed we set it up in a room on the ground floor, and with Francis, myself, Walter Murch and Billy Neal( Francis’s Brother in law) we mixed “The Rain People”, in two weeks time, allowing Francis to rush to Cannes where the film one the Palm de Ore in 1969. I stayed on with American Zoetrope for 3 years as post production mixer, and Francis arranged for my Green Card, and Union Card.

In late 1971 I left to return to Production Mixing, bought my own equipment, and as they say, the rest is history.

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