About Adrian

Photo by Scott Murdoch

Adrian is a multi-instrumentalist who has composed music for award winning films, tv pilots, and multimedia, and has scored nearly 30 productions in the last 4 years. He is also a recording artist with 3 independent releases under his belt and another effort in the works. He lends his talents as a musician and producer to artists and appears on recordings as a guitarist, co-writer, and performer, most notably with Juno Award nominee, Eternia. In Winter 2007, with generous assistance from the Guild of Canadian Film Composers, Adrian apprenticed with Donald Quan (Relic Hunter, Mutant X).

What – you want more?

Born into a family of professional classical musicians, he grew up in Germany where his father plays French horn in the symphony orchestras of Mainz and Wuppertal, and was from an early age immersed in the traditions of classical and operatic music. He has studied classical guitar and music theory both at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and the Musik HochSchule in Velbert, Germany, and has won top awards for performance in classical guitar. He also holds an honors diploma in Fine Art, and has studied sound design and new media at Ryerson University. He toured Canada with independent rock group Unherd, and now resides in Toronto.

Adrian’s personal interest include philosophy, art and design, and martial arts. He has a total of over 7 years in serious martial arts study in various disciplines, and currently holds a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, and has placed first in provincial and city tournaments, and actively assists in coaching junior teams.

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Adrian's Twitter Feed

Gigging is a distinct pain in the ass (load in/out, waiting, grumpy sound guys), but once you hit the stage, it becomes intensely worth it.
WOW! RT @JamesPew: RT @TomDavenport: Seriously old Beatles photo RT @Nissemus: http://twitpic.com/16m7gs - Beatles in 1957 /via @suddain
@HeyBishop - Because you are making the move to shooting 35mm, right? :)
RT @ianshepherd: A measure for the multiverse - the first hint that parallel worlds really exist http://bit.ly/9DuboH /via @newscientist
@mirvoth I love it. We require scientific proof that drinking is fun.

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January 28, 2009 at 7:33 pm

Michael McIntosh

Adrian,

Your sense of professionalism comes through. I like your interpretation of the director’s comments and especially the line in which you spoke to checking your ego while still maintaining your sense of expertise. I am sure the balance you allow yourself in life comes from your martial arts training.

I would like to start a dialogue with you that is not covered in your well written bio. When did you start the sound design aspect? What type of equipment do you use? Sample library’s, sequencer, sampler, mac or pc.

I hope you feel I am not being too forward. I like your work and you seem like someone that is a bit wise in the ways.

Hope you are having a successful 2009 so far. Perhaps, in the future, I can tell you a bit about my aspirations as someone who is a bit older (39) that is feeling like he’s just finding his voice as a composer.

Thank-you!
Michael

January 29, 2009 at 1:20 pm

Adrian Ellis

Thanks for your comments, Michael.

My foray into sound design studies was in 2005, and was mostly to augment my skill set. However, as much as I love and appreciate sound design, my passion is music and I made a decision to focus on that exclusively. Sound design certainly does play a big role in music, however, esp. in more adventurous scores.

I’ll contact you privately regarding equipment and samples, etc. What I’ll say here is that I think it has to be a very personal choice. Take a listen to the libraries that are out there, and see which one resonates with you; visit the forums and see what’s being said about sound, usability, etc. You can do a lot with a little (and limitations are something I’m going to address in a future article). Also, I feel that a lot of composers sound the same because you recognize their samples, because they focus on writing to suit what their samples can do, and because some samples are so amazing and seductive that everyone uses them the same way without really thinking. And here we come to the balance between finding your niche, and satisfying clients who want ‘THE sound’.

My rogue answer to your question is – it doesn’t matter! It’s what you do with those samples, sequencers, mac/pc, those TOOLS – that really matters, both from a business and from an artistic point of view.

Good luck!

Adrian

April 6, 2009 at 1:24 pm

Ceglar Franc