In Conversation with GCRS' George Castle

George Castle has been a sound engineer at GCRS for two years. In that time he has worked on projects for the likes of Virgin Mobile, Audi, Compare the Market, Nike and The Trainline.

Here, he speaks to us about his creative development and what inspires him as a sound designer. 

Q> Tell us about your career, what got you into sound design?

George> Being given a drum kit by my uncle when I was two planted my love for music. I started a band when I was 13. When the time finally came for us to record our first E.P, instead of using a studio we decided to invest our money into an 8-track to do our own recordings. The more I recorded on the 8-track, the more I found I loved audio production. This developed into the job that I love today.

Q> What inspires you creatively?

George> The nature of my job means that I am constantly meeting new people with a real variety of ideas, and that’s always inspiring. I come across people who work in film, music, television and beyond – all of whom may teach me something I didn’t know before. 

Some of my favourite work has come from happy accidents: making mistakes which turn out to sound great. 

Q> Whose work do you admire?

George> The sound designer Mark Mangini has always been a huge influence. Films like Blade Runner 2049 and Mad Max: Fury Road are ones I will watch again and again. We have his SFX library on our SFX server.

Q> Do you have any passion projects outside of work?

George> Music is definitely my passion, and I record and mix music in my own time. I also love short films and will rarely pass up an offer to work on one. 

Q> Do you have a mentor? If so, how have they helped you?

George> GCRS is a really tight knit team, and although we are often tucked away in our own studios, every single person has a different way of working – so swapping skills is really valuable. I genuinely feel like I learn something new every day, not just from the sound designers but also from our production team.

Q> What is your process for designing sound?

George> There is no process for designing sound, as jobs vary so widely it is impossible to work to a template. I like to have the freedom to experiment whenever possible. My best work is definitely always a product of trying something which on paper should not really work. The brief I am given is always of course where I start, but it is important for me to bring my own flavour to everything to do.