Composer Ceiri Torjussen has scored every thing from impartial movies, documentaries and community TV to animation and large-budget studio movies. He earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the animated collection Dive, Olly, Dive! Torjussen can be an completed live performance and experimental composer, with commissions from the BBC Nationwide Orchestra of Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan Competition and the Henry Mancini Institute.
His most up-to-date venture is Vaughan Sivell’s Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, a documentary that follows the lifetime of the UK diving legend. From Beijing 2008 to his gold medal in Tokyo 2020 and ultimate Olympics in Paris 2024, Daley shares his private journey, together with the ups and downs.
Torjussen describes his rating for the doc as a combination between delicate strings coinciding with ambient synth textures — you may take heed to the complete soundtrack right here. He goes into extra depth about his inventive course of and what it’s prefer to work on his fourth venture with Sivell.
What went into creating the rating for the movie?
It’s a mixture of delicate, emotional piano and strings, that includes a solo violin, with extra ambient synth textures. There are a number of cues that get extra “sporty” as large competitions are approaching, and for these, I carry in additional synths and percussion. Fortunately, I had an almost-locked minimize to work with (which isn’t all the time the case), so the method was fairly environment friendly from after I acquired the image to my ultimate supply.
What’s your course of for beginning a brand new job?
The problem early on is, “How do I get into the soul of the story”? Within the case of 1.6 Seconds, regardless that it’s a documentary, it’s necessary to decipher what the narrative is and what the characters are feeling. Whereas some doc filmmakers don’t need a lot music of their movies (since they don’t wish to “lead” the viewers emotionally), on this case, Vaughan actually wished me to lean into the emotional angle of the story.
Tom has already gone by means of quite a lot of ups and downs in his younger life, so it was necessary that the rating complimented each Tom’s retelling of historical past and his present emotional response to that historical past. Via music, I needed to carry to life Tom’s account of coaching, competing and profitable Olympic medals, along with the tragic story of his father’s demise and the way that affected him.
What path have been you given for the rating?
Vaughan wished me to I actually lean into the emotional dimensions of Tom’s biography. However except for that, he gave me quite a lot of freedom about how I may musically strategy the scoring. He wished quite a lot of music within the movie — it’s nearly wall to wall — however was very open minded about how I went about that, which is all the time very gratifying for a composer.
What are your favourite devices to put in writing with?
I write on the piano and keyboard largely. I improvise loads, and when one thing ultimately comes out that I like, I both jot it down or hit document on my sequencer and enter it into the pc.
My favourite devices to put in writing for are too quite a few to say — it utterly relies on the wants of the venture. I really like the orchestra in addition to non-orchestral devices, and I really like synths and distinctive/custom-built devices. I prefer to create one or a number of new sounds for every new venture — whether or not it’s through the use of synths or manipulating pre-recorded acoustic sounds in novel methods.
Did you experiment with any new devices or do something out of the peculiar for this rating?
Not like a few of my scores for different movies (e.g., narrative thrillers or dramas), the instrumental lineup for 1.6 Seconds is generally not out of the peculiar (quite a lot of strings, piano, synth, percussion). For a number of the slower cues, I did discover some glassy sounds that I assumed match the story fairly properly. For this, I recorded some wine glasses and vases that I discovered notably resonant.
By wetting your fingers with water and rubbing the edges in a round movement, you may produce wealthy, excessive and delicate tones — one thing many people have seemingly tried at house. Additionally, having totally different quantities of water in every glass offers you totally different pitches. I recorded many of those sounds, performed in varied methods, and mapped them throughout the keyboard utilizing software program so that they could possibly be carried out like an instrument. I like to incorporate a sensible reference in my instrument-making that connects to the story not directly. On this case, “water” is the magic that brings the sound to life — simply because it did in Tom’s life.
Is your course of any totally different when scoring a documentary, versus a scripted movie?
There are variations in “levels” of emotion when scoring docs in comparison with narrative movie. Usually, a documentary must be considerably extra delicate by way of how intense the music will get — particularly when evaluating it to a thriller, horror or intense drama. It may come throughout as too overbearing if the music attracts an excessive amount of consideration to itself in a documentary.
Additionally, at the least in my expertise, narrative movies are likely to extra usually comprise “area,” by which there’s little or no dialog, the place the rating can actually take heart stage. Most of the docs I’ve labored on are likely to have a lot of speaking, so music has to, by necessity, be subservient to the narrating voices. Afterall, what good is it if the music distracts a lot that the viewers can’t perceive what of us are saying?
Okay, now some extra basic questions on workflow. How do you start a venture?
It relies on what the venture is, however typically, I begin in discussions with the director and filmmakers (editors, producers, and so on). These discussions is perhaps in depth or fairly sparse, relying on a number of elements. If we’ve labored collectively earlier than and there’s quite a lot of belief (like on 1.6 Seconds), then there’s usually not a lot we have to talk about outdoors of some fundamental parameters.
Once we’re collaborating for the primary time, it’s particularly necessary to grasp one another as individuals first, then discover the place we as filmmakers hope to take the venture creatively. If the venture is within the early phases (the event or script stage), then these conversations might be fairly broad. But when I’m introduced in later and there’s already a tough or locked image minimize, then we have to get right down to the nitty-gritty fairly shortly.
We talk about what they’re hoping to get from a rating — what it must do, how can it improve the story and the place, for example, the rating might be within the forefront or must be extra within the background. That is all a part of the “music recognizing” course of, which might be fairly detailed (right down to the body) or fairly broad, relying on how the director likes to strategy issues and the way assured I really feel about what I believe they need. We’ll usually break down each scene and discuss what rating must do (and the place certainly music ought to lay out). Detailed recognizing like that is extra widespread in narrative quite than documentary tasks, however I’ve additionally noticed docs many instances.
What occurs subsequent by way of workflow?
As soon as we’ve talked by means of and/or noticed the venture, I then undergo the method of musical gestation. Relying on the timeline, this may vary from a couple of days to a number of weeks (the latter being the posh/ultimate). Throughout this time, I like to consider how I can translate the director’s imaginative and prescient into sound in a inventive and distinctive method whereas nonetheless serving the wants of the story. As I discussed earlier than, I like to present myself the problem of utilizing distinctive sounds for every new venture. As soon as I’ve constructed up my palette of sounds, similar to a painter, I then prefer to sketch. It’s a luxurious if I can write some music utilizing my newly created sounds — simply as a “method in” to the fabric. I’ll watch the movie by means of a couple of instances, then transfer away from image and write or document some textures or themes that I believe may work. I usually share these “sketches” with the director to gage their response. If it’s constructive, then that’s a very good signal, and I normally really feel prepared to leap into writing cues.
If the timeline is tight, nonetheless, then as soon as I’ve discovered a fundamental sound palette, I’ll begin writing straight to image — usually the opening — to see if I’m heading in the right direction aesthetically. Once more, gaging a director’s response early on goes a good distance by way of getting by means of the remainder of the rating easily and effectively.
When you weren’t a composer, what would you be doing as a substitute?
Composing has been my life for over 35 years now. If it hadn’t labored out, I’d in all probability flipping burgers someplace.
