Soundscopia Vienna: Workshop URSA Straps

Master Session with Simon Bysshe

Laura K. Smith is a London-based costume designer with over 15 years’ experience across film and television, whose recent work includes designing Season 4 of the TV drama Industry, and who in 2015 co-founded URSA Straps, where her deep knowledge of fabrics, garment construction, and manufacturing informed a unique collaboration between costume and sound departments—resulting in innovative, practical designs that meet the precise needs of both disciplines on set.

As an accomplished Production Sound Mixer with nearly two decades of experience, Simon Bysshe brings an elite level of technical mastery to his workshops, backed by a filmography that includes high-profile projects like Succession, Hanna, Peaky Blinders, and Golda. His professional journey, including an RTS Craft Award win for The Tunnel, informs his ultra-practical approach to miking actors in challenging real-world environments. In his masterclasses, Bysshe focuses on the critical relationship between sound and costume departments, utilizing his co-founded URSA Straps brand to solve common issues like clothing rustle and microphone dissimulation. He provides hands-on training with actual film costumes, teaching engineers how to achieve "invisible" low-profile mounts that satisfy both aesthetic and acoustic requirements. His teaching emphasizes "making the right call" in the moment, a skill honed from years of managing complex on-set audio flows for major television and film productions. Ultimately, his workshops serve as a bridge between high-end industry standards and practical field solutions, sharing "tricks of the trade" developed across his extensive career as a CAS and AMPS member.

Programm

11 am: Master Session with Simon Bysshe

3 pm: Workshop with Laura K. Smith and Simon Bysshe