May 2024

Sound Canvas is a forward thinking sound design studio, run by multi-award winning sound designer, Tom Joyce. They specialise in cinematic, organic, story-focused sound for all forms of visual media and pride themselves on an ability to come up with truly original soundscapes. They work with selected sound designers and composers to offer genuinely bespoke soundtracks, whether it’s making dialogue crystal clear or creating intricate audio environments from scratch.

With 20 years experience in post production, working alongside top directors and creatives, Sound Canvas is a studio that is obsessed with the power of sound to draw you into a story and take you on an adventure to new sonic worlds.

Let’s hear from Tom…

MASA: Can you tell us about your background in sound design and the trajectory your career has taken to get you where you are today? 

TOM: I come from a mixed media arts background, where creating sound art installations led me initially towards long form television, where I moved up the ranks from runner to dubbing mixer. This gave me a great technical knowledge base, but over time I found long form to be somewhat limited creatively. I then moved into short form promos, which I preferred as they tended to have more creative elements to explore and I could create the overall sonic aesthetic. I am also passionate about film, so alongside my full time job, I was doing a lot of sound design for short films. After 5 years working predominantly in promos, I took the plunge and went freelance, working at a variety of post production studios in London, including Factory where I eventually landed a full time job. At Factory I worked on a mixture of advertising and film before taking the leap to set up my own studio, Sound Canvas. Sound Canvas was born from a desire to create an eclectic set of work across different genres including advertising, film, motion graphics and also to be able to devote time and energy to create and collaborate on artistic projects.

MASA: Are you able to share details of what you’re currently working on?

TOM: Lately, we have been working on a number of feature films, two of them have recently been bought and will be released soon on streaming platforms, which is exciting. It’s been a really great challenge working on such contrasting projects. The first, ‘Water & Garri’ directed by Meji Alabi from Black Dog Films, features singer-songwriter, Tiwa Savage, in her debut film as a fashion designer returning after ten years in the U.S to her home in Ghana. The other film ‘Sunray’ is a fast-paced action style revenge movie created by, and starring, former Royal Marine Commandos.

MASA: Have you ever transformed a scene with sound design in a way that surprised even yourself?

TOM: There was a short film I worked on called ‘Upstairs’ directed by Owynne Dawkins, where the concept was to follow a narrative from the point of view of listening to your neighbours in the apartment above you. We recorded the ‘upstairs’ narrative with the actors prior to the shoot, which was then played back on set to elicit real reactions on hearing the faceless story unfolding above. When we got to the mix, we were using DOLBY ATMOS and positioned the ‘upstairs’ narrative in the ceiling speakers. My concern was that the audience would look up and be distracted, but I was surprised when that didn’t happen, rather it just helped to accentuate the spatial qualities present in the film. It was a great way to use the technology to help the film’s storytelling.

MASA: How do you integrate sound design with the existing score and dialogue to create a cohesive soundscape?

TOM: One great way to achieve this is to work out in which key the music is composed and pitch our signature tonal and atmospheric sound to that, so that they harmonize with the score. 

MASA: Have you ever faced any unique technical challenges in creating sound effects? How did you overcome them?

TOM: I once had to replicate an 1980s sound effect from a TV show because the client was worried about copyrights using the original sound. To get around this, I rebuilt the sound through various sound design elements as well as a lot of filtering and treatment so that it almost exactly matched the original! In creating it from scratch meant we were able to avoid any potential copyright issues.

MASA: How do you effectively collaborate with directors and producers, especially when there are creative differences? 

TOM: I find that if you are in the same room with creatives, it’s easier to share ideas and put across different points of view. Thankfully with remote sessions, you can do a similar thing so that rather than going back and forth with feedback over email, you can just jump on a video call and work through ideas and come to final decisions together in real-time. 

MASA: What’s your approach to staying up-to-date on the latest sound design technologies and software? What tools and techniques do you find most beneficial in your workflow?

TOM: I keep an eye on blogs such as Production Expert, YouTube as well as Instagram to stay up to date with new developments. I work more on the creative side than the technical so I’m often looking at Behance for inspiration and creativity sonically. In terms of workflow, our studios use Dropbox and Slack which allows us to quickly jump on sessions from any studio.

MASA: In what way do you handle the pressure of deadlines and tight turnaround times?

TOM: Over the years, I’ve developed a good workflow and am naturally forward-thinking, which helps in terms of anticipating scheduling challenges. Our small team allows us to communicate effectively and we will gently nudge clients to ensure we can stay on top of a project and that post production deadlines are achieved. Working across long and short form projects simultaneously can be a challenge and requires different time management skills, which is something we have developed with experience and allows us to juggle smaller jobs alongside larger projects effectively. 

MASA: What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about the role of a sound designer?

TOM: We are a creative studio, so as well as sound design we also do original composition as well as working in the grey area between sound and music. We often get briefs for ‘sound design’, when what is really required for the project are musical elements. So, I think there is often a confusion as to what sound design is, and we find that musical composition and sound design can sometimes get merged together in a briefing. Thankfully, we are able to work across these different types of audio input, so we can guide the client through the process and create a holistic solution to a client’s individual challenge. 

MASA: And to round things up, having worked with many top directors and creatives, you’re highly respected within the industry. What do you feel makes Sound Canvas stand out from the crowd?

TOM: I think it’s our passion for sonic experimentation, we are a boutique creative sound design studio offering bespoke composition and audio post production that likes to push sonic boundaries and we love what we do. Experimenting with sound is our work and our play, and we often get hands-on to create completely new sounds for projects using our modular synth rig. I love the amalgamation of analogue and digital sound that this can bring to our workflows, and that we can bring this experimentation and unique sounds to our clients projects.

MASA: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us here, Tom. Such a great insight into your work and practices. We also want to express our sincere gratitude for your support of MASA's Best Sound Design in Online, Social + Digital Advertising Award. Your sponsorship plays a vital role in allowing us to honour the best talent in our industries.

Find out more about Tom and Sound Canvas HERE