Finlay Braithwaite earned his Master of Design (MDes) in Digital Futures at OCAD University in 2019 and is currently working towards a PhD in The Creative School’s Media and Design Innovation program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Finlay holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Toronto Metropolitan University.
The overarching theme of Finlay’s research is the exploration of relationships of time and space in audio media production contexts. His PhD work examines the impacts of variable speed media playback on audio experience, manifesting in the design of embodied and intelligent interfaces for variable speed media playback. Finlay’s masters thesis, 2020 Sound, developed a system to automatically align moving microphone sources. His practice-based research explores the potential for new spatial audio experiences in the context of the emerging ubiquity of head-tracking consumer earbuds.
Finlay Braithwaite is a producer of audio media in television, film, podcasting, radio, interactive, and installation contexts. Finlay restored, designed, and mixed the soundtrack for I Met the Walrus, a short animated film that was nominated for an Academy award, won an Emmy, and was exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York City. As sound supervisor, Finlay was responsible for the entirety of sound for Hugh Gibson’s feature documentary The Stairs, winner of Canada’s largest art prize, the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Film (2016). His 12.2 surround sound design and mix for Alex Lazarovich’s 360-degree film/installation 6000 Worldviews is part of the permanent collection at the Royal Alberta Museum. Finlay designed and implemented audio for the interactive experience Night of the Living Dead VR, a recreation and tribute to the environment and ephemera of the original zombie classic.
In a live context, Finlay has mixed thousands of hours of live television including the Marilyn Denis Show and The Social. His sound design and mixing is heard in hundreds of commercial advertising campaigns. Finlay is a founding member and currently sits on the board of directors at Victory Social Club, a collaborative community of creative professionals in downtown Toronto.
Hand-in-hand with his research and professional practice, Finlay has taught media production at the university level since 2006, recently winning The Creative School Dean’s Teaching Award (CUPE) in 2021. His focus is audio production curriculum, teaching classes at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. In addition, Finlay leads a range of general production and project development courses including the supervision of final-year RTA practicum thesis projects.