Season 2 of Severance on Apple+ upped the ante and stakes on everything that Season 1 gave us. We got more characters, more mystery and more twists and turns than Chutes and Ladders. Suffice to say, it was weird and wild and we want to see how deep this rabbit hole really goes. And more waffle parties, please. One of the standout elements helping this dense and sophisticated story resonate is, literally, the sound palette. Composer Theodore Shapiro rejoined this ensemble to expand his catchy four-chord tune and adapted it to this season’s new narrative pathways. He was not afraid to get abstract, and even dove into specific sound design…
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Interview…Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera on Piano, Guitar, Teaching and the Sounds of ‘Dept. Q’
Over the years, we’ve become increasingly fond of TV shows for a few reasons. One of which is pretty obvious: we get more time with characters we love. Their arc can be spaced out as the story tops and tails. But another more satisfying reason is that the music can get the same amount of space. Many times, it can find room to evolve and change with the narrative. So let’s look at one such property where the music played an incredibly important role in the production. The Queen’s Gambit was a captivating series whereby the lush musical score captured our imagination, got the heart racing and made chess pretty…
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Interview…Composer Paul Leonard-Morgan is Dreddfully Good at Creating Musical Chaos
Composer Paul Leonard-Morgan provides a pulse-quickening backdrop to his latest project, Netflix’s documentary Chaos: The Manson Murders. His score weaves swirling orchestral instrumentation and rock elements with throbbing synthetic beats and drones that punctuate the intrigue of conspiracy unraveled in the film. We spoke to Paul in 2020 and since then, he’s been super busy. When we say he’s done a lot, we mean A LOT! His work always impresses us, and this one is a high point for sure. Like most features, providing music for a documentary is a task that should be careful not to crowd or overwhelm the dialogue. Yet with this project, director Errol Morris wanted Paul…
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Interview…Harry Gregson-Williams on the Vocals, Violence and Variety in ‘Gladiator II’
As film score fans, the only thing we love more than revisiting our favorite scores is when a sequel happens and a composer gets to take the themes into new territory. As such, our guest today has expanded not only his own work but many other composers’ efforts. Scan through the site, and you’ll see that we are very fond of Harry Gregson-Williams, and it’s always a treat catching up with him to talk shop. While any acoustic endeavor might be intimidating, how could one even start thinking about working on a sequel to Gladiator?? It’s a perfect film that resounds to this day, and that goes double for its…
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Interview…Volker Bertelmann on the Comfort and Chaos Between the Quiet Moments in ‘Conclave’
One of the best films of 2024 is Conclave, and it will certainly top many critics’ top 10 lists. It’s a quiet narrative that doesn’t have a lot going on on the surface, but that’s the beauty of Edward Berger‘s film: what you don’t see is the most interesting part of the story. In a way, it’s very much like a duck whose feet are swimming feverously under the water to get to its destination. The film is utterly gorgeous – the sets, locations and costumes dazzle – and in a story about holy men serving an ideal, we get to see crisis of conscience, infighting and scheming behind the…
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Interview…Composer Aaron Zigman on the Compelling Compassion to ‘Six Triple Eight’
American composer and pianist Aaron Zigman has written more than 70 Hollywood film scores. Firmly established as one of Hollywood’s go-to composers, his film career was launched in 2000, when director Nick Cassavetes heard his work and asked him to collaborate on six films, including the romantic cult classic The Notebook, for which the composer’s score sold a record number of albums. Other box-office hits include Bridge to Terabithia, The Proposal, For Colored Girls, The Company Men, Wakefield,and the Sex and the City franchise. Similarly distinguished in television, Zigman has penned songs for shows including the popular series Fame and the Showtime TV movie Crown Heights, for which his setting…
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Interview…Composer Andrew Lockington on the Inspiration and Sonic Theatricality of the ‘Landman’ Series
Whether it’s a studio action film or an indie festival film, Composer Andrew Lockington‘s music demonstrates his approach to scoring each project in a unique way by finding a musical language to communicate the relationships and elements of the story that visuals cannot. Andrew’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of film scoring has inspired him to record in places such as the jungles of Papua New Guinea, the tropics of Costa Rica, an ancient temple in Northern Japan, a volcano in Polynesia, and an abandoned subway station beneath central London. His recent projects include the epic Sci-Fi feature Atlas starring Jennifer Lopez with longtime collaborator director Brad Peyton, as well as several…
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Interview…Composer Benoît Charest on ‘Where Rabbits Come From’ and Living the Dream
Writer/director Colin Ludvic Racicot’s animated story immerses viewers in a dystopian world, weaving a heartfelt tale of oppression and the unbreakable bond between a father and daughter. Where Rabbits Come From features stunning animation and a captivating score, as it follows the widowed rabbit seeking to reignite wonder and magic in his daughter’s life after the mysterious disappearance of her mother. Drawing inspiration from Racicot’s personal journey through fatherhood, this heartwarming film has captivated audiences of all ages during its international film festival tour. The Canadian director and writer has crafted tender and imaginative work that united some of the animation world’s most iconic talents. Animation legend Sylvain Chomet and…
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Interview…Composer Wilbert Roget II Brings the Emotion and Excitement to Fan-Favorite Games and Properties
On today’s episode, we take a trip to galaxies far, far away, future Earths and adventures replete with robots and robust action. The visuals are impressive, but it’s the expansive score and sound engineering that really sucks us in. We were thrilled to speak to Wilbert Roget II about his work as composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music geek who, as far as we can tell, is living the dream. Roget has done more that dip his toe in fan-favorite and beloved properties; he’s done a back-flipping cannonball into the worlds of Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider, Call of Duty and score fans are feeling the waves of his gargantuan splash. Now anyone…
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Interview…Composer Ilan Eshkeri on the Emotional Beauty of ‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’
The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the “Man of Steel” in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and…
