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Chris Watson recording the sounds of killer whales in the Antarctic

Chris Watson recording Adelie penguins

For this week's Inside Out (Ö÷²¥´óÐã One, Monday, 30 January 2012, 19:30 GMT) we turn the camera around to focus on him and his incredible work with a medium most of us never think twice about: pure sound.

His life as a natural history sound recordist can be traced to an inspired gift by his parents.

They bought him a tape recorder and so he wired up the bird table in the back garden of their home in Sheffield to see what it might pick up.

He recreated this experiment for Inside Out and it was amazing to hear starlings up close in a feeding frenzy.

It was a trick he used as a professional many years later with vultures.

Below you can hear his recording and watch a bonus clip of him talking about it.

Listen to the sound file here first

He also managed to get up close to one of the wildest cats around. Much closer than any human would dare with their own ears.

So if you've ever wondered what the contented purr of a cheetah is like - have a listen!

Chris loves sound in all its forms. As a student he became a founder member of experimental electronic music band .

He co-wrote their songs and played "keyboard and tape-recorder" as he likes to put it. He had a great time performing on tour, but it was never quite enough for him.

He moved into television proper and a job as a sound recordist at . Once he came to Newcastle he settled.

His love of nature meant he applied for a job at the and TTTV were noble enough to let him work there on secondment for two years!

Now he combines nature and TV with long running projects such as the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Frozen Planet. Whenever you see , you can be sure Chris Watson is lurking behind the camera.

He also goes out to record the specific sounds needed to help create the amazing TV series.

You can still see him as a composer in special commissions such as that from who wanted him to create a soundscape for one of their masterpieces.

In effect so 21st Century visitors who are plagued by noise pollution could immerse themselves in the same sounds that the great artist would have heard as he painted the charming rural scene of 1826.

No wonder his craftsmanship with sound has earned him many awards including a coveted .

You'd think as one of the very few people to have stood at both poles of the planet he might show off a bit.

Not a chance.

He knows just how privileged he's been.

He loves his work and is happy to inspire others to really appreciate sound.

Imagine if his parents had bought him a drum kit instead of a tape recorder!