Morgan Samuel

It was a savvy person who suggested Morgan Samuel might have a future in music and should check out the Media Arts open day. Samuel did so, and was won over. “I liked the cool recording equipment and the vibe of the whole place,” he says. “I thought, yep, that looks like me.”

Fourteen years on, Samuel’s CV includes work on films such as District 9, The Lovely Bones, 30 Days of Night, and the three Hobbit films, with Park Road Post and Marmalade Audio. He also won a MPSE Golden Reel Award for ‘Best Sound Editing on an Animated Feature’ on Spielberg's ‘The Adventures of Tintin’. 

Back when he was at Wintec specialising in music production, Samuel acquired a taste for working with film sound. “The third year was a really cool one because I blossomed, in a way, and had all the support to do so.”

A postgraduate Honours year beckoned after the degree, and then Samuel headed to Wellington, inspired by the Lord of The Rings films. “I thought, if they can make that in New Zealand, then I want in on it. So away I went, with this crazy idea in my head that I might somehow infiltrate the Peter Jackson camp.” 

The crazy idea came off - Samuel got lucky, he says. “A Media Arts tutor put me in touch with someone on the inside of that network. Over the next ten years I went from doing a couple of jobs to being fully employed on the Hobbit films and others.” 

After ten busy years immersed in the industry, Samuel has now relocated from Wellington to Te Awamutu to focus more on family and lifestyle and has completed pieces for Facebook, ESPN and Twitter, among others. “I’m still working as a sound engineer, but for myself, with some studio gear and a ProTools system set up at home. I have several clients in London and New York, and one in Australia, who I do sound design and composition for – mostly for animations – and seem to be getting more of that work. It’s great.”