BY ANGELO VALDIVIA
Australia has always been a haven for creative talent in the screen and music industries, and up-and-coming composer Sean Tinnion is quickly making a name for himself in both respects.
“I have always been fascinated with film music from a very young age,” Sean tells us.
“I started composing my own music at the age of 11, and it was then I decided film scoring was what I wanted to do with my life.”
The Perth composer has worked on a wide range of projects in recent years, spanning advertisements, television, film, and concert music.
He has scored close to a dozen documentaries across Channel 10, SBS, and ABC; in 2018, Sean was awarded Best Music For a Documentary at the APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards for his soundtrack to ABC iView’s 10-part series A Stargazer’s Guide to the Cosmos.
If that isn’t enough, he also won Best Score for the recently released Western Australian film Murals at the Los Angeles Film Awards, as well as Best Film Score nominations for his work on Next of Kin and Robbed. (At the Oniros Film Awards in Italy, the aforementioned Murals won Best Original Soundtrack and was nominated for Best Score of the Year, too.)
“Some filmmakers have been extremely knowledgeable in knowing what they want for particular scenes, and have a good understanding of what kind of mood/tone would work best,” Sean says.
“In those situations, it was really good because we could actually talk about the scene in great detail and understand each other perfectly.
“There are some, of course, who didn’t have such a clear idea of what music is needed or even what they want – and this is completely fine as well! In those scenarios, it’s the composer’s job to work something out and provide the director or producers with different types of possibilities for the score, and you sort of work from there.
“In both situations, you definitely learn a lot from each other.”
In the short while since graduating from his studies in 2015 at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Sean’s accomplishments are impressive. And, apart from releasing his own albums and soundtracks of his screen work to Spotify and other streaming platforms, there are still plenty of irons in the fire to look forward to.
In late 2020, Sean’s second contemporary dance project with LJ Productions, Antithesis, has its debut. This follows Vincent, which toured nationally in 2016 and depicted the bond between Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo.
Sparkles is his next short film project, funded by Screenwest. Following this will be World War I epic Before Dawn, centred around the WA ANZACs, and is currently funded at approximately $5.4 million. The production will pool together from local acting talent, but also musically involve the Perth Symphony Orchestra and WA Youth Symphony.
“The Australian screen industry is still developing, and there are already a lot of film composers here that have developed long-standing relationships with production companies and their staff,” Sean says.
“It can be really difficult to break into these places, and for them to take a chance on someone new is something I am still challenged with.”
Despite these challenges, Sean continues to create, collaborate, and succeed in Australia’s screen industry. And there are no signs of him slowing down.
“Motion picture feature films have always been my ultimate number one goal,” Sean says.
“I have always been drawn to films over anything else. But having said that, now I have a lot of experience in writing for television documentaries, corporate/commercial videos, and contemporary dance.
“I am fully committed to bettering myself with each of these genres, and will continue to seek out work in these areas.
“But deep down, motion picture films will always be number one for me, and they are what I am always aiming for.”
Images supplied.
