Bonfire Conversations

Bonfire Conversations

Welcome to Bonfire Conversations, a podcast where we gather around the metaphorical bonfire to share inspiring stories, explore creative journeys, and ignite deep, meaningful dialogues. Hosted by Hamidreza Nikoofar, each episode delves into the minds of remarkable individuals across various fields, including music, film, art, and beyond. Join us as we chat with influential guests, uncovering the passions, challenges, and triumphs that shape their unique paths. Whether you’re a creator seeking inspiration or simply a curious mind eager to learn from the best, Bonfire Conversations is your invitation to sit back, relax, and enjoy the warmth of genuine human connection. Available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services: https://li.sten.to/bdrq39ec

Episodes

November 12, 2024 51 mins

In this episode of Bonfire Conversations, I’m joined by Ashley Poprik 🎮✍️, the talented writer behind some of the most successful video games in recent years, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare 3, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

We dive deep into Ashley's impressive career journey, from her early days in short film 🎥 to crafting narratives for blockbuster games. Ashley shares her insights on the writing ...

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In this mind-blowing episode of Bonfire Conversations, I sit down with Marcos Arrut, co-founder of RenovaCode Therapeutics, to explore the future of human evolution and the science of extending life. From reversing aging to the possibility of achieving immortality, Marcos and his team are pioneering breakthroughs in gene therapy that could change the way we think about health and longevity.

We discuss everything from the i...

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In this episode of Bonfire Conversations, I sit down with Aza Hand, the re-recording mixer behind the explosive Irish film Kneecap, Ireland’s official submission for the 2025 Oscars. Aza takes us behind the scenes of this powerful, music-driven movie, sharing insights on the technical and creative challenges he faced while crafting the film’s dynamic sound. From high-energy concert scenes to balancing music, dialogue, and sound eff...

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🎙️ In this episode of Bonfire Conversations, I sit down with two of the most creative minds in film and television music—Oscar-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Trial of the Chicago 7) and James Griffith of Toydrum (Slow Horses, Three Pines). We dive deep into their collaborative work on the hit spy thriller series Slow Horses, exploring their creative process, technical approach to comp...

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🎙️ In this episode of Bonfire Conversations, I sit down with the brilliant art director Jacinta Leong, whose incredible work has shaped the look and feel of iconic films like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Mad Max: Fury Road, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Alien: Covenant, and many more.

✨ We dive into her career journey, from her early days in architecture to working with legendary directors like George Miller. Jac...

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🎙️ Welcome to another exciting episode of Bonfire Conversations! In this episode, I sit down with the incredibly talented composer Wilbert Roget II. Known for his work on iconic video games such as Call of Duty: WWII, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Mortal Kombat 11, Wilbert shares his journey, insights, and experiences in the world of music composition.

🔥 Join me as I delve into:

Wilbert's early influence...

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Josh Sawyer is the legendary writer and director of games such as Fallout: New Vegas, Pentiment, and Pillars of Eternity at Obsidian Entertainment.

In this episode, we talk about creativity, writing, inspirations, Josh's workflow, and favorite films.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services.
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

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A conversation with the legendary Pedro Luque, the cinematographer of 
Don't Breath and Society of the Snow. We talk about scenes and shots of 
Society of the Snow and Pedro's success story.

Wassup Conversations podcast is available on YouTube and all the major 
podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

Pedro's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pedroluqu...

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Mark Mangini is the legendary two-time Oscar winner and six-time Oscar-nominated sound editor and designer of some of the best-sounding movies in history, such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Dune, Blade Runner 2049, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In this episode, we talk about his success story, life, career, failure, and winning two Oscars. We also talk about many of his great films and his favorites.

Wassup Con...

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A conversation with Ilkka Villi, the actor of Alan Wake games. In this interview, we talk about Alan Wake II and the differences of making it in comparison to the first entry. We also discuss Ilkka's life growing up and falling in love with acting.

Wassup Conversations podcast is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services. 

Learn more about Wassup Conversations:
https://www.nikoofar...

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A conversation with Clive Bradley, creator and writer of Castlevania: Nocturne from Netflix. 

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

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A conversation with Gavin Bocquet, production designer of great movies such as Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Warcraft, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Silo. 

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services.

www.nikoofarmusic.com

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An in-depth conversation with Alex Riviere, audio director of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora about sound design, implementation, mixing audio for games, and his new book "Game Audio Mixing: Insights to Improve Your Mixing Performance"

Wassup Conversations is on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

Alex on X: https://twitter.com/AAAlexRiviere
Ham...

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A conversation with Jason Graves, the legendary composer of Dead Space, Tomb Raider, Moss, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Warzone.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services.:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

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A conversation with Tina Guo, Grammy-nominated musician, composer, and cellist on her life, career, and success story.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

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Anna Megill is a veteran writer of great games such as Guild Wars 2, Control, Dishonored, Fable, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. She has published a new book called The Game Writing Guide: Get Your Dream Job and Keep It, which is a great study about writing for games and working in the video game industry.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarm...

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In this episode of Wassup Conversations podcast, Chloe Van Landschoot who plays Kristi in From, talks about her life, being a nurse while not acting, and her new short film.

From is a horror show from MGM+ and Amazon Prime praised by Stephen King and it's currently running its season 2.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com...

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An in-depth conversation with the legendary Dan Lauststen, two times Oscar-nominated cinematographer of The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley, John Wick movies, and many more. 

Wassup Conversations is on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services.
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

#johnwick #Danlaustsen #cinematography

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An in-depth conversation with Nainita Desai, composer of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Season 3) about her techniques, composing for games and documentaries.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is available on PC and Consoles.

Wassup Conversations is available on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:
https://www.nikoofarmusic.com/wassup

#NainitaDesai #CallofDuty #Soundtrack

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In this episode of Wassup Conversations, Stephen Barton (Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor) and Frederik Wiedmann (Star Trek: Picard, The Dragon Prince) talk about their lives, career, the way they make music and the future of film music, considering the evolution of AI.

Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard is available on Paramount+.

Wassup Conversations is on YouTube and all the major podcast streaming services:

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