Cory Stillman
Composers Jacob Shea and Sara Barone of Bleeding Fingers Music had a wealth of inspiration at their disposal in crafting the magnificent score for BBC’s Planet Earth III. Alongside the legendary composer Hans Zimmer, the duo sifted through the show’s striking footage as they considered the various ways in which they could push the show’s sonic palette forward.
Shea and Barone recall the imagery of Vietnam’s Hang Son Doong cave in the “Extremes” episode as just one example of nature’s beauty informing an unconventional approach to the score.
“The visuals in this sequence were so striking so we wanted to do something that felt really inspired by this environment. We reached out to this experimental musician and woodwind player named Lea Bertucci, who explores unconventional textures and extended techniques in her playing,” says Barone. We tasked her with a challenge to take this melody that we wrote and to go into a cave in upstate New York, bring her arsenal of woodwind instruments, and experiment with it. We were really blown away by the result.”
Bertucci is just one of several talented contributors to the Planet Earth III soundtrack. Bastille lead singer Dan Smith performs vocals for the show’s theme as well. Shea and Barone were thrilled to learn that recording would take place at London’s legendary British Grove Studios.
“It’s like a candy store for a kid. It’s an amazing studio filled with rare and historically significant equipment, including an original and pristine EMI REDD.51 console,” says Shea. “Everything is routinely serviced and so you are able to take advantage of old recording equipment in a modern facility. It’s a really special environment to be creative in.”
That kind of enthusiasm pervades every moment of Shea and Barone’s exclusive conversation with Awards Radar. Both composers remain in constant search of the latest and greatest in music technology, innovating new ways to implement such technology into their work. The op-1 synthesizer makes up the entire percussion ensemble of the dolphin sequence in “Heroes,” for example.
“We thought it would be interesting to use it in a different context. We purchased one for the show and it wound up being a mainstay of our sonic palette.”
Check out our full conversation with Shea and Barone below, and watch all of Planet Earth III on Netflix now.
What natural phenomenon or location featured in Planet Earth III inspired you the most when composing the score, and how did you translate that inspiration into music?
Sara Barone: Episode “Extremes” opens with this incredible imagery of the world’s largest cave, Hang Son Doong, in Vietnam. It begins with footage of a human repelling down the top of this unbelievably large and otherworldly cave which looks like it belongs in a sci fi film. As the scene continues, you are introduced to the very unique and strange creatures that live there. The visuals in this sequence were so striking so we wanted to do something that felt really inspired by this environment. We reached out to this experimental musician and woodwind player named Lea Bertucci, who explores unconventional textures and extended techniques in her playing. We tasked her with a challenge to take this melody that we wrote and to go into a cave in upstate New York, bring her arsenal of woodwind instruments, and experiment with it. We were really blown away by the result. The sounds of the cave, combined with the natural reverb, along with Lea’s artistry resulted in really striking sounds that were beyond our wildest expectations.
Were there any surprising sounds or instruments that you ended up incorporating into the score that you hadn’t initially planned on using?
Jacob Shea: We’ve always been aware of the prevalence of the op-1 synthesizer in modern popular music production. We thought it would be interesting to use it in a different context. We purchased one for the show and it wound up being a mainstay of our sonic palette. We wound up using it on at least half of the score. In the “Heroes” Indus River Dolphin sequence, it makes up our entire percussion ensemble.
How did you balance the need for a cohesive overall score with the unique requirements of each individual episode?
Barone: We spent a lot of time together at the beginning of the project finding the sound palette of the score. This included co-writing the main theme in the same room together. This early work really helped us find a cohesive sound for the show that we were both fully on board with and which embodied the complex tone of the show. When the episodes came around we already had a sound palette and aesthetic approach established and were able to use that as a jumping off point for exploring episode specific sounds further.
How do you divide responsibilities when working together on a score? Do you have specific strengths that each of you bring to the project?
Shea: We divided the work in a really organic fashion. We split up musical material based on whatever sequence spoke strongly to one of us. We played definitely to our individual strengths. But we were in constant communication about each of our respective progress. We have studios that are right next door to each other. There was definitely more and one occasion where we collaborated on the same sequence. One example is the Sea Angel / Sea Devil scene in the “Coasts” episode. We were equally excited by this weird and wonderful sea creature. So we worked together to create a distinct sound that evolved from the angelic to the demonic.
How do you overcome creative blocks or periods where inspiration seems hard to come by?
Barone: Thankfully, we had an abundance of inspiration. Not only were the stories compelling and the footage jaw dropping, we had access to some truly remarkable musicians who constantly surprised and inspired us with new colors and sonic worlds.
Are there any other documentary series or films that you find particularly inspiring or that have influenced your work?
Shea: At the beginning of the project, we knew that we wanted to anchor our score around soloist instruments. So we searched for really bold scores based around a small set of instruments and thought Colin Stetson’s work was tremendous. Listening to that music really expanded our conception of what might be dramatically possible with such small forces.
Can you share a fun or unexpected story from your time working on the score that fans might not know?
Shea: Early on in scoring the series, we went over to London to record Dan Smith’s (of Bastille) vocals for the theme. We knew that we would be recording Dan, but were pleasantly surprised to learn that we would be recording him at the British Grove Studios. It’s like a candy store for a kid. It’s an amazing studio filled with rare and historically significant equipment, including an original and pristine EMI REDD.51 console. Everything is routinely serviced and so you are able to take advantage of old recording equipment in a modern facility. It’s a really special environment to be creative in.
After working on such an epic project, what are your next aspirations in the world of music composition? Are there any particular projects or themes you are eager to explore?
Barone: We’re such big fans of the BBC Natural History Unit. They are and continue to be the standard bearer for this sort of programming. Our aspiration is simply to remain a collaborator of theirs on future projects.
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