Neville MacKenzie Farmer is a British music, television and film producer, composer, performer and music industry commentator. His plethora of published materials include articles, scripts, books, films, plays, songs, events and art; all of which have captured moments large and small, insignificant and epic through lateral thought, story-telling, clarity, wit and insight.
Neville continues to observe, analyse and elucidate the nature of the world. Over four decades, he has documented and been part of a changing world in music, film, sports, arts, politics, culture, nature, food, broadcast media and technology. He has co-authored political policy papers, produced and directed arts films, performed with some of the world’s greatest musicians and mentored young talent in music, film-making, politics and writing.
He played a pivotal role in changing the production of music for picture. In the early 90s, the clash between composers, the TV industry and the Musicians Union, session musician branch paved the way for a new generation of composers working from home studios, whilst TV producers continued with a methodology built around three hour sessions.
As Musical Director of “Lonely Planet”, Neville implemented a new system making composed music more integral to the entire editing process, eschewing ‘temp’ track edits and giving time and space for composers, directors and editors to work more closely. It also opened up a creative space for a new generation of talented young composers such as Nainita Desai, Martyn Swain, Amanda Kramer, Daniel Pemberton, Michael Conn, The West India Company, Crustaceans, Paul Mounsey, Colin Winston-Fletcher and Jon Wygens among others.
The success of the resulting music created a profit centre for the composers and the production company through the self-release of soundtrack albums that sold over 100,000 copies for “Lonely Planet” and “Globe Trekker”. Find out more about Neville’s musical talents here.
“There is nothing like a bespoke, composed score to lift a film or television production. Off-the-peg libraries may appear cheaper, but they often prove a false economy.”