FREE ONLINE EVENT: Join us for Film Club: THE FAREWELL on Tue, July 21 at 1 p.m. PDT.

Last Chance: Registration for Mapping Your Directing Career with Rob Spera closes Wed, July 22 at 11:59 PM PDT.

FREE ONLINE EVENT: Join us for Film Club: THE FAREWELL on Tue, July 21 at 1 p.m. PDT.

Sundance CollabSundance Collab
Courses & Events
Explore All Courses & Events
Topics
ScreenwritingTV WritingDirectingProducingDocumentaryCareer & BusinessCreative Technology
Formats
Live Online CoursesSelf-Paced CoursesOn Demand CoursesMaster ClassesLive Online EventsEvent RecordingsCourse & Event Bundles
Community
Explore the Community
Film ClubStory ForumWriters CaféCommunity ForumCommunity LeadersImpact ResidencyThe Bridge
Resources
Explore All Resources
Filmmaker ToolkitGrants & Opportunities
About
Learn About Sundance Collab
About Sundance CollabGetting StartedInstructors & AdvisorsOur PartnersFAQDonateNewsletter SignupContact Us

Notifications

No notifications to show.

Adam Smalley

Sundance Advisor //

Music Editor

Adam has a wide-ranging career in the film industry, having worked as a music editor, producer, composer, music supervisor, and yes, a child actor. Adam has worked with legendary artists directors and composers such as Terrence Malick, Tony Scott, Ben Affleck, Catherine Hardwicke, Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner, David Fincher and Spike Jonze.

He has worked closely with Composer Carter Burwell on nearly 50 projects, including TWILIGHT, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, and Apple + latest, THE MORNING SHOW.

In 1993, Adam partnered with film composer Hans Zimmer, and has

produced, supervised and edited the music on a string of successful films which include THE LION KING, GLADIATOR, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, KUNG FU PANDA, and THE THIN RED LINE.

In 2010, Adam wrote and directed his first short film entitled I DO, which won the Silver Screen Nevada film festival, the Newport Beach, New Orleans, and Fort Lauderdale festivals.

In 2017, Adam was invited to the Havana Film festival though Sundance, which inspired Adam to direct a documentary on the artists of Havana entitled BEING CUBAN - This is still in the works.

When Adam was 8 years old, his mom was approached by an acting agent, and followed up on a meeting with her. Adam subsequently acting in nearly 30 commercials and TV specials from the age of 9 to 18 years of age. This was clearly a strong foundation of seeing the film industry from all sides. 

Collab items I'm associated with:
Master Class

Master Class: Film Music - Creating the Soundscape for Your Film with Peter Golub (THE GREAT DEBATERS), Adam Smalley (THE LION KING) and Carter Burwell (THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN)

With: Peter Golub and 3 more
$30

Master Class: Film Music - Creating the Soundscape for Your Film with Peter Golub (THE GREAT DEBATERS), Adam Smalley (THE LION KING) and Carter Burwell (THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN)

With: Peter Golub, Adam Smalley, Carter Burwell and Patty West
$30
Video

The Basics of Being a Music Editor with Adam Smalley (THE MORNING SHOW)

Music Editor: Adam Smalley
FREE

The Basics of Being a Music Editor with Adam Smalley (THE MORNING SHOW)

Music Editor: Adam Smalley
Music editor Adam Smalley talks about how he works with directors and composers to incorporate and enhance sound into films.
FREE
Courses & Events
Topics
ScreenwritingTV WritingDirectingProducingDocumentaryCareer & BusinessCreative Technology
Formats
Live Online CoursesSelf-Paced CoursesOn Demand CoursesMaster ClassesLive Online EventsEvent RecordingsCourse & Event Bundles
Community
Film ClubStory ForumWriters CaféCommunity ForumCommunity LeadersImpact ResidencyThe Bridge
Resources
Filmmaker ToolkitGrants & Opportunities
About
About Sundance CollabGetting StartedInstructors & AdvisorsOur PartnersFAQDonateNewsletter SignupContact Us
Follow Us
Join our mailing list
Sundance CollabSundance Collab
© 2026 Sundance Institute, All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Community Agreement | Cookie Policy | Visit sundance.org