"John's extraordinary attention to detail with the highest production values creates a cinematic listening experience. The creativity in the sound design alone weaves an immersive, inventive, and accelerating narrative which makes their work simply world class!"
Audio Production Awards Judges 2023
Audio Production Awards Judges 2023
A Quick BioJohn Wakefield is a London based producer of audio documentary and a pioneer director and producer of podcast audio drama. His best known production 'Wooden Overcoats' (Co-Director/Producer/Sound Designer) has been praised by the world’s press. Described as 'perfectly produced' by the Guardian, recommended by TIME Magazine, The New York Times, NPR and described as “a podcast for people who think podcasts are for other people” by the Hindustan Times. The final series was awarded Best Fiction Podcast at the British Podcast Awards 2023. Other projects include Agatha Christie's 'The Mysterious Affair At Styles' for Audible, Diplomatic Thriller serial 'Discretion' for BBC Radio 4 BBC Audio Drama Award winning 'Rathband' (Co-Director/Sound Designer), Irish Podcast Award winning immersive horror thriller 'Below' for Audible (Director/Sound Designer), BBC Audio Drama Award nominated film noir- sitcom 'Trimble' (Director/Producer), as well as numerous plays, comedies and documentaries. Sound design work includes ARIA Award winning 'Algorithms' and Earphone Award winning 'The Man on the Mountaintop' for Audible Originals, 'Holy Sh!t' for Hat Trick Productions, recording and mixing for BBC R4, BBC World Service Documentaries and Victoria Mapplebeck's IDFA winning VR Film 'The Waiting Room' and consulting on documentary feature 'Motherboard'. In 2023 he was awarded Best Sound Design Producer at the Audio Production Awards. He has produced and directed audiobooks for a range of international publishers. He has also taught radio documentary production and sound design at UCL, appeared on podcast juries for the Prix Europa (European Broadcasting Association), The Flyd International Radio Drama Festival (Copenhagen) and been invited to speak at a number of audio festivals and at the BBC. John currently works as a Podcast Producer for Hat Trick Productions and HTM Television Ltd as well as taking on freelance producing, editing, mastering, consulting and teaching work. |
Awards
British Podcast Awards Best Fiction Podcast Gold 2023 Best Fiction Podcast Silver 2021 Best Wellbeing Podcast Bronze 2021 Best Fiction Podcast Silver 2017 Best Fiction Podcast (Nomination) 2022 Irish Podcast Awards Best Fiction Podcast 2023 BBC Audio Drama Awards Best Online or Non-Broadcast Audio Drama 2018 Best Podcast Audio Drama (Nomination) 2024 Best Podcast Audio Drama (2 Nominations) 2023 Best Online or Non-Broadcast Audio Drama (Nomination) 2014 Audio Production Awards Best Sound Design Producer 2023 Best Sound Design Producer (Nomination) 2022 Audio and Radio Industry Awards Best Drama (Nomination) 2025 TBA Best Drama (Nomination) 2024 Best Drama Silver 2023 (as Sound Designer only) Best Fictional Storytelling (Nomination) 2017 Prix Europa Digital Audio (Nomination) 2016 iTunes Best of 2015 Sound Design for 'The Waiting Room' (Victoria Mapplebeck/East City Films). Winner 'Digital Storytelling at IDFA Doc lab 2019' and in Competition at the Venice Biennale 2019.
Editing and Sound Design 'Testing Times' (Victoria Mapplebeck/ First Person Films Ltd) in competition at IDFA 2021. Both pieces featured in the BFI 'Shifting Perspectives' Exhibition in 2023. Work featured at FLYD Festival of Radio Drama, Copenhagen 2014 and 2015 |