Dr. Ross Adrian Williams
Born in Perth, Western Australia, composer and sound designer Ross Adrian Williams has written music and designed sound across a range of styles for theatre, film, animation, dance, museum installation, 360° video and VR. His work for award winning abstract, documentary, animated and narrative films have been shown in festivals, and installations around the world including the Venice Biennale and Busan International Short Film Festival.
His interdisciplinary research collaborations have led to novel research in diverse areas, combining various scientific disciplines. These include the exploration of volcanic infrasound to improve the detection of volcanic events and gaining deeper insights into the cognitive and perceptual mechanisms underlying the impact of sound on visual memory formation in narrative fiction film.
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Doctor of Musical Arts (1999 – 2002)
Rice University, Houston, U.S.A - Master of Music (1996 -1999)
Rice University, Houston, U.S.A - Bachelor of Music (Hons) (1991-1995)
University of Western Australia
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
- British University Vietnam (BUV)
Senior Lecturer (2025 – Current) - Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Assistant Professor (2014 – 2025) - Art Institute of New York City, U.S.A
Senior lead Instructor (2003 – 2014)
RESEARCH AREAS / FIELDS
- Sound, Memory and Image: How sound effects image memory in narrative in 2D and VR films
- Pedagogy of sound in screen media
- Aesthetics of sound design for fiction narrative, experimental and documentary film.
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
- Williams, R.A. (2024)
Voice in the Machine: AI Voice Cloning in Film.
Art Style, Art & Culture International Magazine, v. 13, no. 129-143,
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10443451 - Williams, R.A., Perttu, A. & Taisne, B. (2020)
Processing of volcano infrasound using film sound audio post-production techniques to improve signal detection via array processing.
Geoscience Letters. 7, 9 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-020-00158-4 # - Williams, R.A, (2019)
“Sound As Equal Partner in Film Production: Can Academic Instruction Change Industry Practice”
Ars et Praxis, No. VI, Sept, pp. 183-189.
RESEARCH & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS / EXHIBITIONS
- Williams R.A. (2025)
Bird Sounds (short film, writer, director)
Busan International Short Film Festival (film screening)
Busan, South Korea - Williams R.A (2023)
Sound and Visual Memory in Narrative Film
The Society of Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference
University of North Carolina Wilmington. U.S.A - Williams R.A (2019)
Where is the Sound? Challenges and Strategies in Enhancing the Status of Sound in Media Pedagogy
3rd Music and Sound Design in Film and New Media Conference. (Keynote Address)
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania. - Williams R.A (2019)
Academy Practice = Industry Practice: Sound in Media Pedagogy,
Sightlines: Screen Production and the Academy Conference,
RMIT Melbourne, Australia - Williams R.A (2018)
Processing of volcano Infrasound using film Sound Audio Post Production Techniques to Improve Signal Detection via Array Processing
European Geosciences Union, General Assembly,
Vienna, Austria (2018).
RESEARCH GRANTS
- Williams R.A (2019)
Unheard, Unseen: Sound and Memory in Sound Design for Narrative Film in 2D and VR
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($53 736) - Reinhuber, E, Seide B & Williams R.A (2016)
Tangible/Intangible: Exploring the possibilities of capturing multi-sensory impressions to create immersive Virtual Reality environments, exemplified with the forking path structure of the Yunnan Garden at NTU.
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($97 000) - Taisne, B, Williams R.A (2016)
Real time spatial sonification of Nature’s furies using infrasound sensors installed at NTU
Singapore Ministry of Education, Tier 1 Research Grant ($50 186)
AWARDS & HONOURS
- Vertical Movie Award Winner – New Normal 2021
4th Vertical Movie Festival, Rome, Italy
As composer, sound designer/mixer (written and directed by Chul Heo) - Grand Jury Prize, Best Short Film – Little Fiel 2019
Boulder International Film Festival, U.S.A.
As Sound Designer/Mixer (written and directed by Irina Patkanian) - Best Art Award (Group) – Gone Garden 2018
ZKM Beyond Festival, Art exhibition
ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany.
As Co-director, Composer, Sound Designer/Mixer - Faculty Excellence Award 2005
Art Institute of New York City, U.S.A - J. Hodges Awards for Outstanding Composition Student 1995
University of Western Australia, Australia
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