Adele’s BAFTA win
sounds good

A first-year module on Adele Fletcher’s UCA film degree turned out to change the course of her life – and now she has a BAFTA to show for it.

18 Oct 2023

When she began her studies at UCA, Adele Fletcher wasn’t entirely sure what it was within the film industry she wanted to do. But a module on non-sync sound opened her eyes – and her ears – to the possibility of working in sound and, twenty years later, she’s one of the country’s leading sound, dialogue and ADR editors. Her talent in the field was recently recognised when she and her team won a craft BAFTA for Best Sound for their work on HBO’s House of the Dragon.

“I got into the field due to one of the modules I did, looking at non-sync sound film. We shot the film and then did the sound afterwards. I’ll never forget putting on the headphones for the first time while recording the sound and thinking ‘sound’s amazing – I love sound!’,” she says.

“I had a really great tutor and she said ‘they need more women in sound; you’ve got good hearing!’ I came to UCA for a foundation, then went on to study Film, thinking I wasn’t sure what area of film specifically I wanted to work in. But this was where I decided to do sound. And I was told I could get work – which pleased my parents!”

Since graduating in 2001, Adele has worked on almost 100 film and TVprojects large and small, including No Time To Die, Peaky Blinders, Spencer and His Dark Materials. But it was her work on House of the Dragon that gained her her biggest accolade.

“It was amazing [to win a BAFTA],” she says. “I won it with a team of people, we were there on the night, and it was really great to get the recognition from my peers. Plus I get to have this amazing trophy with my name on it!

“I worked with at least five others on the job, for about six months, and we worked episode by episode. Someone does the sound design, me and another colleague work on dialogue, and ADR. We have an assistant, and we work with all the actors re-recording some of the lines.  It’s a mega beast of a show, you know, big budget and a lot happens. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of, and I’m excited to be involved in season two.”

But aside from sound, what else did Adele learn at UCA – and what of her learning does she still use today?

“I had a great time, I was here for four years. It’s a small place, not much happens, but I had really good friends, who I’m still in touch with today, and I thought the course was great," she said. “In terms of what I use today, I don’t know – maybe just an ethos and approach to filmmaking. Being collaborative, thinking about the history of film, but probably a lot of is subconscious!”

To find out more about our film courses, visit our course pages.