Paula Fairfield is a Canadian American sound designer and sound artist, based in Southern California. She is best known for her work on the series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

.'' She has a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award for

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second television series in Martin's ''A Song of Ice and F ...

(won 2023); and a total of fourteen Emmy nominations: one for

Rings of Power The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, most prominently in his high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The One Ring first appeared as a plot device, a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy nov ...

, one for

, one for 3 Body Problem, six for ''

'' (won in 2015 and 2019), three for '' Lost'', one for '' The River'', and one for the series ''

Lovecraft Country Lovecraft Country is a term coined for the New England setting used by H. P. Lovecraft in many of his weird fiction stories, which combines real and fictitious locations. This setting has been elaborated on by other writers working in the Cthulh ...

(''won 2021). In May 2021, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from her alma mater,

NSCAD University NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The unive ...

. She also has 5 golden reel awards and 20 nominations for her work from the

Motion Picture Sound Editors Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) is an American professional society of motion picture sound editors founded in 1953. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound and music editors, show the arti ...

guild.

Life in Canada

Fairfield was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, in 1961 and grew up in a nearby town called Bridgewater. She attended college at the

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The unive ...

(NSCAD) in the early 1980s studying art history and photography. After graduating with a BFA, she moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

for two years where she worked as an artist and did a training program at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB)'s Studio D. Fairfield then moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

where she co-managed Charles Street Video, a non-profit centre run by artists. Her video and film art was exhibited all over the world and resides in several collections including the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

. Fairfield worked at SoundDogs, the Toronto-based post production sound company. She said, "I just wandered in one day and they had just lost their effects guy and they took a chance on me. I had a lot to learn, but I loved it." This is where she learned how to edit sound and sound design for television and film.

Life in the United States

Fairfield moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1998. She established her company, Eargasm, Inc, in 2014. She has a studio in her home — a sealed garage with highly insulated walls. The studio is set up for

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

and uses PMC monitors and an Avid Pro Tools S6 console. She left Los Angeles for the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

after a divorce from her wife and losing her brother, sister and father to cancer. According to ''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History First issued on August 5, 1927, as a weekly six-page newspaper, ''The Desert Sun'' grew with the desert co ...

'', "the desert’s spirituality and solitude keep her centered as an artist. After an intense day of sound editing, she simply steps out of her studio and into her home space, a quiet desert sanctuary she describes as 'Bliss.'"

Awards and nominations

* BAFTA Winner for Best Sound: Fiction, House of the Dragon, 2023 * Emmy Winner for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour),

: Sundown, 2020 * Emmy Winner for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour),

: The Long Night, 2019 * Emmy Nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) -

: The Spoils of War, 2018 * Emmy Nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series,

: Nominated 2013, 2014, 2016, Lost: Nominated 2007, 2008, 2010 * Emmy Winner for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series,

Hardhome "Hardhome" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 48th overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik. It ...

, 2015 * Emmy Nominated Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, The River: Doctor Emmet Cole, 2012 * Winner Gemini Award for Best Sound in a Dramatic Program or Series, 1996 * Nominee of Gemini Award for Best Sound Editing, 1996 and 1999 * 5 MPSE Golden Reel wins and 14 MPSE Golden Reel Nominations *In 1996, she was recognized in "Who's Who in Canadian Film and Television"

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfield, Paula Women sound editors Women audio engineers Living people Artists from Nova Scotia Canadian sound designers Artists from Los Angeles 1961 births NSCAD University alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian LGBTQ artists People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian sound editors Women sound artists 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Primetime Emmy Award winners