“Simply outstanding work, William Goodchild, where your music so elegantly filled the gaps left by the imagery, sound and narrative. Never has it been more important to tell wildlife stories in a deep emotional way, and your music suggests how you might feel about the dramatic developments, leaving the door ajar to contemplate. Congratulations.”
Julian Hector
Honorary Professor University of Salford.
Former Head of the BBC Natural History Unit
“Chimp Empire dominated in the technical categories, winning both the (Panda Awards 2024) Editing Award and Music Award… Composer William Goodchild was honoured for his work on the film’s soundtrack, which added emotional depth and tension to an already engrossing series."
British Cinematographer
"The soundtrack for Surviving Paradise: A Family Tale further adds to the auditory experience of the film. The subject matter is so raw, passionate, and chaotic, and the music elevates the sense of adventure by intensifying an already powerful depiction of nature in its element."
Aaron Phillips
butwhythopodcast.com
"William Goodchild's music for this emotional scene (from Return of the Giant Killers - Africa's Lion Kings, BBC Natural World) will have you on the edge of your seat."
Tom Service
Music Matters, BBC Radio 3
"Thank you so much for your contribution with the music. There are great pieces in there adding real atmosphere to the film. A true delight."
Bernard Walton
Executive Producer, Aqua Vita
"William brilliantly orchestrated and conducted the musical score for my BBC television series Wild China, for which he won a much-deserved Emmy, alongside composer Barnaby Taylor. I so enjoyed working with William and Barnaby that I invited them to collaborate on my subsequent series The Great Rift, which they did with equal success. I am full of admiration for William's talent, his professionalism and his unending patience with musically retarded production people like myself - he's a total joy to work with."
Phil Chapman
Series Producer, BBC
"Thank you so much! The film is sounding stunning. We are all very proud!"
Anna Gol
Production Manager, Icon Films Ltd
Jungle Gremlins of Java (BBC Natural World)
"Myself, Emre Izat, and Kate Bradbury just delivered a 6-part series for PBS and National Geographic Channel International. It's called "Gorongosa Park" and it's a blend of wildlife, conservation and science stories set in a national park in Mozambique during a big restoration project. It's a mixing bowl of genres and styles: blue chip natural history moments; gritty, handheld ob-doc moments; presenter-driven scenes. William relished the challenge and was a perfect partner on the creative journey.
First thing to say is that William is a lot of fun to work with. He's a real gentleman, with a great attitude and a warm and humorous personality. He was always very patient with us as we fumbled around trying to find the right approach; always up for a creative challenge. And when we had to accelerate the finishing schedule, giving him less than 10 days to write each episode's score, he cheerily attacked the seemingly impossible challenge and produced absolutely stunning cues that rarely needed a second draft. He understands that music is a critical element, but one that must work with other elements.
Emre Izat comments: "He has a very keen understanding of the relationship between music, nat sounds, and dialogue. He's able to score in a way that doesn't distract from a scene or call attention to itself, but instead to enhance and support the scene in a tasteful and appropriate way." Kate Bradbury agrees: "I think the real craft of his work is experienced in the final mix where you'll find he has carefully crafted his music to compliment the sound scape and final audio mix. It's rare to have a composer who has such a refined talent."
I'd also say that William is a huge advocate of letting a show breath and using music only when the other elements need to be enhanced. He's not precious - he took a sword to several of his own cues in the final mix after the sound design rendered them less necessary. He wanted to save the music's power for when it was truly needed. Even though he's not precious, each cue is lovingly written, performed and produced. There's a really proud craftsmanship at work. He's an artist. It doesn't matter if your show is art or not - he'll give you art anyway. William connects deeply with stories and can feel and sense the dramatic currents and subtext. He always looking for ways to convert a narrative theme into a musical one. His range and scope is remarkable - from soaring orchestral lyricism to grungy textures and underscores, from contemporary electronica to tribal instrumentations and haunting vocals. He can go straight down the melody, epic road or give you something abstract or conceptual. William makes every film 10 times better than it otherwise would be. And that makes Producers look good. Which is why we'll be hiring him again and again!"
James Byrne
Media Director, Carr Foundation/ Gorongosa Project
Gorongosa Park - Rebirth of Paradise
"Will is a talented composer, conductor and musical director, as well as being a warm. empathetic person who is great company. Our collaboration was inspiring and enjoyable, and the music he composed for my film complemented the images and enhanced the story. I hope we'll get another opportunity to work together very soon."
Tania Dorrity
Producer, Parthenon Entertainment
At The Edge (ep 3), Nordic Wild series (National Geographic International)
"...woven together with music by William Goodchild that was perfectly attuned to the piece."
The Spectator
The Man Who Turned into a Sofa (Afternoon Drama, BBC Radio 4)
"Will has worked with me as the composer for four major series and several one-offs of Natural History films for National Geographic, and every time it's been a pleasure. Not only does he produce an endless stream of beautiful original music, he also has a deep understanding of the needs of film, appreciating the process and demands of editing, and working to enhance the finished product. He works wonderfully in a team, being both receptive to ideas and patient with the mechanics and changes of editorial heart. He never complains, everything arrives perfectly, on time and in place. I very much hope I shall be able to work with him again and can't recommend him too highly."
Amanda Theunissen
Executive Producer, Parthenon Entertainment
"Will produced a superb score for my BBC film. He was a great pleasure to work with and I'd highly recommend him."
Verity White
Producer/ Director, BBC
Chimps of the Lost Gorge (BBC Natural World)
"Will produced a beautiful score for all three episodes of our specialist factual series for PBS “H2O: The Molecule That Made Us”. The shows were incredibly varied - from natural history (bonobos wading in the DRC and deserts blooming), to history (water plannig in ancient Egypt), to current affairs (the water crisis in Gaza, American farmers without water)- and yet he managed to create pieces that both unified the sequences into a coherent whole and reflected their individual character. He worked with a recording artist - Colorado based singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Courtney Hartman - to remix her song as the title track, and sampled her voice throughout the films in some deeply moving pieces that I find myself listening to again and again, even through the project is long finished. He cared about the programmes and listened to feedback from viewings. He is a professional and a pleasure to work with."
Catherine Watling
Producer, Passion Pictures
H2O - the Molecule that Made Us
"Your stuff is all so GOOD!"
Steve Gooder
Director, Icon Films Ltd
Jungle Gremlins of Java (BBC Natural World)
"Will is a polished, creative composer, with a strong sense of what's required for programme making. He is a very rare combination: a creative who manages deadlines and delivers to schedule."
Alison Bradburn
Head of Production, Parthenon Entertainment