M caught up with Gareth Griffiths, the winner of the PRS for Music Best Original Music award at this year’s BAFTA in Scotland New Talent Awards. Gareth won the prize for his music to the animated film An Interrupted Story .
How did you come to create the music for An Interrupted Story?
My friend Pete and I were studying at Edinburgh University at the time. He was doing a Masters in Sound Design and I was doing a Masters in Digital Composition and Performance. I think there was some sort of organised event between his course and the Edinburgh College of Art courses to get the students together and that's where he met Ania, the animator and director of the project. He was going to do the sound design and suggested that I come on board and do the music. So It's lucky for me that they met in the first place.
Can you describe the process you went through to create the finished piece?
Fortunately I was involved at a very early stage. The story and script were finished, but none of the animation had been started and there was only a few sketches of what the animation would look like. This was great as I had a lot of time to get a feel for the mood of the work, come up with some of the main musical themes and discuss it all with Ania and Pete. I waited till the animation was complete before doing the majority of the parts as the scene length can change a lot and this has an effect on musical timing.
What made you want to study and create your own music?
I played in bands from a young age and back then we preferred to make our own songs rather than play covers. They were obviously terrible songs, but I think we enjoyed the freedom of creating something more than trying to play songs we learned. Having said that, it's probably because we weren't good enough to play the songs we learned!
I studied Spanish and Philosophy at Glasgow University, but all throughout my degree I was making my own music with my laptop and whatever instruments I had around. After I finished I made the decision to shift music from a hobby to a career aim so I enrolled for a Masters in Digital Composition and Performance at Edinburgh University to get me up to speed.
Has your music featured on other films or programmes?
I've done a few bits here and there for some student productions, but nothing as fully formed as An Interrupted Story. Music for film is only one element of what I do so I've also been working on my own compositions and sound installation work. one piece has been played at a festival in Portugal and I contributed some sound installation works to the Open Door project which was presented in Germany. I hope to do more film work in the future as I really enjoy the challenge and reward of making sound and music fit with the moving image.
Who are your influences?
It's difficult to say as there are some many people for different reasons. It's usually just the last thing I've listened to!
What do you think makes a good soundtrack or piece of sound design?
I guess for me there are a few key elements, but it's mainly about being appropriate for the film. Music and sound are very powerful tools with respect to film and have the ability to effect peoples emotional state; you can give the the viewer/listener lots of important information in a very immediate yet subtle manner. So I guess work that understands these sorts of issues, is somewhat unexpected and challenging to the viewer, has it's own voice, yet seems to work perfectly with the film. That's quite a list!
What instruments or equipment do you use to create your music?
I have a simple home studio set up which is mainly my computer with a few pieces of hardware equipment. The main software I use to compose music for film is Logic, but I also use Ableton Live and Max/MSP for certain tasks. I use a number of software instruments and effects combined with the instruments I have decorating the house which include a few guitars, a violin, keyboard, various percussion and other sound making objects.
What are you currently working on?
Not a lot! At the moment I'm working quite hard on some of my own electronic music which I hope to release at some point. I'm keen to keep up the momentum so hopefully some more film and animation projects will come my way soon.
How did you come to create the music for An Interrupted Story?
My friend Pete and I were studying at Edinburgh University at the time. He was doing a Masters in Sound Design and I was doing a Masters in Digital Composition and Performance. I think there was some sort of organised event between his course and the Edinburgh College of Art courses to get the students together and that's where he met Ania, the animator and director of the project. He was going to do the sound design and suggested that I come on board and do the music. So It's lucky for me that they met in the first place.
Can you describe the process you went through to create the finished piece?
Fortunately I was involved at a very early stage. The story and script were finished, but none of the animation had been started and there was only a few sketches of what the animation would look like. This was great as I had a lot of time to get a feel for the mood of the work, come up with some of the main musical themes and discuss it all with Ania and Pete. I waited till the animation was complete before doing the majority of the parts as the scene length can change a lot and this has an effect on musical timing.
What made you want to study and create your own music?
I played in bands from a young age and back then we preferred to make our own songs rather than play covers. They were obviously terrible songs, but I think we enjoyed the freedom of creating something more than trying to play songs we learned. Having said that, it's probably because we weren't good enough to play the songs we learned!
I studied Spanish and Philosophy at Glasgow University, but all throughout my degree I was making my own music with my laptop and whatever instruments I had around. After I finished I made the decision to shift music from a hobby to a career aim so I enrolled for a Masters in Digital Composition and Performance at Edinburgh University to get me up to speed.
Has your music featured on other films or programmes?
I've done a few bits here and there for some student productions, but nothing as fully formed as An Interrupted Story. Music for film is only one element of what I do so I've also been working on my own compositions and sound installation work. one piece has been played at a festival in Portugal and I contributed some sound installation works to the Open Door project which was presented in Germany. I hope to do more film work in the future as I really enjoy the challenge and reward of making sound and music fit with the moving image.
Who are your influences?
It's difficult to say as there are some many people for different reasons. It's usually just the last thing I've listened to!
What do you think makes a good soundtrack or piece of sound design?
I guess for me there are a few key elements, but it's mainly about being appropriate for the film. Music and sound are very powerful tools with respect to film and have the ability to effect peoples emotional state; you can give the the viewer/listener lots of important information in a very immediate yet subtle manner. So I guess work that understands these sorts of issues, is somewhat unexpected and challenging to the viewer, has it's own voice, yet seems to work perfectly with the film. That's quite a list!
What instruments or equipment do you use to create your music?
I have a simple home studio set up which is mainly my computer with a few pieces of hardware equipment. The main software I use to compose music for film is Logic, but I also use Ableton Live and Max/MSP for certain tasks. I use a number of software instruments and effects combined with the instruments I have decorating the house which include a few guitars, a violin, keyboard, various percussion and other sound making objects.
What are you currently working on?
Not a lot! At the moment I'm working quite hard on some of my own electronic music which I hope to release at some point. I'm keen to keep up the momentum so hopefully some more film and animation projects will come my way soon.
