Hackenbacker Nominated Twice In Primetime Emmy Awards

Hot on the heels of its success at the British Academy Television Craft awards, audio post production facility Hackenbacker has once again proved that quality counts by notching up two nominations for the prestigious Primetime Emmy awards in the USA.
The Soho-based facility has been nominated twice in the Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special category for its work on series one of Carnival Films/Masterpiece's major costume drama Downton Abbey and for Any Human Heart, a four-part miniseries also co-produced by Carnival Films/Masterpiece.
Gareth Neame, who was Carnival Films/NBC Universal's Executive Producer for both series, said: "I'm very happy that Hackenbacker's great work on Any Human Heart and Downton Abbey has resulted in nominations for both productions at the upcoming Primetime Emmys. The fact that this is in addition to the BAFTA award success earlier this year makes it all the more special. The care and attention the sound tracks have received from the entire team at Hackenbacker shines through and has contributed greatly to the audience's experience of the programmes as a whole."
Downton Abbey Series One, which has received a total of 11 Emmy nominations, is set in an English country house in 1912 and portrays the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who work for them during the period from the sinking of the Titanic to the outbreak of the First World War. The second series is now in production and once again Hackenbacker is handling all of the audio post production.
Carnival Film's critically acclaimed adaptation of William Boyd's best-selling epic novel Any Human Heart featured an all-star cast including Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen, Kim Cattrall, Gillian Anderson, Tom Hollander, Natasha Little, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Ed Stoppard and Samuel West.
Nigel Heath, Founder and Director of Hackenbacker, said: "We are thrilled to have been nominated for two shows in this year's Emmy Awards. I'm delighted that the producers turned to us, a specialist sound company, to ensure the delivery of great audio. The quality of our sound team's work speaks for itself and I'm so pleased that their immense effort and hard work have been recognised by these nominations."
Dialogue Editor on both productions was Alex Sawyer, who said: "It was hugely enjoyable to work on Downton Abbey and to work with such a supportive producer as Liz Trubridge. Clarity and quality of sound was everything in the dialogue, the time period meant there was nothing to hide behind!
"In contrast, Any Human Heart was without doubt one of the toughest and most rewarding shows I have been involved with. It was tough because of the sheer number of cast members, and variety of locations, yet it was rewarding because i feel the results are there for all to see and hear. I hope I get an opportunity to work on something of comparable quality again."
Another key member of the team was Sound Effects Editor Adam Armitage, who said: "I had a lot of fun working on both these shows. It was a fantastic opportunity to work alongside some really talented and creative people. I found Downton Abbey a pleasure to work on - both challenging and rewarding because we were creating a soundtrack that authentically placed the story in the Edwardian era.
"Having read William Boyd's novel Any Human Heart, I was excited to get the chance to be involved in such a visually enticing production that lends itself to the creative aspect of sound design. The cinematography was beautiful and provided a great inspiration for experimenting with sound."
(KMcA)