About Benedict

Music

I grew up with music, playing the cello from a young age, singing in the cathedral choir, playing for small orchestras. I learnt the cello, piano and percussion (playing drum set in a band). The music I used to listen to most was classical music and I studied music in school and learnt music notation, learning both to read and write music. It was many years later that I started to improvise more and learnt the other rich side of playing by ear. My main love with music became composing. I was soon thrilled by the landscape of film music and started to look in that direction for composing.

Other Skills during my life:

Voice

I have developed my voice from singing at an early age to acting at a later age. Other than the plays that I acted in I developed my skill at reading books (JRR Tolkien and all of Harry Potter books amongst others) to my children. When I started my animation company (specialising in whiteboard animation) I did the voiceover of all the videos.

Animation

I’ve always had a fascination with film. After doing a PostGrad in acting, I started a 2D, 3D animation company that has specialised in Whiteboard Animation (with my voice). I have also worked on coding creating interactive programs for screens used in BBC series, The Body Farm, Inspector Lewis and Hustle. I’ve also created a game using a combination of my 3D modelling and animation and my coding. I later lectured in Coding for Game Design courses at two colleges. Whilst CZA Studios still exists I have made it dormant to put my full attention to composing.

Training/Presenting

I have a lot of experience teaching, training and presenting (mainly to students/clients). Other than my experience training English as a Foreign Language for seven years in Spain and being Head of Music in a school in South East London for 3 years, I have been training with Google Digital Garage giving talks in Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast, specialising in coding. Since the the pandemic with Covid 19 I have been giving live talks, moderating and broadcasting for Google Digital Garage as well as being Broadcast Manager for talks by Google News Initiative for countries around the world.

Consultant

Working as trainer and working with companies to create their whiteboard animation has gradually developed into me becoming a Consultant. I have worked as consultant for some companies in Norway as well as trainer for a gourmet restaurant in preparing and presenting cooking for their clients during the pandemic.