26.Sonic branding, photographic advocacy, and 'Tales by Light' with Simon Lister

“We have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth, and we should use them in that ratio” is a quote attributed to Greek philosopher Epictetus.

On episode 26 of the B-side I speak to a man who epitomises that saying, in Simon Lister, an internationally recognised photographer and highly awarded audio engineer based in Sydney, Australia.

Simon is the co-founder and executive creative director of Squeak E studios, a music and sound company with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Sydney. And is the global brand photographer and film director for UNICEF.

We chat about his great passion for photography and how he’s spent the last 13 years capturing breathtaking photographs and film of some of the most fascinating places on earth, like India, Morocco, Myanmar, PNG, and Thailand. Bangladesh, Mozambique, Tanzania, Laos, Mongolia, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, and Ethiopia, to name a few. And doing it on his motorbike, so he can go off the beaten track to access areas, experiences and cultures not often seen by travellers.

He discusses the work he’s done for UNICEF as the global brand photographer and as the director of their international brand campaign launch commercial. Which features the voices of Liam Neeson, Shakira, and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Simon talks about how this powerfully emotive work for UNICEF led to being featured in the Netflix and Canon documentary series ‘Tales by Light’. Where he shares the stories of child workers in Bangladesh and Bolivia, living in some of the worlds harshest environments.

Then we switch gears to jam on sound design, commercial music and the importance of sonic branding. And how marketers are missing a trick if they’re not thinking about audio as an equally important tool for building brands and long term awareness.

Simon is an incredibly humble yet inspiring guy. Quietly shaping the future of commercial audio whilst being committed to creating awareness of the horrendous living conditions affecting the world’s most underrepresented communities.

By listening, looking deep into people’s eyes and sharing their stories, he’s helping to make a global impact and change their lives for the better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this chat, and I know you will too. Cheers.

You can find Simon Lister here:
https://www.squeakeclean.com/
See his photography here: http://www.simonlisterphotography.com/
And watch the Netflix ‘Tales by Light’ trailer here: https://youtu.be/Oc9Y59kzshg