
Makoto Takaoka
Location Sound Recordist. Auckland, New Zealand.
Location Sound Service with ease and a bit of quirk.
Makoto is a location sound recordist with 13 years of experience in film and televison; from documentary shoots to commercials. His previous clients include TVNZ, THREE, BBC, CNN, Discovery Channel, Fox, Netflix and Apple.
He believes that audio for film and tv should be like waxing - thorough, quick, and painless! His mentality and approach has earned him a great reputation in productions around the world. As long as you can handle his occasional dad jokes, he is the man for your next production.
Filmography
HOD Sound for documentary, commercial and reality TV
2022 Cooking Show, Snackmasters, TVNZ
2022 Lifestyle, Sort Your Life Out, TVNZ
2022 TV Drama, Shortland Street, TVNZ
2022 TVC, Air New Zealand Xmas special
2021 TV Drama, Head High Season 2, second Unit, Three
2021 TVC, Silver Fern Farm
2021 Reality TV, The Apprentice Aotearoa, TVNZ
2021 Travel Show, Travel Guide NZ, TVNZ
2020 Health show, The Check Up Season 2, TVNZ
2020 Travel show, Rhys Darby in Japan, TVNZ
2020 Crime Doco, Cold Case, TVNZ
2020 Talk show, Anika Moa Reunion, TVNZ
2019 Reality Documentary, The Casketeers Season 3, TVNZ
2019 Cooking Competition, Pacific Island Food Revolution Season 2, TVNZ
2019 Docudrama, I AM, TVNZ
2019 Documentary series, Nigel Latta, TVNZ
2019 Current affair, Guy Williams Show, Mediaworks, TV3
2019 TVC, All Blacks Experience, Satellite Media
2018 Reality Documentary, The Casketeers Season 2, TVNZ
2018 TVC, Fletcher Constructions, Satellite Media
2018 Doco series, DNA Detective, TVNZ
2018 Doco Series, Coast New Zealand Season 3, TVNZ
2018 Commercial online, Kings Collage, Colenso BBDO
2018 Health Show, The Check Up Season 1, TVNZ
2017 Doco Series, Coast New Zealand Season 3, TVNZ
2016 Reality TV series, The Bachelorette Australia , CH7
2016 House Show, Grand Design NZ, TVNZ
2015 Cooking Competition, My Kitchen Rules NZ, TVNZ
2015 Reality TV series, The Bachelor NZ, TV3
2014 Corporate Video, Apple Business, Apple Streaming
2014 Feature Doco, The Day the Sun fell, MAGNET FILM
2013 Renovation Competition, Mite10 Dream Home, TVNZ
2013 Corporate Video, Google X, Google
2012 Feature Film, The Wolverine, Secondunitsound/soundutility, 20th Century Fox
2012 Feature Doco, Children of Tsunami, BBC 2
Equipment
Digital Audio Recorders with Timecode
6 CH Audio Recorder, Sound Devices 633
10 CH Audio Recorder, Sound Devices Mixpre10T
Wireless Radio Mics
5x Radio Microphones, Lectrosonics SR dual receivers with SMQV Transmitters
1x Radio Mcrophone, Sennehiser SK100 G3 system
Waterproof Radio Mic
1x Lectrosonics MM400C Transmitter
Lapel Mics
10x Miniature Microphones. 5x Sanken Cos-11, 3x Countryman B6, 2x Tram TR-50
Shotgun Mics
2x Shotgun Mics, Sennheiser MKH 8060 and MKH416
2x Boom poles, 8ft, 12ft
Wireless Link to Camera
1x Camera audio and Timecode Link, Zaxcom 900CL and RX200
IFB monitoring and Timecode
8x IFB headphones and Timecode Jam, Zaxcom ERX2TCD

Testimonial
Makoto worked for us as the Production Sound Mixer for second unit on the feature film SUNDAY. As the Director and Producer I had a great experience working with Makoto, and found him to be a diligent, hard working professional who was extremely skilled managing all aspects of sound on set. I received a large amount of positive feedback from other members of the cast and crew, who enjoyed working with him and hope to do so again in the future. Makoto was able to capture an exceptionally high level of sound, despite the often challenging environments, always going above and beyond what was expected. I would highly recommend his services.
Michelle Joy Lloyd Director, Feature Film Producer Sunday (2013)
Production: Brothers Young Pictures
I hired Makoto on a recommendation and it was spot on. He was easy to work with, had a great sense of humour and was highly professional. He had to deal with a massive amount of sound interruptions while we shot ten minutes from an airport in the middle of a construction site. So despite the planes, diggers, construction vehicles and countless and constant noise difficulties, Makoto delivered great sound.
Deb Cope, TV Commercial Producer Mitre 10 Dream Zone
Production: TVNZ Blacksand
I had the great pleasure of working with Makoto on a documentary project last year. He was the best kind of recordist - thorough, patient and with a great attention to detail, even when things got a little freestyle. I'd recommend him to anyone who needs to know their sound will be top-notch no matter what.
Jonathan Brough, TV Documentary Series Director Neighbourhood
Production: Satellite Media