Are you interested in the world of Film Music? Do you like the sound of scoring music for television or film? Are you wondering what career paths are available in this industry, or what career opportunities might be out there?
Studying Film Music at Leeds Conservatoire trains students to refine their composition, arranging and production skills, and develop an entrepreneurial approach to working in the film music industry. Find out more about Film Music at one of our forthcoming Open Days.
Here we spotlight the careers of six different graduates who have found success in the world of composing music for moving image - from the Olympic Games and the Super Bowl, to the BBC and Amazon.
Dave Anson
Dave Anson
Dave is an award-winning composer who has built up a wealth of industry experience since graduating from the conservatoire. Notable highlights include working for the likes of the BBC, Channel 4, ESPN and NBC.
With a focus on creating epic music, Dave’s musical style naturally fits the US market and his work has been included in coverage for the NFL, Super Bowl and Olympic Games.
With a multitude of sporting events postponed until 2021 (including the Olympic Games and UEFA Euro 2020), Dave has recently been composing an album for sports broadcasting.
His interest in composing music for moving image began during the lectures he had with Brian Morrell at Leeds Conservatoire. Commenting on this, Dave outlined:
‘One of the first lectures I had with Brian was an introduction to music for moving image, and I remember him saying 'someone has to write all of this film music, why can't it be you?' It just stuck with me really well. I think a lot of musicians struggle with confidence and imposter syndrome, and that lecture and quote has always stuck with me.’
Olivia Crawford
Olivia Crawford
Hailing from the US, Olivia combines a busy schedule as a frontline medical worker by day, and a film and video game composer by night.
Her latest work includes the score for the film Creatures (Vol. 1). Elsewhere, she has recently joined the Engrave Production Music roster, where she works alongside a team of composers to create genre-specific albums for use in advertising and across other media platforms.
Upon being asked what advice she would give to someone thinking of studying Film Music at Leeds Conservatoire, Olivia has this to say:
'To anyone considering studying Film Music at Leeds Conservatoire, my biggest advice would be to look at your current film music and film scoring experience. Whether your music sounds fake, you're not establishing relationships with directors or you can't expand your compositions from the same instruments/chords, there's likely something holding you back from feeling ready to work in the industry; it may be keeping you from getting work in the industry at all.'
Hollie Buhagiar
Hollie Buhagiar
Hollie specialises in crafting bespoke scores for film, TV and games. She has worked for the likes of Amazon, Sky, Creative England, Tate, The Guardian and Film London. Perhaps most notably, Hollie composed the score for the 2018 British Short Animation BAFTA winning film – Poles Apart.
2020 has seen Hollie win the ‘Gold Award’ for ‘Best Music Track’ at the LA Motion Picture Festival, ‘Best Music Award’ at the Top Indie Awards and a nomination for ‘Best Music’ at the UK Fashion Film Festival.
In reference to her time at Leeds Conservatoire, Hollie outlined the importance of the sense of realism and challenges presented by working in the creative industries:
‘I remember the tutors being extremely transparent with regards to how difficult these industries are as a whole. Whilst it was incredibly sobering at first, I didn't take it lightly and this honesty truly prepared me for the career path I’d chosen and it most definitely contributed to my resilience after I’d left.’
Alex Redfern
Alex Redfern
A participant in the 2019 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop in Los Angeles, Alex is an accomplished producer, engineer and composer for moving image. He has spent time in Leeds, Valencia and Los Angeles, and has worked alongside industry giants including Jeff Russo, Ben Decter and Roger Neill.
Most recently, Alex scored the soundtrack for the short film ‘No Roses on a Soldier’s Grave’, which premiered at its first festival – London Lift-Off Film Festival in December 2020. He has also been working extensively with Roger Neill and has penned the additional music for film ‘Unpregnant’ and independent drama ‘Alex/October’.
‘Learning how to analyse music was probably the most important thing I learnt at Leeds Conservatoire. This gave me the tools to determine how other music is made up - in terms of the composition, orchestration, production and how emotion and meaning can be conveyed in music. Additionally, that helped me analyse my own music, to see what causes reactions in audiences, both positively and negatively, so I can develop and improve the music. I also learnt a lot about how harmony is used, particularly in film music.’
Max McGuire
Max McGuire
Owner and Director of Metronomix Studios in Manchester, Max is an award-winning composer and orchestrator, who works as an assistant for LA-based film composer Stephen Barton.
Max’s output includes orchestrating over two hours’ worth of music for the EA game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order which involved working with the LSO in Studio 1 and 2 at Abbey Road Studios. He also recorded and conducted his score for ‘All The World’s A Stage’ at Abbey Road. The short feature, directed by Florence Kosky featuring narration by Olivia Colman, went on to be selected for the Raindance Film Festival.
Most recently, Max has worked on additional music and orchestration for the 5-part nature documentary Mysterious Planet, narrated by David Schwimmer, released on Discovery+ in early 2020.
Commenting on the importance of collaboration and networking in the film music industry, Max indicated:
‘The most vital skill I gained at Leeds Conservatoire was learning how to collaborate. This industry is largely about people skills and being a likeable and reliable person. Having the right chops is a given but being friendly and easy to work with is crucial. Most people prefer to work with their friends and forming a true relationship with someone can prove fruitful for many years.’
Jarrod Royles-Atkins
Jarrod Royles-Atkins
Jarrod participated in the inaugural version of Grammy nominated and multi-platinum producer and composer Tom Holkenborg’s (aka Junkie XL) SCORE Academy.
Since he started working with Tom, he has received credits for the Additional Music on a range of TV Series and Hollywood Blockbusters, including Netflix’s White Lines, Sonic the Hedgehog and Terminator: Dark Fate.
On his time at Leeds Conservatoire, Jarrod indicated:
‘The course I did was an amazing primer for the real world. The assignments given are very similar to the ones I now receive every day at work. Brian Morrell, amongst many other tutors, really sparked my interest in storytelling and the range of uses music can provide for a movie. His lectures and the lessons I learned at Leeds Conservatoire still inform my writing to this day! The ability to work with so many different varieties of musician there is truly amazing. Collaboration and teamwork are among the main skills required in the industry. Leeds Conservatoire really allows and trains these skills to flourish.’
Here is what some of our 2020 graduates said about the Film Music course at Leeds Conservatoire:
Luke Bryan, commenting on pushing yourself as a musician:
'I had never seriously thought about trying to make a career out of film music, but after three years here I'm pretty confident something will come of it for me.'
Mitch Gardner, on discussing the best piece of advice he received during his studies:
'Brian Morrell said that as humans we possess an inevitable partiality. If we hear a singular note on its own, we unwittingly assume that it is the root of the chord, but in context it could be the dominant 7th, or even the 9th of the actual chord. Doing this is a way that we can impose character on a chord. I felt like this character is one thing that helps me engage with the story in a film to really get the emotional feeling out there.'
Gabriel Ness, outlining his favourite memory at Leeds Conservatoire:
'...showing my working to one of Hollywood's leading orchestrators, Nicholas Dodd, at the film night showcase is my favourite memory of studying at Leeds Conservatoire. Having someone with a lifetime of experience in the film music industry comment on your work is not an opportunity to be missed.'
'Film Music is a niche and some people may think a purely Film Music-based course may be too restrictive. At Leeds Conservatoire this is not the case. The course structure allowed me to major in Film Music whilst broadening horizons to others areas, such as classical performance, jazz arranging, and electroacoustic composition (that was a wild one). My experience at the conservatoire has been incredibly fulfilling and I'd recommend this course and the university to anyone who wishes to study all kinds of music.'
