Nicolas Becker Masterclass

“Each film should be taken as a prototype, fitting the entire sound process to each film” - Nicolas Becker.

Nicolas Becker is an internationally renowned sound designer, foley artist, and composer. He is known for developing an original and unique working process for each project. Over the years, he has collaborated with a wide range of filmmakers, including Roman Polanski, David Cronenberg, Chris Nolan, Guillermo Del Toro, Andrea Arnold, Alain Resnais, Gaspard Noé, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, Alfonso Cuarón, Darius Marder, Denis Villeneuve, and many others.

Becker’s recent sound design credits include Bird by Andrea Arnold, Silent Hill by Christophe Gans, and Sound of Metal by Darius Marder, for which he won an Oscar and BAFTA for Best Sound. His work also includes Bardo directed by Alejandro Iñárritu, Wuthering Heights and American Honey by Andrea Arnold. 

As a composer, Becker has recently completed the film scores for Memoryhouse by João Paulo Miranda Maria, Earwig by Lucile Hadžihalilović, Comme des Reines by Marion Vernoux, and Black Flies by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. He also works with the Soundwalk Collective, with whom he has completed two albums with Patti Smith.

Becker’s collaboration with conceptual artist Philippe Parreno began over a decade ago, opening doors to the world of sound installation and sound art. Becker has been responsible for sound design and musical direction for Parreno’s exhibitions worldwide, including a permanent sound installation at MoMA in New York and another at the Luma Foundation in Arles. Together with Parreno, Becker is working on an opera with Ensemble InterContemporain.

Throughout his career, Becker has been at the forefront of research on new practices for sound and music production, collaborating with institutions like IRCAM, Stanford University, and Bronze AI. His work involves the hybridization of sound with biological entities to create evolving sound systems. These techniques have been applied to various projects, including the Basquiat exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Chroma app.

During the event, Becker will speak about his work as a sound designer, foley and sound artist, showing samples from the most significant projects of his career.

Please register in advance through this link: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/EP/EACC1319627C32BC 

The event is free of charge for Aalto students & staff, and 15 € for other participants.